The Seward Highway to the End of the Road

The Seward Highway was all that they say it to be.  As soon as we crossed over the three bridge going over the three outlets in to the Turnagain Arm, we entered into an area that appeared untouched and all natural.  We were headed down the Kenai Peninsula to Homer, Alaska.

We took a wrong turn at one point as we entered into the town of Kenai.  We were heading to old town so Tom could see a church he had read about in our ever growing bag of guides and brochures.

The wrong turn ended up as good fortune for the dogs as we found ourselves turning around right by a ball field.  Ball!  Ball?  Ball!  Dogs out the door and waiting for a toss.  They are so easy to please.  Tom was doing the tossing as I finally changed from my sandals to socks and boots.  It was getting chilly with the overcast.  I took the picture below from a truck which was parked at the ball field.  It's not every day you see a bottle of coke emblazoned on an image of Alaska.

We took the right turn we missed and headed to Old Town Kenei.  Located on the banks of Cook Inlet was the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Church, a Russian Orthodox church built in 1894.  We walked around the building and took a peak inside.  I was surprised to see a priest waiting to answer any questions.  No pictures allowed in the interior, unlike the last church.  We did take some shots of the outside though.

Church Domes

Information and home for the priest

Outbuilding

Front Entrance

Across the street from the church was Veronica's Cafe.  It was getting near lunch time and it seemed like a perfect place to grab some nosh.  We pulled into the parking lot and found one empty spot.  Good sign.  We walked up the wooden path up to the door and entered a quaint shop offering sandwiches, coffees & teas and a friendly staff.

The first person was named Veronica.  I asked if she was "The" Veronica and her reply was, "We are all Veronica."  What a fantastic reply and sentiment.

We ordered some sandwich specials and found a table on the covered porch.  Lots of locals were there. They all appeared to know each other.  While we waited for our lunch to be delivered, To walked around the grounds and took a few pictures.  The place just screamed "lovely!"

Look close.  That's me in the window.

Getting back onto Route 1 was easier than getting off.  We found ourselves traveling along the edge of Cook Inlet.  Supposedly, during the summer, it is a great area to see Beluga Whales, but none were to be seen that day.  We were also supposed to see some Dall Sheep, but once again, they too were not seen.

My research prior to our trip afforded me a destination stop in Homer.  Two Sisters Bakery.  I don't know the history of the place, but after stopping by the shore, located a few blocks away, we went back for some coffee.  Tom purchased some bread for our dinner that night as well as some coffee to brew over the next few days.  Again, the community was all around us in the brightly colored seating area.

Thank you Yukon Charlie for the turnaround!

We had heard from Veronica that the Homer Spit was a great place to camp, so we headed towards the spit, passing through downtown Homer.  It was fairly easy to find as it was the end of Route 1, the westernmost highway of the United States.

The weather was windy and cloudy.  As we drove along the spit, passing a few campsites, small shops and restaurants.  We drove to the end of the road and stopped.  We took this shot of a boater chugging along the choppy water.

The wind was really blowing.  The few tents which were located on the spit were held down with rocks and rope.  There was nothing to break the wind and I was a bit cautious about spending a night there.  I googled camping in Homer and found another campsite located in the hills of Homer.  I decided to take the chance and head up to see if there was a site available.

We followed the map to Hornaday Campground, through a residential neighborhood and up the hillside.  They had a few sites for the whopping price of $8 a night.  Score!

We set up camp and walked the dogs down to the registration area to pay for our night's stay.  As we went down the hill and cleared away from the trees, we saw the glacier which could also be seen by Homer Spit when there was no cloud cover.  The clouds were starting to break over the glacier and it shone it's brilliant blue ice for us.

We headed back to the spit so Tom could get some fish for dinner.  Google again and a dose of yelp brought us to Captain Pattie's Fish House.  We went in and gave our name.  Half an hour wait.  They took my phone number and told us they would call us when our table was ready.  Great service!

It gave us a chance to check out a few of the shops.  Tom picked up a few postcards.  There was a lot of aboriginal arts and clothing.  Also cribbage boards carved out of various bone or stone, all shaped into the local fauna.

Captain Patty called and we were back for a scrumptious fish meal consisting of Halibut, Salmon and Scallop.  The service was friendly and we simply enjoyed the exquisite dinner.

We headed back to camp and headed right to bed.  Another long day was over.  We were at the end of the road and thoughts were creeping in that we will be heading back from here.  The fears of crossing borders with a broken Indian Card had not crossed my mind for a few days, but we were heading towards Juneau to check out the capital and that meant a number of crossings to get there.

That would be another day, though.  Tonight, sleep!