June 14, 2010

Homer, AK

 

Easy drive this morning of a little over forty miles to Homer. 

Weather was cloudy and spitting rain.  Too bad because the views overlooking Homer and across the bay are outstanding.

We drove out the Homer Spit and found a place at a city campground.  More like a large segmented gravel lot but cheap and off the road.  Mostly the Homer Spit is just a long rock and gravel jetty with a road on top of it.  A couple of places it widens and there are various businesses along the road.

After setting up we looked up the office of K-Bay Air and confirmed our reservations for tomorrow.  We had a chat with the nice reservation girl and then her mother, a partner, came in.  We chatted with her a while and she asked where we were from.  When we told her Auburn, CA she said “Michael’s from Auburn! (owner/partner/pilot/guide).  He still has family there.  We talked about that for a while and she mentioned that he moved there from Palo Alto.  Where I grew up.  Double coincidence.  It will be fun to meet him.

We walked the shops on the spit.  Mostly very expensive food and ‘gifts’.

  We stepped in to the local iconic bar to see what it was all about.  Homer has been called ‘a quaint little drinking village with a serious fishing problem’.  The Salty Dawg is the epitome of that statement.  Small little building (actually three very small buildings that join each other) with a bar, a TV, a mounted King crab, and a few tables.  

The decorations have a nautical theme IF you can find them.  Everything is covered by dollar bills with notes and signatures written on them. 

When we were there the patrons were mostly tourists.  Usually it is filled with crusty fishermen complete with look and smell and language to go with the image.

 

One charter’s catch waiting to be filleted.

 

 

 

 

 

The dude in the orange overalls  is cleaning and filleting the Hallibut. (Real men clean fish topless. Right! Notice what the other two are wearing.  Temp was in 40’s with wind and rain)

 

 

 

 

 

We took a drive out East End Road.  This road goes for miles along the north coast of the Kachemak Bay and every inch of it has spectacular views across the bay to snow covered mountains with glaciers nestled between them.  Even with overcast sky it was stunning.

 

Float plane landing in float plane lake next to airport at base of spit.

 

 

 

 

This stained glass is in entry to post office.  Homer post office is probably half again as large as Auburn, CA post office and serves smaller population.