Sincerely, Denise

SUKOI INLET TO SITKA

Wednesday, July 1st

Officially we can’t check in and dock until 12 Noon, so we had a reasonable departure at 8AM today, as it’s about a 3 hour run – we are going to try to land early. It’s pouring – again – seems to be the norm for weather this year. The cruise down to Sitka was still beautiful through shallows and narrow channels, one cannot deny the beauty of Alaska. We arrived to find one boat on the linear dock we were assigned so we let the Bryan’s head in to take the remaining spot and we waited for the other one to clear. The kids arrive at 1PM today, so we don’t have a lot of time to spare. The other boat finally left at 12:05, we got ourselves docked and settled, and I left with the Abells to head up to the airport to pick up the rental car and Jenn, Spencer, Sycamore and Summer who will spend the next 4 days with us at the dock. Boating in Alaska isn’t really for young kids, there is a lot of running time, down time, and of course the rain. Just isn’t a lot to do for young ones. But since we are staying at the dock with the ability to get off and go adventuring, it works. Today blossomed into our first sunny day in a long while and it was just wonderful!! The cabin heated up with the sun streaming in the windows to the extent we had to open the doors and get some airflow! After a late lunch at the Bayview Pub, Jenn and I did a grocery run and we spent the rest of the evening on the boat catching up. Sitka is such a beautiful town, with little islets in the bay hosting beautiful homes perched on the rocks. People have to access their homes by boat, so there are a lot of elaborate docks as well. If we get more sun I will try to post pictures later. We are here for the 4^th of July celebrations which span over 5 days. There are events every day, including 2 days of a carnival, two parades, native dancers, movie screenings, all kinds of fun. We are also planning a trip to Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center, both of which are rescue/rehabilitation centers for the respective creatures. We think the littles will love it.