Down to Homer

After a summer of going to bed while the sun is still up, we were pretty excited to see a sunset. But this particular sunset passed right over tthe Mount Redoubt volcano. You really can’t do much better than that.

This region is one of the most popular in Alaska. Between the natural beauty and the superb fishing, flocks of RVs are cruising up and down the highway. At the bottom of the penisula, lies Homer. A cruise-ship-free tourist town with a beach boardwalk vibe. But, when we arrived it was rainy and cold.

We found an RV park so we could take hot showers and catch up on laundry. We were feeling lucky, so we sprung for the ocean site. Luckily, about the time we cleaned up ,the sun came out again and were able to get out and enjoy “The Halibut Capitol of the World”.

We decided to forgo the halibut fishing charters, which run about $450 per person, with a 2 halibut limit. The average fish size is about 30 lbs. They hold a derby in town, and the current record breaker weighed in at 224 lbs. A lady had actually caught a 294 lb. fish, but neglected to buy the $10 derby ticket. The end of season winner will be awarded with $200,000.  Regardless, we figured we were better off just getting the overpriced halibut fish and chips on the Homer Spit.

* Because of the cold winters, state and city campgrounds usually don’t have running water. But, laundromats usually have showers for around $6 per person. Some come with towels – a bonus if you don’t have to dry out your own on rainy days. Quality & time varies. We have a well-researched rating system in our family.