Up and Up and Up...

I'm a little behind with these blog posts.  Having a car has opened up touring opportunities for us left and right.  It's been an adventurous week.  Maybe I'll be able to catch up soon.

Through working at our second job, we get season passes for the Mount Roberts Tramway.  The tram takes locals and tourists up 1800 feet to the top of Mount Robert where there is a restaurant, plenty of gift shops, a nature center, and hiking trails.

Last Wednesday, with the luxury of having a car now to take us places--such as close to the "tram lot," the bottom of the tram--we decided to utilize the perk of our job.

View from halfway up the mountain.

Last summer, Eric worked as a driver guide while also working as a waiter in the Timberline Restaurant at the top of Mount Roberts.  He put in nearly 80 hours each week, only taking two full days off, in order to save enough money to pay for two semesters of tuition and living expenses, finance my ring, and prepare for all of our newlywed expenses.  (Isn't he awesome!)  Because he was there so often, he was able to give me a grand tour of the mountaintop.

The first thing we did at the mountaintop was watch a movie about Tlingits, the indigenous people of the Juneau area, in a theater Eric would stop by before work to watch a family band that often plays during the summer.

We're starting to get the hang of selfies.

Afterwards, we went to where Eric would slave away, the Timberline Restaurant.  I got to meet some of his former coworkers and also share with Eric one of his favorite dishes from the restaurant (and any restaurant), nachos.  Where we sat we had a fantastic view of the Gastineau Channel that separates Douglas Island and downtown Juneau.

Nachos!

This guy didn't know he was going to be exploited on the
internet when he sat in the way of my view.  Serves him right.

Outside of the main building is a small raptor center...with one raptor.  Meet Lady Baltimore, the one-eyed bald eagle wonder.  She's currently in captivity because she in unfit to live in the wild.  Why? Well, Miss Balitmore was found with a bullet hole in her beak and a missing left eye.  She seems to like her little home and wasn't too bothered by all the attention visitors were giving her.

She was only showing her good side.
Her missing eye is on the other.

Side note:  I've never seen so many bald eagles in my entire life as I've seen in just the past month.  Everyday, I point out at least one to the passengers I give tours to.  Here's the basic spiel I give to them:  An easy way to pinpoint a bald eagle from a distance is to look for a "golf ball head" over a black body.  That's the way it's been explained to me, and it actually works.  There are also immature eagles that don't have the striking appearance of the white heads and white tail feathers.  They're just brown all over, though their heads lighten as they mature.  They become fully mature at around 5 or 6 years, and at that point they weigh about 9 pounds and have a wing span as wide as the buses I drive.  The width of those buses is about 8 feet, and an eagle's wing span is about 7 1/2 feet.  Both males and females have the white heads and white tail feathers, so you can't tell the difference between the two except that females are typically slightly larger.  (I hope all of that is right.  I've received most of my information from somewhat reliable coworkers.)

We spent the rest of the time walking around the gift shops that look pretty identical to the rest of the many, many gift shops in the downtown area.  For our future home, I want to have something from each of the places around the world that we will visit/live at.  I've been trying to find some cheap Tlingit art to adorn our home with.  Finding the art is no problem; finding it at a reasonable price is.  Maybe one of the local thrift shops or Walmart will help me out. :)