Day Thirteen – June 18, 2008
We began our Wednesday morning with another breakfast at the White Spot Cafe, just down the street from our hotel, and departed for Homer, AK, on the Kenai Peninsula, 225 miles to the south, at about 1030 hours. We have half-day Halibut fishing reservations for Thursday morning at 0600.
Speaking of fishing, at one point along the Kenai’s beautiful turquoise green river we counted thirty fishermen within ¼ mile of one another working the shoreline for Salmon.
En route to Homer, which touts itself as, “A quaint drinking village with a fishing problem,” we stopped at the Harley-Davidson dealer in Soldatna, AK, a small seemingly unlikely place for a HD dealership. But, it was nice dealership with friendly help. So, once again we purchased more officially licensed Harley-Davidson “T” shirts; it’s a disease.
We began our Wednesday morning with another breakfast at the White Spot Cafe, just down the street from our hotel, and departed for Homer, AK, on the Kenai Peninsula, 225 miles to the south, at about 1030 hours. We have half-day Halibut fishing reservations for Thursday morning at 0600.
Speaking of fishing, at one point along the Kenai’s beautiful turquoise green river we counted thirty fishermen within ¼ mile of one another working the shoreline for Salmon.
En route to Homer, which touts itself as, “A quaint drinking village with a fishing problem,” we stopped at the Harley-Davidson dealer in Soldatna, AK, a small seemingly unlikely place for a HD dealership. But, it was nice dealership with friendly help. So, once again we purchased more officially licensed Harley-Davidson “T” shirts; it’s a disease.
When we inquired about a good restaurant in Soldatna for lunch, the staff referred us to a trailer across the street in the dirt, where two good old boys from Oklahoma had set up shop as Black Jaxx’s BBQ. Apparently, Soldatna doesn’t have a good restaurant, or at least one the HD staff was willing to recommend.
As we were getting gas in Soldatna, we saw a couple of familiar faces go by on their Harlies. A few miles later we caught up with them. It was Roy and Val from Ontario, Canada, the same couple we met a few days prior on the Alaskan Highway in Canada where Val lost her bag containing their money, ID and passports.
Alaska is a huge state, 1/5 the size of the continental US; however, it has relatively few paved roads, so it is not unusual to run into fellow travelers on the highway. We met and frequently crossed paths with five men traveling from Guadalajara, MX to Alaska on BMW R1200GS’s. Their ride was sponsored by various Mexican businesses—nice.
Just prior to entering Homer, and its famous Spit, a long sand bar jutting out into the bay, we stopped at a scenic overlook just in time to see two young Bald Eagles cavorting in the sky just above our heads. I think there were romantic implications, but one can’t be sure. They were the first of several Bald Eagles that we would see this day. Of course we experienced the usual traffic delays due to road construction on our way to Homer.
Prior to having supper and turning in for the evening at the local Best Western (Nope, we’re still not camping) we stopped off for a cold one at the Salty Dog Saloon on the Homer Spit, where it is a tradition to sign and post a dollar bill on the wall or ceiling. Not being ones to break tradition, we complied and posted a bill.
Tomorrow, it’s up at 0445 for a 0600 date with the “Spirit,” a half-day Halibut fishing charter boat. Wish us luck.
As we were getting gas in Soldatna, we saw a couple of familiar faces go by on their Harlies. A few miles later we caught up with them. It was Roy and Val from Ontario, Canada, the same couple we met a few days prior on the Alaskan Highway in Canada where Val lost her bag containing their money, ID and passports.
Alaska is a huge state, 1/5 the size of the continental US; however, it has relatively few paved roads, so it is not unusual to run into fellow travelers on the highway. We met and frequently crossed paths with five men traveling from Guadalajara, MX to Alaska on BMW R1200GS’s. Their ride was sponsored by various Mexican businesses—nice.
Just prior to entering Homer, and its famous Spit, a long sand bar jutting out into the bay, we stopped at a scenic overlook just in time to see two young Bald Eagles cavorting in the sky just above our heads. I think there were romantic implications, but one can’t be sure. They were the first of several Bald Eagles that we would see this day. Of course we experienced the usual traffic delays due to road construction on our way to Homer.
Prior to having supper and turning in for the evening at the local Best Western (Nope, we’re still not camping) we stopped off for a cold one at the Salty Dog Saloon on the Homer Spit, where it is a tradition to sign and post a dollar bill on the wall or ceiling. Not being ones to break tradition, we complied and posted a bill.
Tomorrow, it’s up at 0445 for a 0600 date with the “Spirit,” a half-day Halibut fishing charter boat. Wish us luck.
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