Homer Trippin

Realizing that my time in Alaska is almost over (18 more days), I've been feeling the pressure to get out of Seward and explore. Unfortunately, without a car, my options are limited, since this is just such a huge state and it takes forever to get around by bus or train.  I have been lucky enough to go to Homer twice in the past month or so, and I absolutely LOVE it there.  

The first time I went, one of my roommates was nice enough to let me borrow her car. Homer is only 170 miles away, which in theory should take less than 2 1/2 hours to get there...if there were multi-lane highways here. In reality, it took 4 hours to get there! Besides the tiny single-lane roads, there's tons of road work and slow-moving RV's to contend with, so it's a long trip. On the plus side, the scenery was BEAUTIFUL- especially around the Kenai River area. The river is an amazing aqua color, and now it's teeming with salmon and fishermen.  

The first big "city" (I don't know if I can really call it that, but it's bigger than Seward) we came to was Soldotna- we were ridiculously excited to see that it had traffic lights! And then we spotted a Taco Bell, so of course we had to stop there. Best Taco Bell (and most expensive) I've ever had. Once we got to Homer, we walked down to some tide flats and a beach, and it was fairly warm out, so we put our feet in the water. The beach was so pretty, I wish Seward had something like that. 

This was at a spot on the drive in to Homer. I believe the mountain is Mt Redoubt, an active volcano. 

Cook Inlet, seen from a "scenic spot" driving to Homer. 

The tide flats in Homer. 

The beach!!! Oh how I miss the beach in FL. 

So many barnacles! Fun Fact: barnacles have the largest penis to body size ratio of any animal :) 

After hanging out near the tide flats, we drove down to the Homer Spit, where there's tons of charter fishing operations, little shops, restaurants, and the Salty Dawg Saloon. 

Me & Andrea on the beach!! 

KELP!!! Yay seaweed :) 

Some halibut. 

We just did a one-day trip this first time...then when I went back again, I did an overnighter, camping on the beach on the Spit. Again, I had to stop at Taco Bell in Soldotna on the way there. Had to. It was a crappy, foggy day when we left Seward, but it was sunny & warm by the time we got to Homer. I was not looking forward to camping in the rain, but that definitely wasn't a problem! We found a campsite fast (and only $8!!) and set up what might be the smallest tent in the world. But look at where we were!!! Can't beat that view, and the sound of waves at night was amazing. 

After setting up camp, we walked down the road and stopped in some of the little shops- I bought 5 pairs of earrings :) I miss shopping! Then, we headed to the Salty Dawg for some drinks, and eventually made our way back to camp. Started a fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows- it was my FIRST TIME ever making s'mores! What?!?! 

So, both times that I've been to Homer, I've had a GREAT time. I really love it there. I didn't even do any hiking, fishing, kayaking, etc, but nonetheless I had a wonderful time! It probably helps that the weather was amazing both times I was there. If you ever get a chance, definitely visit Homer.