Fri June 20 & Sat June 21

Friday, June 20, 2008

This is Phyllis. We didn’t have internet last night, even tho the motel said we did, so this is a day late, and will include Saturday also, since we are in the same room as last night. Before leaving Seward, we ate breakfast again at the Bakery. We learned, while in Seward that they had a major earthquake in 1964, which was followed within minutes with a tsunami, which destroyed a lot of the town and especially the coastal area. We learned all this information while visiting the local museum. It was a small place, but so many antiques. It was a step back in time for myself and Ila. We stopped at the Exit Glacier, but since it was a half mile walk, we decided to pass. It can be seen from the roadway. This was a day of mostly travel. We had a motel reserved and finally found it. It was at Kenai Landing, which is a work in progress. It is a fish cannery that part of it is being converted into a fish market, restaurant and motel rooms. After finding our room we went into Kenai, to explore. We found Veronica’s restaurant, which was recommended to us by the lady at the Museum. Once again we overate, which needs to change or we won’t fit into our clothes. In Kenai we saw a Russian Orthodox Church and some older buildings with it. We drove to the Cook Inlet hoping to see Buluga Whales, but they didn’t bother to show. So it was to the motel for the night.


Saturday, June 21,2008
The morning started out raining, so we just stayed in the room until it let up. Actually the day turned sunny and very nice after we go on the road. The road took us along Cook Inlet, which is a beautiful sight when we could see it for the trees. Breakfast was at the Kasilof Mercantile. We stopped in Nimilchik, where we saw another Russian Orthodox Church and Cemetery. There was also a war memorial cemetery in the same area which the American Legion maintained. We drove down to the beach where we saw a great number of people digging clams. We visited with a young man who had found several and he explained how to cook them. Also there was a fishing boat in and they were unloading a great number of halibut. They brought them from the boat in a large basket and deposited them in a long trough where they were weighed and then put in large containers filled with ice. There is a small cannery there but we don’t know if that was where they were being processed. These fish were very large, some looked to be over three feet long and very heavy.
We drove down to an old Russian Village, where there are three communities. Some doing everything the old way, another village where some things are improved, and in the third village where they operate modern. We arrived in Homer and we drove out on the Homer Spit. It is about 5 miles long and full of fishermen, and bunches of tourists. There were some brave souls wind surfing on the Kachenak Bay. Their sails were very pretty. We ate supper(or whatever we want to call it) in Homer before heading back to Kenai. We made one stop to see what is called the Erector Set Bridge, and then headed for the motel. Tomorrow we plan to attend the Nazarene Church in Soldotna, then on the road again. We really wish if anyone is reading these blogs, that you would comment. It is not that difficult and lets us know that you are out there.