EX HOL PO Y ID
aberdashery. It’s one of those words.
You might think you’ve heard it but just aren’t sure what it is. But ask someone with graying hair and a job that demanded he wear a jacket and tie every day, and that’s the person who can give you the way-it-used-to-be story.
Actually, the word originates from “haberdasher,” which first appeared in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and had a different meaning in British English than in the United States. In Britain, a haberdasher was someone who sold small articles for sewing or dressmaking, such as buttons, zippers, and similar items. Here in America, a haberdasher was generally a man who owned a men’s clothing store that almost exclusively specialized in selling suits, dress shirts, ties, dress shoes, and accessories for work or social engagements...and they were usually the same thing because men didn’t dress casually to go to a restaurant, a relative’s home for a visit, or anywhere.
Haberdasheries have largely disappeared with the shift to a more casual lifestyle. So, as the door all but closes on one era, another opens; and in 2010, in Deep River, Connecticut, the doors were flung open wide at Anchor & Compass, a place that guys could call their own. It wasn’t the 4th floor of a department store or a couple of aisles in what otherwise was a female-oriented boutique. This was theirs. All theirs. And best of all, it still is!
Enter the remarkable female who gave the guys a place of entertainment, a place they could chill, a place that was pure FUN, and so much more: Sage Novak, a determined young woman with a fierce love of the town she grew up in and an ongoing support system of family, friends, employees, and customers, who jumped headlong into retail after her husband died unexpectedly. With no retail experience and a background that included growing up on the river in her parents’ marina, she had everything she needed to succeed. Sage loved everything
and everyone that represented “local.” She possessed a deep love of building a business around these people, treating everyone well, and running a store the “old school, brick and mortar way.”
Sage opened Anchor & Compass just before Father’s Day 2010. Almost the very moment she put a sign in the window that read, “A Place for Guys,” a new star was born in bucolic, wonderful Deep River. Sage is quick to interrupt herself by saying, “I am so lucky with the staff I have. I couldn’t do it without them. I have one employee who’s been here 10 years, another 5 years, and I have a few new people too.”
She continued, “I tell those new staff members that you have to like people first and foremost. I can teach them the computer, I can teach them all about the inventory, but I can’t teach them how to like people. It’s a positive exchange at Anchor and Compass; it’s not just about the sale. People love to laugh, and so do I, so I want them to feel entertained, comfortable, and to have fun.”
Sound good? It is good. It was good. So good that women were jealous and begged Sage to open a place for the girls. After weakly resisting for a short time, she fulfilled her customers’ requests and has never looked back. Compass Rose is literally just around the corner...or if you go out the back door, it’s just across the street! And the culture is the same as for Anchor & Compass...an eclectic inventory, great music, surprises, and fun!
“We’re open 7 days a week year-round, not just at the holidays, and you’ll never see a sign on the door that we’re opening an hour late that day or we’ll be back in 5 minutes. You just can’t disappoint people right out of the gate.”
Without a doubt, it appears that Sage Novak, with two successful stores, a great staff, and a fun-focused work ethic, has never disappointed anyone. She is fiercely committed to Deep River and has an ongoing mantra of utilizing local people for her needs, purchasing merchandise locally whenever possible, and always giving back to her community. “Every day is ‘small business day’ to me. We’re a part of the fabric of this town, and I always want to help the town as much as I can. We’re all connected here.”
Speak with Sage Novak for just a few minutes, and you lose count as to how many times she peppers her conversation with the word “fun.” It’s part of the foundation of Anchor & Compass and Compass Rose. Ask her
to describe what the stores carry, and she smiles her broad, welcoming smile that not only fills her face, but fills whatever space she’s in. “We’re classic, we’re traditional, with a flair for fun. I’m always looking for the unique. I don’t want to carry the same homogenized products that you can find in big box stores or other gift shops. I want to be different.”
That she is! That her stores are. In keeping with her “old school” commerce culture, she has no online store. “Maybe someday,” she adds with such a monotone of disinterest you know that “someday” is probably not going to come, and that’s just fine with Sage. She’s having too much fun in the “today” of Compass Rose and Anchor & Compass.
