Travels With Sir Charles: 06/01/16

Homer, AK Day Two

We heard the first motor-home pull out this morning at 5:30 am. Today is Memorial day. A steady stream left the area and headed for their long drive back to Anchorage or points north. The weather was cloudy and the bay was covered with whitecaps from the breeze blowing ashore We slept in and had a leisurely morning as we discussed the pros and cons of staying another day. Cons: Traffic and no rest that we all needed. Pros: A boat ride to Gull Island and a nice dinner at Boardwalk Fish and Chips. The pros won (my stomach got two votes) and we paid another night at The Home Spit Campground which by noon looked a bit like a ghost town.

Karen and Stacey decided to take the Water Taxi for a tour of Gull Island. I chose to stay with Charlie to read and enjoy some peace and quiet. The ladies enjoyed their day immensely- their boat ride started with choppy white capped seas, cloudy skies, and a cool breeze but the afternoon ended in calm seas and warm sunshine.They were not disappointed with the bird viewing and local stories from their captain. We met up in the late afternoon for fish and chips and then returned home to plan our drive to Seward on Tuesday.

Nanook of the North - preparing for a cold boat ride

It felt great to be back on salt water.

The day was filled with beautiful views.

We felt we were in Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds" as hundreds flew over our heads!

Fun day!

Homer, AK

We did our history tour of the City of Kenai after breakfast this morning. Near the campground is the former site of the Russian Fort St. Nicholas built here in 1791. This area was visited by Vancouver, Cook, and the Spanish in the 1700’s. We found old houses and cabins remaining from the late 1800’s and one house has survived since 1866. This area still shows the Russian influence with a Russian Orthodox Church still in use today.

We pulled up stakes around 10:00am. We had been warned about heavy traffic since it was a three-day weekend and only one road to Homer. We were also told we would encounter a large number of campers and vacationers. We were not disappointed. Ha ha We made a few stops for photos and small villages along the way.

We arrived in Homer about 2:00pm. The views from the bluff coming into town were amazing. It looked like you could reach out and touch the mountains. We looked at a couple RV parks in town but they were very small and crowded. We took the drive out to the Homer sand spit and found all of the people! This place is packed with campers and shoppers. There are many businesses offering charter fishing trips and a lot of T-shirt shops and restaurants. We saw a 141 lb. halibut hanging from a scale and people were bring many smaller fish off of the boats. Fishing was good today. We decided to spend tonight in the Homer Spit Campground with a few hundred other vacationers. It’s close to the food and shopping but a bit different from our experiences a week ago. The sites are in the open and if we extend the awning we will probably hit the RV next door. We consider ourselves lucky to have a spot for the night so we will make do and be happy. The sun is shining but the sea breeze makes it feel cool. There will be no lounging outside in the chairs tonight.

Tomorrow we are planning to do a boat trip to see the sites on the other side of the Kachemak Bay, if the weather cooperates. A second night here is planned. This is Sunday so most people will head home tomorrow. At least that’s our plan!


Russian Orthodox Church

Village of Ninilchik


Dry docked in Ninilchik

From bluff you can see the Homer spit

Charlie loved staying two days at the beach!

City of Kenai, AK

Our daughter, Stacey, arrived last night at 11:00 PM. She found out why this place is known as the “Land of the Midnight Sun”. We started out slowly this morning but after a coffee stop and a short visit to REI, we hit the road for points south. The drive along Turnagain Arm (a waterway into the northwest part of the Gulf of Alaska) was spectacular and the Milepost Book was our reference for points of interest. Stacey had some places she wanted to see so she was the navigator today.

We took our first side trip to see the Portage Glacier. After missing the turn to the glacier we came to the Whittier Tunnel. The toll is a bit expensive so we passed on going thru. They allowed us to do a u turn and we found the glacier view point. Disappointment! The only way to see the glacier is via cruise boat on the glacier lake. Short on time, we decided to skip the cruise and head off to Hope.

Hope is a very old, small gold mining community on the sound south of Anchorage. Very old cabins and scenic water views are the norm. We drove thru the beautiful, rustic campground, which was 90% full; then found a scenic overlook for lunch. With the motor-home we have the best views for lunch breaks.

We returned to the Seward Highway and found more mountain and snow covered peaks at every turn in the road. We decided to spend the night in the City of Kenai at the Beluga Overlook RV Park. We were surprised to find it only half full on this three-day weekend. The views of the beach and Cook Inlet were spectacular with the Alaska Range and Redoubt Volcano as a backdrop. Charlie had some beach time with Stacey before we set up for the night.

We are all adjusting well to four of us (Charlie counts as one) in the RV. Fortunately, the weather is good so Stacey and Karen can enjoy a glass of wine in the sun as I get the BBQ fired up. A man’s work is never done in this family.

It was a great stop for the night and tomorrow before leaving we will walk the area and study the history of this town.