At Home in Homer

Where have I been? Homer of course. Some wonderful friends of mine planned this trip to celebrate my retirement. We rode together to Anchorage and stayed overnight with Dawn, who joined us. The 360 miles to Anchorage took a long time because we stopped for a picnic and to shop in Pat's shop in "Glitter Gulch" outside of Denali Park. Pat designs Alaskan wildflower prints for fabric and her shop is crammed with quality handmade stuff from Fairbanks, North Pole and nearby. We had an Alaskan picnic, dressed in all our warm clothes, eating fast and sharing food at the Mercantile at Denali Park.

On the way from Anchorage to Homer, we stopped and had lunch with Virginia and Tim, enjoying their view and their bear story. They woke up to fresh bear prints between their house and the river. We also stopped at Ninilchik to look for friends of Bev's but they weren't home.

We stayed at the home of Melissa and Dave who generously loaned us their house and all its possessions. Every night we sat in the hot tub overlooking Kachemak Bay in the moonlight. The weather was fantastic- warm and sunny with a slight breeze in the afternoon. We visited all the local galleries, the winery, the Mead shop, the bookstore, the Spit and of course, we beachcombed.

Homer is famous for their fishing (see someone's catch- not mine!) and the Spit is a long strip of beach sticking out into the ocean. The town used to be a homesteading community and there are still farms and animals in abundance. The little airport had a great display with pictures circa 1900 of the life in the old days. There are always openings in the schools there, but they are much sought after due to beautiful ocean vistas. The winter is formidable though and beware the wind off the Pacific Ocean.

On Sunday, we took a boat over on a 45 minute ride to Halibut Cove, a small community that shrinks to 20 residents in the winter. In the summer though, its full of fair weather Alaskans. I understand that originally, Clem Tillion, who started the community, sold only to families so there would be a continuity and school, but now it has the feel of a resort. The Danny J took us to the restaurant, Saltry, where we gorged on seafood and rich desserts. There are also galleries there, including Diana Tillion's. She's famous for using squid and octopus ink in her sketches. On the way back, the skipper wrapped a buoy around the prop near Gull Island, so we drifted for about 45 minutes while he frantically worked it off. Gull Island is a pungent rock so covered in gull dung that it appears white. We stayed a comfortable distance away to avoid being dive-bombed, I presume.

Also on Sunday, we intercepted a Breast Cancer Awareness and Fundraiser. We were all welcomed even though we didn't know about it in time for the walk/run, but Bev (a cancer survivor) was celebrated. She was interviewed for the paper and was invited to cut the cake. It might have to be an annual trip for us.

It was hard to leave- the beautiful ocean, best friends, great weather and lots more to see, but Dave and Melissa were coming home, so we eventually left. Thanks Sandy, Susan, Dawn, Bev and Cheryl for a great retirement party.