We Skipped the Sitka Excursion (And Won the Day) | Harmony Horizon 360
Every single person getting off our ship in Sitka had a plan. Matching rain jackets. Lanyards. QR codes on their phones for a bus that was going to take them somewhere very official and very organized.
We had a shuttle ticket, one address, and a level of confidence that honestly wasn't earned yet.
Here's the thing about ship excursions: they are wonderful, and I will never talk anyone out of booking one. But every so often, my husband and I get off a ship with no plan whatsoever and just... go see. This was one of those days. We'd decided we wanted to see Fortress of the Bear, so we bought a shuttle ticket into town and left the rest completely blank.
Our shuttle driver turned out to be the best part of the morning before we'd even arrived anywhere. He had opinions on everything — bear behavior, the best coffee in Sitka, which cruise lines tip better, why the salmon run was running late that year — delivered with zero hesitation and total confidence, whether we'd asked or not. If you want the real texture of a place, skip the audio guide and just talk to whoever's driving.
And because we weren't on a scheduled ship excursion with forty other people and a very precise return time, we got to Fortress of the Bear before the actual excursion buses did. We had the place almost entirely to ourselves. No shuffling past the enclosure in a line. No craning around someone's selfie stick. Just us, the bears, and all the time we wanted to stand there.
I will fully admit this is the kind of thing that only sounds impressive after it works. If you'd asked me that morning whether "buy one shuttle ticket and hope" was a real plan, I would have laughed and said absolutely not. But that's kind of the whole point of Reset & Roam — you don't need every hour scheduled to have a good day. Sometimes the best excursion is the one nobody sold you.
We've written before about how we choose (or don't choose) excursions for Alaska, and about what Alaska did to our sense of time in general — Sitka was the day that made both of those posts make sense in hindsight.
We're Choosing Alaska Cruise Excursions (The Great Glacier Nap Debate) — Harmony Horizon 360 Travel
What Alaska Did to My Sense of Time — Harmony Horizon 360 — Harmony Horizon 360 Travel
If you want more of these — the real, unscheduled, occasionally lucky moments, before they turn into anything bigger — that's exactly what shows up in the Roam Newsletter first.
Join the Journey — Harmony Horizon 360 Travel
And if Sitka has you daydreaming about your own trip north, Upcoming Trips shows what's currently on the calendar — and Book Your Journey is there whenever you're ready to make it real. No pressure, just the door left open.
Upcoming Trips — Harmony Horizon 360 Travel
Book Your Journey — Harmony Horizon 360 Travel
Tracy Woods, Travel Advisor — Independent Agent of FST No. ST15578 and CST No. 2090937-50.
We Went to a Reds Game With Braves Fans. The Waiter Saw It Coming.
We walked into The Alcove for brunch — me and Jamie in full Reds gear, our friends in full Braves gear — and our waiter took one look at our table and said, "Well, I hope you all have fun at the game today."
Then he pointed at us.
"And I hope you two have more fun."
Sir. We have never felt so seen and so threatened at the same time.
That moment set the tone for the whole day. Which is honestly the best thing I can say about a baseball trip — that it had a tone. That it felt like something. That by the time we walked into Great American Ball Park that evening, we were already having the kind of day you tell people about later.
The Reds still lost, for the record.
But we had a really good time getting there.
How We Did Cincinnati
This is the part where I tell you that Cincinnati is a full city with great food and a beautiful riverfront and you should stop flying past it on your way somewhere else.
We started at The Alcove for brunch, and it was exactly what a pre-game brunch should be — pretty, relaxed, the kind of place where you linger a little longer than you planned because the atmosphere earns it. There are better ways to start a game day. I haven't found them.
(This is also where the waiter incident happened, and I will be telling that story forever.)
From there we made our way to Sam Adams Brewery for drinks — because if you're going to spend an afternoon with people rooting for the wrong team, you might as well do it with a beer in hand. Good call on our part.
Then dinner at Cincinnati Lager House, which had a full dining room and a view of the Ohio River that genuinely stopped conversation for a second when we sat down. Busy the way a good restaurant is busy — alive, not chaotic. And if you go, look for the base plaque by the host stand. It's one of those details that reminds you the whole city is in on this.
View from rooftop of Cincinnati Lager House
The Game
Great American Ball Park is one of the most underrated stadiums in baseball. I will say this every time until people believe me.
The Reds lost. Our friends were delighted. Jamie and I were dignified about it, mostly.
What I will say is this: there is something genuinely fun about watching a game with people who are rooting against your team — as long as those people are people you actually like. The banter is better. The stakes feel lighter. You stop watching the scoreboard so much and start watching everything else.
The river. The skyline. The very serious man somewhere nearby who definitely had a scoring notebook.
That's the trip.
The Comeback That Mattered
Here is the part I need the Braves fans to read carefully.
The Reds won the next day.
Not swept. We were not swept. Whatever hopes our friends had of a clean series sweep evaporated, and Jamie and I were completely gracious about it.
We said nothing.
(This blog post is the only thing we're saying.)
Great American Ballpark. View from section 528.
Why This Kind of Trip Works
I started the Baseball City Trip series because I believe the game is the excuse, not the destination.
The destination is brunch with a waiter who takes one look at your table and already knows how your day is going to go. It's drinks at a brewery with people you don't get to see enough. It's a river view at dinner and a base plaque that makes you smile before you even sit down.
The Reds may break your heart. The city won't.
Want to Plan Your Own Cincinnati Trip?
I've got a full guide — where to stay, how to build the day, what to do beyond the game.
👉How to Plan a Cincinnati Reds Weekend Trip
And if you want something to take with you — a planner built specifically for baseball travel, with space for every city you visit — I made that too.
👉 The Away Game Planner — $14.99
👉 Join the interest list for future Reds road trips
The waiter at The Alcove was right. I hope you have more fun.
Tracy is a travel agent and the founder of Harmony Horizon 360, a travel brand built around slower, more intentional trips for real people. She grew up in Cincinnati and has feelings about the Reds that she considers completely reasonable.