Sitka, Alaska Port 3 Of Our Alaskan Cruise

Is Sitka on your Alaskan cruise itinerary? Lucky you! You might want to read this post before you go.

Read this post Cruising: A Budget Friendly Vacation if you are still on the fence about going on a cruise.

We didn't need to book an excursion in Sitka as we could easily get to Sitka National Historical Park on our own. All we had to do was find the free shuttle at the cruise port that would take us to downtown Sitka and then it would be a short walk to the park from Harrigan Centennial Hall where the shuttle would drop us off. The walk through this small town was definitely a highlight of our time in Sitka.

We passed this cute house and then looked again and realized it was a high school. It was the tiniest school any of us had ever seen.

Frank looks like the talented trainers we see at SeaWorld who ride on top of the whales. It definitely is safer to do this on a cement one.

We passed this playground along the way. It was so different from the playgrounds we are used to and all of us wished we had our grandkids with us so they could enjoy it. We also loved the Alaskan art and, even though we were not sure why this fish and sign were here, we liked this too! (It might be an advertisement for a restaurant? I'm still not sure lol!) 

Part of our walk to Sitka National Historical Park was near the Sitka Sound and we definitely enjoyed the views.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day and we were in no hurry so we just took our time and took it all in.

Before we knew it we were at Sitka National Historical Park.

We went into the Visitors Center to get all the information we needed to explore the park and headed in to find the Beach View Trail.

We saw a number of totem poles, all carved by Alaska Native carvers.

This one was called Yaadaas Crest. It was one of the more colorful works of art here.

The trail took us, for a stretch, along the Indian River. The views were gorgeous!

We sat a couple of times and relaxed and enjoyed the peacefulness of the area.

We headed back into town after our walk. We passed by St. Peter's by the Sea Episcopal Church on our way to the park.

We stopped in on the way back.

We passed the Russian Bishop's House, a National Historic Landmark, but we didn't stop in. We were starting to run out of time. Too much relaxing in the park.

Downtown Sitka seemed to be the place you performed whether you are a solo performer or sing with a band.

These performers were sitting in the back of St. Michael Archangel Orthodox Cathedral, another National Historic Landmark.

We didn't realize that visiting hours for the church was only from 12-2 so it was closed for the day. We were so disappointed that we decided to go shopping instead of touring the church first.

We did find lots of things to buy though and the guys found a husband bench so they were happy.

                                  

Then we really started to run out of time, the ship was leaving at 4:00, and we still had to ride the shuttle back. Luckily when we got to the shuttle stop people were just starting to board one and we jumped on line behind them. 

Back on the ship, we took one last look at Sitka before we sailed away.

                                       

We all really enjoyed our day in Sitka. It would have been nice if Sitka was on mine and Soko's back-to-back Alaskan cruise itinerary. We definitely would have made sure we got to see St. Michael Archangel Orthodox Cathedral. Maybe we will just have to plan a third Alaskan cruise!

Read about Port 1 of our Alaskan Cruise.

Juneau, Alaska

And Port 2.

Hoonah, Alaska

Have you been to Sitka? Did you get a chance to tour St. Michael Archangel Orthodox Cathedral? Please let us know in comments!

Perfect Gifts For The Traveling Mom

Are you looking for the perfect gift for your traveling mom? This post will give you some great ideas!

Read our post, 10 Father's Day Gift Ideas For The Traveling Dad, if you are going shopping for dad while you shop for mom.

                             

We have been doing a lot of traveling since we retired. We are so grateful that we are getting to live the life we dreamed of! Our kids know that they have traveling parents now and when they are looking for gifts for us, they keep that in mind . So for the benefit of my kids, and all kids and families with a traveling mom, this helpful list gives you 10 great gift ideas!

1. Travel Journal - Writing in a travel journal after a day of adventure is a great way to enjoy the day all over again. It's also a perfect way to remember all the small details of a fun vacation. This one won't take up much room at all in mom's suitcase.

