Homer Spit — They “left the light on for us!”

July 3: Today we drove from Anchorage down the Kenai peninsula to Homer. We had great weather and good highways all the way. We were last in this area in 1989 when Dave was working out of Kenai, but the whole area has built up tremendously since then. The town of Homer is located on the peninsula, but we are staying in an RV park on the Homer Spit. As you can see in the photos below, our coaches are all parked facing the water (Kachemak Bay), so we have a gorgeous view of both water and mountains out our big front windows. On the way here, we had lunch in the coach in a pull-off beside the highway. After arriving at the RV park and getting hooked up and settled, we both enjoyed a brief rest and then had dinner at Fat Olives, a nearby pizza parlor and restaurant. The pizza was quite good, and their specialty is a huge 28″ pizza, but for take-out only! We settled for a smaller one… 🙂

The view from the front of our motorhome. Wow!

Twenty-two of our motorhomes are lined up with great views east to Kachemak Bay and the mountains.

July 4: Today most of our group went fishing for halibut (’tis the season!), but not being fishermen ourselves, we opted to clean the coach, both inside and out, and catch up on some laundry. The fishing contingent were a little late getting back because in order to keep your quota of two halibut, at least one of them HAD to be LESS than 29″ long. Unfortunately, one of the guys had a problem catching one small enough (had already caught a big one), and ended up reeling in 14 fish before he finally got the small one he needed in order to keep the big one (go figure !). This poor guy was worn out from reeling in all these big fish! A group of us joined up for dinner at a place called the Chart Room restaurant. It is at the end of the Spit and our table afforded a great view of the bay. The food was delicious and the company, delightful–a perfect ending for the day!

July 5: We began our day today with a bus ride to a nearby wharf, where we boarded a tour boat that took us out and around a number of nearby points of interest. In all the sailing around, we saw bald eagles, some flying and some perched in trees onshore. There were thousands of sea gulls on–you guessed it!–Gull Island (man, was that noisy!), and sea otters cavorting in the waters of the bay. At one point several of us happened to see a small whale surface (come up for air). One of the guides saw it, too, and identified it as most likely being a minke whale, a variety of small whales that are occasionally seen in this area. However, they are very shy and seldom surface when anyone is around to see it. At Rookery Rock we saw more gulls as well as cormorants, a few puffins, and more otters.

After we finished the water tour and returned to shore, we boarded a bus to see a few sights of interest in the city of Homer and to tour the Norman Lowell Gallery. Lowell is a local artist whose lifetime work is displayed in a lovely facility on his property just outside of town. He is in his early 90’s, but is still alert and active. Sadly, he has lost about 90% of his vision, rendering him legally blind, but he still manages (with the help of intense light sources) to work on new paintings. This collection of his life’s work was beautiful and most impressive!

http://www.normanlowellgallery.net/normlowellgallery.php

Later, we had dinner at Captain Pattie’s with 11 of our friends. They’re such a fun group and we’ve had lots of scrumptious fish, but I fear that I may soon sprout fins! 🙂

We spotted this beauty on the boardwalk on the Homer Spit. It has wheels, but I don’t know if it is roadworthy. It is NOT in our traveling group.

One of the refreshing scenic views on our boat trip on Kachemak Bay.

The coves and islands of Kachemak Bay opposite Homer are great places for kayak adventures. — The coves and islands of Kachemak Bay across the bay from Homer are great places for kayak adventures.

Tour groups and individuals take water taxis across the bay to camp, hike, paddle, and enjoy the area.

We spotted this pair of bald eagles from afar while cruising one of the coves.

Puffins are one of several species of bird that inhabit Gull Island. The puffins make their nests in underground burrows.

July 6: This morning began with a pancake breakfast and a short worship service in the RV park meeting room. A little later in the morning, Dave and I arrived at the Homer Airport for our helicopter ride to a nearby glacier. The weather for doing this couldn’t have been lovelier: sunny with a light breeze. Our pilots and guides were all very good and the experience was an amazing one! We tromped around on the ice and learned a lot about glaciers while doing so. Just before we left, we were served “champagne on ice” from bottles that had been chilling in one of the nearby puddles of glacial melt, and the guides happily took photos of us with our cameras (see below). It was truly an amazing experience and by far my favorite at this stop.

After a nap this afternoon (it’s exhausting, tromping around on those glaciers, you know!), we had a pot-luck dinner with fried fish provided courtesy of our Motorcade fishermen and cooks. All of the food, especially the fish, was delicious, and the drivers’ meeting afterward was a hoot, as they usually are! Now it’s about time to call it a day and rest up for another travel day tomorrow. Kenai, here we come!

The Homer Spit is the remnant of a glacial moraine the extend about six miles into Kachmack Bay from the Kenai Peninsula. — The Homer Spit is the remnant of a glacial moraine that extends about six miles into Kachemak Bay from the Kenai Peninsula.

Our view of the Homer Spit shortly after our helicopter left the airport in Homer. Twenty-two of the motorhomes arranged neatly with windshields toward Kachemak Bay on the east side of the Spit are in our group.

Wow! This is the view of Grewingk Glacier as we approach from the sea.

This view looks "down" the Grewingk Glacier toward Kachemak Bay, which receives its melting water, ice "calves," and debris. — This view looks “down” the Grewingk Glacier toward Kachemak Bay, which receives its melting water, ice “calves,” and debris.

Dave and Marilyn sport big grins after a great helicopter trip to the glacier. What fun this is! In the background, the tour crew help previous visitors board for their flight back to Homer.

Our "taxi" left us to take other folk back to Kenai. Fortunately, they did retrieve us after our brief adventure on the ice. — Our “taxi” left us to take other folk back to Kenai. Fortunately, they did retrieve us after our brief adventure on the ice.

Marilyn explores a hole in the ice with her walking pole. Some of the holes disappear far into the depths of the glacier.

It was a bit scary approaching the waterfall that cascades into the heart of the glacier. With the help of our guide, we remained safe and were able to pose for a picture.

Water from surface streams cascade down a waterfall into the depths of the glacier.

The champagne is "on ice." There is no problem finding a place to chill your wine here, even on July 5! — The champagne is “on ice.” There is no problem finding a place to chill your wine here, even on July 5!

Dave and Marilyn enjoy a champagne toast to celebrate our adventure.

This is the view "up" the glacier toward the mountains when it came. — This is the view “up” the glacier toward the mountains whence it came.

BIG_4571 — Grand views came one after another during our brief flight.

They are all lined up for great views of the sun rising over Kachemak Bay. I missed the sunrise because it is at 4:58 a.m.

Alaska Trip 2014

Dave and Marilyn's Motorhome Adventure

Homer Spit — They “left the light on for us!”