An Alaska Road Trip -Kachemac Bay

We took two cruises from Homer into Kachemak Bay: Halibut Cove and Seldovia.

Halibut Cove is a secluded community 12 miles across the bay from Homer and residence to a little more than 200 people. Located in a protected waterway called The Narrows, the only access is by boat. There are no cars because there are no roads. A boardwalk from one part of the community to the other serves as their "main street." Main travel is by private boat. The Saltry Restaurant is a unique experience, not only for its outstanding menu, but due to the fact that it sits on an island, Ismailof Island, by itself. The boardwalk connects the restaurant to the rest of the community. Those who approach the island are greeted by the restaurant's bright orange buildings. The ambiance there is unforgettable.

On the way to Halibut Cove, we stopped by Gull Island out in Kachemak Bay to view thousands of birds nesting on the compilation of rocks. The rock formations themselves were pretty impressive

Gull Island lies three miles from the Homer Spit, south. We saw kittiwakes and common murres nesting in the rocks, and puffins floating about in the water. Others types of birds can be seen as well.

The other community we visited, on another day, was Seldovia. It's located 15 miles across Kachemak Bay from Homer, also to the south. Its population is a little less than 250 people, and main access to the town is by boat, although cars are allowed there. We viewed ome unique rock formations on the return from Soldovia that were very interesting, such as Elephant Rock and Bison Rock.

Both places we visited were interesting, yet very different from each other. The two are widely compared by calling Seldovia a "blue collar town" and Halibut Cove "high class."

It's not usually said by the cruise captain who names the rocks in Kachemak Bay, but the names are carried on from one cruise to the next for years. This one is called Elephant Rock, and it's easy to see why. However, our captain was really excited about this particual rock and what happens to it as we pass by it. The next photo shows a different angle, causing the elephant to look like its bowing its head.

If there was any snafu at all on this whole road trip to Alaska it would be this day as we arrived by tour cruise to Seldovia across Kachemak Bay. We arrived in plenty of time to see the town, but our mistake was to order a lunch... and wait, and wait and wait to get the food. We finally, after an hour, gave up and canceled our order. The staff simply couldn't accommodate the number of people who came in, though it didn't look that crowded. We had lost precious time to see the town and were even more hungry than when we got there. We checked out a couple of places, like the charming seaside homes pictured below, then frantically looked for a store or eatery where we could grab and go. We each got two scones for the trip back...and only a few pleasant memories of Seldovia.