Homer-ho!

First of all, sorry to my three readers who were hoping for a new blog post yesterday.  I had a kind of rough day at work and didn't feel like doing much after I got home.  I wish someone would have told me that going to law school and then working for the government would lead to a life of making most people I come into contact with totally hate my guts.  And I'd always heard that people love lawyers!  Anyhoo...

After our invigorating breakfast in Cooper Landing, we hit the road and headed down to Homer.  On the way we stopped at the Russian Orthodox Church in Ninilchik, which is near where Andy's family had a cabin back in the day.  How cute is this church?

Peter walked around doing entirely appropriate things.

The church has a beautiful view of the ocean.  I love all the colors in the sea down there.  This is where Andy's dad used to put his boat in the water to go fishing.  Not a bad spot!

It's nice to go places with other people so we can get pictures together.  Too bad we're always wearing our sunglasses. (Nevermind! I didn't just say that weather gods! please don't take the sun away from me!)

Check out the luxurious facilities near the church.  I don't think I've actually ever seen an outhouse with a half moon on it before.

As we continued down the highway, everyone told me to look out for the wolverine at Ninilchik high school.  Yes, this is one of the most exciting things we passed on the drive. 

Andy's mom pointed out that the eyes follow you as you drive by.  Creepy!

As we got into Homer we stopped at the Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor's Center.  Peter and Linda stuck to the museum because it was damn cold outside and windy.  Andy, Dave (Andy's dad...did I mention his name is Dave? It is.) and I braved the wind to walk to the beach.

Along the way I'm pretty sure we passed by Buffalo Bill's* summer home.

As we walked back, a sandhill crane followed us.  I still love them the most!

Before I move onto the next part, a little geography.  Homer has a rather interesting bit of land attached to it called the "spit." Here's a map:

The visitor's center was in town, while our hotel was at the end of the spit.  We drove out to the spit to check in, but it was too early.  Time to explore!

First stop: the world famous (I'm sure there's a sign somewhere telling you it is) Salty Dawg Saloon:

Look how foggy it is outside. Where are the mountains I read about in the brochure?!

We had a beer.  Alaskan brewed in Juneau of course! Typically not my most favorite of beers, they serve it everywhere up here and some of the varieties are starting to grow on me.  I like the IPA, though.

Did you notice the background?  Yep that's real money on the walls.  A whole lot of it.  Pretty much every inch of the place is covered.  See?

There's an occasional pair of underwear on the ceiling like most of the bars I frequent.

Most people write on the bills - 90% of them say something like "STACY WUZ HERE! ALABAMA ROCKS!"  We decided this was one of the more clever selections:

After our beer we walked around and hit the tourist shops.  Look what Peter found:

He says he's going to wear them to the gym.  If you live in the Vancouver, WA area and see a crazy dude with a wolf shirt on the treadmill, that's my brother-in-law.

After an hour or so of walking around, the fog started to clear.  SCENERY!

I made Dave and Linda pose with the tourist stuff.  Doesn't Linda look thrilled? (Love you Linda!)

Here come the mountains!

The Salty Dawg again (we didn't go inside this time). Look at the difference!

Again, a picture of Peter taking a picture.  I love this!

Andy found the perfect accessory to his new shirt.  Isn't there something about wearing mixed animal motifs after Easter? Or is that Labor Day?  I have to consult with Miss Manners about that one.

Look at this creepy thing we found.  I think it's a moose but it looks like a dead mouse with antlers.  Maybe it's part jackalope?

They finally let us check into the hotel after lunch.  Look at our view from the room!!!

Because we are the people we are, we headed to the deck to drink up the view (and another beer).

Why can't these two ever take an appropriate picture together?!

Check out this picture Andy took.  Homer should put this in a calendar or something.  SCENERY! AMERICA!

I think I've officially fallen in love with Homer.  So much so that we've already booked another trip for when my parents come.  Yay! 

*When I say Buffalo Bill, I'm referring to the serial killer from Silence of the Lambs, not the guy who had the wild west show with Annie Oakley. Just in case you were puzzled.