I was up again by 3:30am, still sitting up in the driver's seat. I could see low tide now, and a wide, cleanly-swept beach was exposed. Several dog walkers drove up in the early hours to walk their dogs in the low-tide beach, so I did the same at 7am, when the sun had warmed up my body enough to venture out. I started on the bay and then moved to the Beluga Slough, then back to the bay. Moose tracks were around the slough and several bald eagles sauntered the fresh beach. Sadie and Zeke played in the sand, whose waters will wipe the beach clean of their tracks with the next tide. We had walked 2.17 miles for the morning.
I was hungry and stopped at the nearby Two Sisters coffee and bakery. The coffee and cheesecake I ordered were quite tasty, and the perpetual line of customers tells me this is a busy and popular place. One thing I did note, though: all electric plugs are sealed shut in the customer dining area. Apparently moochers like me who like to plug in a laptop for a free recharge while in the store are discouraged from lingering in the shop long after the coffee and cake are gone. At least it offers free open wifi.
There really isn't much to Homer besides the view of the fjords from the Spit. You can't stop on the Spit and park and walk around without paying for parking, which is strictly watched with yellow wearing parking nannies. This is a fishing-RV-touristy town with a very small historic district. Lots of people live off the grid here. I noticed this all along the highway to Homer.
I drove back north on the highway I took into Homer. Skies were clearer today and ten miles out of town I could see the snow-capped mountains across the Cook inlet. I stopped again at the Russian Orthodox church in Ninilchik but this time spent time with family living off the grid here. The kids were selling fudge and sodas and I bought some in exchange with chatting and taking their photos. The nine-year-old is smarter than his years but doesn't seem happy having to live in the conditions he lives in: the family has two old trailers as their home. They use solar and wind power, get their water from a nearby creek, harvest some wild plants. Dillon, their father, showed me how the starchy roots of a chocolate lilly can be boiled and eaten like rice. The fudge was also quite good.
I did more historical exploring and chatting today than hiking. I stopped at the historical site in Kassilof, walked around the rebuilt cabins of the first homesteaders and then made it back to old Kenai. This time I ate lunch at the Burger Bus where I had the cheapest burger yet on the Kenai. The owners were also very friendly and happy to serve me. From there I stopped at the Kassik brewery outside Nisilki, a small tasting room where I tried all eight beers in 2-ounce glasses and chatted with the owners and a young man, Peter, who said I sat next to him last night at the St Elias brewpub but we didn't talk. Now today we chatted up a storm. He lives in San Antonio but works for Tesoro, a big refiner in Alaska. He was up here for business and had to fly out at 7pm for the redeye flight back down to Texas. Like me, he likes to taste microbrews. Two other men, Kevin and Marty from Eugene, were curious how it was for me to travel so long alone. I never really thought of the I dangers since I am aware of them and act accordingly. One thing I don't do alone here is hike, because of the bears, and instead do town pathways for exercise.
The couple running the Kassik brewery, Debbie and Frank, are from the Redding, CA area. Both started the company out of their home brewing hobby; neither one is a master brewer. But the beers I tasted were all very good. Frank, however, is now 60 years old and tired of the task. He doesn't see himself brewing more than five years more. Their son Jason helped for a while but has since left Alaska for warmer pastures. The brewery is nestled in the spruce trees outside of town, with limited hours (closing at 7pm) They have won several awards for their Scotch Ale and sell in Washington state.
The tasting room got crowded just before I left. Peter took off for the airport and I said my goodbyes to the owners and Kevin and Marty. I drove back to Soldatna and parked in the Fred Meyer lot where I called it an early day.
I drove 142.4 miles today, all empty ones since I'm backtracking.
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