Category Archive:Alaska

Hey there – we have finally moved up to day two of our little anniversary jaunt. Are we having fun yet? Well, I know WE were, but how about you?

We beat the alarm up – it’s a bad habit I have, I know. 😉

After showers and coffee and cleaning up after ourselves it was time to try to find someplace (other than mcds) to have breakfast. We were facing 4.5 hours on a boat before lunch and hubby moose is diabetic – he NEEDS to eat. (Moosie, on the other hand, could stand to miss a few meals – heh).

Nothing was open at the crack of dawn – so we resigned ourselves to making the turn to go to mcdland, when I caught an open sign out of the corner of my eye – we turned in a driveway and headed back to a little cafe near the bowling alley. We were only the second customers of the morning – poor Sally (restaurant owner, cook and waitress) had been up for quite a long time but, even though she was exhausted, she was a great source of fun. And, the breakfast was good, too.

Headed on down the Spit to the berth of our ride – the Rainbow Connection was not quite ready for boarding, so we spent some time walking along the docks and taking pictures of the boats.

Here’s a favorite from that group of pics:

 

The air was crispy cool – very Alaska-ish. Perfect for we Alaskans, although some of the tourists were complaining a wee bit. Awwwww. We were invited to board and set out on calm, glassy seas. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

We made our way up Kachemak Bay – peeking into coves and bays, looking for birds (shorebird festival and all that) Along the way we were treated to a variety of other wildlife, some of which hubby and I had not been privy to before.

I got some great shots – although not of the wildlife, due to the restrictions on my little camera. I saw some really nice camera equipment hung around the necks of those birders, though. Pardon my drool, please. One of these days – maybe before our Hawaii trip, Lessa – I hope to upgrade equipment AND take a course or two in how to get even better pictures. We will see.

For now I will give you the rundown of our critter count. Remember, this is where we stood after day one:

Day 1 Critter Count:

Moose = 1

Caribou = 3

Eagles = many, many, many eagles

Tourists = 2 (to talk to, probably many more among us)

Campy Satirists = 1

Campy Satirist’s Sidekick = 1

People we knew = 6

Day 2 Critter Count:

Eagles and more eagles

Arctic Terns and other gulls (glaucous winged gulls and the like), Kittiwakes, loons, birds, birds, birds – but only one puffin was spotted!

Harbor seals

Harbor porpoises (very shy, but so fun to see)

Sea otters,

and, as a special surprise . . . a small humpback whale! You can see pictures here.

Around Gull Island we saw thousands of gulls! No lie, THOUSANDS!

We were beyond stoked at that. There were crazy little cabins way up the Bay – the only way to them was by boat – I’m thinking they are rentals and accessed by water taxis.

So, our critter count is mounting. More later, perhaps

So – got to Homer okay after the little run-in with the moose of the living, breathing variety. Stopped at the top of the hill to take a gander (not a critter, sillies, that would be a look) from the overlook there.

Augustine Volcano, as is its wont, was hiding from view. But we saw several eagles winging about. Visited with a couple of tourists and gave them our phone numbers for while they are in Alaska. (you just never know when someone might need assistance – and it goes both ways)

Drove around through town – I am a big one for scoping out ahead of time the places we need to be in the near future. We stopped at the Homer Chamber of Commerce/Visitor Center to pick up our tickets and got some good information. Drove down to the pub where we would see some two-legged wildlife later that evening – then down to the “Spit” to find the dock where we would board our boat tour Saturday morning.

Grabbed something for lunch and then went to check into our hotel. We had a feeling we needed to rest up a bit before the evening’s festivities.

 

Ah, yes . . . Mr. White Keys – now that is SOME critter! As you can see the show is done in the dark – there is a slide show going most of the time while he is singing or playing harmonica – with glittering flamingoes and palm trees and tinsel covered speakers and keyboard. He is insanely funny – the satire probably would mean little to someone who is not from Alaska, however. There is NO politician safe – nor printer, nor license plate maker, nor . . . well you get the picture.

During one of the slide shows I gasped and leaned over to ask hubby moose if I had done the typography on the shown letterhead with the word Peninsula spelled without that pesky second letter “n”. I always did have trouble with spelling that word (gee, moosie, what IS on your brain?) and have to watch myself very carefully in any written communication while at work. (sigh!) To top it off we actually DID do the printing for the school in question – Lessa’s and Ladybug’s alma mater, in fact. I have NO clue if we sent it out without that “n” or not. And, as we have closed the shop it is much too late to go back and check. hahaha.

Wanna see him in the light? (more…)

They’re awake and they’re hungry. Keep the bird feeders in and garbage locked up.

If you are squeamish, don’t click on the button. This is how it really is – we are always cautious this time of the year.

Okay – I’ve tried several times to embed the video and it won’t so click here.

Why the bird feeders you ask? Bears can make a big mess of them – suet, seeds, everything – and it draws them to your house – just like the untended garbage does. Too many bears have to be “put down” because of idiot humans.

I don’t believe the above bear was – it was just doing what bears do – eating after a long winter’s nap.

:moose: You’ll note that the moose was NOT purple. I know when to stay inside. (and no, it is not my footage.)

Here is a mini tour of the old and the new . . .

 

this is looking into the old office. I am standing just at the door –

 

and this is looking back at that door – I’m standing at the window.

Now . . . welcome to the new digs.

again – standing at the door. You can tell already that it is bigger, right?  The flowers and balloon? From the Boy, of course. Awwwwwwww. (and they smell so good!)

 

This is the unit next to that door. My moose family (seen in the last post) are happily settled into their new home. I hung prints of some of my favorite pictures. And, you may have noticed that the desktop picture on the computers in BOTH offices has one of my pics.

and, last but not least – I canNOT go anywhere without my grandbabies

 

I have two (count them – TWO) bulletin boards in my office. The first one I set up has all of the grands and other special folks on it. (the other just has the overflow of important, but boring paperwork) 

Come on up and I’ll give you a tour – for reals.