Northern Exposure . . . remember the quirky TV show? Sitka reminded me so much of the little Alaskan town, Cicely, in Northern Exposure. Buildings were made of wood and painted colors faded by the weather. Originally settled by the Tlingit tribe over 10,000 years ago, Russians discovered the area in 1799 and set up trapping Sea Otters for their luxurious pelts and created a major trading post. They nearly killed all the sea otters in this endeavor. Russians controlled the area until they sold the territory to the United States in the Alaska Purchase for $7.2 million in 1867.

Today the population of the area is only about 9,000 - except on days the cruise ships are in port, then depending on how many cruise ships are in port, it can be upwards of 15,000 or more. Sitka is a series of islands, accessible only by boat or plane. Virtually everything consumed in Sitka is brought in by sea plane or ship therefore everything is very expensive and quantities are limited. If the two grocery stores run out of milk, there will be no milk until the next time a ship arrives. They do have paved roads, all 14 miles of them. All cars and other vehicles arrived via ferry only. Most people here walk wherever they are going.

As we entered the town, the first thing we saw was a little Lutheran Church - Sitka Lutheran Church, the first protestant church on the Pacific coast built in 1840. Although the original church was burned and torn down long ago, the modest church building we visited was built in 1967. It houses some items from the original church such as a 1844 Kessler pipe organ, various singed crosses and the crude original pulpit. Volunteers greeted us and educated us on the history and importance of this little place. For Pastor Stephen's sake, we snapped a photo of us all at the baptismal font.

Our excursion for the day was to seek out sea otters in the Sitka Sound. We boarded a boat that had a comfortable inside cabin and plenty of deck space for those who liked to brave the elements. The scenery was peaceful and pristine. We motored past islands in a wash of brown striped shorelines and forests of deep green accented by soft blue of the clouded sky. Not a building in sight except for a solitary light house. Hot coffee in hand in the comfort of the inside cabin, we sat back and watched Mother Nature go by.

Sea otters are attracted to kelp and the shell fish that are caught up in the plants. We found sea otters, first just one or two here and there, lying on their backs or with heads all-popped up staring curiously at the boat of people who had come into their territory. Cute! I mean they are some of the cutest animals we've ever seen. And they are big! Some are as tall as me. We found more and more of them and finally we stumbled upon an entire colony. Mothers had babies resting on their bellies as they lay back on the kelp munching on their catch of shellfish. I forget the exact details, but Sea Otters are mammals which of course means they are warm-blooded. But they don't have the layer of fat that keeps them warm like sea lions or whales so they must rely on their dense luxurious fur to keep them warm and dry. They must eat constantly, consuming about 25% of their body-weight every day in order to retain their body temperature. What a life! Wear a fur coat and eat ¼ of your weight in seafood a day???

We saw our first bald eagles on this excursion too. We were told to scan the tree line on shore looking for something like a golf ball at the top of the trees. Now you know how to spot an eagle - it works too.

We, some of us—not Tessa and not Cody, sampled locally smoked salmon—it's a little stinky but good-- and had hot cocoa and cookies on our way back to town and ultimately to the ship.

Late that afternoon before dinner we played Phase 10. Tessa won!

Each night there is plenty of entertainment on board ship. We tried to see as much as possible. Although you will seldom see a well-known entertainer on board, the acting, singing and dancing talent of the performers is well worth seeing. I always find live performances invigorating, fascinating and uplifting. Worked-up as we were Tessa, Stan and I decided to check-out the silent dance party. At this event, people are given headphones and choose to listen and dance to music played by the red, green or blue DJ. Without headphones, nothing is heard. But all around people with headphones are dancing like crazy each to different selections of music! We danced! Oh yeah, did we dance! For a while Tessa just watched like, oh boy, what won't my grandparents do to embarrass me! Then she joined it too. That girl can do it!