Homer Fishing and Bumming

Thursday June 22 in Homer was partly sunny and in the 60's. Perfect weather for Kirk and Bill to go fishing! I took them down to the spit at 6 a.m. for their charter on the 50 foot Whistler which held about 20 people.  I came back to the Spyglass Inn and went back to bed! We had breakfast with the other guests who happened to be from Nekoosa and Rio, WI!Very nice people. We must have sat around talking until 10:30! Then Deb and I drove around Homer shopping.and sightseeing. We had burgers for lunch at the Boardwalk Fish and Chips. The guys came back around 3:00 so we met them on the dock.

 They each caught their 2 halibut per person limit. We had it processed and shipped at an outrageous price per pound- don't ask! We returned to the B& B and relaxed around the campfire in the back yard with the other guests, then went to AJ's Steakhouse with Pat for dinner. We all had the sirloin special with mushrooms and onions- good but not cheap! SKI- spending our kids inheritance!  We were back and in bed by 10:00.

Anchorage to Homer, AK

Wednesday, June 21, the summer solstice!  Kathy and Andy left real early. The four of  us took the bus to the airport to pick up a rental car. Headed south on the way to Homer. We stopped in Indian to eat breakfast at Froth and Forage Cafe (expensive but excellent with home made bacon, bread, and blueberry compote!)

We got to Homer around 2:00. We went right down to the Spit to reserve a fishing charter for the guys for tomorrow, with Inlet Charters.

We had pizza and beers at Finn's Wood Fired Pizzas. As we ate we watched salmon being cleaned at the place next door!

We then went to check in to our B&B, The Spyglass Inn.  What a treat! Our hostess, Pat, was so nice.  We had two bedrooms in the basement, with our own bathrooms and we even had a gas stove in our room which was very cozy! We chatted with Pat over glasses of wine, then went to the spit to eat dinner at Captain Pattie's.  I had grilled prawns and scallops, the others had baked halibut. Pat joined us too! We stopped at Safeway to buy lunches for the guys to take fishing. We got back around 10, of course it was still very light out.  Pat said that she often has a mama moose and two calves come through her yard at night, but we were not lucky enough to see them! (We promised to wake everyone up if we did!)

 

Train from Denali to Anchorage

On Tuesday June 20 it was rainy, cloudy and 50's.  We had breakfast at the McKinley Chalet, then got on the bus to the train depot which is within the park. We were seated in beautiful, domed cars with great seats and a bar in each car!  The train left Denali about 9:15 and traveled pretty slowly. Even though it was cloudy and a bit rainy, the scenery was still pretty along the Nenana River.  The trip was 232 miles and took 8 hours.

Our rail guide Carmella was very entertaining and made the time go fast.  We were picked up at Anchorage by coach buses and taken right to the Westmark Hotel, which is owned by the cruise line and not very updated.  We walked around looking for a place to eat, and ended up at Humpy's which is a sports bar and grill. Very loud and crowded but service was pretty fast.  I had a great crab roll (crab salad on toasted egg bread). Kirk had baked salmon, rice and grilled veggies. Kathy and Andy left- they are leaving early in the morning. The four of us walked around town and landed at Pioneer Bar, a local dive, to have one. We had 19 hours 20 minutes of daylight today!

The view from our room in the wee hours of the morning- still light!

Denali National Park

On Monday June 19 we had a very busy day at Denali National Park. We walked up the hill to the main lodge to get a quick coffee and breakfast sandwich which was terrible. We didn't have time to have a decent breakfast, we were trying to get on an earlier tour bus into the park but they were all full . We took the free shuttle bus to the park, went to the Access Center and Visitor Center to see the exhibits there- quite nice. We watched the videos about the park which were a great overview of the history of the park.

We took the shuttle back to the hotel and walked across the road to have lunch at the Salmon Bake, where Kirk and I stayed the last time we were here. I had crab grilled cheese with seafood soup- very good! Kirk had a halibut burger. Our Serbian waiter was very nice and we enjoyed talking with him as the place was pretty empty.

