Sights

You can tell we're in Alaska!

My cellphone rings (which is extremely rare, but especially since my Japanese phone is currently in the United States) at 1:30am (which also doesn't happen often, except for when I'm in Japan and someone mixes up the time difference).   So I know it's not something good when it wakes me up in the middle of the night.  It's the kennel owner, calling about Tie-Dye. I asked him to watch Tie-Dye's eyes because he's had two eye infections in the previous month, and he now has another one. He took him to the veterinarian, but he's concerned because his eye went from being fine to very bad in a short amount of time. He promises to keep me informed, but I start worrying about everything that could be wrong that would cause a reoccurring infection.

Yummy!

Mom makes me feel better by providing me with a stuffed artichoke, one of my favorite foods!  It's something else I haven't had in almost two years.  Turns out you can freeze them and they still taste good when you defrost them.

Homer Farmers Market

In the afternoon we pick up the frozen halibut from the processing plant, then visit the Homer Farmer's Market.  It's small (maybe 40-50 vendors) but has a nice variety of items.  There are handmade items (a couple of tied quilts vendors, jewelry, soaps, etc), several flower booths, a few prepared foods (including fresh oysters), and about 12 vegetable stands.  Of course, I find two different vendors with fresh dill, after I couldn't find it anywhere in the grocery store (and I broke down and spent $8 on dried dill).

I don't normally see shucked oysters at the farmers markets where I live!  We may have bought (and eaten) all the ones they currently had out.

That night Steve and I cook dinner on the grill for everyone.  We make our fresh halibut in a butter lemon sauce (with dried dill), corn on the cob, and zucchini from the farmers market.  It's great to have a meal cooked on the grill again.  Too bad everyone is busy eating; no one takes a picture.

The next morning when we wake up there's an email saying Tie-Dye's eye is doing better, but he still can't open it even halfway.  The kennel owner recommends we take him to an animal eye specialist when we return.  I didn't even know they had them! 

One of the hard parts about being in different time zones is the wait to hear about anything.  The business day in Japan is nighttime in the US, so if you send an email you can't expect to hear back the same "day" - it will be 24 hours for a reply to get to you (or you stay up very late and hope they reply as soon as they open for work - either way, you end up with a lot of nights of poor sleep when trying to coordinate something that is stressful). 

foxglove planted by the previous owners

We're able to work off some of the anxiety with the day's outing - a hiking/kayaking trip to the Halibut Cove area.  After a 30 minute boat ride from Homer Spit Steve and I meet up with our guide and four other people from Hideaway Cove Wilderness Lodge (there's a few cabins here, but we don't spend the night).  Our guide, Jordan, owns the lodge and land and stays there for most of the year with his family.  The previous owners had held the land under the Homestead Act, so it hasn't changed hands very often.

Halibut Cove

We hike up over a moderate mountain and across the forest and fields for about two hours to Glacier Lake, which is fed by Grewingk Glacier. It's a beautiful hike, and wonderful weather.

distant views

nearby views

With the signs, maybe I won't get lost (yeah, right - that's why I have a guide).

our kayak, once it's been inflated

However, as we reach the water the wind picks up.  We inflate our kayaks and prepare to go out, and the gusts are up to 12-15 mph (we see whitecaps).  To go across the lake we have to paddle directly into the gale (that's what it feels like) so it's a workout for about twenty minutes. Then we reach some rocks/islands that block some of the breeze for us and the next 20 minutes are easier.  Steve only bops me in the head a few times with his paddle. (On purpose??)  Because of the spray blowing off the waves and my paddle, we're both splashed a bit, but we have waders on with our raincoats (and sunglasses, so our eyes have protection) so we're not really wet.  It's also fresh water, so not as bad as salt! 

Ready to brave the icy water!

Glacier Lake....appropriately named!

We stop for a picnic lunch on one of the islands (leeward side) and enjoy the sunshine and blue skies.  Jordan has his dog along with us (he's a trooper, making the entire hike and riding in the front of a kayak - unfortunately, the camera is put away while we're in the water) and he takes a liking to Steve, trying to get him to chase him.

"Come play with me!"

He works, too - here he's helping to deflate
the kayak.  Or it just makes a nice dog bed.

It's an easy voyage back to the shore, since the wind pushes us along this time.  Since we manage NOT to capsize the kayak in the icy water, we consider the day a success.  We hike fifty minutes back to the shores of Halibut Cove (walking downhill makes it faster).  We relax for a few minutes, checking out the expensive yacht parked in the waters and watching the black bear frolicking along the shore (we're on a deck, so we're safe). Then our taxi boat appears, and we return to Homer.

What happens when your guide offers to take a picture for you - he takes a selfie of himself!

Mom cooks lasagna for dinner, since Steve asks about it earlier in the week. It's as delicious as ever! After trying some after dinner drinks/dessert, we're tired, and head back to our cabin to sleep. It's been a busy day!  Who cares if it's only 7:30pm? 

the picture our guide (finally) takes