Homer Alaska

In August we went with Gavin's mom and dad, Maurice and Melissa, to Homer for an overnight visit. The drive to Homer is absolutely breathtaking. The mountains that line the drive are I.R.S., Mount Illiamna, Mount Redoubt and Mount Spurr. The drive along the Russian and Kenai Rivers keeps twisting and turning through the mountains. The beauty of the summer and the fireweed is so alive and vibrant it almost looks like a painting. Once in Homer there is the Homer Spit that is a small penninsula lined with quaint shops, fishing charters and the famous Salty Dawg Saloon. The Salty Dawg Saloon is a little cabin under a light house that has really low ceilings and is pretty dark. The walls are covered in dollar bills and women's undergarments. Each dollar is signed by the person who visited the saloon and has his or her hometown scrawled across the front as well. It is neat looking at all the places people have come from to have a beer in the saloon. The light house portion is what really intrigued me though, and I snapped picture after picture of the tall statue. The harbor is lined with boats and fishing vessels of all shapes and sizes. There are new, shiny ones, and old, rusted ones. Plus, further up the spit is a graveyard of ships. The skeletons of the once seaworthy vessels lie beaten, aged, broken and retired as they seem to seep into the spongy earth of the beach. I find the harbor a fun place to do some people watching as the boats and charters come and go. The fisherman and their sunaged skin, and knarled hands of experience lend an air of belonging to the Alaskan wilderness. They are strong even in the worst weather, and give the tourists a reason to come to the spit. The tourists, like ourselves, are easy to spot as we just do not fit into the harbor scene. Plus, we are all snapping pictures of other people's fish as the catch of the day hang on the prized gallows. Nehemiah found this to be the coolest part of his day. In fact, I had to go stir him out of his reverie for he was so intrigued by the fish he had blocked out the entire world. We stayed in a small hotel/cabin that openned up to a view of the bay. We could walk down onto the beach and enjoy the fresh, clean air. We awoke early and took the kids down to the beach when the tide was out. This allowed them to find some cool shells, and view some different kinds of snails attached to the rocks. We also spotted some jellyfish. It was a great learning experience for all of us. We had such a fabulous time, and really enjoyed our time there. When we lived here before we spent three or four days camping down on the spit, and took a halibut charter out. It was amazing, even though I was seasick after 20 minutes outside of the bay. We plan on doing this again this next summer if Nehemiah is old enough. He and Gavin can go get our catch of the day, while I hang out with the girls. Enjoy the pictures of Homer and the Homer Spit!