Traveling along...

Aug 13,

After a great breakfast at Anchorage’s Peanut Barn where we saw salmon jumping out the river that runs by the restaurant, we headed to Homer. From Anchorage, Homer is about a four-hour ride.

Our camping arrangement for tonight certainly is inexpensive. For fifteen dollars, we (and about one hundred other people!) are camping on Homer Spit which juts out in the Kachemak Bay for 4.3 miles. The spit is full of boat launches, little shops, a small live summer theater, a few restaurants, an ice cream shop, a bakery and lots of places to buy fish or to charter fishing boats or cruises, but the spit is more than just a tourist destination. It is a working port. As a matter of fact, the town trucks logo says, " Homer, the city that works." The sign that you see as you enter Homer proclaims that Homer is he halibut fishing capital of the world. I have no reason to doubt that.

Today we overheard another visitor say it reminded him of Cape Cod. Well, yes, but they have these big mountains here!

Anyway, picture our camper (and lots of others!) all lined up on a promontory going out to the bay.As I opened the camper door, I saw a fish jumping out of the water. That was right after I took a picture of one of the five eagles we saw this afternoon here.

After we found our spot on the spit, Steve and I headed over to the Alaska Islands and Ocean Fishing Center. This exhibit offers some of the same information that we gained at the Alaska State Museum in Juneau, but this center offers a wealth of information about the Aleutian Islands as well. This is fascinating to me since I couldn’t fill a page with I knew about the Aleutian Islands. Now at least I can write a page! We had a wonderful, informative visit! ( I think Steve was familiar with some of this information because of his science background, but I wasn’t.)

After we left there, we took two walks– one along the trail that links the site to the beach. From there, we were able to see glaciers. It was good to get out for a walk; then we took a another walk along the boardwalk.

We learned an interesting fact today. After the 1964 earthquake, the spit sank 4 to 6 feet. Hope we have good, stable weather tonight since this is where we are sleeping!

The pictures were taken in Anchorageand in Homer.

Aug 14,

It was raining this morning, but that didn’t deter us. Steve and I found a wonderful little bakery where we enjoyed cinnamon muffins and coffee. By the time we got on the road, it was 11:00! I guess we get a little poky in the rain. From what I understand, it isn’t unusual for it to rain here.

Three hours later, we arrived in Seward. Here we are in another city-run "camp ground." I use the term loosely. Really, it is just a big parking lot, but the view is nice on Resurrection Bay. Actually, we have the same view as the cruise ship that is docked right outside! From our door or window, we can see the ship.

Once we got set up, we went downtown and walked around the town which is lovely. It has to be because the cruise ships dock here. We bought some mantles for our Coleman lantern in case we are in a park with no electricity or in case our battery dies. Our big treat today was our visit to the Alaska Sea Life Center, Alaska’s only public aquarium. This aquarium is possible because of the enormous settlement from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Bet that spill cost them a pretty penney. I might have read 56 million. I am not sure.

We also stopped at an Internet café which reminded us of the Mad Monkey. Great young people work there. The coaches were all covered with slipcovers. They had used books on the shelves and lots of magazines around. It was nice, warm, friendly and fun just as the Monkey was. We checked our email and had hot drinks. Funny – the young man who served us is from Rockport, Maine. Is anybody going to be left in New England? Seems that they are all moving to Alaska!

Let me share a few interesting news reports from " The Anchorage Daily News." It publishes an Aurora report! "Today’s activity level: Quiet. Weather permitting, quiet displays will be visible directly overhead from Barrow to Fort Yukon and visible low on the horizon from Fairbanks to as far south as Talkeetna to Whitehorse, Canada."Isn’t that fun.

The top story in "The Anchorage Daily News" was a Soldotna man was charged with a 900 pound brown bear as the man was walking in the woods with his dogs. Luckily, the man had a pistol that he used on the bear. Today we drove through Soldotna. ( Mom, if you are reading this, Steve and I don’t walk in the woods so don’t worry!) When we read the paper, we know we aren’t in Naples, Casco or Waterford. To quote one of my favorite people – not better or worse, just different.:-)