2. Passport Holder - Having a passport holder keeps your passport safe from damage, gives you a place to put your insurance card or other important info you want a safe place for. This one conveniently comes with an AirTag attached so that you can find it if you misplace it.

3. AirTag - An AirTag on her passport is a great idea but mom could use another one or two. Putting an AirTag in her luggage makes it possible for her to keep track of her suitcase when she is separated from it. Click this link - AirTag Wallet Holder - if you think mom would want her AirTag in the holder pictured above. There are other types of holders too. Keychain holders for the AirTag are very popular and would make a great gift for mom.

4. Power Bank For Cell Phone

Your traveling mom probably uses her phone a lot more than usual when she's on vacation. A power bank would come in handy when her battery is done from taking one too many photos but she still has lots more she needs to take. This one is only a little bigger than a credit card, making it easy to travel with and use. Personalize this gift by picking one in her favorite color.

5. Packing Cubes

Packing cubes are great for organizing and makes it easy for mom to find that sweater she wants to wear without having to rummage through her entire suitcase. I love them for traveling in our RV and for when me and hubby are using the same suitcase. These particular packing cubes come in a few different fun patterns and would make a perfect gift for your traveling mom no matter how she is traveling.

6. Travelon Anti-theft Bag

Being a tourist in a crowed foreign city that Mom has never been in before can be very exciting but maybe a little stressful too. Give Mom a gift that will ease some of the stress. I personally love my bag. I never worry that I will get pickpocketed and that enables me to enjoy my surroundings more. Every zipper on my bag locks and the body and strap are slash proof making it impossible for a thief to vandalize.

7. Foldable Travel Bag

A foldable travel bag is lightweight and doesn't take up much space at all in Mom's luggage but can come in very handy for those times when she doesn't have room in her suitcase for all the souvenirs she bought. Or maybe she discovers she packed one too many pairs of shoes and, at the airport, finds out she will have to pay overweight charges for her luggage. Luckily she has packed the bag you bought her and she can transfer some of the heavier items into it. Now she has a standard carry-on sized bag that won't cost her a thing to bring on the plane with her.

8. Travel candles

Does your mom have a great sense of smell? That can be a problem if her hotel room is not smelling as fresh as she would like it to. Candles would make a perfect gift for her. She'll always have her room smelling as wonderful as her vacation is making her feel. These are tealights so they are very small and very easy to pack in any of her bags.

9. STANLEY Adventure Quencher Travel Tumbler

If your mom is anything like me, she makes sure that she packs her insulated water bottle everywhere she goes, including on vacation. Why not get her one she probably wouldn't buy for herself but she would love to own. STANLEY Tumblers are all the rage right now, with the Quenchers being the most popular. 

10. Kindle eReader

It is easy to pack as many books as she likes in her suitcase if Mom has a Kindle. The text is as clear in bright sunlight as it is indoors so Mom can read her Kindle whether she is at the beach or relaxing at the indoor pool. If mom has a library card, let her know that she can download the Libby app. She'll be able to borrow free ebooks, digital audiobooks and magazines from her local library.

11. Rick Steves' Travel Books

If your mom is traveling to Europe, she will definitely appreciate a Rick Steve's guide to her destination. I have a ton of his books and count on them to help me chose the best accommodations, places to eat, things to do and see. I especially got a lot use out of my favorite guide - Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports.

Read this post if your mom travels in an RV.

10 Items You Should Have On Your Camping List

This post was featured:

Eclectic Red Barn

Women Living Well After 50

Photo & Story Treasurers

April J Harris

Do you have a mom who loves to travel? Have you found the perfect gift for her?

Hoonah, Alaska Part 2 Icy Strait Cruise Port

Is Icy Strait Point on your Alaskan cruise itinerary? Read this post before you go. 

And read this post - 10 Father's Day Gift Ideas For The Traveling Dad - if you are taking this cruise with your dad and want to surprise him with a gift.

When we were in Hoonah the first time, during Part 1 of our back to back Alaskan cruise, we went whale watching and walked into the town of Hoonah. On our return here we knew we wanted to explore Icy Strait Point as we didn't see much of it when we were here just about a week ago.

Icy Strait Point is a cruise destination and is only open when a ship is in port. Then it is open to locals as well. There is so much to do that you could spend at least half a day here. It was a short walk down a pier from our cruise ship to get to here. The first thing you see is the Duck Point Smokehouse restaurant. 

I wanted to try their crab tater-tots but we wound up not stopping in on our way back to the ship like we thought we would. We did do a ton of other fun things. The first thing we did here, or I did, was take a peek in the gift shop. Soko waited for me by the firepit just outside the store. He wasn't the only hubby who had the same idea.

To Soko's surprise, I didn't buy anything. Our next stop was to the Transporter.

There are two docking ports at Icy Strait Point. You can hop into a gondola and it will transport you to the other port or you can take a 15 minute walk on the Nature Trail.

We took the gondola ride to get from Wilderness Landing, where our ship was, to Ocean Landing.

On the Ocean Landing side we found the Information & Tours building where you can book a number of excursions. I'm sure there must have been a number of people buying tickets for a ride on the world's largest Zip Rider. 

On this side, we found a gift shop that I did look in but again didn't buy anything which again surprised Soko and even surprised myself.

That was all there was on this side to see so we took the Nature Trail back to the Wilderness Landing side. 

We came across this warning sign. "Stay calm" and "Don't run" was the advice this sign gives you when you see a bear. I was pretty sure that I would not be able to stay calm and not run. Luckily, we didn't have to find out how we would react to seeing a bear.

We saw our ship behind some trees. We left the trail and headed toward it.

We landed up on the beach where we read we would find a tide pool. 

We explored the tide pool very slowly, cautiously and carefully. The rocks were not that easy to walk on and we definitely didn't want to hurt any of the creatures on them.

We had never seen a tide pool before. We concluded that it is one of nature's most unique and amazing sights and one we were thankful that we got to experience.

Then we headed to the boardwalk and past The Cookhouse Restaurant where they serve fresh local seafood among other things. We might have stopped in here for their famous Alaskan halibut & chips if we didn't just finish having a late and huge breakfast at the ship's buffet.

At the end of the boardwalk we found the cannery museum. Icy Strait Point was built as a salmon cannery in the early 1900's and was one until 1953. In 2001 it became the tourist attraction it is today.

You learn about the process of changing from fresh salmon to canned. I bought a can of salmon on our first trip here.

Good To Know: If you buy canned salmon, do not try to take it on the plane in your carry on. It will be confiscated like mine was. Put it in your checked-in suitcase.

Just behind the museum you can find a venue for performances featuring Tlingit dancers. You can book an excursion with your cruise line to see the show which we didn't do but once we were here we wished we had.

Another thing I wanted to do was buy and eat some of these donuts. I had read about them while I was researching things to do in Hoonah. Both times we were here the line to buy donuts was very long and slow moving. We did stand on the line for them twice and left the line twice.

Behind the donut kiosk we found the ticket booth that you can buy tickets for the bus that takes you into downtown Hoonah if you don't want to walk the mile and a half to town. The cost of a round trip ticket was $5 in May of 2024. We went into town on our first trip here so we didn't need to go this time.

After checking out everything Icy Strait Point had to offer, we headed back to the ship.We saw an orca,  on our first visit, at this port. We took one last look before we boarded the ship but it was very quiet in the waters of Port Frederick and Icy Strait. 

This was the only picture of a whale we got this time!

We spent half a day at Icy Strait Point and were very entertained and we wound up not even spending a penny here. Although I would have loved to have bought some donuts. Oh well. That gives us an excuse to come back!

Read about our first visit to Hoonah here.

Hoonah, Alaska

Have you been to Alaska? Was Hoonah one of your favorite cities? Did you visit Icy Strait Point? We would love to hear all about your trip!