btw.. i have checked a number of sites so I do have some restaurant names.. but I'd love recommendations from experience!

My Brother and SIL live in Alaska and actually used to live in Juneau. I'll ask them for you.

Oh Ellendi, that would be great! Thanks so much!

My SIL just got back to me. It seems her favorite places have since closed. Sorry. Trip Advisor?

Funky....I've emailed my BFF who lived in Juneau for twenty years and has a son around your nephew's age. They live in Hawaii now but both were recently in Juneau visiting family. I may not hear from her as she is flying to the Midwest tomorrow morning, but I'll certainly let you know if I do.

Thank you all! Yeah, I am not inclined to use tripadvisor too heavily this time-- again, Juneau is a cruise ship stop so a lot of the dining reviews (and menus for that matter) are for/from that audience. Of course, the cruise ships won't be there in November.. and many of the restaurants shut down.

Ellendi, oh too bad. Thanks for checking!

Thanks for the NYT link, Mtn.. and for checking with your friend, Joanie!

Adding a link to the "36 hours in Juneau" piece from the NYT. It is 6 years old, but I checked a couple of the restaurant links, and they still work.

Funky.....I had a brief conversation with my friend and off the top of her head:

Restaurants----The Rookery....more of a coffee house, breakfast/lunch place and Hangar on the Wharf for lunch/dinner.

Things to do---

Mendenhall Glacier

Mt Juneau---you can take a tram up and there are hiking trails, then hike down

Auke Bay for kayaking, etc.

Also, he can go to the Foggy Mountain Shop on Franklin St. They are an outfitter shop but have info on excursions and outdoor activities.

Hope this helps.

Thanks so much, Joanie! I am certain he knows the places to go for hiking/ice climbing.. he loves to kayak but given that he spends the majority of his time on a boat at sea, I am not sure kayaking is how he'll spend his time-- but my sister and her husband are heading out to see him next summer so they will LOVE that info too.

I love that your friend noted Foggy Mountain Shop. I had decided I wanted to get him a GC until I remembered his small quarters.

The restaurants in the NYT articles and from your friend's recommendations all help. There just aren't many to choose from! The Rookery is such an interesting place-- breakfast cafe by day and interesting/inventive dining at dinner. Salt also looks amazing.. but I am going to go with the Hangar on the Wharf. The fact that it is in an old hangar is right up his alley-- and the the from what I've read (and your friend's recommendation) it is where locals go. I think he'll enjoy it.

I will send him both the NYT articles to give him ideas for things to do as well. They've been in port a few weeks so he may have already done some hiking etc.

They spent much of the last 8 months at sea (his NOAA boat is charting the ocean floor and tracking a very old whale). The experience is extraffordinary and he has some amazing photos. I think for Christmas I will get him a leather bound custom photo album.. I did the same for his Eagle Scout trip to Colorado many years ago. I think I'll try to arrange a salmon bake or a home cooked meal for him when he is next in Seattle.

Thank you all!