Alaska :: Days 5 - 10

There is a freedom that comes with sending your child off to camp and a small amount of dread, too.  This week found me conflicted with my new found leisure time, as I was in a new state with oodles of time to kill.  I read, edited photos, wrote a little bit, spent hours at the museum, met friends and dined out.  That was all on Day One of G being at camp.  Yes, it would be a long week.

Anchorage Museum

Downtown Anchorage Hot Spots with Stephanie

Alaska has been heart-achingly beautiful.  I totally get why they call this state The Last Frontier, as it's so pristine and rugged.

The Kenai River + alone time

Thursday found us packing up the rental apartment (Stephanie's home for the last five weeks) and hitting the road down to Homer.  I picked Steph up at work, jumped on Highway One South and weaved my way through craggy mountains, hypnotic blue skies and aquamarine rivers.

Homer is a classic, hard-working fishing village and we were staying in the thick of it - just across from The Fish Factory and a major offloading dock on The Homer Spit.  If we had changed for dinner, we would have been overdressed, so we opted for our casual, well-worn road trip outfits and hit the town.

Land's End for dinner.  The Salty Dawg Saloon for adult libations, jukebox selections and lessons on the art of playing pool.  We drank Duck Farts (yes, Duck Farts), discovered the dangers of Jameson + Ginger ale and stayed out way past our curfew.  When in Rome, right?

Friday found us tooling around town to a few spots the locals recommended - La Baleine Cafe for the most amazing breakfast & bottomless coffee; The Alaska Islands & Ocean Visitor Center, Fringe Couture & Consignment Shop; and the Two Sisters Bakery for a late afternoon bite and coffee pick-me-up.  Each local haunt better than the last.

Harbor porpoise articulation + friends and naturalists/counselors

We picked the kids up from the Wynn Nature Center and viewed their harbor porpoise articulation project, as well as heard shared stories of their week at Peterson Field Station on the Kachemak Bay.  It sounds like they learned so much and I felt my mama heart soar when I heard my kid identifying insects, local plant life and marine mammal species.  The one item they felt they needed at the end of all this was a pair of XTRATUF boots and so, well, we indulged them.  They chatted about being the only three kids in California with the coolest boots from Alaska.  I agree, kids, I agree.

We spent the night eating fish at a local eatery and getting filled in on all of the camp stories.  We walked The Spit and ushered them back to our rental, where they showered and fell happily and sleepily into bed.

Views over Kachemak Bay from a floatplane

Steph and the girls rose at an ungodly hour to go salmon fishing, while G and myself slept in and I surprised him with a late-morning float plane ride over Kachemak Bay.

Us in Homer!

We spotted moose, mountain goats, Trumpeter Swans, a sea otter colony and flew over glaciers and the bay where Grady and the girls spent their week at marine mammal camp.  What an incredible feeling to fly over such magnificent lands and seas.  I felt so small in the grand scheme of things.  Alaska has a way of doing that.

5 hours sandwiched between two girls from Homer to Anchorage...he really loved it

My instagram friend, Natalie, lives on Kodiak Island and I couldn't help but think about her this week and envy her remote lifestyle, as well as all of the history and beauty of this 49th state.  Another instagram friend, Maggie, likened Alaska to an ex-boyfriend - one she had to leave, but can't get off of her mind and thoughts wander to what might have been.  I get it.  I totally get it, Maggie.

Alaska, you are a heartbreaker.

Moose
Caribou Skeleton
Grizzly Bear
Beloved round hay bales

This trip gave me the time and space to think about my life and where I want it to go from here.  I'm approaching the eve of my 43rd year and this trip really punctuated my 42nd trip around the sun.

Thanks, Alaska.  I needed you more than I knew.