Last Night Barbecue at Tom's House!

Tom had allowed us all to invade his "bachelor pad" for over a week. He was a very gracious host, allowing us to use his laundry and turn his front yard into an RV Park! On our last night there, he prepared a wonderful barbecue for everyone!

In addition to hot dogs and hamburgers, Tom cooked this amazing fish!

Bob and Tony were busy in the kitchen!

Thank you, Tom, for your hospitality!

Morning in Homer

We were getting ready to break camp in Homer, when Tony spotted these two bald eagles on the beach. They allowed him to get close enough for some really good shots!

We saw this bald eagle on top of a pole as were were leaving Homer

Here's another bald eagle in a nest, seen as were were driving out of town.

On the road, heading back to Tom's house, just outside Anchorage

Here's a trailer, painted like a bee!

We noticed the interesting roof lines of this house as we drove along the Kenai Peninsula

On to Homer, Alaska!

Tammy and Blayde have a beautiful home right on the river!

After saying goodbye, we were off to Homer, Alaska!

Everywhere we went in Alaska, we found unique buildings. This boat was part of the building!

On our drive to Homer, we saw lots of volcanic mountains across the peninsula! Some of them are still active!

The intrepid travelers!

The view as we approach Homer

This is a view of the famous Homer Spit, the small strip of land that juts out. In the 1964 earthquake that devastated parts of Alaska, the spit dropped 4-5 feet but it still survives. People love to camp and fish there.

After setting up camp, we had lunch at a restaurant out on the spit

Yummy curried fish pot!

Most of these boats out on the spit appear to be derelicts but at least one of them is "lived in"!

Float planes are a regular part of life in Alaska and we saw many places where the planes are just moored up to personal docks, just like boats in some other places!

On a drive through the town of Homer, we got this view of a glacier across the water!

Here's another view of "The Homer Spit" as seen from town.

I loved this little tea shop in Homer, with all the cups and exciting trim with lots of flowers!

Our camp on the beach!

We enjoyed the sunset by the fire. Bob made us his famous fish chowder, which was perfect for the occasion!

Kenai Peninsula... Continued

We woke up in Seward to a beautiful morning!

One main reason we wanted to visit Seward is to see the beautiful Alaska Sea Life Center. My brother, Rollie was in charge of the construction of this facility so we had heard a lot about it!


In addition to lots of exhibits about sea life and it's preservation, there were aquariums where we saw live sea creatures, like this giant sea lion!

...and this delicate star fish!

On the viewing platform at the Sea Life Center, overlooking the bay

Brother, Bob and me

We got a close-up shot of the giant sea lion from the tank inside the center!

The town of Seward is really beautiful. Here's another Mural!

After Seward, we drove north to meet Tammy, another friend of Bob's who offered to take us on a hike up the Russian River. There were reports that a bear with cubs had been spotted at the falls and we wanted to see if we could get some photos from a platform across the river.

Bob, at the trailhead

We found loads of edible berries on our trip through Alaska and Tony loved gathering and tasting them!

At the falls, we didn't get to see the bears. We suspect there were just too many people who also heard of the "bear" sightings, so the mama bear was probably frightened off. Tony did manage to get several shots of the salmon as they made their way up-river to spawn.

Our Guide, Tammy, is a really nature lover and avid photographer!

On our return hike back to the car, we were caught in a sudden rainfall. Some of us weren't prepared and had a hard time staying dry. John and Roger got back to the parking lot first and had to wait for car keys to get inside. John stayed dry inside the restroom!

Izzie loved the hike but hated the rain!!

Tammy and her husband, Blayde, invited us to spend the night in their front yard. On our way there, we saw beautiful clouds with the sun shining through!

After we set up camp in the yard, Blayde and Tammy treated us to a wonder full meal of fresh snapper, rice and salad preceded by smoked salmon appetizers! We had a great time visiting with their family!

Look at the beautiful rainbow after the rain!