Want more “old school?” Sage holds up a package artistically wrapped with fancy gift paper, ribbon, and bow. “We gift wrap all year ‘round, not just at the holidays, and there’s never a charge. If the customer prefers to do it themselves, we provide them with the box and wrapping. I don’t want a customer to buy a beautiful sweater, and we just shove it in a bag.”
While Anchor & Compass has a young vibe, it is in no way exclusively for young men. It’s for all men of all ages, opinions, body types, lifestyles, and personal taste. It’s as much for the guy who wants to lie in a hammock drinking a cold one as it is for the hiker, biker, fisherman, or the one who’s got a boat and is positively smitten by it.
So if Grandpa still wants to wear a suit and tie to church, you can show him the fun of kicking back. Maybe it’s with cargo pants and a sweater or a Life is Good tee or… That’s the great thing about Anchor & Compass...it’s a store for guys, and you don’t need any more definition than that! And Compass Rose not only shares roots in Deep River, but it also shares that casual, fun, a little bit of everything vibe. Names like Woolrich and Carhartt, Life is Good, Tommy Bahama, and beautiful sweaters, stylish jeans at unbelievably low prices, snarky fun signs, socks, belts, jewelry, and always, always, the unexpected.
You may not notice it at first, but slowly, happily, you’ll become aware of the music that plays consistently. Familiar, popular, non-intrusive, and at a level that might
Photo Courtesy of Anchor and Compass website
have you singing or humming along, and likely bumping into the customer next to you who’s smiling and doing the exact same thing! It’s fun. Yep ,there’s that word again because Sage Novak has worked hard to make it all look easy, so you’ve just gotta come check it out.
It’s two very unique stores. Products of a unique and wonderful community. It is a testament to the lives and purpose of two wonderful men who held steadfast, gave direction, and had a lot of fun along the way. The “anchor” is for Sage’s first husband, Rob, who tragically died at age 33, but was always loyal, steadfast, and her rock. “Compass” is for Dan, the wonderful man who found her, gave her life new direction and purpose again, and today still serves as her compass...and husband.
We thought you’d want to know about this very important part of the story because Sage Novak has perfectly captured their spirit and the spirit of Deep River, while creating a wonderful and unique community of her own — a community of culture.
Anchor and Compass is at 163 Main Street (860) 322-4327
Compass Rose is around the corner at 4 River Street (860) 322-4523
Jim Laurino, Milton Barn, Oil, 20 x 20” Paul Batch, Winter’s Gentle Glow, Oil, 11 x 14”
Andrew Sjodin, Three Pears, Oil, 20 x 20”
Nancy Bass, Angel, Oil, 6 x 6” Kathy Anderson, Nasturtiums, Oil, 10 x 8”Anne McGrory, A Blue December, Pastel, 10 x 10”
Photo
Solis Lumen Orange 2023
“I hope it was well enjoyed!” was the earnest response by one of our favorite wedding couples upon finding out that a wine they had gifted me had ‘vanished’ during one of our fall celebrations of love! Upon initial receipt of the bottle, I was so moved that I declared that THIS was going to be the wine I would write about for Thanksgiving (having been so literally moved to a place of gratitude). Yet the bottle, which I carelessly left in an unguarded fridge above the tasting room to keep it at ‘writing temperature,’ most likely found a lovely home at a hotel block in Mystic. Yet not to be foiled by fate, James and Ryan appeared at one of the wine classes I lead at Saltwater Farm Vineyard with a replacement offering of this natural French beauty. So from a place of thankfulness to an emphasis of giving rather than receiving I am here to showcase a wine as merry and bright as the season demands: Solis Lumen Orange 2023.
I will address the obvious point that an orange wine hailing from the sun-blessed hectares in the South of France might not seem the obvious choice for wreath hanging and candle lighting. To be fair, it was going to be a little bit of a stretch for the turkey carving cameo, but I am here to say that yes, you can drink bright chilled wine while wrapping up presents and the year that was 2025.
