Dear Editor: My family and I made a port visit to Sitka on Aug. 30 on Virgin Voyage’s Brilliant Lady and we were pleased by the experience. The scenery around town is breathtaking, and it was easy to get around on foot to visit the many shops available to us. We had a wonderful time and hope to return for a longer stay.
The highlight for my wife and I was a self-guided walking tour in the Sitka National Historical Park. We were stunned by the beauty we saw once we walked under the tree canopy. The temperature dropped by at least 10 degrees as we stopped in, and it felt like we were transported back in time. I jokingly told my wife to keep an eye open for dinosaurs. Seeing and hearing the salmon jumping in the Indian River was a special treat. I took some amazing photos that will hang in our home as a reminder of our visit.
My only complaint, and it has nothing to do with Sitka per se, is when I visited a few souvenir shops, I saw some small totems that would have been a meaningful keepsake to bring home. When I turned them over to see the price, I was dismayed to see they were made in China. I expected them to be made locally, given the number of authentic totem poles scattered around town.
Ted Harden, South Carolina
