Home in Homer…

I left off last time after a (mostly) boring work week – which means this week we are OFF!

We had decided we needed a sweet treat so a stop at Harbor Creamery was called for.  One word – YUM!

just called out to us!
very colorful place
lots of yummy flavors to choose from
someone drew on the wall!



Saturday, after helping clean 8 cabins, we met some fellow RVillagers, Mary & Rollie.  They are full-time RVers and are staying at Lowell Point State Recreation Area, south of Seward.  Rollie is volunteering there and Mary is working in Soldotna as a lab tech.  She works 4 days then drives back to Seward for her days off.  We had tried to meet up when we first arrived, but stuff kept getting in the way.  Gary had told us about the Summer Solstice Celebrstion in Moose Pass, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do something fun together.  We enjoyed the festival and dinner at Trail Lake Lodge.  Since we are here the whole summer, I’m sure we will see them again!

there were lots of Alaskan made items for sale
lots of tents
Beergarden
moose calling contest – hadn’t seen that before!
there were many different local bands playing throughout the day


We did some chores on Sunday and Monday morning hitched up for our 154 mile trek to Homer!  After plenty of research and discussion, we decided to stay on the “Spit”.   The Homer Spit is a small, about 4.5 miles, Penninsula of land that sticks out of the south end of the City of Homer.  It is very narrow, with one road in/out and a couple of side roads near the end.  There is small and large boat marinas, the large boat marina is home to the Deadliest Catch’s boat “Time Bandit” but it wasn’t in port this week!  The land reminds me of an area near where we grew up called Sandy Hook, only Sandy Hook is much larger.

On the way, we stopped at the Fred Meyer in Soldotna for groceries.  They have a huge parking area and there were several RV’s of all types parked and resupplying.

It was very convenient to be able to put all our items straight into the frig and cabinets where they belonged, while still parked and not have to put them all in the truck and then transfer to the rig later.

We had been told about a pull-out right before Homer, which is a great place to take pics – so of course we stopped!

amazing!
can’t take a bad pic!
rig porn as my friend Tracy calls it!
guess this is the best place for Bill & Ben to catch us some halibut!
looking out to sea


Bill took this one – beautiful!


We were filling up with water and choosing a spot at Fishing Hole CG by 3:30pm.  Not too bad considering we drove right by it and had to find a place to turn around.  Thankfully that wasn’t too difficult, as there were plenty of large parking areas that weren’t filled up at all.

While Bill was at the water filling station, I walked around to scout out a site for us.  I had chosen this place b/c of the views of Kachemak Bay and surrounding mountains.  There was one bay front site and I was standing sort of in front of it when this women came out of another site and pulled right around me and parked in it.  She got out and I said “I was going to have my husband park there when he was done getting water” to which she replied “you WERE, but now I’m here – you’ll have to wait like we did”!  WOW – a certain 5 letter word beginning with B comes to mind and almost flew out of my mouth – but I swallowed it, not wanting to be a B**** myself.  Instead I walked over to my second choice spot, which had a fishing hole view and stood right in the middle of it – no one was getting this one from me!

view out my back window
beauty everywhere we looked
one of the many bald eagles we saw

While in Homer, we did a lot of relaxing, binge watching Game of Thrones, but also took some walks and a hike.  We watched people fish in the fishing hole behind our rig, and then watched the gulls and eagles fight over the remains at the cleaning station, which was actually quite amusing.

taking flight with his lunch
Bill took these – he got some great shots – I think this is the best one!
or maybe this one


We stopped in at Boardwalk Fish & Chips and split an order of their halibut fish & chips.  It was really delicious but so pricey for not a large portion at all!  Seems eating out up here is pricey everywhere!

lots of little shops and restaurants


wow!
one of the many places to get fresh seafood – they also will process, freeze and ship your catch
this place had some really interesting stuff – owner didn’t want me taking pics inside
another restaurant
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We also checked out the Alaska Islands & Ocean Visitor Center.  They had quite a bit of info about the wildlife in the area, such as the otters and birds.  We walked out the beach behind the facility – more amazing views!

Alaska Islands & Ocean Visitor Center
they had some very cool exhibits
sea lion
this jacket is made from seal intestine – EEWWW!
walking down to the beach
the beach – if only it were a little warmer!
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On our hike – we didn’t see any wildlife, other than a few birds, but plenty of flowers – and views of a glacier!

Eveline State Recreation Site
gorgeous!
took a few in Black & White
this one with the glacier looked especially dramatic in B&W

there was beauty in every direction
loved these dark purple flowers – no idea what they are called
heading back – had to stop for one last pic


We celebrated the Summer Solstice by taking some pics of the  first Strawberry moon in 68 years!  A Strawberry Moon is when the full moon occurs on the first day of summer – which won’t happen for another 47 years!  Basically a once in a lifetime event for Bill and I!  And we saw it in Homer, AK!  What made it even more awesome is the sunset was 11:32pm and the moon came up at 11:15pm, so they were in the sky at the same time for 17 minutes!  Opposite sides of the sky, but still amazing!  Our time in Homer was short, but we will be returning at the end of August.  Bill and our friend, Ben, will be doing a fishing trip with the hopes of catching lots of halibut and salmon.  Jo and I will have to plan something special for that day!

stopped in for a beer
small local brewery
Bill putting in his order
just happened upon this 
lots of locally made items for sale and some great produce
beautiful sunny day!
visitor center
cool floor insert
otter playing in the water


this was taken at 12:05am
love this one of the eagle and the full moon
close-up of the eagle
Strawberry Full Moon


After a quick stop at Fred Meyer for lemons, wine and a cake, we headed back home to Seward for Marna’s birthday!  Guests had left us halibut and salmon and Gary had them marinating, plus broccoli casserole and roasted potatoes!  Some of the fish was grilled and some fried and wow! did we have a feast!  Happy Birthday, Marna! Our work week started early, as there was 7 cabins to turn over today.  Tomorrow we will be in Seward, having another yard sale, hopefully completely emptying the storage unit this time!

getting ready to grill some halibut
more halibut – I told you we had a FEAST!
halibut AND salmon!


Til next time…

9 thoughts on “Home in Homer…

  1. Really happy for you and Bill. Looks like your workamping gig is giving you the opportunity of a lifetime. Seeing Alaska better than any vacation ever could. Great pictures!

    1. Thanks for reading! This has been an amazing trip so far – I’m sure you will love it! The sky is so blue!

  2. Wow fantastic pictures. Bills eagle pic was absolutely amazing. I saw the video but the pic was so so good. Loved the farmers market also. I really want to check that out . I know our schedule is pretty full when we get there but maybe we can pop over Monday am or something. Wonderful landscape pictures…I love places where you can’t take a bad pic. Really great little town, I liked the vibe and because of this post I am definitely going out of my way to see it. Thanks for sharing!!

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