July 21st

So, a picture is worth a thousand words, and this place can’t be described in words. It is beautiful. Last night before we went to bed, the sun was setting and causing the clouds to light up with bright pink over the mountains. It almost gave the impression of a volcano. The moon rose and was visible between two layers of cloud cover. Amazing.

This morning we woke up to a steady 25 to 30 mph wind and 49 degrees. The high was only 58 and it was C-O-L-D! I have been relying on my knitted socks from Judy to keep me warm each morning! They are amazing! In spite of the winds we decided to take the scooter out for a ride on the Spit. It’s only a few miles away and only about 5 miles long so how bad can it get?!

On our way out to the Spit we were able to view sea otters rolling in the very rough current as if it were their rocking chair. They have very white heads and large bodies. I almost mistook them for a log in the water until I saw one dive. They were fun to watch but incredibly difficult to take a picture of. I posted one but only to prove to you that we really did see them! Once on the Spit it became a pretty typical ocean side village. The houses were built up on stilts, they were painted very colorfully, and it was a tourist trap that we enjoyed skulking around on like Spit Rats! The boats that were docked were overwhelming and the air was filled with the sound of sea planes taking off and landing.

We went to the Salty Dawg for lunch but due to the thick smell of beer and cigarette smoke we decided on fish & chips across the road. The inside of the building was interesting enough to get a picture of before we left though. There were signs that displayed which road was a Tsunami evacuation route…. Interesting…. Since there is only ONE road on the Spit. I would say that if there were a Tsunami these people wouldn’t have much of a chance on using that route anyway.

This evening we drove up on Skyline Drive which took us above the Kachamack Bay and we got panoramic views of the Kenai Mountains across the Bay and an overview of the Spit below. Overall, in spite of the cold wind, it was a great day of site seeing. Enjoy the pictures!
1) Homer Spit, Kachamack Bay & Kenai Mountain Range
2) View of 2 glaciers. One all the way to the right & all the way to the left
3) The Salty Dawg
4) Inside the Salty Dawg are hundreds of signed dollar bills hanging from the wall
5) Fireweed in the foreground, boat dock in the distance. We have learned that fireweed will blossom at the top in the fall. It predicts the on coming winter
6) Tsunami evacuation route sign
7) Seafarers Memorial bell stands beside a monument for those who have died at sea
8) Ocean view from the Spit
9) Fishing boat & hundreds of gulls off the Spit
10) beach landscape
11) sea otter... no really!! Look in the upper right corner... look again, real close
12) Bishop's Beach... we had to visit.