Sitka...Arrived a week ago (tomorrow) and will probably be here another week (or so)

                                          

We arrived at Sitka's Eliason Harbor on Thursday last week.   Unfortunately, Bowhaus has a serious port engine problem that is still being worked on.  It involves shipping parts up from the Lower 48 and, also, shipping parts over the Juneau for specialty repairs.  That sucks but, honestly, we couldn't be stuck in a better place.  Sitka is our absolute favorite Alaskan port.  (Main Attraction seen left in Eliason Harbor)                
     

Dinner at the Channel Club was excellent 

and offered a beautiful view

Darren Witt, our hairdresser from Bellevue, flew in Friday night.  

On Saturday, he set up shop in Main Attraction's Galley.

First he did Ginnie's hair 

And then he did Margi's 

Later that day, he cut and colored hair for 3 friends we met along the way.  Darren's Sitka Salon was so busy that Torben had to wait until the next afternoon to get in for a trim.  

On Sunday, eight of our friends flew in to celebrate the 4th of July with us: Joanne & Rick Bohdanowicz, Debbie and Paul Davis, Laurie Stack & Spencer Arnot, Teresa Lulich and John Petersen.

Laurie and Spencer brought their dog, Keltie, who is Chester's Westie girlfriend.

After pizza at the Mean Queen (Sitka's best), we stayed up (with difficulty) for the fireworks in the harbor at midnight on the 3rd.  It's not dark enough until then!  

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The group rented an amazing home on a small private island.  A long suspension bridge connects it to the mainland.  

The whole gang posed for this shot on the deck .  Weather on the 4th was just gorgeous.  Debbie made breakfast for everyone.  Torben made Mimosas. 

We watched the 4th of July parade in town.  Margi has those pictures which we'll post later.  It was a lot of fun to see a small community come together for the holiday.

Here's the view from the deck taken the morning of the 5th.  Mornings have tended to be cloudy and afternoons get nice and sunny.  Just perfect.  

The girls had to have these Seahawks colored Sitka shirts.  

On our last night together, we played pool and had dinner at the Bayview Pub.  Lots of fun! 

Then we played an outrageously fun dice game called Left Center Right.  At first we started playing with real money but soon got busted by our server who politely told us we could not gamble in a public place.  Oops.  Spencer, was quick to find a Monopoly set and took out all the dollar bills (everyone stats with 3).  At the end, we converted it to real dollars.  Torben won the pot (of money).  

 

Rick tookTeresa and John on a quick ride in "Re-Run", Main Attraction's dinghy, before heading off to the airport to catch the flight back to Seattle.  

Couldn't have asked for a better 4th of July celebration with dear friends in such a beautiful part of the world.  And not a drop of rain!  We know there is another adventure in store for this group.  And, who knows?  It may even be blog-worthy.  

We said good-bye to Spencer, Laurie (with Keltie ) Joanne, Rick, Paul, Debbie, John & Teresa at the Sitka Airport.