This is the final version of my trips report for the month of June. We first went to Celebration 2024 in Juneau via Seattle, came back home and discovered that I tested positive for Covid. Then at the end of the month we visited the family in NYC.

The organization of the trips started in the Fall of 2023 when friends invited us to go to Juneau for the 2024 Celebration. They are serious collectors of contemporary Northwest Indigenous art and donors for the restitution of historical objects that were in private hands. While we were not given special treatment in Juneau, several anonymous individual came up to them to personally thank them for their (substantial) donation to the restitution efforts.

Our friends live in Seattle but have a pied-ΰ-terre in San Francisco. Whenever they come down we usually spend a day with them visiting the Bay Area. They had lived in Palo Alto so we concentrate on the for them lesser known SF, North and East bay areas. So our trip really started in Seattle where we visited a couple of art galleries specializing in Indigenous art, and of course the Seattle museums for their collections.



Our friends are also serious wine collectors and cooks, which meant that we had a wonderful meal at their house, with shared Pike Place market products and preparations.


Added to that was an evening at the Herb Farm as their guest—this time we did not have to pay. We were familiar with the restaurant from past visits, and while there has been a change in personnel, the meal was as good as ever. As the web site indicates, it is a special occasion restaurant.

https://www.theherbfarm.com/menu/


We originally wanted to go to Seattle to stay with the friends and then come back from Juneau directly to San Francisco. It turned out to be impossible. The flights from Juneau to SF would require many intermediate points and long lay-overs leading to an overnight stop somewhere along the line. So we booked a RT from SF to Seattle and another RT from Seattle to Juneau, coordinating with our friends to be on the same flights. And we were their overnight guests on our return trip.

Since a weekend of celebration was taking place, Alaska airlines jacked up to price going to Juneau to the point that it cost us $1254 RT for two. We usually take the cheapest flights available, which begin at $150 one way. The Hotel Baranof, $1,852 for four nights, is downtown Juneau and nothing fancy. This is congestion pricing. Our friends stayed in a much nicer B&B.

Celebration is a biennial event that celebrates the survival and continued reassertion of Indigenous culture. For the outsider it is mainly three days of dance and parade of people in full regalia. But there are also side events. One was a

Northwest Coast Juried Art Show & Competition with the following Categories:
2D & Relief Carving
Carving and Sculpture (stained glass $1,700)
Endangered Arts (spruce hat $24,000)
Sewing
Weaving


The announcement of the prizes occurred on the first day, before the Processional and Grand Entrance which lasted a couple of hours. The same was true of the Recessional. It probably included more than the dance groups because some individuals, like this one


did not fit the general regalia style. Singers were around the stage drumming and singing continuously the same song with what I assumed was the insertion of each group as it reached the stage. I was surprised that the voices lasted that well.


The Event Schedule listed a presentation on Chilkat Dye Research Results, Dance performances (in different venues), Toddler Regalia Review, and other events


We paid $20 per person for four days of free access to the main hall, which, from what I could tell, was the only venue requiring proof of purchase—done with a wrist band, One day there also was a parade through the middle of town with relatively few spectators given that there were four cruise ships in the harbor.


Juneau is not a destination by itself. It finds itself overwhelmed by the cruise ships that probably double the population of the city, and there is talk of limiting the number of ships that can dock at the same time. But the government offices are not enough to sustain the town and it needs visitors. There are things to see in Juneau. The river front is lined with totem poles, each representing a different tribe.


The Alaska State Museum presents a history of Alaska, starting with the Indigenous population.


and a small city museum which happened to have a special exhibit on Ravenstail regalia


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravenstail_weaving

There is a cable car ride that offers a view of Juneau and its fjord. The ride is pricey, the food at the top is pub food of decent quality, and there is an option of walking back down on a forest trail; but not in June as there are patches of snow and the trail tends to be muddy.


The choice of restaurants is limited although we had no terrible meals. The best of the lot, and also the most expensive is In Bocca al lupo ($130 for two) which with its appetizers is a step higher than a pasta/pizza restaurant. If I recall correctly, we shared two appetizers and I had polpette as my main dish, although it was part of the appetizers.

In Bocca Al Lupo

https://vscellardoor.com/ is Korean/Mexican fusion restaurant ($82 for two), with some interesting dishes.

The Timberline Bar and Grill ($51 for two) has two locations: one by the port and one on top of the mountain. We took the cable car to the top and had decent pub food.

https://www.hangaronthewharf.com/ ($55 for two) provided another lunch.

We generally drank beer rather than wine. The local product is good.

That’s it for our Juneau trip. Here are the pictures, and I am having difficulties narrowing down the choice.

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBuZXv

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjp6yvyR

We came home, I caught Covid along the way. But 15 days later we flew to NYC for a few days.

In terms of touristic activities enjoyed the Harlem Renaissance exhibit at the Met


and a Sonia Delaunay at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery on West 86th St.


We also had a day’s outing to Coney Island. The others had a Nathan’s hotdog, I opted for raw clams. They were good, but I prefer steamed mussels. It was an overcast day, so the beaches were not crowded and the rides did not begin before 11 a.m.; surprising for a Saturday. The amusement ride area is relatively small, creating a jumble of colors and shapes. In its own way it is fascinating and is worth a subway ride to see it.



We ate well in NYC, mostly at home. One disappointment for me was the Pastrami Queen, $77.81 for four, which was apparently recommended by Anthony Bourdain. Was it his form of slumming on the upper east side? The pastrami sandwich was OK; I’ve had better .

One restaurant to be recommended is Madre (https://www.madrenyc.com/ $465 for five) out in Queens. Pleasant atmosphere, not too loud and the food was excellent


But the one discovery for us is Tashkent supermarket, and we have already decided that the day after our arrival in NYC we will trek to Tashkent to take food either back home or eat as a picnic as we did this time, taking the leftovers home: Taschkent Supermarket ($69.18)
https://tashkentsupermarket.com/

Here are the two albums that cover this trip and more:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAx1Xt

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAx24R

The day before our return the West Coast I visited a friend in Connecticut who survived the war hiding in the Netherlands. She is now 99 years old and only recently gave up driving. Previously when I visited her, she insisted on providing lunch at home, but this time we went to a restaurant, which makes much more sense. A visit gives her the opportunity to leave the house. We do not talk about her past but if interested in her story, here’s her interview: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn713345