Alaska!

The week before school started, we took a trip to Sitka, Alaska. Todd's business partner, Tom, has a cabin on an island out there, a 15 minute boat ride from the mainland, which is where we stayed. We were worried we wouldn't be able to safely handle the kids and the boat alone, so we brought Todd's parents, Larry and Ellen, along. 

Our huge suitcase, full of rain boots and all mine and Todd's clothes, and our nice camera, and Todd's laptop, didn't make it on the plane, and we were all pretty worried about that, but it came in on the next flight, several hours later, so it turned out okay after all. While we waited, we bought the kids lifejackets, and ate some delicious pizza at a place called the Mean Queen, and snagged a bunch of groceries to take to the cabin, and stopped at a place called Whale Park, with binoculars to look out and hopefully see some whales. At least four different types cross through each year.

The path from the dock to the cabin was lined in wild blueberry bushes. We all loved snacking as we walked through, but especially the kids. They went out many times to pick berries and came back with red mouths. 

Our first full day in Sitka, we visited the Alaska Raptor Center, where they take in bald eagles and owls and other big birds that have been injured. If they can be returned to the wild, they are; otherwise, they can stay at the Raptor Center permanently . There were a ton of bald eagles to observe through a one-way mirror, and we heard a presentation about a snowy owl, and saw lots of other birds on the grounds. 

Then we took a walk on a path near the center, which welcomed us with a warning sign that we were entering brown bear habitat and should proceed with caution. We did, in fact, see spots off the path where the plants had been smashed to the ground on the way to the river, which was chock full of salmon. No actual bear sightings, but I was nervous whenever my kids turned a bend in the path and were out of view. 

Todd tried his hand at reaching into the water to grab a salmon, but wasn't quite fast enough. Evidently, you need claws to do so successfully. 

That afternoon we went to Fortress of the Bear, a spot created to save orphaned bear cubs. They were at full capacity with eight now-grown bears, five brown bears and three black bears. It is one of those places that underwhelms when you walk in, but as we sat and just observed the bears, it was actually really cool and hard to leave. The bears have been there so long, their caretakers have taught them some basic sign language to use at feeding time, like "more" and "all done." 

Day three I stayed at the cabin with Gemma while everyone else woke up early and went out on the water to fish for salmon. They were gone for a long time, but didn't have much fishing success. The water was choppy and it was hard on the kids, and they wouldn't have done well going out to the real fishing grounds, so they hung close by. While they were out, they were lucky enough to see a pod of humpback whales! I'm glad I missed a day on the boat, but I am so sad I didn't see the whales. I'm glad Hazel and Jack got to have that cool experience.

That afternoon we went on a hike to Heart Lake. It was only 1.3 miles, but it had plenty of switchbacks and was just about the perfect challenge level for our kiddos. The scenery was lovely, and the kids and Ellen had fun watching for banana slugs. Jack ended up holding about ten at once. It was quite the challenge getting all that slime off his hands afterwards!

Our fourth day was pretty rainy, but we all had boots and rain jackets and we didn't want to miss out on the fun, so we were still out and about. We saw some (disappointing) Russian dancers in the morning and then checked out the Sitka Science Center, which had a great touch pool for the kids to explore, as well as a salmon hatchery that was interesting.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Sitka National Historic Park/Totem Park, which had a really great museum, a nice hike with multiple native Alaskan totem poles on display, and a fun rock beach, which would have been awesome for tide pooling at low tide in the sun.

That evening, on the boat ride back to the cabin, in the pouring rain, we saw a couple of sea lions eating fish in the water. We stopped and watched for a long time. It was unreal, being so immersed in nature. All the trees, the plants, the animals, it was all just super serene and beautiful and most definitely relaxing. 

Our last night, I finally got to see the sun set (the other nights I was laying with the kids, trying to get them to sleep all at once in one big, open room). The cabin has a gorgeous view, and it was always relaxing to just sit and look out. We saw an otter out by the deck one day. That was cool.

Our last morning was spent cleaning the cabin, then taking one last hike. We also drove to the end of the 12 miles of road, sightseeing.

Our daily commute: Bundle up for the 15 minute boat ride. Jack would link his arm through mine, Gemma would sit on my lap, and Hazel would spread her arms out into the wind and laugh as she got hit with sea spray.

Hazel said, "I loved when we got on the boat and when I got to feel the wind. And the bear preserve and the raptor place. And the cabin, how it had that secret door to put notes in." Yeah, the kids had a blast playing at the cabin, too.

Jack said he loved "the bear preserve park and the bird one. It had a bunch of bald eagles. And the sea lions." I think his favorite was probably the touch pools at the science center. He did not want to leave!

Gemma said, "I like the ocean a lot." She actually hated being on the boat. Her favorite was probably really the berry picking. She was crazy for that!

Todd and I both agreed that the hiking was the best part of the trip, and we feel we only tapped the surface of what was available. We are looking forward to a return trip in the future, so we can keep exploring beautiful Sitka!