Sitka To Vancouver — Alaska Cruise — 50th Anniversary Adventure

Sitka - Day 10, August 21, 2026

Eagles, Bears, and a Long History

We made port Friday morning and headed ashore to explore Sitka.

**A greeting as we arrived at the dock**

Along the rugged coastline of Alaska’s Inside Passage, Sitka is one of the most historically significant ports on our cruise — a genuine blend of Tlingit heritage, Russian influence, and American history. It started as a Tlingit village, was settled by Russian fur traders, and eventually became the capital of Russian America. Then, not long after the U.S. Civil War ended, it was right here in Sitka that the flag officially changed hands: in 1867, the United States bought the whole territory from Russia for $7.2 million, a deal so widely mocked at the time that it earned the nickname “Seward’s Folly” (little did the critics know). Today, cruise visitors get the far friendlier version — a charming seaside town with rich history, beautiful scenery, and no shortage of wildlife.

We booked the Best of Sitka tour, which started with a bus ride to the Alaska Raptor Center, a rescue facility for injured birds of prey — mostly eagles, but owls and hawks too.

**A young bald eagle, they don't get the distinguishing white head until two or three years old**

From there we headed to Fortress of the Bears, a rescue center that can only care for a handful of bears at a time, but gives visitors a safe look from a raised platform.

**A lucky bear being cared for at the center**

**Another one just as lucky and content as can be**

Our third stop was Sitka National Historical Park, where we found a stream with salmon still running.

**I don't know how to tell what kind of salmon these are**

Fifty Years

And now, the real reason today was special.

Becky and I celebrated our fiftieth — the big 50 — wedding anniversary. We were married at 2:00 pm on Saturday, August 21, 1976, in Westminster, CA, and now have a family of two boys, Andrew and Matthew. Their spouses are Erin and Tasha. Andrew and Erin have five kids of their own (our grandkids): Micah, Noah, Silas, Harmony, and Ezra. Matthew and Tasha have three (also our grandkids): Asher, Timothy, and Everly.

We celebrated the milestone the way we’ve celebrated most things on this cruise — over an excellent dinner, this time back at Prime 7.

**Us at Prime 7 on Regent Seven Seas Explorer, Aug 21, 2026**

Our cabin stewardess had a surprise waiting when we got back that evening: one of her towel creations, fittingly romantic for the occasion.

Fog, Fjords, and a Very Small Town - Days 11-12, August 22-23, 2026

Saturday was billed as cruising Holkham Bay’s glacier fjords, but dense fog made navigating them too risky, so the captain wisely opted out — even though we’d all already been drilled on our emergency procedures, just in case. Today turned into another sea day instead — not what we’d been looking forward to, but there are worse ways to spend a day than relaxing aboard ship.

Sunday brought us to a port day at Klawock, Alaska. You’ve never heard of Klawock? Neither had we. It’s one of those ports cruise ships stop at because, well, they have to stop somewhere. It’s a small town — roughly 700 residents — that swells a bit each summer with seasonal workers. Probably lovely to visit, if it isn’t raining.

The Explorer anchored near the small dock and tendered us ashore by lifeboat. The excursion started out fine: a bus ride (with a very nice seasonal driver) to a Tlingit clan house near a river, where an American woman who’d joined the clan gave a long, thorough background on Tlingit culture. Then the rain started coming down — lightly, but persistently enough to get everyone wet. Most of the group decided to skip the riverwalk and asked the driver to just take us back to the dock, which he did. So we cut the excursion short and went back to enjoying comfortable ship life.

**Before abandoning our excursion, we spied an eagle atop a tree. It was the most interesting part of the excursion**

**Inside the Tender/Lifeboat going back to the Explorer**

That turned out to be our last excursion of the cruise — we’d already cancelled our excursion in Victoria, Canada, which looked like just a bus tour around the city, and Becky and I had already spent several very nice days there back in 2024.

Winding Down - Days 13-14, August 24-25, 2026

Day 13 was an “at sea” day, which meant relaxing for us. Day 14 was Victoria, and since we’d cancelled our shore excursion there, that meant another relaxing day — aside from packing and putting our large suitcases out by 8:00 pm for an early departure the next morning.

Debarkation Day - Day 15, August 26, 2026

Ouch. Day 15 is our day of debarkation: up at 6:00 am, off the ship by 8:00 am, transferred to the airport, and hoping the flight to Sacramento isn’t cancelled.

Gallery: Lucia’s Towel Art

Our stateroom stewardess, Lucia, kept us entertained the whole cruise with her towel creations. A few of our favorites:

**Towel elephant and cake for Becky's birthday**

**Kissing swans for our 50th anniversary**