Christmas in Sitka

At the last minute we decided to take the ferry over to Sitka for Christmas. The ride over is only 4-hours long on the fast ferry and the trip over is a really enjoyable ride. The schedule works out pretty good for us - over on Thursday morning and back on Sunday night. Sitka is such a pretty place and it is always nice to visit. The Ferry service had the lounge area decorated with holiday lights and a tree. Since we have been traveling so much and just getting moved into our new house, we didn't get a tree up this year. So it was nice to see one.


It was pretty gray going over and back and with the limited daylight we had about 1-2 hours each way that was in the dark. But besides a bit of gray and a few drizzles, the sea was calm and very little wind made for a smooth ride.


Going through the narrows I always look for deer that might come to the beach in search of seaweed or other sea vegetables. But they must hear the vessel coming because I never see any.


Sitka has 4 small boat harbors that you can walk around and we spent time on each visit looking at boats. There are many people who live on their boats and they often decorate with holiday lights. We've picked out a few boats that we really like and sometimes they are even for sale but unfortunately, the price tag doesn't make it feasible. This time we noticed that there were a lot more boats with "For Sale" signs in the windows. We even found one that we might call on.

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:

Spring is in the Air (and the Sea!)

We went to Sitka this weekend where it truly felt like spring. And there was evidence all over town too:





And then this morning I woke up to the first cruise ship in town for the season. A Fred Olsen Cruise Line ship called Balmoral. Its on a world cruise with final port of call being in England. Regular cruise ship traffic begins at the end of next week.


hmmmp: My grandfather's name was alFRED and I'm an OhLSEN - I wonder if we're related? Long lost cousin fred?

Perseverance Theater - Battles for Fire and Water

This last weekend Tim, Barb and I walked up to the Perseverance Theater to see their newest play called, Battles for Fire and Water, a portrayal of the Tlingit and Russian conflict in 1804 in Sitka. The production was very good and the acting was great. The part of Baranof was very well executed and the physical characteristics were so very close to what I had in my mind when I think of that Russian America Company leader. I'm constantly impressed with the quality of productions that come from the theater. The production was spoken in three languages: English, Tlingit and Russian but it didn't seem confusing or repetitive. Even the actors took on contrasting roles: sometimes they were the Tlingit and other times they were the Russians. The Empire has a good synopsis.

The play was inspired by Anooshi Lingit Aani Ka, Russians in Tlingit America: The Battles of Sitka 1802 and 1804 by Nora and Richard Dauenhauer and Lydia Black. All authors have done a lot of research on the Tlingits and the Russians. I have heard very good reviews on the book as well as on their other works.

Since I'm taking an Alaska History class this semester, this play was a great review for me and I really enjoyed some of the more obscure word choices and actions. I guess the only way I would have enjoyed it more is if I understood Russian and/or Tlingit!

Nice weekend in Sitka

We had a nice long weekend in Sitka. I love taking the ferry! The ride is about 4 1/2 hours - perfect for snacking, reading, and knitting; it isn't so long that you get really bored and its long enough so you can relax. We have our favorite seats that give us a view out the front and one side and we don't have anyone in front of us. Apparently some of the other folks traveling down with us like their seats because a lot of us found ourselves in the same spots on the return trip! Yes, we humans can be trained!

We had daylight most of the way over - the sun was just peaking through when the lines where dropped. On the way back it got dark about 4pm or so. They turn the lights off in the front cabin to make navigating easier so the last hour we sat quietly watching the GPS position on the map.

The weather was typical - some sun, some rain, a little wind, high 30s and night and mid-40s during the day. Fairly tropical!

On Saturday we attended and Arts and Crafts show at Centenial Hall. I forgot to take any pictures inside of the actual craft tables but did get this snapshot of Tim's folks puchasing a Christmas wreath for their front door. I thought there were more tables then in past years. A lot of photographs, greeting cards, beaded necklaces and earrings, a few preserves and food items, knitted and crocheted items.


One interesting idea that was pretty cool was lighted glass blocks wrapped with a bow to look like a present that you could set under your Christmas tree or place on your mantle. Beware! Some drilling may be required!

We took a smoked turkey from Jerry's Meats over on the ferry with us. We sure enjoyed it and we didn't have all the mess of cooking it! Its always nice to get out for a walk to work off some of the calories from eating all the time. Saw this cute little stump in one of the neighborhoods close by.

We arrived and out comes the SUN!

Sitka – what a beautiful place–when the sun is shining! We had a very nice visit with Tim's folks and you couldn't have asked for better weather. One afternoon Tim and I walked from the house on Mt Edgecumbe down through town, past Cresent Harbor to Totem Park. It was a nice little walk and we enjoyed seeing the sites along the way.

The requisite totem pole picture:


The awesome view of downtown Sitka and Mt Edgecumbe from Totem Park


And voted "best view" from a fast-food restaurant – no one minds waiting in the drive-through line here!


Crazy Salmon doing head butts into the metal gate – "com'on guys…all together now…on three, 1…2…3…thump"



St Peters by-the-Sea



Soon before heading to the ferry terminal, we took a short drive to Blue Lake out the end of the road towards where the saw mill was. Tim's Mom said the chocolate factory opened up in the building but we didn't have time to stop. The lake is about 5 miles in on a nice dirt road - we didn't venture down the hill to the lake - we'll have to save that for another trip. I think we might bring our bikes next time and try this trail out. There's also a hiking trail that goes from here over to Thimbleberry Lake - a relatively new trail was completed some time this winter.