Snapshots 4.0

Chapter 9 – Endicott Arm Fjord and Juneau

When Jane and Maura had reviewed the excursion for Endicott Arm Fjord, Jane had an issue with this particular excursion. Not because she didn't like the adventure, but more because of the time she would have to get up in the morning to enjoy the adventure. It was the only excursion available so if they didn't do this excursion they would simply stay on the ship and just enjoy the onboard activities.

Jane wanted to see the glacier up close and personal but the time of day was the kicker for her. After reviewing all of their times available they had opted for the excursion leaving at 7 AM. Maura knew that Jane would fuss about the early hour but she would more than make it up to her so, she wasn't worried about it. Jane would be happy at the conclusion of the day and that is what matter most to Maura.

She knew her wife didn't function well in the mornings. She wasn't sure Jane would have been as successful in those early morning call outs to crime scenes if Maura didn't have coffee ready for her and had some snacks in her medical bag for her to enjoy. Jane appreciated that Maura took such good care of her. That is why they made such a great team and had the high closure rate that they did. They anticipated each other's needs.

Maura had made sure everything was set up for their excursion the next morning. She had Jane's clothes all laid out and made sure that the International Café would be open for Jane to have some coffee. She had her Thermos ready to go also so she could acquire additional coffee for Jane. The advertisement for the excursion stated that coffee would be available but she didn't want to take any chances. She knew what Jane was like without coffee and she didn't like seeing that side of Jane.

She made sure that both she and Jane were dressed in layers. They would be visiting glaciers all day and it might get cold at some point of the day. After meeting Ari and Mario at the International Café for a quick breakfast they set out to board the smaller boat that would take them closer to the glaciers. The smaller boat was to maneuver around the small icebergs and was able to take them up close to the Dawes Glacier.

The smaller boat had a topside observation deck that allowed for unobstructed views of the glacier and provided excellent photo opportunities. Maura was in heaven, she loved the views and was busy taking pictures. Jane stayed close to Maura helping her when she wanted to swap out lenses on her camera. Jane thought to herself, 'once a photographer always a photographer.' Maura was all smiles and happy and that is what matter to Jane. She loved when Maura was happy. She set out all those years ago to make sure that Maura was happy and smiling as often as possible.

There was a tour guide that explained different items of interest and provided information about the area as the smaller boat cruised through the glacier. This was what John Muir had called, "one of the most dramatically stunning fjords of southeast Alaska." The smaller boat cruised along Stephens Passage and joined the ship in Juneau as the six-hour excursion ended. Maura had taken some beautiful photographs and Jane mentioned a few that she would like to have blown up for framing. She figured they could hang them in the basement. Maura managed to take a few pictures of Arianna and Mario without them noticing.

They boarded the cruise ship, changed clothes and had lunch before boarding their excursion in Juneau at 2 PM. They were loaded into a small bus and rode to the helicopter loading area where they boarded their helicopter for their two-and half hour excursion of Mendenhall Glacier. Jane was excited for this part of the day. She loved riding in helicopters. Maura, Ari and Mario agreed to let Jane sit up front with the pilot while the rest of them sat in the back. Maura made sure to have a window seat so she could take pictures from the air. The views were breathtaking. The day was slightly overcast and that was the best type of weather to see the blue in the glaciers. Maura loved it as the color definitions in the pictures she was taking were phenomenal.

The helicopter landed on the glacier and they were able to walk out on the glacier. Jane had to be a smartass and ball up some snow looking ice into a snowball and throw it at Arianna, and also hit the pilot. Arianna retaliated and they both were scolded by the pilot who also acted as a guide. He was not to be out done though as he picked up some snow and nailed both of them with little snowballs. Jane and Arianna, both hit him with another snowball and just as he was going to throw another snowball at each of them Maura put a stop to their fun.

"Maur, you are such a party pooper sometimes." Jane said as she looked at her wife with a frown.

"Jane, please look down at where your feet are." Maura stated as she pointed behind Jane and Arianna.

Jane and Ari were not paying attention to their location on the ice and almost landed in the small river that was running through a divide in the ice. The pilot apologized and they went on to learning about the formation of the glacier and how it is shrinking every year due to global warming.

The pulled out a few drinking cups and told them they could have a drink from the little river. Jane took one of the glasses and had a drink. "That is cold, but the water is very good. Maur, you should try it." Jane handed her glass to Maura who took a sip of water and agreed, it was good. Arianna and Mario then each took a glass and tried the water. The pilot collected the glasses as they finished sampling the water.

After about half an hour of walking and playing at the base of the glacier they walked back to the helicopter. The pilot flew over the ice falls and the Mendenhall Towers. He explained to them that the Mendenhall Towers were rock sentinels that rose over 5,000 feet out of the glacier. Maura was busy taking pictures. Jane had one of Maura's older cameras and was taking pictures out her window. They were on opposite sides of the helicopter. The pilot told them he would make sure that people on both sides were able to see both sides of the Mendenhall Towers as he would turn around and fly the other direction.

It was a fun excursion but Maura and Ari were happy to be back on land, dry land. They boarded the cruise ship again and changed out of their clothes again and met up. They made sure Jane got some food in her belly before they disembarked to walk around the town of Juneau. The cruise ship was leaving port at 9 PM so they had a few hours to enjoy the sites of Juneau. There was one place that Mario and Jane insisted on visiting and that was the Red Dog Saloon.

It was almost 6:30 by the time they reached the Red Dog Saloon. They entered and grabbed a table. Jane and Mario wanted to drink some different types of beer. The ladies weren't too keen on that idea so they decided they would shop after they had a quick bite to eat with their spouses. Jane and Mario both decided to try the Klondike Ribs, while Maura and Arianna both had the Icy Strait Crab Cakes.

The Red Dog Saloon's floors were covered with sawdust and was still reminiscent of Juneau's glorious mining era. It was a place that provided hospitality to weary travelers and the citizens of Juneau. Jane loved the look of the place and going through the swinging wooden doors reminded her of old western movies, she loved it. She could picture old time gold miners making their way into the saloon after they had been out all day looking for their fortune in the neighboring hills.

Maura enjoyed a nice glass of Chardonnay while the others tried one of the local IPA beers with their dinner. Jane and Mario vowed that they were going to try each of the beers and also get souvenir glasses. Maura and Arianna were searching the Internet to see what else they could do and found out about the tram on Robert's Mountain and decided they wanted to do that instead of shopping. They agreed to meet Jane and Mario back on the ship. They kissed them and off they went. They needed enough time to get back to the boat before it left port at 9 PM.

When they got to the top of the mountain Maura took some additional pictures. It was so scenic and she could see for quite a ways. She took some pictures of Arianna with the mountains in the background and Arianna took some pictures of her with the mountains also. A passerby asked if they would like their picture taken together and Maura agreed and lent the man her camera to take a few pictures of them.

Maura and Arianna made sure they were on track to be back on the ship by 8:45 PM. They allowed a few extra minutes just in case. Jane and Mario walked back onto the boat at 8:57 PM. Maura and Arianna were a little worried but then were relieved when they saw their spouses walk back on the ship before they closed the doors. Jane just smiled at Maura hoping to offset any comments that might be made. Maura didn't say a word. They had already discussed what would happen if they missed getting back to the ship at any port, so Jane knew what would happen.

It had been a long day and everybody was tired. They went to the buffet line to grab a little bit of food before they called it a night. Jane saw something on Ari's plate that looked good, so while Ari was looking towards Mario Jane leaned over and forked a piece of the brownie. Arianna saw Jane's hand in the corner of her eye and captured Jane's wrist before she could get away with the bite of her brownie. They were both laughing but neither was giving in. "Maura, how have you tolerated her all these years? I'm sure she does this to you, also."

"She does and I just make sure I always have extra on my plate knowing she is going to reach over and eat from my plate as well. It's just in her nature and something I have tried over the years to break her of but gave up. As I said, my solution is to just put extra food on my plate." Maura explained as she smiled at Jane, who hadn't realized that Maura did that for her. "Just like I always carry snacks in my purse. They aren't for me but rather for my loving wife." Jane leaned over and kissed Maura as he let go of her fork with the piece of brownie on it.

"Oh my God you guys, get a room." Arianna said as she watched the two of them before turning to Mario.

"I think we will." Jane said as she rose to go to their room, grabbing Maura's hand to help her up.

"Jane, I'm not finished yet." Maura attempted to complain but Jane just gave her one of 'let's go to our room' smiles and she stopped protesting and simply said, "We'll see you guys in the morning."

Arianna and Mario smiled at them and continued to eat their food after Jane and Maura left. "Jane is so crazy, I really can't believe Maura puts up with her." Arianna told Mario.

"Maura loves Jane. She loves Jane's antics and always has. Jane makes her happy. She makes her laugh and feel a sense of belonging. Jane is so lucky to have found Maura, just like I am lucky to have found you." Mario leaned in to give Arianna a quick kiss. Arianna deepened the kiss and Mario pulled back.

"Maybe we should get a room, as you told Jane and Maura." They both laughed and quickly got up to go to their room.

Jane knew the walls were not that thick so she was trying hard to keep Maura's moans quiet. She found the best way to do that was to kiss her. She had never kissed Maura so much when they made love. I mean she kissed her but now she was kissing her the whole time except when she was down below and then she had a few fingers in Maura's mouth to keep her from screaming. Maura was too focused on sucking on Jane's fingers to scream.

They paused briefly when they heard Arianna and Mario enter the room next door. They heard them bump up against the wall that joined their room and then heard the shower go on. They didn't hear anything else so they continued what they were doing. Maura immediately changed positions once she partially recovered from her orgasm. When Jane started to make noise, she did the same thing Jane had done to her.

After Jane's orgasm they figured a shower would be nice and they quickly went into the bathroom to take a shower together. They stayed in the shower and continued to make love until they felt a drop in the temperature and then they got out and dried off. They knew they would have an easy day the next day as they would be in Skagway and would be on a train ride. They fell asleep rather quickly wrapped up naked in each other's arms. The slight swaying of the ship helped to lure them to sleep.