Sitka Weekend

We had a great, but fast, visit to Sitka this last weekend. We took the ferry over and it was an enjoyable 4-hour cruise both ways. The schedule changed a little from normal due to a wrestling, volleyball, and swimming tournament/meet in Sitka. When we heard that there might be a bunch of HS kids on board we were prepared for a lot of energy. I have to say there were a bunch of really nice, well behaved kids on board. Most of them were doing their homework or sitting and listening to music. We happened to be sitting by one of the wrestling teams. Their coach had brought the scales aboard and they all had to weigh in. I felt pretty guilty and didn't really enjoy having my snack while watching some of the boys put on all of their sweats, overshirts, down coats, hats, etc. and do jumping jacks, sit-ups, etc. for hours while I sat on my butt eating and knitting. Tim kept making slurping noises in hopes that it would help them to loose weight by drooling.

Sitka is such a beautiful place and just about every time we got there we have nice weather. This weekend was no exception. The wind came up and blew for a bit and we had a rain storm just as we headed out the door for a walk, but neither one lasted very long and we enjoyed walking from the folk's house to all the harbors looking at boats, watching the birds, and enjoying being outside.

I have an admission to make. I started this post in April after I went to Sitka to meet up with Tim after a work meeting. I had the opportunity to walk around Sitka by myself, looking and going where I wanted to. It was a glorious day and I had fun exploring.

Here are some pictures from that visit:

Cresent Harbor with the Lighthouse in the background:




Russian History is much more prominent in Sitka than in other places in Alaska. I haven't been to Kodiak since high school but I image that Kodiak has a similar atmosphere.

Here is a replica of a Russian Block House used when the Russian-American Company was doing business.




And the lighthouse - I'm not sure if you can still rent this out for sleep-overs or not. I've had friends in the past who have done that and have had fun. We often thought about doing for Thanksgiving or a long weekend but haven't acted on it.


And looking back towards St Michael's from the bridge:


And the commercial harbor from the bridge: