Living Well With Diabetes

Yesterday (August 2), I took the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry to Sitka. It was a four and a half hour journey covering 155 miles. It’s only about 90 miles as the crow flies, but the ferry winds its way through various channels and straits — including a spectacular stretch through something called Peril Straits — to get from Juneau to Sitka.

It was about 3 PM when I got myself situated in a room in the Sitka Hotel which is right downtown on Lincoln Street, the main street through town. I then called my friend Dave Nevins to let him know I had arrived. He lives on Lincoln Street too so within five minutes we had met and he was giving me giving me the five minute tour of downtown Sitka. He joked that the usual five minute tour only takes three minutes but he would try to stretch it out.

We stopped in at the Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop and talked with the owner for a while and then we headed out to one of the local restaurants for dinner. But first, I had to stop by my hotel room and change out my insulin pump pod. At the bicycle shop, it had started screeching in alarm about an occlusion. As a result, pod deactivated itself forcing me to replace it as soon as possible. Great timing. I guess there’s never a good time for an occlusion.

Today (August 3), Dave and some of his friends are taking me sea kayaking. I’ve never been sea kayaking, but from what I understand, it’s the one thing you can do in Sitka to get even wetter and colder than you already are walking around town. Dave says if all goes according to plan, we’ll be back for dinner. If not, in about a week, our bodies will wash up on shore. Seriously though, it should be fun and it will definitely be a new experience for me.

Here are some of my favorite photos from my ferry ride yesterday: