Although Reeves is quite the consumate air traveler, he had yet to experience our favorite form of travel: a road trip!
Over Memorial Day weekend, we packed the car to the brim and headed south with friends to Homer.
Homer, also known as “the cosmic hamlet by the sea,” or “the end of the road,” is a little town located on the Kenai Peninsula. We enjoyed a wonderful long weekend of good food, phenomenal scenery and lots of firsts for Mr. Reeves.
We were blessed with unusually clear and calm weather. The surroundings were truly spectacular and it is easy to see why Homer is a favorite destination of so many Alaskans.
Reeves was a fan. Can’t you tell?
We shared a lovely condo with our friends at the Land’s End Resort. As its name suggests, the resort is located at the end of the Homer spit.
Our traboard the “Danny J” to Halibut Cove was surely a highlight of the weekend.
One lucky guy was invited into the wheel house to stay warm. (Ah, the beauty of a female captain and deck hand.) Our captain was an energetic, friendly woman who lived half the year in Hawaii and half in Halibut Cove. She was sent to live in Halibut Cove with her aunt and uncle 46 years ago and has lived there since.
Located on the Kenai Peninsula six miles southeast of Homer, Halibut Cove is a tiny community situated in Alaska’s first state park, Kachemak Bay State Park. The park area is a total of 400,000 acres of mountains, glaciers, forests, coastline and ocean.
According to the census, the Cove is home to only 35 residents, 17 of whom are resident artists. Aside from one restaurant and a coffee shop, the cove is home to three tiny art galleries. One of the cove’s most famous artists, Diana Tillion, has worked almost exclusively in octopus ink since the 1950s.
We had an incredible lunch at the cove’s only restaurant, “The Saltry.”
The food was fresh and delicious. I was too busy trying to keep clam chowder out of a certain someone’s mouth to take pictures of our food.
After lunch, we took a stroll along the boardwalk that stretches along the coastline. We said hello to many bald eagles and a few sea otters.
On our final day in Homer, the boys took a fishing charter while Erin and I “relaxed” with the kiddos. I was more than happy to miss out on the fishing expedition as long as my freezer would be filled with fresh halibut and king salmon at the end of the day.
The boys delivered. (Er, the charter company delivered. I am not sure the boys felt that the much skill was involved on their parts in their “catches.”)
Regardless, Will and I have been dutifully eating our salmon filets since arriving home. There’s nothing quite like fresh Alaskan king salmon.
We capped off our days with beachfront s’mores and wine after the kids had gone to bed. The baby monitor juuuuust stretched far enough. Bliss.
Sadly, that is our last trip to Homer for a while as our new home in Charlottesville, Virginia awaits us this summer. But, I highly recommend a trip there should you find yourself in Alaska.
Back on the range, Reeves is breaking all sorts of new ground. He seems to have grown inches overnight (and is now in the 95% for his height), and is suddenly constantly on the move. He is sitting up like a pro and on the verge of crawling.
The poor child is finally discovering grass after living under a blanket of snow and slush for the first four months of his life.
We also ventured into solids…sporadically.
We have tried sweet potato, avocado and banana. Of course, banana was the biggest hit – nice and sweet.
We also had our first (and likely only) heat wave last week.
We will surely miss you, Alaska.
Especially this guy!
Next week our little guy turns six months old. Every month is better than the last!
