Anchorage to Homer via Potter's Marsh

So it was a travel day. We had to drive 211 miles down the Seaward highway. That's about 338 kilometers for the rest of the world. Anyhow, we decided to get up early and hit Potter's Marsh along the way. We were there by 7:30, but someone forgot to give the birds the memo. It was also overcast so the light was poor. Nevertheless, we I stuck it out for 90 minutes. We did spot some sand cranes and kingfishers, which caused a stir, but that was about it, other than the drama of a seagull pecking at a floundering fish. The fish eventually freed himself from the shallows and died in the pool next to it.

On the road to Homer, there's lots to see. We pulled over numerous times to check out a view of the volcanoes, mountains or potential birds. At lunch time we went for a short hike, it would have been longer if one of us had not been bricking it a bit leery of the fact that we had seen very fresh bear scat - see photo on Facebook - a bear scratch and a bear print. We had lunch high above a fast flowing bluish river and spectacular scenery, but the incessant ringing of a bear bell spoiled the romance somewhat. Nice photo of a rabbit on the way back.

Safely back to the car and off again. We reached Homer, no problem and checked in to a rather more pleasing room than the last one. It has a great view and the other amenities generally associated with a hotel room, which our last one was lacking.

Homer has a long spit of land jutting into the sea where most of the touristy businesses hang out. Fran checked in for her bear expedition which is tomorrow. We also checked out the cost of a boat taxi to take us across the sea to the national park. $75 per person sounds reasonable for the 30 minute trip. The other main attraction is Halibut fishing. I fancy that. It's $150 for a half day. If you are lucky enough to catch something, it will cost extra to have someone filet it and someone cook it. I don't think I can do that alone, even with a better equipped hotel room. I also saw a place to rent bikes, that might be on the cards for tomorrow.

One of the main current attractions in Homer is an eagles nest with two large chicks in it. Everyone is waiting for them to try and fly. Fran waited too, but to no avail. She will post photos of the chick summoning up the courage.

We had a fish dinner at the well renowned Captain Patties. We both had halibut, it was good, but over priced.

The plan now is to enjoy our view and finish off the rest of the bottle of yellow label Shiraz that I bought for $8.99 - that was for 1.5 liters. How could I resist.