July 8th, 17th Day Alaska Trip

Breakfast consisted of Pancakes, bacon, sausage, and eggs over greasy – Yum! After waddling out to the bikes, we headed for Homer Spit, where Leroy recalled that he camped several years back on this deserted finger of land stretching into Kachemak Bay. OMG, Leroy was totally blown away by the way Paradise was paved into a Parking Lot! Trendy Restaurants, RV Parks, Tourist Shops, Charter Fishing Boats, Bear Watching Tours… it was plum crazy! One thing that sticks in my mind was a stirring Memorial to the Ships and Men Lost At Sea. Under a gazebo beside the water’s edge, was a single statue of a boatman. The floor of the gazebo was paved in small stones containing the names of all of the boats and their crews lost at sea, placed there by their families and loved ones. Sadly, there were just too many to count… To the Fishing Vessel “Wits End” – Rest In Peace, Wherever She Lay. We had to circle the Mountains the long way around to get to the other side of the peninsula and visit Seward, a busy port and cruise liner destination. Good for us though, we got in loads of great scenery, and spotted a couple of moose and two bald eagles along the way. Just outside of Seward, we stopped at Exit Glacier. Although plainly seen from below, it was actually about a 4 mile hike straight up to get alongside of it. Both Leroy and I thought our lives would be “almost complete” even if we didn’t get close enough to touch it, so off we went to grab lunch instead! I think all of the muscle relaxers were having a cumulative effect on Leroy – we made several stops while on our ride to Anchorage just for waking up, walking about, and stretching. We have the most awful hotel room in Anchorage, but it was all we could find for less than $100. Dinner at Peggy’s Diner was really good and they even had homemade pie! Distance traveled a little over 300 miles. BTW, we surpassed 5000 miles on our trip today!