Let’s cover the important details regarding this unlikely winterbreak winner. It is a blend of 90% Muscat Blanc å Petits with 10% Grenache Gris. These are two lesser known mutations from more established vitis vinifera (the term for the common grape vines from Europe and Asia). The grapes come from the heavenly Languedoc region that hugs the Mediterranean Sea. The vines are planted in calcareous clay soil that requires the kind of careful planning and upkeep that only comes with time, in this case nine generations and counting. The destemmed grapes are macerated (left to soak on their skins) in concrete tanks, a step that allows for a micro-oxidation (softening of the tannic nature of the beverage) without the oak impact on the nose and palate. They actively separate the free run (juices that naturally get released from the skins during the concrete stint) and the pressed gallons that result from applied pressure. They
are clarified individually before being combined together into tanks for a six- month courtship before bottling day.
The resulting product has a fragrance that instantly unites the amber contents with any number of color appropriate corresponding items: dandelion, honeysuckle, and marmalade. Taking a sip allows for the wine to showcase the brightness of the floral notes being balanced by crushed velvet tannins in a way that will have you feeling festive for the foreseeable future. The tears (or legs, the streaking that is used to guess sugar and alcohol content on the sides of your glass), hint at the 13% ABV and mediumplus body that otherwise might be missed thanks to the naturally clean and high acid found here. It is funky and fun with big pops of orange and apricot. Depth beyond my modest expectations upon looking at a label that screams out, ‘enjoy by Labor Day or else.’This wine has quite the list of merit badges to boot: the grapes are organically and sustainably sourced, the production is minimal intervention and carbon neutral and they even offer canned and ‘bag in a box’ formats to further the environmental goals they have set. For the purpose of pairings, you can elevate and enhance your appetizers with ease. The color alone will encourage people to get in the spirit of whatever the occasion is. It invokes chunky Christmas lights and the bright flames rising meaningfully out of a Menorah or Kinara in all the right ways.
The most important takeaway from any seasonal celebration is hopefully the tradition of gathering with the people (and pets) that mean the most to you throughout the year. The location could be an old faithful or a rotating destination. It can be the family you were born or married into as easily as it can be the friends you chose to make life’s journey less daunting. Regardless of how or where you go to celebrate this season, may you have something to toast to that helps give you the momentum you need to march into 2026 with hope.
That would be a gift that could keep on giving.
Gregory Post is a sommelier and manager at Saltwater Farm Vineyard, affiliated with Kingdom of the Hawk Vineyard.
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By 1964, the first televised puppet animation of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was produced by Rankin/ Bass Productions. It featured Burl Ives as the voice of Sam the Singing Snowman, who narrates the story of Rudolph finding his way and eventually leading Santa’s sleigh.
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It was a huge success and is still the longest running TV special in the history of television. In fact, nearly 60 years later, you’re hard pressed to find anyone from Baby Boomers to Gen Alpha who have not seen or heard a Rudolph production at least once in their life. “The single most important person to Rankin/Bass classic TV Special, is Romeo Muller,” says Official Rankin/Bass Productions Historian/ Biographer Rick Goldschmidt. “Romeo wrote the entire special and created all of the characters besides Rudolph. If it were
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the characters besides Rudolph. If it were not for him, we wouldn’t have Hermey the Elf, Yukon Cornelius, The Island of Misfit toys, etc. Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass knew how to select talent and worked with Romeo on the script.”
The original Rudolph and Santa puppets were imagined and designed by Antony Peters and Rankin/Bass associates for the original stop-motion animation TV Special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, then born in the hands of Japanese puppet-makers Ichiro Komuro and Kyoto Kita with MOM Film Studio puppet builders. The armatures for their bodies were made with wood and lead wire then covered in wool, synthetic fibers, yak hair and leather. And their heads, arms and legs were designed to be movable as well as each tiny finger and thumb. Today, the original 6” tall Rudolph and the 11” tall Santa are living their best life at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, Georgia.
But before arriving in Georgia, Rudolph and his friends lived in a few different places including the home of a longtime employee at Rankin/Bass Productions. She used them as Christmas decorations around her tree and even let her nieces and nephews play with them. Off-season they were stored in a very hot attic where they nearly melted like quite a few of the other puppets apparently did before being rescued by one of her nephews many years later. They were eventually sold to a collector who had them restored, and after residing with a couple of more collectors, they went up for auction in 2020. An anonymous donor purchased them and gave Santa and Rudolph to the Center for Puppetry Arts. The donor wanted them to “retire” to a safe place where they would be cared for and enjoyed. After a bit more restoration, they made their Georgia debut in 2021.
Rudolph and Santa have many sweet friends at the Center for Puppetry Arts including some of their reindeer pals. In fact, Blitzen, Prancer, Donder, and Dasher who helped Rudolph pull Santa’s sleigh permanently reside there too. All four were designed and built by Don Sahlin of the Jim Henson Company in 1968 and are made of metal, plastic, synthetic fur, felt, and fabric. They performed to the delight of all ages on The Ed Sullivan Show which every American tuned into on Sunday night for many years and were gifted to the Center for Puppetry Arts by the family of Jim Henson.
Emmet Otter, Ma (Alice) Otter, Harvey Beaver, Charlie Muskrat, and Howard Snake are puppet pals of Rudolph and Santa and enjoy the spotlight as well. They too were designed and built by Don Sahlin and performed in the Jim Henson
Japanese puppeteer, Hiroshi Tabata, at MOM Film Studio manipulating Santa’s sleigh to bring Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to life.© 2001 Miser Bros Press/Rick Goldschmidt Archives
Japanese puppeteer, Kyoko Kita makes Rudolph in Animagic in 1964. © 2001 Miser Bros Press/Rick Goldschmidt Archives
Hiroshi Tabata works on Charlie-in-the-box in Animagic, on the set of Rankin/ Bass' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in 1964. © 2001 Miser Bros Press/Rick Goldschmidt Archives
The puppets were part of a holiday sketch called "Reindeer Discuss Christmas," which aired on The Ed Sullivan Show on December 22, 1968.
Company 1977 film, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas. And eventually, these wonderful characters were also gifted to the Center of Puppetry Arts by the family of Jim Henson.
Not to be forgotten, Salem the Cat wearing his very own Salem the Cat Reindeer Costume, shares the stage at the holidays with the others. He was designed by Chiodo Brothers Productions in 1998 for Sabina the Teenage Witch and is an animatronic puppet made of synthetic fur, fabric, plastic, metal, tubing, and cabling. His reindeer costume was designed by Diane Kenney while his headdress and mask were designed by Pepie Tuers. The costume, headdress, and mask were made of foam, plastic, felt, synthetic fur, and fabric, and both Salem the Cat and his Reindeer Costume are on loan from CBS Paramount Television.
But none of this would have been possible without the imaginations of puppet creators and puppeteers dating back more than 3000 years. Even philosophers Aristotle and Plato referenced puppets in their writings and teachings, and over the centuries, puppets were often used to communicate political and religious beliefs as well as entertain. Other forms of puppetry were designed and implemented around the world including Bunraku puppetry which was based on rites performed in Shinto temples in Japan; shadow puppets that shared folk art traditions in Indonesia; marionettes that taught Christian morality in Italy; and even puppets that acted in Shakespearean plays in Britain.
By the early 20th century, both Europe and America used puppets to entertain adults and often combined them with masked actors in their productions. Today, puppets are also used by educators, therapists, and law enforcement to address serious issues with young children. Puppets provide a means for them to safely express themselves and share their fears in a comforting environment.
There are four main categories of puppets including hand puppets, which are slipped over the hand; rod puppets, which are controlled by slender rods usually from below; shadow puppets, which are flat and glide behind a backlit screen; and marionettes, which are controlled by strings from above. Many hybrids exist as well including Bunraku puppets which are manipulated in full view of the audience by the puppeteer; finger puppets that fit on individual fingers; ventriloquists’ dummies that directly engage with the ventriloquist and the audience; and body puppets where the legs and arms of the full body puppet are that of the puppeteer.
Puppets are these amazing little creatures that we all grow to love and make p art of our family, but it’s the puppeteers who actually bring them to life. Lamb Chop had puppeteer Shari Lewis. Elmo had Kevin Clash. Miss Piggy, Cookie Monster, Grover, and Bert had Frank Oz. And Gobo Fraggle, Pa Gorg, and Marjory the Trash Heap had Jerry Nelson. Unfortunately, puppeteers are not as well-known as their puppets but that is the nature of puppetry … unless of course, you’re Jim Henson.
The characters shown are Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Hermey the Elf, Yukon Cornelius, and the Abominable Snow Monster of the North, also known as the Bumble.
Santa with the original 1964 Rankin/Bass puppets;Photo Courtesy of the Center for Puppetry Arts
Hermey is a misfit elf from the classic Christmas film Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Jim Henson began creating puppets in high school, and after graduating with a degree in home economics from the University of Maryland, he went on to co-found The Jim Henson Company w his wife, Jane in 1958. He joined Sesame Street in 1969 where he created and h with d
developed many of the iconic puppets for the beloved childr en’s show.
When Henson created his puppets, he paid particular attention to the details which helped humanize them. Instead of wood and plastic, Henson made his puppets from fabric-covered foam rubber which was much more flexible. He also used rods instead of string to move the Muppets’ arms and made sure that the puppets’ mouth movements would align with the show’s dialogue.
Kids and parents were instantly captivated. They weren’t just puppets anymore. Kermit the Frog, pals Bert and Ernie, and The Muppets, to name a few became our friends as theylivedtheirlivesthrough53seasons
they lived their lives through 53 seasons and more than 4000 episodes of Sesame Street, teaching us the value of friendship and how to be kind to one another
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You’re Being Paged
by Rick Koster
The array of famous writers who utilized Christmas as source material is pretty astonishing. Charles Dickens, Truman Capote, Agatha Christie, Dylan Thomas, John Grisham, Dr. Seuss, Fanny Flagg, David Sedaris and on…
Locally, Old Lyme’s Luanne Rice (“Silver Bells” and “Last Night”) and David Handler (“The Snow White Christmas Cookie”) and Norwich native Wally Lamb (“Wishin’ and Hopin’”) are esteemed scribes who’ve also dipped their quills into the green and red ink of holiday fare.
All this suggests that even authors — an artistic breed often associated with cynicism — can wax sentimental and nostalgic at holiday time.
Or perhaps they were simply desperate to literarily curry favor with Santa in hopes of offsetting certain naughty behavior during the other 354 days (and nights!) of the year.
Or, hell, maybe they just like Christmas!
Whatever the inspiration, the holiday reader can stock an entire family-size Ikea bookshelf with Christmas novels, poems and stories to re-visit year after year.
Of course, many of us can probably recite from memory every line of some of the true classics of Christmas literature. Which means it might be time to shake it up a bit. At least in our playful imaginations.
So: what if we postulate what might have happened if certain wondrous holiday works had been written by a different author?
For example, let’s imagine that“A Visit from St. Nicholas”(more familiarly known as “The Night Before Christmas”) was written not by Clement C. Moore but, instead, Edgar Allen Poe. We might then see a very different Santa in this closing stanza:
And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose; He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And they were off like ravens at the bark of a pistol. Straight to the tomb of his beloved they flew, Y’see, he’d left Mrs. Clause for Annabel Lee, it’s true
But Annabel passed, December twenty-three
And Santa laid down in her grave by the sea
Her snow-packed sepulchre by the wintry sea
And I heard him exclaim from her briny tomb in the cold, “Happy Christmas to all, I hope my reindeer get home!”
Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” is even more classic — so much so that one wonders if its iconic text is sacrosanct. Probably.
UNLESS … it had been written by Stephen King who, as a boy, lived for a while in Connecticut. In the Horror Meister’s version, instead of the triumvirate of spirits revealing the True Meaning to parsimonious Ebeneezer Scrooge, they instead drag him screaming to Hades.
King’s“Carol”concludes, “And so, as Tiny Tim observed, ‘God bless us every one! Although it seems too late for old Scrooge, who is writhing in the roasting flames of eternity!’”
What about “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry? You certainly recall the impoverished but deeply loving young couple at the heart of the story. To buy her husband a watch chain for his valued timepiece as a Christmas gift, the wife sells her gorgeous knee-length hair to a wig maker. Meanwhile, hubby sells the watch to buy the Missus a set of combs for her hair! Irony! Wild! Happily, they realize what happens, chuckle, and fall even more in love with each other.
But how about a fun scenario where the young couple uses the money from their respective sacrifices to simply buy their creator, O. Henry, several letters to fill out his first name! Oliver, maybe. Or Oscar. THAT’S selfless gift-giving.
A more contemporary story is John Grisham’s “The Year of Quitting Christmas.” Tired of crash commercialism, the Krank family vows to completely ignore the holiday season —with wacky results and a satisfying resolution. I’m envisioning, though, a Cormac McCarthy version where, on Christmas Eve in their holiday travels, the Kranks run across the foul and brutal Judge Holden from “Blood Meridian.” It becomes unspeakable.
There’s also bestseller-machine Debbie Macomber, who, in the course of her career as a romance novelist, has penned several books with mistletoe-y backdrops. “Romance and Peppermint Lattes,”“1225 Christmas Tree Land” and “The Perfect Christmas” are just three. All of them are very popular and serve her fan base well. But wouldn’t it be fun if a few of them had been from the typewriter of Sylvia “Holidays in the Bell Jar” Plath?
Let me answer that for you: Yes.
By now you get the recurring motif going on here. I take something cheery and redemptive — hallmarks (pun intended) of the season — and turn it dark.
But, as a positive farewell to end of this column, here’s one more experiment. I’m thinking of “Under the Volcano” by Malcolm Lowry — a brilliant but resolutely depressing novel about the final day in the life of an alcoholic British consulate in Mexico on the Day of the Dead.
Suppose Charles Dickens had written “Under the Volcano.” In it, the consul wanders into a cantina on Christmas morning and is joined at the otherwise empty bar by the Ghost of Ebeneezer Scrooge. The two have a few shots of mescal and, accompanied by a mariachi band, start a warbling rendition of “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” Then Dean Martin wanders in, admittedly loaded but pleased someone remembers a song he made famous. He grabs a barstool and joins Scrooge and the Consul in sustained and carolstuffed croonery.
And Good Will and Cheer held illimitable dominion over all!
In fact, let’s go big. We could enlist really famous and established contemporary authors – ones who heretofore haven’t written any Christmas stories – and have them respectively offer fresh versions of some of the biggies of the field. And if our“rewriters”are already dead? No worries! We can simply have AI step in and replicate the decease
— at least when attention isn’t otherwise diverted by the latest yuletide film premier on the Hallmark Channel.
Fun fact: of the 24 new movies in Hallmark’s 2025 “Countdown to Christmas” onslaught, 14 have the word “Christmas” in the title. But only one of the Hallmark seasonal efforts is about the Buffalo Bills. Not kidding. Anyway…
BY SUSAN CORNELL
BY SUSAN CORNELL
PHOTO BY BOB CORNELL
AND WILSON PHOTOGRAPY & ADVENTURES
PHOTO BY BOB CORNELL
AND WILSON PHOTOGRAPY & ADVENTURES
or years, I’ve seen ads for cruises aboard paddlewheelers on the Mississippi River. I knew the company that ran these nostalgic trips, American Cruise Lines (ACL), was based in Guilford, but looking further into future trip ideas, I was truly surprised by how little I knew about ACL –including what and where they cruise and how American ACL is.
Having traveled to Iceland and Greenland a year ago and seen virtually no wildlife or northern lights, we decided to head in the opposite direction this year: Alaska. Everyone I know who’s been to “The Last Frontier” has raved about the scenery, wildlife, northern lights, and seeing an entirely different way of living firsthand.
I was apprehensive about overtourism, though, and am not a fan of larger ships where you see only big ports and more visitors than animals. And I thought Alaska might be overrated.
I was surprised to learn that the Connecticut-based company ran trips to Alaska as well as trips all over the US – from the Columbia and Snake Rivers to the Florida Keys, Puget Sound to New England, and even National Parks. The ships aren’t just paddlewheelers – there are coastal catamarans, riverboats, and coastal ships. All are small. Ours was just under the full capacity of 170 guests.
