Well, I thought it might be time to fill you in on our last week or so since we arrived at our destination, or THOUGHT we had. We picked an RV site close to the Kenai River Visitor Center and began searching for a piece of land that we could call home. Brad had done months of research and had about 20 pieces for us to look at. We fully expected to quickly find what we wanted so we could relax and do some serious fishing! We looked at all those and had one that we considered a possibility. It was about 4 miles from where we were camped up Funny River Road and we had to pass a small airstip full of bush planes that made Brad all giddy with excitement, so that alone gave value to the location. The land was narrow and long so the landowners in the area could enjoy a similar view of Mt. Redoubt, a strikingly beautiful volcanic mountain across Cook Inlet. The view from this piece was framed by huge birch trees and covered with thick tall grass in the back of the lot. An area had been cleared for a home by the realtor that owned the lot, but the alders had grown to about six feet so we had to push our way through them to even see the view, and then the lot sloped downward from there.
We weren't entirely sure that we wanted to deal with being surrounded by huge trees on this lot and both neighbors' trees and probably not being able to even see the sun from there during the short days of winter in Alaska. We kept looking, talking to different realtors, learning more about the area, and not finding that perfect place.
Last Tuesday, we went to Keith and Edie MacPhail's home for a freshly caught salmon dinner. We hadn't seen them for years since they lived in Farmington, so it was very heart-warming to see them and their newborn son, Everett or Ev, they call him. We had a wonderful evening with them, catching up on each other's lives and falling in love with the view they had from their beachfront home on Cook Inlet. Huge picture windows framed an unobstructed view of Mt. Redoubt, so we began to talk about looking for land on the Inlet. It didn't take long to realize our pocketbooks weren't deep enough to purchase even a less-than desirable location close to Kenai or Soldotna, so we started looking south. When we were here 11 years ago, we traveled all the way down to Homer and were captivated by the views, but land prices had been driven sky high by future retirees from the lower 48, so we didn't think it would even be a place we could consider looking. A realtor we called from a lot in Clam Gulch told us about some pieces of land for sale that might fit the bill, so we continued south and found some of them she described but not all. We decided to go on into Homer to find her office and get more details. She gave us quite a few to look at but strongly suggested a new subdivision called Panoramic Heights just north of Homer. We went up there and found a subdivision of large lots in rolling hills with what we assumed was good views. The listings we picked up from Angie Newby, the realtor, revealed amazing views of part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, volcanic mountains across Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay, but the clouds were low and grey preventing any chance of a view. We went up there the next day but still couldn't see across the bay. We met one of the neighbors and after talking with him for a few minutes, asked if we'd like to come in to meet his wife. We did and had a very informative visit with Bob and Sue Redmond who had lived there a couple of years. They had huge windows across the north side of their house and said the views were incredible. They told us their wells were shallow and the water is good. The loop around the neighborhood made for a good daily walk, but with only three houses built so far and a lot of trees already removed, we would be able to enjoy the sunshine all year round in a nearly empty subdivision.
We made an offer on Lot 34 which had the best views of all the listings only to find out that the lot had sold two years ago and the listing realtor failed to remove it from MLS! After being bummed out for a while, we spent more time and made an offer on the lot just below that one and got it; we closed on Thursday! Monday Brad is having a backhoe delivered so a culvert can be put in and will then scrape a pad so he can start digging the footings of our new place. The grass and fireweed are 5 - 6 feet tall so we're looking for a heavy duty mower too.
We fell in love with the small town atmosphere of Homer right away; so different from the "city-like" commercial districts of Kenai and Soldotna. The Homer Spit juts out for five miles into Kachemak Bay and has RV parks, restaurants that have the best clam and seafood chowder I have ever tasted, places to charter fishing boats, and a huge floating harbor that rises and falls with the tide (about 20') and houses about 1500 boats. Each afternoon when the charter boats come in, they display their catch of the day and take pictures. We watched two young men whose job is to fillet huge salmon and halibut and do so easily and quickly. Yesterday, a 90 pound hallibut was brought in, we were told. We put a deposit down to go out on one of these charters in two weeks when Bob and Teri come up, so we hope to have a good supply of fish to bring home to New Mexico.
This morning, the skies were clear and blue but I noticed that the clouds appeared to be resting on the water, so it looks like it will be a glorious day. We are going to stake out the location of our home to be, then we are going to do some fishing from the bank off the tip of the Spit. Flounder seems to be a regular catch from there. A few nights ago, we were walking along there with our new friends from Michigan, Dean and Paula, when a young boy offered us a 16" flounder he had caught. It was very flat and covered in short spikes and I had absolutely no idea how to prepare such a fish. We tried cooking it the next night seasoned in foil but it was rather mushy, so I need to find a good recipe if we catch any others.
Sorry I was long winded again, so I will sign off for now...until next time!
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