Home(r) Kayaking and a few others

We woke up on Saturday morning to a bit of fog and chill. We saw some sun trying to peek through the clouds and we were hoping and praying our the sun would burn off the fog...

We had a little time in the morning so we went off on a bike ride by the water

After our ride, it was time for kayaking and fishing!!  We drove down to the spit and the fog was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.  We still had faith it would be a beautiful day for us and let me tell you, the jackpot strikes again!  

 What an amazing day it turned out to be!!!  All of these are iPhone pics, I can't even believe how well they captured the beauty of the day!!!!

 Boat slips off of Homer spit

 Getting ready to head out, waiting for the boat to pick us up to go kayaking.

 And......we're off!

We arrived at the dock where the kayaks were kept and we met the resident seal.  

Isn't my mom adorable?!

Strapped in the divorce kayak (2 seater, ha!) and we were on our way.  I was seated in the back because my mom said I had a better "sense" of how to navigate.  Any of you who know my mom know that she's not the best at following what someone else says, she just kinda does her own thing...so ..after a few unsuccessful attempts, I let her take the reins from the front, much easier :)  

Always smiling!

 Sea otter!

 Stopping for a break 

 Kayaking ladies!

 more seals

 Houses and restaurant on the other side of the spit near Halibut cove.  

We kayaked for a total of 5 hours and then it was time to head back to pick up the boys.  

What fun we had out on the water!  

We arrived back just in time to pick up the boys, who walked towards us very nonchalantly, carrying the coolers that they brought in case they caught fish (of course, they don't guarantee you'll catch halibut).  They sort of were frowning, acting like they caught nothing, which of course you know from the previous post, they hit the jackpot, catching 2 fish each!

Some other Halibut, wow!  

Camping on the spit!  What beauty!!!

The boys were anxious to come home and cook their dinner they caught! Wow, they don't get to say that too often!  They were in hog heaven! 

Dinner for the boys!  My mom decided not to eat the fish because she felt badly that the fish had been swimming in the water just a few hours prior.  You're preaching to the choir with me on that one!!  

No wonder I haven't eating fish since I was seven!  Ha!

Another awesome day, in the books! 

Halibut Fishing in Homer

As you might have noticed from the sign in the previous post, Homer is the Halibut Fishing Capital of the World!  If you know my dad, Mr. Mediterranean, you know he'd never leave Homer without fishing!  Neither my mom nor I had any interest in fishing so we let them go on their way for the day while we spent some time sea kayaking.  It was a gorgeous (again, jackpot) day to spend out on the open water. 

Headin' on out!

Alright, alright, when are we going to get going! 

And they're off...views of the spit.  

Starting to get excited!!!

Wooo Hoo!!  We're almost there. let's start fishing !!

Beautiful views of the water!!! 

Halibut swim at the bottom of the ocean in depths of a few hundred meters so they had to go out pretty far to get to where they swim.  They have a quota of two fish per person, no matter the size.  So, here's hoping they get some big fish...that's their dinner tonight.  

Looks like a big one!

Come on, let me hold it up!

Check out that Halibut!!!

Love seeing my dad this happy!  Fish is one of the ways to this man's heart!

Eric, reeling in his first catch!

Woo Hoo!  

Check these guys out!!

Wowee!!!!!  Caspita!!!!!

Look at these guys!!!!!

Yes, this is what you think it is....they clean and skin the fish right on the boat for you.  We met Eric and my dad with two coolers full of Halibut.  

They came, they saw, they fished Halibut!

Off to Homer we go!

Since my parents were going to be here seventeen days, we really wanted them to be able to see a little bit of Alaska, so we'd planned a trip to Homer which is at the southern part of the Kenai Peninsula. 

  This trip also coincided with Becky and Jeff's visit to Homer.  We left early on Friday morning from Anchorage and took the gorgeous drive down towards Homer.

We had a fun time driving down, enjoying the sites, playing road games and stopping along the way to eat by the glacial fed river...ahhh, Alaska! 

 

I can't even believe my parents saw another moose!  

Ummmm, and a black bear!!  My dad spotted him from the road, we turned around and he was still there.  There were also quite a few anglers very close by but neither seemed to be too concerned with each other!

Rideout, or Illimana, can't remember...but one of the volcanos!

We made it to Homer!

We arrived in Homer to happily meet the owner of the cottage where we were staying.  On the way down, my dad said he'd like to move to Alaska, and get a 1,000 square foot house, with two bedrooms, a nice kitchen, comfortable couch, flat screen TV, views of the water, and a deck with a BBQ grill....well, voila!  I swear, what we stayed in, was exactly what he "asked for"...I swear, he was ready to move to Alaska that moment!!  Not only that, but we all fell in love with the owner of the cottage, he was the sweetest man who built the cottage, and a few others on the property.  He told us the story of his marriage, divorce, his cabin in the bush, and all other fun Alaska stuff.  My dad was ready to buy the big house on the hill (another story, but owned by his now ex-wife) so he could visit whenever he wanted and Bob could have his place back!

 Our adorable cottage!

 Bob's self-proclaimed man cave cottage

 Views from the cottage

So, we got settled, and headed out to the famous Homer Spit!

My dad is jealous of the men fishing..

But pauses for a quick shot 

Okay, time for the famous Salty Dawg Saloon to meet up with Becks and Jeff! 

Clearly, CM is not impressed by the Salty Dawg! 

Maybe he's changed his mind?!

He must have seen this bumper sticker and it made him laugh..

Or he started counting all this money and got distracted :)

Clearly, Becky and I are impressed!  And I'm sporting my cute new Alaska girl ear warmer given to me by Becks and Jeff :)

Or, we're just laughing at this shirt....sorry Texas, I still love you, but we've seen this a lot and it's funny each time.   

I'm telling you, I know how much money is on those walls, and ceilings, I'm an excellent estimator! 

Of course we sit next to a fellow New Yorker in Homer, Alaska!  

After our beers, it was time for some serious grub, and of course, everyone was craving seafood! 

Hmmm, I wonder why?!

Quick pic before we head off to Captain Patty's Seafood joint

Seat by the water, coming right up!
We all enjoyed a delicious meal and great company.  How much fun was it to meet up with our great friends and parents all the way in Homer? 

By the time we came out of the restaurant, the "Spit" had basically shut down by 9pm...(yes, this is what is looks like in the beginning of August at 9pm) so we went to check out where Becks and Jeff stayed...a cute round house!  Love it!!!

Finally a group shot that eluded us while we were in ANC!

Such fun to start our holiday in Homer with Becky and Jeff!  We are so grateful for your visit!!