Heading to Homer

So pretty!

We leave the hotel around 6:00am (good thing we're falling asleep early) to head to the Anchorage train station.  This is the only activity we're repeating from our previous trip - taking the scenic train ride down to Seward.  It's a little confusing when we arrive - signs direct luggage to go one way, and there's a long line of people is another part (turns out the train is full, with over 500 people on it today)...but I'm able to ask some people in line what to do (because they speak English!).  Apparently you check in your luggage, and then get in line to get your boarding pass.  I've gotten used to Tokyo trains. It takes 10 seconds to buy your ticket, so you just show up right before the train is scheduled to leave and then immediately board.  For the train to Seward, we're directed to be there an hour before departure - and you need all the time.

Our train as it passes by a glacier.

It's a bit overcast but there's still beautiful views down to Seward. We're on the train with glass roofs, so we have full views to the outside. There's also open air platforms at the end of the car, so you can take photos without glass reflections getting in your way.  We have breakfast on the train (Steve has biscuits - something you don't see very often in Tokyo) and two alcoholic drinks are included, too.  I discover a new mixer - Major Peter the Works - which is a great Bloody Mary mix.

Greeney, water, mountains, snow - typical Alaska view!

Quick, take a picture - it's a WAMCAT!

As we travel on the train we see WAMCATS (Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System) - the old telegraph poles that are still "standing."  They were used up until the 1950's.  Our guide tells us someone bought the wiring and was excited to have the copper, until they found out it was just coated in copper, not copper wire.  It was a bad investment!

Not our taxi.

My parents had stopped in Seward a few days before we arrived, and told us we'd be able to get a taxi to our B&B (they've spent the summer exploring Alaska in their RV).  Once we disembark Steve stays with our luggage and I walk to the main road to see if there's a taxi.  One goes by, but I see a second one behind it.  I do my typical Tokyo "hand raise" to signal it, but it drives past, though the driver looks at me.  I'm able to take my phone out to get a picture (so we can call the phone number) when I realize we're on a one-way street/parking area.  I walk about a sixth of a mile to the other end, and I see the taxi turn in...but when I'm about 50 feet away, I see her turn back around.  I chase after, waving my arms (wonder if anyone filmed that for YouTube) and catch her.  Unfortunately, she just got a call for a pickup - that's why she turned around.  She says her husband is driving the other taxi, and she calls him to come get us.  He arrives by the time I walk back to Steve.  People are just as nice in the US as they are in Japan!

After dropping off our suitcases at the B&B we wander around the small downtown, stopping in the different gift shops and galleries (Anchorage has better ones).  We take the recommendation of our taxi driver and have lunch at Gold Rush, a casual spot.  Of course, there's a quilt store (Alaska is like Iowa - there's a good size quilt store in every small town).  I'm able to soak in all the batik fabrics while Steve enjoys sampling the local beers at the pub next door.

Seward quilt store

Look at all those batiks!  That's less than half of them - there's another aisle!

We eat at The Cookery for dinner.  It's very good!  We sit at the bar, which opens to the small kitchen, so it's entertaining.  They didn't know they made an appearance in a USA Today article a week ago, titled, "Alaskan Seafood Trail from Denali to Homer."  It's good timing for our trip! So far we've eaten at three places mentioned in the article.

Oysters, yum!

Back to halibut...but it's served differently than in Anchorage.

The next morning we start off with breakfast at our B&B (Sunshine House - you know I have to stay in a place where the owner is a quilter).  We have time to walk down to Resurrection Bay for a selfie before being picked up for today's adventure - a zip line course!

As we're driven to the course, the weather clears and makes up for yesterday's gloom -  it's gorgeous, with blue sky and very few clouds.

Our view while on the zipline course.

Look at that form!

We have 8 ziplines, a couple of rappels and a few (easy) bridges to cross.  We're on the course a couple of hours, and it's lots of fun! The guides do a great job - there's lots of joking around, but you feel like they're very professional and will keep you safe.  I'm afraid of heights, but decide to trust in the equipment.  However, the hardest part for me is leaving the platform and taking the two steps up so I can be connected to the zipline.  I'm harnessed to the ropes the entire time (there's a safety line in addition to my main one) and I'm already 50-100 feet in the air, but that extra foot above the ground makes me shaky!  It doesn't stop me from having a blast.

 

Steve's about to rappel down 50 feet.

 

Alaska or New Zealand?

After we finish with the zipline we drive to Homer. My parents dropped off their car at the B&B when they were here earlier, so we can drive ourselves.  The three hour plus trip is filled with beautiful scenery and feels similar to parts of New Zealand.  I thought it would be as empty of man-made structures as the drive to Milford Sound, but it wasn't - there are multiple municipalities to stop for food or gas.  Just watch the speed limit signs - it drops as you enter a town (Steve finds out the hard way).

Steve at the back of our cabin.

Once in Homer we check into our cabin, our home for the next eleven nights. It's cute, and perfect for our stay with great views of Kachemak Bay.  Once I hook up to wifi I receive a text from my Dad - Am I wearing a green shirt? (I am.) They are further down along the bay and he saw me walk out on the back deck.  We go over to their camper to visit, have dinner and celebrate birthdays since we're all together.  While we're standing around outside, we see a family of whales, blowing water (we figure it has to be at least a mother and calf, because two spouts are close together).  It's a bit too far away to get a good picture, at least with my phone's camera.

Our cabin has a nice counter to display our birthday cards.

No whales, but a nice view!