Fall Excursion

 This past weekend Jan and I and my daughter Autumn and her husband Aaron took a little trip down to the Kenai Peninsula to Homer. The town bills itself as the halibut fishing capital of the world. They may be, I don't know. I didn't go there to try out the halibut fishing. 

The trip down was breathtaking, with the fall colors, which were primarily yellow, were on display and around every bend we were greeted with a delightful new scene. The traffic, while more than I care for, wasn't all that bad. In fact after we got out of Anchorage we didn't really run into too much until we turned onto the road that led down to the Kenai. We passed several glacier fed rivers with their blue green water rushing by and multiple rafts of fishermen making their way down, I guess in the hopes of catching a sockeye or coho salmon.

Like many coastal towns, Homer is a fishing town and supports a good fleet of gillnet, seine, and charter boats. Noticeably missing were the trolling poles and masts of Southeast Alaska trollers. I think the line for commercial trolling ends somewhere north of Yakutat.

Homer has also capitalized on it's natural beauty and location at the end of the Kenai Peninsula and supports a strong tourist industry. Even though it was mid- September, there were still a number of tourists wandering around the spit and no small number of die hard campers on the beach.

We visited several of the shops that were open on Sunday morning and walked around the docks looking at the boats. Aaron and I had a discussion about one of the boats tied to the float. We were trying to figure out if it was wood or fiberglass. There were no visible planks showing, but it didn't quite seem to be glass either. I rapped the side a few times trying to find out and was surprised when the cabin door opened and one of the occupants stepped out. I apologized and explained what we were doing and she explained that the boat was made of plywood, apparently covered with fiberglass. It was a beauty and looked like it could really take some weather.

One of the more interesting buildings that we found down on the spit was the Salty Dog saloon. Part of it, I assume the original structure, was made of logs with a lighthouse added at a later date. I think more than anything it was a local watering hole, but I'm sure a number of tourists have dropped in. There was a sign advertising food and we thought we might have a meal, but when we went inside, we were met by a bar full of patrons enjoying a refreshing beverage, but no food. Of course we stood out like sore thumbs. It seemed like the entire bar turned to look to see who had invaded their sanctuary. We walked in the front and back out the rear. One of the more outstanding features of the bar was that the entire ceiling, the walls, windows and lights were totally covered in dollar bills that were signed by the previous owners. There was easily $10,000.00 just hanging around. Probably much more than that. It was quite a sight.

On Sunday, after breakfast we went back to the spit so the girls could look in the shops, and Autumn wanted to check out the inside of the saloon again and see if they had anything like shirts for sale. The bar opened at 11:00 I believe and we went in. We were the only ones there aside from the bartender, a delightful gal from Ireland named Noreen O'Brien-Duggan. She was more than kind, answering our questions, which I'm sure she's heard a thousand times that summer alone. She took the time to get to know our names and when we returned with our spouses, she remembered our names. She was such a hoot to talk to. It made my day speaking with her. I told her I would mention her in this blog post, so Noreen, this is for you gal. Thanks for your hospitality.  God bless you!

There is more to tell about our little weekend trip, so I'm going to do another post in a week or so with the rest of the story.  Until then, stay safe, look for the good things around you. There are lots.