A Vacation in Southeast Alaska
By Michelle Theall
It’s the end of April as I type this, and it’s snowing outside my window. Big, heavy, cement spring flakes that melt as soon as they hit the pavement. But June is around the corner, which means adventure is too! Instead of sending our 13-year-old son to camp this year, we rented a place in Haines for two weeks and another in Sitka for two weeks to explore Southeast. I found both places on VRBO, and they both overlook the water, and in truth, they are about three times as expensive as summer camp typically costs us. I confessed this a week or so ago, after booking flights and ferries and a rental car. Funny how things spiral out of control once you put them into motion. We’ll be eating ramen noodles the rest of the summer, but it will be worth it. I anticipate tide-pooling and sea otters and whale-watching, and I’m trying not to overbook us with excursions. I know Haines well, but have never been to Sitka. Melissa, our intrepid account exec at the magazine, recommended it, and she knows what she’s talking about—so there you have it. I’ve given my son an Olympus Tough camera to play with while we are there—hoping the photography bug bites him more than the mosquitos do. I’ll be posting on our Alaska Instagram and Facebook pages—the good, the meltdowns, the surprises. Stay tuned.
