Homer, AK Day 2

Saturday, July 22, 2017

When we got outside this morning the tide was out. This is the view from behind our site.  All the rocks exposed will be covered when the tide comes in.

Later we went to the Farmer's market.

It was mostly a typical Farmers Market with lots of crafts, fresh baked good, vegetables and health items.  One thing made it different...there was fresh fish for sale. I bought some tomatoes and some halibut cheeks.  We were told the cheeks are the best part.  Well I got 1.4 pounds for $22.

Next we went to the Auction Block Fresh Fish Market hoping to get some Pacific Cod.  They were out but I did buy some red salmon.  Chartered fishing trips were about $300.  I was able to get all the fish that would fit in our freezer for $54. We decided that was the better way to go.

Then we took all our goodies home and put them away.  By this time it was lunch time. A particular restaurant had been recommended for lunch. I looked for directions on the internet and found that it was closed this day, so we had lunch at home.

Next drove all round Homer and Homer Spit.

Out on the spit was this memorial to the fishermen.

This bell was next to the above memorial.

The Salty Dawg Saloon was open already.  I was able to get this picture without lots of people crowded around it. It is a very popular spot on the spit.

Since Homer is known as the "Halibut Capital" it was only appropriate there was a huge fishing hook on the spit also.

We are so blessed to have a beautifully clear day!

 There is a large marina on the spit were individuals can bring their boats and rent slips.  This is a small portion of the marina.

As you enter or leave the spit this lake is on the east side of the road.  It is the sea/float plane landing strip.

There were several drives recommended in the Homer Visitors guide.  We decided to take the one that led us up to a high overlook.

I saw a view off to my right.  To my left was a public spot. I pulled in. Several of these sand cranes were walking around among the wild flowers.

We made a turn and drove by the local Homer Reservoir.

There was a large family gathering. They were eating lunch so we were able to get a picture without people.

According to our GPS the road continued and would connect with another road back to the main road.  We decided to see what we could see.

The road got narrow and muddy. We kept going until it was so narrow and muddy we were not sure it actually went through.  We turned around.

As we get back to the beginning of the road, we see this barrel saying the road is closed. Notice it is tipped over and behind bushes if you are coming from the other direction.

We did get a bit muddy. We had seen some kids doing a car wash fund raiser so we headed there and got the car washed.

 For eighth graders they did an amazingly good job. We paid them much more than any other car wash, but it was for a good cause.

We went home and spent the late afternoon enjoying the sun while visiting with neighbors.
We did get to the high overlook, but the sun was in the wrong direction so decided to go back after dinner. BTW, I put the halibut cheeks marinating in olive oil, garlic and Mediterranean spices.  We cooked those on the griddle for dinner.  OMG!!! Fantastic and 1/3rd the cost!!

 Here we are back on the high overlook after dinner. There are lots of glaciers just across the bay. Below you see the end of Homer Spit where most of the activity is.

This is a closeup of one of the larger glaciers across the bay.

This shows some of the tiny islands across the bay towards the top of the picture.  The body of water towards the bottom of the picture is the sea/float plane landing lake. Below see a couple of planes parked on the lake.  We got a movie of one landing on the lake but the blog cannot handle videos at this time.

Here is the whole Homer Spit. It is about 4.5 miles long.

These beautiful fireweed flowers are all over the place.  Tic got this great picture.  See how many blooms are yet to open? That means summer is not over yet.  They say that after the top blooms open there is only 2 weeks till winter. Only 2 seasons here... summer and winter. Hee Hee