Our Last Night at Homer!

July 10, 2013

Took these last night through the kitchen window, just before I went to bed at Midnight, and saw the wonderful tint of pink on the snow from the sunset!  

And outside the living room slide window, this WONDERFUL sunset!

SO glad I took them last night, as tonight's sunset was nice but not nearly so spectacular!!!

Our last view of the mountains after lunch, as we went into town for the last time:

This is the Dormant Volcano, Mt Augustine, which has been HIDING behind clouds most of the week!  It last erupted in 2006.. It was outside our dining room window.

This is the sign for the Ocean Front Resort, at the very end of the spit. Great location, with all of the mountain views I have been showing this week, without obstructions like TREES! LOL!

And of course, no trip to Homer is quite finished till you go to the Salty Dog!!  Neat place, kind of smelled like cigars, wet wool and stale beer, but a FUN experience!!!!

There were thousands of dollars of dollar bills with names and phone numbers on them, stapled to the ceilings, walls, etc.... kind of like the hats stapled up in the Bar in Chicken!

A couple of shots of the BUSY Marina!

Lilacs blooming outside one of the shops - almost Mid-July and blooming - and ours in Illinois bloomed in May...  Beautiful, nonetheless!

Looking down the street at shops on either side of the spit.

And as I was walking around to get some more pix, I came across this molting old eagle!  He was not the LEAST bothered by vehicles, or passersby.
I was about 5 feet from him.. He was curious, but not concerned..

After a bit, he flew up to this slightly higher vantage point.

I think he was waiting for these guys cleaning fish to throw him some scraps!  They were cleaning Halibut that they had just brought in this morning... They told me they were 12# to 15# and looked to be about 24" or so before cleaning... They said that is a pretty common size for this area this time of year...

and the Coast Guard is always on duty, ready to out at a moment's notice!

 Marina side of the Salty Dog (center of screen)

Another Coast Guard boat.

Fueling Station for the marina.

A neat hand carved sign on a Fish Market shop.

Den's catch of the day!

I could hardly hold it up!

Another catch!

This one is even heavier!!!!

Beach along the Spit and a GREAT piece of Driftwood!  Den says it won't fit in the truck...... :(

My new RIDE!!!!!!  Actually, the 57 Chevy was my first car!!!  STILL love the looks of them, all these years down the road!

Tomorrow we leave this small town that is known by the watchers of Deadliest Catch about the Alaskan Crab Fisherman, to be the home town of the Hillstrand Family.  Den hoped to see their boat, the "Time Bandit" but they are not fishing these waters right now, so a 'no show'....

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I will miss this GREAT wifi here and the WONDERFUL scenery right outside our windows!!!!!

More when I CAN!  Till then - Stay Healthy and Travel Safe!

July 8, 013 Monday

I was down with a touch of the flu today - so Den took the camera and went exploring on his own and took this of the "Spit" from another location up on the mountainside.. the spit angles off to the left and the Airport is toward the bottom of the picture.. that spit is not even a block wide, but is crammed with shops, bars, touristy places, restaurants, fast food places, and believe it or NOT, at least 4 campgrounds!  They run from as low as $25.00 per night to over $60.00, with various amenities. Of course there are also marinas for the many fishing and pleasure sail boats to dock.

I wallowed in bed all day and slept a lot and missed all the good stuff.  Took this last night at Midnight - Right outside the camper kitchen window!

Another shot of one of the glaciers

TG was tired of waiting for his "15 minutes of FAME".. He is down in the lower right...

Took this right behind our camper this morning -

I am still under the weather, so not many pix yet. :(  Hoping for better day tomorrow - we are wanting to take the ferry over to Seldovia - might have to send Den by himself... but he just MIGHT get kidnapped by a purdy eskimo girl! LOL!  Better rethink that....

We are in Homer!

July 7, 2013 - Sunday

Packed up and on the road by 9:30.  Stopped in Ninilchik, at Alaskan Angler RV Resort to make Den's reservations for the Halibut Fishing excursion he will be going on and to get our campsite secured..(only the 3rd time we have made reservations since we left home!).  He is good to go for 19th.  He is looking forward to it!  Price was $209 for the trip.

