Day 29- Homer

 July 10

Our last day in Homer.  On Wednesdays there is a Farmer's Market in town and Libby asked if we could go.  It didn't start until 2 so we had to waste some time before we could go.  

Heidi washed all the fish slimed and puked on clothes while the girls and I got the camper packed up.  By noon we were ready to go.  There is day use parking with a spot of RV's so we dropped off the camper and the girls dropped me off at the point to do a little more fishing while they checked out any shops that were closed the night before.

Everyone was in a much better mood today and they had a blast checking out the shops and taking pictures.  The Alaska Japanese Club were playing Taiko drums at the amphitheater.  We are not sure if they were just a group that meets to play and hang, if it was a performance or an interactive thing but apparently the girls were invited up to play with them.  Only Davan and Libby participated but it sounds like they were having a good time.  After a few hours they all came down to the point to hang with me.

The point was packed!  Low tide was right around 12:15.  I got there about 12:30-12:45.  I noticed that the 

guy that helped me the night before bucket along with his stuff was still there.

I picked out a spot and cast out.  I had some salmon from last night so I started with that.  The flesh was getting mushy but the skin was still very strong.  I noticed that no one was really pulling anything in.  I saw that directly in front of me about 2 feet from the water's edge that there was a starfish so I considered it my lucky spot.  I casted in.  It was a bit of a slow start but before to long I started pulling them in.  They were all cod, around the same size as last night.  Maybe a touch smaller.  I decided not to keep them.  Also caught an Irish Lord.  Tossed him back as well.  I was just fishing for fun today.  My most interesting catch was a starfish though.  He was not very lucky has he was missing a leg.  He also got tossed back in.

The tide is very interesting.  When I was renting the pole I asked about how to fish.  The told me I needed to cast out as far as I could.  I asked about wearing wadders because that's what I saw the guys doing that were fishing for salmon in front of the camper.   They told me no but also said that I'd be out there and then all of a sudden have water filling the wadders up.  I thought that weird because how would you not realize that the water is rising?  You really don't thought.  At least standing on the shore line.  The only real indication the water was rising was that the starfish got further and further away.  Also I didn't have to walk as far to my stuff to rebait my hook.  

After a bit I decided to move.  One of the guys that was fishing last night mentioned he had caught a small halibut on the other side of the point so I wanted to give it a try.  There was no one fishing over there.  I was getting nothing but weeds.   Shortly after the girls all showed up.  We stayed there for another 10 minutes or so without a bite so I suggested going back to where I was so they could experience catching a fish if they wanted.  

I was noticeably less busy, but the water had come up so far, I think the fishing was starting to taper off because of it.  We were able to get the same spot.  The guy that helped me from the night before was back.  He said he had got to take a short nap, intending to come back, but didn't wake up til morning.  He gave me a fresh chunk of salmon as I had to go back to the herring.

Almost right away I had a fish on.  I handed it over to Davan who landed it.  A nice sized cod.  We decided it was large enough to keep.  Next fish was Summer's turn.  She got a small flounder.  A couple casts more and Heidi landed a cod even larger than Davan's.  We decided to keep that one as well.  Libby was not interested in more fishing so she was just hanging out in the truck after we moved.  

We decided to call it a day and get moving as it was around 3 at this point. and I still needed to clean the fish, return the pole and hitch up the camper.  The girls dropped me off at the fish cleaning station while they went back to the camper.  Unfortunately I had to toss Davan's fish.  I cut out the filet and it was filled with worms.  I hated killing a fish jus too throw it away but it was inedible.  The fish Heidi caught was clean though so I got that packaged up and walked to the truck and camper which happened to be only a few hundred feet away.  The tackle shop was also on the backside of the parking lot so I was able to walk that back as well.

Since the girls were being so great we stopped at the boardwalk for ice cream.  The weather was perfect to sit on the boardwalk, people watch and enjoy our ice cream.

On our way off the spit I stopped to take some photo's of the lupine flowers.  They are incredibly beautiful blue/purple wild flowers that are everywhere in the peninsula.  Along the road is a very nice bike path and the town as lined both side of the path as well as the opposite side of the road with lupine.  It's very beautiful to see the road framed in blue with the mountains in the background.  My goal was to get a nice clump of lupine in the foreground with the blurred mountains in the background.  They turned out ok.  I was there was less clouds.  

We stopped at the farmer's market on the way out.  We got there with a half hours to spare.  It was pretty sparse.  Only about half of the booths were occupied.  A typical market.  Mainly people selling vegetables.  Lettuces.  Guessing that's what's ready at this time of year.  Some one selling backed sweets.  A knife maker and someone with homemade ice cream.  There was also an artist selling everything from paintings to jewelry and beading made from antler, horn and bone.  Pretty interesting.  She harvested those items herself and then cut and shaped them by hand.  

She also had a make and take table.  Something different each week it looked like.  This week was earrings made from porcupine quills.  Libby and Summer both wanted to make a pair.  They turned out really well.

We were finally on the road back to our friends in Kasilof.  Just outside of Homer we saw two giant moose in someone's front yard.  Can you imagine the conversation when your spouse gets home and ask why you didn't mow today?  Yea Honey, I planned to do it, but there was a giant moose in the middle of the yard.

 

Back at our friends, Heidi got to work on laundry.  I'm not sure how we acquired so much in such a short time.  And she did some in Homer.

Dinner was smash burgers which was great as always.  Girls must have been tired as there was zero fight to go to bed and keep quiet.  Heidi and I had a gin and tonic, the gin was made in Alaska and was excellent, while just relaxing for a bit before bed.