We got on the tour bus for the 8 hour Tundra Wilderness Tour at 3:10 in front of the hotel. We had our doubts about taking this long tour at that hour, but our driver/guide Cindy was awesome! Forecast called for rain but it held off until 9 p.m. on our way back.  We were so lucky, we had a grizzly sow and two yearling cubs come out and cross the road in front of our bus! We also saw moose, caribou, Dall sheep, ground squirrels, a fox, and birds. We stopped about every 90 minutes for a rest break. At our turnaround point (Stony Hill, at mile 62), we were able to see  part of Mount McKinley surrounded by clouds. We had a caribou run down the road in front of the bus too. We got back about 10:30.  It was still light out even though it was raining. What a day!

Alaska Cruise Day 7 & Day 8 bus ride to Denali

Saturday June 17, was sunny and still in the 40's.  We crossed the Gulf of Alaska heading towards Seward which is south of Anchorage.  The waves weren't too bad, but it was too cold to be out on deck so we spent the day inside. We went to "Win a Cruise" bingo in the Crow's Nest but did not win! Then I listened to a Q & A with the Captain which was very interesting. Kirk and Andy took a kitchen tour which was brief. Kirk and Bill played pickleball up on the Lido Deck (open air court with nets). After lunch at Lido I went to the Fine Art Auction with Bill and Deb for the fun and free champagne and prizes. We both won a print which we had to pay to ship home, and I bought another print. The rest of the day was spent eating and drinking and going to the comic/magic show in the main lounge.  We were in bed by 10:30, after putting our luggage outside the door! Andy and Kathy did check out the late buffet and said it was awesome.

On Sunday we docked in Seward, but had time to eat breakfast in the Lido before leaving the ship about 8:20.  Disembarkation was very organized and painless.  We hopped on a nice coach bus and rode up the Seward Highway towards Anchorage and then north to Denali National Park. The scenery was beautiful, lots of mountains with snow. Before lunch we stopped at the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla which was pretty cool. We ate lunch at Settler's Bay in Wasilla.  They had a sandwich buffet all set up for the bus which was very convenient (and good).

We also stopped at the Alaska Veteran's Memorial.  These stops weren't on our itinerary but I think they make them when they have time to kill in their schedule.

Our bus driver/tour guide Zach

We got to the McKinley Chalet at Denali about 6:00. After getting settled in our very nice suite we walked up the hill and across the street to Prospector's Pizza, which was packed.  We all had pizza and local beer. After dinner we stopped at the bar at the hotel for a nightcap and had a nice visit with the bartender Korie. When we went to bed at 11:30 it was still pretty light out.

Outside our room at McKinley Chalet 

Beautiful setting along the Nenana River

Original McKinley Park tour bus

Alaska Cruise Day 6- Glacier Bay

Friday June 16 we are cruising through Glacier Bay, at the north end of the Inside Passage. The weather isn't the greatest to be out on deck looking at the scenery.  Cloudy, and 40's.  We dressed warm and after breakfast got our deck chairs and bundled up with blankets to enjoy the view.  There was lots of ice floating. We even saw an eagle on an iceberg!  We went close to Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers at the north end of Glacier Bay, and saw some calving (ice chunks falling off). There were loud cracks like thunder. It was hard to get good pics but here are a few:

Traditional pea soup served on deck in real china!

After lunch we went to listen to the Park Ranger's talk in the theater, which was very interesting. They come on the ship from their base on the south end of the bay so they can share their knowledge with us. Very cool feature, not sure if all ships get that.  We were in a smaller ship (1400 passengers) which allowed us to go all the way up Glacier Bay.

We went to the Main Dining Room for our last Gala night- I enjoyed tenderloin and shrimp, chocolate souffle, and shrimp cocktail.  Getting spoiled by all the good food, and we haven't even tried out the late night buffet!