Traveling on to Homer Spit, Seward, and Kanai Fjords National Park
Waking up to the most amazing views is the perfect way to start a day. Our drive down to Homer Spit took longer than it should have because we stopped to pull over and take pictures a million times....no not really, but it seemed like every 5 minutes we were pulling over to enjoy yet another spectacular sight! We even ventured down a gravel road in Cooper Landing because we saw a sign for Skilak Lake and wanted to see it, and let me tell you, that was a great decision. This 18-mile-long loop gravel road (my favorite kind of road), had the most amazing views, and we even saw a bear! It ran off into the trees before I could get a picture, but it was the first bear (and last) we had seen on this trip. We came across vast, purple fields of lupines that were so beautiful we had to stop and take photos. Then, we reached the crystal clear lake surrounded by mountains reaching up to the clear blue skies. So much beauty makes the heart happy!
We finally arrived in Homer Spit and by the time we got there we were starving! Homer Spit is such a cute little town right on the ocean with shops, restaurants, and the Salty Dog Saloon. All we could think of was a seafood dinner. Word of advice: If you go to Homer Spit, make dinner reservations BEFORE you get there! Every single restaurant we wanted to go to was reservation only, and they were all completely booked. We were so hungry, we were about in tears from disappointment. For such a small town, it was very crowded. It is a prime tourist destination in the summer time. Now, the dinner reservations required may have been because this was still during the pandemic, but, if I ever make it back that way, I will definitely make reservations in advance. We had to head back to Homer to find sustenance.
After leaving Homer, we decided to drive on to Seward and camp in the parking lot for our Kanai Fjords boat tour that was early the next day! We had already paid for this excursion and didn't want to risk not making it there in time. We used Kanai Fjords Tours for our trip to the glaciers, and it was an amazing experience. I highly recommend them! The boat was very clean and spacious. It had great seating inside with large viewing windows all around. I am not one to be able to sit inside a boat without getting seasick and spent the whole time on deck where I could breathe fresh air and see everything around me. We didn't have to wear masks outside the cabin, but I did most of the time just to keep my face warm! It was really cold out by the glaciers. We saw seals, otters, orcas, mountain goats, eagles, puffins, and other seabirds. The boat took us right up to the glaciers edge, where we witnessed pieces of it crashing and falling into the ocean. We also cruised right up to the base of some gorgeous waterfalls. I took almost 600 pictures on this cruise, and it so hard to narrow down which ones to share with you! I give this experience 10 out of 10 stars! This was probably my favorite day of the whole trip!
After our amazing cruise experience, we know it's now time to do some dirty work! Our gray and black tanks are full. Now, mind you, neither of us have ever owned an RV or had to do anything with the sewage tanks before so we have no clue what we are doing. We found a place to dump the tanks and find out that the RV company forgot to put a dump hose in the camper. So, off to True Value we go to buy a hose and the piece that attaches to the hose and camper fitting. I know they probably have names, but I still have no clue! Of course, there is no parking available around the store for a camper, so Cynthia drops me off at the entrance and proceeds to drive around the block while I go in to find the hose. I've no clue what I'm doing as I have never owned an RV. To make it even more stressful, as I enter the store, they are announcing 15 minutes to closing. I got to the aisle with the hoses, and there's more than one option. Who knew that there were this many different hoses and fittings? I couldn't figure out what I needed, and I proceeded to have a little melt down. Thankfully, a very sweet employee saw me standing in the aisle with tears streaming down my face, and came to my rescue! He went out to the RV and checked to see which hose and connector I needed and proceeded to put the hose on the fitting for me. This act I was very thankful for, because he had to get tools out because it wouldn't go on. If he was having a hard time with it, we never would have been able to get it on there! We got to the dump station, and I watched a few people ahead of us and THINK I know what I'm doing. I can do this! However, I didn't rotate the cap enough and halfway through the blank tank dump, the hose popped off! I won't go into details, but it was a stinky disgusting mess! My sister's one and only job was to hold the other end of the hose into the hole with her foot because the hose was a little on the short side. So, here she was, holding her nose and gagging making puking sounds while I'm frantically trying to get the hose back on, trying not to puke myself. I'm so thankful for the camper ahead of us that gave me a pair of gloves before I started. If you ever rent a camper, I suggest buying some heavy duty gloves before you get to the first dumping station! I proceeded to get the grey tank emptied and then sanitized my hands and washed my shoes. I still felt dirty! Then, we look at the gauges, and all the tanks still say they are 2/3 full. Go figure! Since there was only one day left of the trip, we just left it! For future RV trips, my husband will be with me to do the dirty work!
After the traumatic experience of dumping the tanks, we finally got our seafood dinner! The Salmon Bake was our choice, and we were not disappointed! The sign out front was totally wrong, because our food was not lousy! It was so delicious! Cynthia got crab cakes and I got fried shrimp! If you're ever in Seward, this is the place to go!
We enjoyed a beautiful sunset drive to our final campsite of the trip. We were so lucky to find this pristine spot on the river with the most amazing views we could ever ask for! This was my favorite camping spot of the trip! We got up the next morning and grilled brats and bagels for breakfast and took our time leaving to head back to Anchorage to get our return flight. Our drive back to Anchorage was full of more gorgeous landscapes, and we hated that our trip was coming to an end. Overall, even with all the camper issues and breakdown, we would go back and do it all over again in a heartbeat! This goes in the books as one of the best sister's trips ever!
Thanks for following us on this journey! More great trips coming soon!
Comments