ACL is an all-American family company. Every itinerary is domestic, every crewmember is American, each ship is registered in the US and flies the American flag at the stern, and each ship is designed and built in the US. While there may be a handful of passengers from outside of the U.S. of A., nearly all are American. The demographic on our particular trip was typical: nearly all Americans, with a mean age of about 70.
When deciding upon any trip, the most important consideration for me is the destinations, followed by the ship itself. Small ship, good service, good food, and lots to do are also important.
The 12-day Alaskan Explorer cruise aboard American Constitution itinerary fit the bill: fly to Juneau from Bradley, sail to Haines, Glacier Bay, Sitka, Petersburg, Wrangell, Endicott Arm, and return to Juneau. Almost three full sea days were sprinkled in, all three were
fabulous – full of whales, eagles, bears, sea otters, sea lions, seals, and spectacular views! If you can swing more than a week away, go for the 12-day or longer trip so you won’t feel as though you’re missing opportunities. Had I known how much I’d love Alaska, I could easily have done a much longer trip.
Of course, perfect weather every single day helped. While everyone advises packing for lots of rain and cold, the weather was sunny and dry, 60s and 70s by day and 50s in the evenings … in early September…and in the largest remaining old-growth temperate rain forest in the world! I’d also read the mosquitoes were both numerous and humongous, but I rarely saw any bugs whatsoever.
A wildlife biologist was on board the entire cruise and held enrichment presentations on the nature of Southeast Alaska, Alaskan Birds & Mammals, Whales, Orcas, the Pacific Salmon, and Tasty Alaska. This guest speaker also offered photography classes.
On a Sea Day visiting Glacier National Park, a National Park Service Ranger joined us and led enrichment presentations on the park’s history, glaciers, and wildlife that make up this beautiful region. A representative from Alaska Native Voices shared a cultural interpretation of the traditional homeland of the Huna Tlingit, the story of Glacier Bay, which includes human history, tradition, and stories that continue to be passed down from
generation to generation.
Other local entertainment brought on board ranged from Leikarring Dancers in Petersburg, youth who perform t raditional Norwegian dances while wearing the distinctive Petersburg bunaid, a symbol of cultural pride and craftsmanship. (More on the Petersburg/Norway connection follows). Local musicians and storytellers also joined to supplement the onboard entertainment.
Our stateroom was spacious and featured
a large balcony with sweeping views. The refrigerator was stocked and replenished (including wine), and "suite treats" were delivered every afternoon. For guests who opt not to or cannot partake in the many excursions, this “cabin” would still make a nice, relaxing home to view Alaska. The first fellow passengers we met had sailed with ACL many times. When the couple said we could enjoy a nice “sedentary” vacation, I cringed. Our last vacation was a long-distance hiking trip
in Scotland, and prior to that adventure, we spent two weeks sailing in Indonesia. Little did we know what was coming next.
We booked all of our excursions in advance and mapped out three hikes to do independently. The bear bells were packed and ready for action!
Our first night in Juneau, pre-embarkation, was spent at the Baron of Hotels – basic but centrally located in the state capital, which was also pretty basic (you’d never guess Juneau was a capital city). Even our guide joked that Juneau is the 50th most beautiful state capital in the US. The Alaska State Museum, though, which offers everything from Native Alaskan artifacts to art, natural history specimens, and immersive exhibits, is well worth the visit.
We boarded the ship, did the usual scouting around, emergency drills, and sailaway celebrations, and off we went, enjoying hours of gorgeous scenery.
We docked in Haines, not only the “Bald Eagle Capital of the World” but also the “Adventure Capital of Alaska,” and set off
on our first hike, Battery Point Trail. The seaside trail is situated in lush rainforest, featuring a rocky beach and stunning views. About three miles into the eightmile trek, my husband’s knee went “pop”. Bear in mind that we just hiked over 100 miles in Scotland with no problems. We continued on, but then, on the return, “pop” again and excruciating pain.
That “sedentary” word was a harbinger for the rest of the trip where we traded in hiking boots for crutches, ice packs, ace bandages, and Vitamin I (Ibuprofen). That great big balcony overlooking the coast was truly appreciated.
