Day 27: Palmer to Homer

In Which We Arrive At Our Cottage On The Bay

View From Our Cottage on Kachemak Bay

As I'm writing this I'm sitting at the table in our cottage right on Kachemak Bay. This photo about provides about the same view I have right now, except now it is dark.  So right now, it looks like this-- the lit-up area is the famous Homer Spit (which we will visit tomorrow).

Homer Spit at Night, as Seen from our Back Porch

But, I jumped ahead too quickly-- we began our day in Palmer, AK and packed up after 6 days in our house in the woods.  We were sad to leave such a nice place, but excited to move on to the beach.

It was a lovely day in Palmer when we left, but turned rainy in Anchorage and stayed overcast, raining on and off, for the rest of the trip.  We made a short stop in Anchorage so that M could say hello to her Alaska relations and then headed on out of town. (Note that she is performing perfectly (knock-on-virtual-wood) and did not require service of any type.)

M Says Hello to her Less Well-Traveled Brethren

The first leg of the journey was a repeat of the ride to the train station in Portage.  So, rain notwithstanding, Bob made a quick stop at the bakery we by-passed for lack of time on the way to the train on Sunday.  A happy driver makes a happy passenger.

Bob Eats a Maple Cream Filled Donut

Though still sprinkling, the weather through this stretch was better than the last time which allowed us to get a peek at some of the scenery we should have seen from the train.  Here are some examples:

Spencer Glacier (the one we were supposed to see from the train)

Driving Along Alaska Route 1

Another View from Alaska Route 1

A Different Angle of Driving on Alaska Route 1

This video provides snippets of all the roads we drove today, beginning with Palmer and ending in Homer.






I'm not exactly sure why YouTube decided that this truck was the key image in the video-- it is really far more scenic than a double-tanker. (Perhaps because this frame has the most sun.)

As we pulled into Homer, we saw the famous Homer Spit-- an extremely narrow five mile peninsula that ends in a small shopping area, notably containing the Salty Dawg bar, an art gallery, and yet another bakery. (That's Bob-Lisa-Bob, on the sightseeing priorities.)

Driving Into Homer, as the Spit Comes Into View

Our cottage is located along the bay, up on a bluff, a couple of miles east of the Spit.  We had a bit of trouble finding the place, as the directions said to look for the fire hydrant on the left and then turn into the green gate on the right.  Well, darned if there weren't fire hydrants every 500 feet or so along the road and gates of every type, color and description.  When we finally found the place, we realized we were supposed to look for the red fire hydrant (all the others being yellow), and that the gate was a metal one (as opposed to the green painted picket fence we had pictured).  Details, Details!

Anyway, we were thrilled when we did find it. Here is a view of the back porch of the cottage:

Back Porch of our Cottage in Homer

And special for Mom, here's a look at the living room:

Living Room in our Homer Cottage

And, if you're wondering what you see out those windows, here's a glimpse:

Looking Out the Window from our Homer Cottage

But the real views are best taken from that back porch, and from the yard-- which sits right on the bay.  You can see the Spit, the Harding Ice Fields in the distance, and even boats (and we're told Otters, and other sea life) in the bay.  

View of the Spit from our Backyard

View of the Harding Ice Fields from our Backyard

While we are tempted to spend tomorrow sitting in those lawn chairs and watching the action in the Bay, I think we'll probably head into town and explore Homer and the Homer Spit.  But, you never know-- lack of inertia may just prevail.

--Lisa