Homer, Spit.

Hi, All:

Sorry for the delay in updating; the weather has gotten to about 50-60 degrees these days and we're at around 18 hours of sunlight . . . so outdoor activities have been taking precedent.

Anyway, we wanted to let you know about an exciting trip we took last weekend down to Homer!  Homer is a town located on the Kenai Peninsula that is known for its Halibut fishing.  (No, we did not do any Halibut fishing . . . but the town is known for it nonetheless.  You can tell how big these fish get by the fact that we keep capitalizing the "H" in "Halibut.").  The sign that welcomes you to Homer when you drive in should give some indication of how important Halibut is to Homer:

Homer is located on "mainland" Alaska, but as you drive through the town you can turn off to go onto the "spit."  The spit is a 4.5 mile peninsula that jets out from the rest of Homer into the ocean.  Apparently, it is the longest road into ocean waters in the world!  You can check out more fun facts, and images of the spit, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer_Spit

The spit is also a bit of a tourist destination as some cruise ships have started going there.  This, of course, has led to lots of gift shops and Alaska-related things.  Including Deadliest Catch.  For those of you who do not follow the show, one of the boats is called the "Time Bandit," and it is based out of Homer.  This has led to Time Bandit gift shops and pots galore:

For those keeping count, that makes 2 Deadliest Catch boats we've "seen."  We actually saw the Wizard in Seattle, and we saw this Time Bandit pot in Homer . . . which we're counting.

Because Homer is such a fishing village, the spit also has a memorial to those who have been lost at sea:

And, of course, there are lots, and lots, and lots of boats.

For those who choose not to go on the $250 fishing charters, you can also fish off of the rocky beaches.  See, we told you fishing was a big deal in Homer.

One of the best parts of Homer is the Pratt Museum, which is this small museum that contains a bunch of Alaska-related information (e.g., bears, the oil spill, fishing boats, Native culture, etc.)  One of our favorite parts of the museum was the "survival-suit" test.  These are the suits that people have to put on if their boat is sinking in the cold ocean waters, or else they will almost-100%-guaranteed die.  We were really looking forward to trying these on as we had seen them so often on Deadliest Catch.

Under the rules of the test, we had 30 seconds to get the suit on and ready to go.  Here's Steve:

And here's Tammy:

Finally, Homer has become home to tons and tons of bald eagles.  There were a number around the Homer area, but some of the best pictures we got was on our way out on the road back to Anchorage.  One decided to peak its head out of its nest just as we drove by:

So that's Homer for ya!  We should have another update early next week about our Memorial Day weekend plans.  Until then, we're going to go enjoy the weather!