Then on down to road to Homer, got our site at Baycrest RV park.  $44.00 per night, including tax.  Wonderful view, (or WILL be if the fog ever lifts!), FHU, GREAT wifi, 30 amps... no TV reception, but will not be a problem.. Got set up and took off for town and farther out to the end of the "Spit".. Saw all of the Touristy shops, eating joints and Bars (Including the Salty Dog! Will be hitting there one day this week)  Drove all around the marina, while Den explained the cages, nets, drums, etc for getting the fish off the boats  - he watches Alaskan Fisherman quite a bit and we will be looking for the "Time Bandit", one of the main fishing boats on the show.  Took some pix and will be taking more when (IF) the fog ever gets off this water!!!  I think I have jinxed the whole thing! LOL!

Some shots of the marina:

A big old Bald Eagle was surveying the area and all of the coming and goings!

I think me must have spied something that looked tasty!

Then we drove up the East End road, which curves and turns all around that bay and we could see the Mountains MUCH better!  

And then the STARS of the day!!  There are supposed to be 5 glaciers visible from this HIGH road, but we only saw 3 as overcast as it was, might try again this week, if it does clear up.

But here are some shots of the ones we DID see!

Love, love LOVE the way THIS one came out! Kind of like the "Door way to Heaven!"  We were standing there looking at it, and one minute later, BOOM!  The keyhole opened up and we could SEE it!  I think this is one I will put on a stretched canvas when we get home!  

I hope computers can pick up this WONDERFUL aquamarine blue color of these glaciers!  Must be magnificent from the air!!!!  

Just hoping the skies clear so we can go back and get more pix... Might have to end up getting a second external hard drive, if I keep this up!!! LOL!

On our way back down off the mountain, we stopped at the Bear Creek Winery - not bad, but it is not Adam!  I had the tasting and bought 2 bottles.  Cute winery, tho!

 they had a very pretty wildflower garden out front, too

Here is a shot from up on the hill before we got all the way down, of the "Spit" where I took all of the marina pix today - it is not much more than a dark line in the center of the picture, but FILLS with tourists daily in the summer ..

That's all for tonight - sorry so heavy with the pix, but good wifi and LOTS to see here!  Hoping the clouds will leave, so you can see what I KNOW is out there!!!!! LOL!  

More tomorrow!

Last day in Kenai

July 6, 2013 Saturday

Up and out the door by about 10:00 this morning, went over to Kenai to a "Market Day" and was pleasantly surprised to find it was a quality Craft show!  Very fine artisans from all over the area - from Native American carvers, weavers, makers of leather and bone goods, to decorative items, PLUS several painters in oils and water colors, and more rocks, crystals, etc, and Jewelry.  I bought a few things, very reasonable.. this market runs every Wednesday and Saturday, all summer long. 

Then out to Cook's Inlet at the State Park, and down at the beach, with Redout Mountain (hope the spelling is right), which is supposed to be a dormant volcano.. very peaceful water.  

Then Wally for a few things, and to Seldotna for the best price for fuel - $4.54 per gal.  

Got back to camp just in time to be invited to a POT LUCK at the viewing deck at our park!  I quickly thawed some frozen shrimp, plated it with a bowl of cocktail sauce, and put a bag of Pretzel Crisps and Triscuits in a basket and took a container of Garlic and Red Pepper Hummus… Ready in about 20 minutes, in time to get over to the deck!  Met lots of folks from Texas and Michigan and a lady from Florida! Plus, a couple visiting family who came all the way from Italy!  She made Spaghetti Carbonarra, and it was FAB!   Fun time.. Food was all around GREAT!  They had a big pan of Salmon and 2 big pans of halibut plus all that everyone brought.  STUFFED by the time we got back to our place... so much to carry, we did not even take the camera! LOL! Moving day tomorrow - down to Homer!