The End of the Road

The End of the Road

Homer, Alaska

September 11, 20221

Just as Tom Bodett said on his NPR show, Homer is indeed at the end of the road, specifically Alaska Highway #1. It’s fairly temperate (once again, temperate for such a northern location), about four hours by car from Anchorage, known as the halibut fishing capital of the world. 

We “anchored” as before without actually anchoring just off the Homer Spit that juts out from the city. A remnant of an ancient glacier, the Spit is now Hamer’s tourist district. 

We also landed at low tide.  Very low tide. In six hours it will rise over 20 feet. The pilings in the boat marina (100s of boats) are 40 feet tall to accommodate the tide falls that can reach 28  feet. We tendered to a landing dock in that marina and then had to climb up a long, steep, very,  very steep gangway.  It had steps built in! The Health App on my phone said it was equal to three flights of stairs. 

It’s another grey, drizzly day. Looking at pictures we’ve taken it looks like they’re in black and white. Very dramatic and artsy. Our original cruise around Kachemak Bay was canceled because the local tour operator couldn’t get enough people to work, a very common problem everywhere. We wandered in  and out of shops along the Spit (many were already closed until next May) before returning to the ship which then moved a few miles across the bay for kayaking and Zodiac exploring.  Myrta and Jim both got pictures of wildlife (harbor seal for Jim, sea otter for  Myrta, with the Scenic Explorer in the background. 

A pretty quiet day. 

A couple of nights ago the Executive Chef stopped by our dinner table to chat. Myrta asked him if ravioli would be on the menu any time soon (the menus in all the restaurants change regularly) and he whipped out a little notebook and asked if spinach and ricotta in truffle sauce would please on the 11th. We’ll, yes, kind Sir, that would be lovely. And so we had that ravioli for dinner as scheduled. Delicious. Our server told us we could order anything with 24-48 hours notice so we ordered filets for the 13th. Myrta and I also signed up for a class given by the pastry chef on the next sea day. Wonder if he/she will tell me how to make those delicious little kiwi Pavlova in the Azure Cafe? Luxury Adventure is in the eyes of the explorer.