Ferry to Metlakatla

My mom came up to Alaska and we took a ferry from Whittier to Ketchikan: 2 days and 3 nights at sea heading roughly south-southeast through the numerous islands of the inside passage. At first the ferry trip was seeming rather dull, since there was dense fog and you could only see a tiny bit of water about 5 feet out on any side of the boat. On the second morning though, we woke up to see sunny, clear, blue skies with rocky islands covered in fir trees and mountains surrounding us. We spent the morning in port in Juneau, then the rest of the day hanging out on deck while sailing among these gorgeous mountains, some with glaciers and snow, others lower elevation and covered in fir trees. It often looked like we were headed for a dead end, with mountains all around, then suddenly a small channel would open up and we'd make a slight turn. The water was all various shades of caribbean green-blue, and sometimes two different shades of blue would juxtapose in a perfect line where two different currents met. There were also dozens of humpback whales near the boat at dinnertime, so we stood on deck and watched for spouts of water, fins, and the exciting tail flops around the boat. The problem with Alaska is that the light and clouds are constantly changing the views of the same mountains, it stays light super late, and you never want to go to bed because you're afraid you'll miss out on watching the beauty unfold.