But, on vacation, the show must go on. How often does one visit Alaska? With some hobbling, we went on our first excursion, the Valley of the Eagles Nature and Wildlife Expedition. After visiting the American Bald Eagle Foundation, a raptor center and natural history museum, we traveled to the “Valley of the Eagles,” where we saw not only numerous eagles but also our first bear!
The following day, we cruised Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, which covers over 3.3 million acres of mountains, glaciers, wild coastlines, and fjords. Glacier Bay is known as a homeland to the Huna and Yakutat Tlingit and is a highlight of Alaska’s Inside Passage. The NPS works with Native American organizations in the management of the protected area. Few cruises visit this bay; we were fortunate.
Sitka, the major Russian port used for fur trading and where the Alaska Purchase was signed, was the next port of call. Purchase cost: $7.2 million or 2 cents per acre. The Russian influence remains today, from the Russian Orthodox Cathedral to the shops with furs and nesting dolls.
Our first Sitka excursion was the Fortress of the Bear, an educational sanctuary which provides opportunities to rescue Alaska’s orphaned bear cubs and reduce human-bear conflict through education.
We visited the Alaska Raptor Center, which takes in and treats injured birds with the goal of releasing them back into the wild. We watched wild eagles in their final stage of rehab in the Bald Eagle Flight Training Center.
When we arrived in Sitka, all was quiet. The next day, though, with two other cruise ships in town, everything changed. This was the only time we noticed how tourists change the atmosphere. Despite the number of cruise ships, whoever organizes which ships go where does a great job. The majority of the time, cruising there was no boat or sign of civilization as far as the binoculars could see.
A must-see in Sitka is the Sitka National Historical Park. While this is Alaska’s smallest national park, it’s huge in terms of history and beauty. The park is home to Tlingit and Haida totem poles nestled in a
rainforest of giant Sitka spruce trees.
Around 6am the following morning, while underway, the captain (Captain Morgan, really!) announced over the loudspeaker that there were more whales
bow to stern that he had ever seen. There were hundreds of humpbacks spouting and breaching all around us! What a wake-up call!
But bears, eagles, and whales aren’t all we saw – there were hundreds of sea otters, stellar sea lions, seals, orcas, mountain goats, and birds. If you love wildlife, Alaska is for you.
Our next port was Petersburg, known as “Little Norway,” for its strong Norwegian heritage and as a major commercial fishing port. Petersburg was founded by Norwegian immigrants and clearly retains a strong Scandinavian influence. We felt teleported! The excursion was a dock walk where we learned about various fishing boats, fishing methods, permits, and processing techniques.
Later that day, we enjoyed a guided drive of the island and learned about growing up in a small town in Alaska from a local third-generation Norwegian.
The next port, Petersburg’s “rival,” Wrangell, has a much more Old West/ Gold Rush vibe. Wrangell was how I pictured a typical town – hardworking, simple. There was neither a Russian nor a Scandinavian influence. It’s amazing how different every town is.
Here, we visited the anthropological site of Petroglyph Beach, where we could walk among rock carvings dating back 8,000 years, before the settlement of the Tlingit tribes. We visited the Wrangell Museum with a surprisingly fantastic collection of native artifacts, historic photos, and fishing, mining, and logging displays.
The highlight of Wrangell, and perhaps the entire trip (whales excluded), was the Ancient Forest of Anan. We traveled by jet boat to the trailhead and, after a safety briefing, hiked (some of us stiffer than others) to the Anan Wildlife Observatory. Note: The Aleut guide carried two guns and bear spray. We observed bears in the wild.
If you would like to watch the same bears without the travel, go to Explore.org and click on Tongass National Forest. We weren’t able to get the other hikes in, but that’s part of the beauty of cruising – there’s always something going on for every taste and ability. We found that simply enjoying and watching can be wonderful, not cringeworthy.
Alaska is a do-again. By visiting smaller ports on a small ship, Alaska is neither over touristed nor overrated. And Alaska is large enough – larger than Texas, California, and Montana combined – that it’ll be easy to find new places to explore.
