I was nursing a beer at Victoria’s Pour House in downtown Sitka. Behind me loomed a large sign, gong attached, inscribed with these words:

“If you touch it, and it makes a sound, Be prepared to buy a round.”

Pub visitors beware: patrons of the establishment take this warning seriously. No tom foolery here. If you take the gong and hit the sign, “just for fun,” guess what? You have just committed yourself to picking up the tab for every barfly present. And if you think you can get away without doing it, imagine having a rowdy bunch of patrons get up and start closing in on you, forming a tight circle with no exits.
That’s how the bartender described what happened to one not-so-fortunate visitor who learned from his mistake the hard way.

“What happened next?” I asked. “He put his money on the counter,” the bartender nodded, underscoring the fact that it was the only thing he could do.

The Port of Sitka, situated on the Western side of Baranof Island in the Alexander Archipelago, was the launching pad for our nine-day small-ship cruise of Alaska’s Inside Passage aboard the Island Spirit.

Before meeting up with the rest of the group for a shuttle tour of the city, we wandered a bit more downtown. Straight ahead at the end of the street: St. Michael’s Church.

Do you have any good pub stories while traveling? Favorite Sitka sightings? Leave me a comment here.