Windjammer Suites Homer

... the center, run by US Fish & Wildlife, had very interesting displays on the Alaska Maritime Wildlife Refuge (which occupies much of the islands southwest of Katmai National Park). We particularly enjoyed the short video on their research efforts. This refuge is undoing centuries of abuse by the Russians and Americans who nearly exterminated the sea otter and decimated marine bird populations by introducing foxes to the islands. Once again ...

... taxi.
But consider the price difference, it's worth it.

The drive to homer was a long one. We had lunch at girdwood, the biggest restaurant in town, more like a sport bar, playing extreme cycling on TV, biking from the top of the hill. Incredible.

The muddy water in the Turnagain Arm looked so gross. But once we entered mountains, the view became more ...

... we saw a great cross-section of Homer as patrons came and went. From there we moved on to the Caribou Family Restaurant for dinner. Tomorrow will be our last chance to see these majestic birds in large numbers in such a small place. It is overwhelming to see so many white heads and tails in one place, each fighting for that fish that has headed its way. This opportunity will soon be gone forever and we are fortunate that we were able to make the trip.

... guests of the wedding. nothing good can come of this but the events that followed were just too damn funny to happen in real life. This girl decides she wants to dance for awhile so stops working the wedding and goes on the dance floor for a bit which is funny but not too outrageous. then while cleaning off a table she thinks its a wise idea to try the old magic trick of pulling the table cloth out from under everything....spilling ...

... the *ther hand am an exc*nvict that served 3 years in pris*n. I have been *fficially h*meless f*r the last 4 years as I back packed ar*und Asia and the Indian sub c*ntinent. The few times I d* c*me back t* America I live in a tent *r *n friends b*ats. N*w I w*uld like t* put a survey *ut there int* the bl*g*sphere.......wh* w*uld y*u c*nsider the bigger black sheep *f the family??????? Y*u're ****in-A right it's me. I'm blacker then midnight in a c*al mine my friends.

... huge problem. Then they wanted us to pay for a scratch but luckily I had noticed the scratch before we left on June 21 and had the documentation to prove it. Something they didn't have. All and all it was the best vacation we ever took. We are already yearning for more. So much we didn't see. Hopefully I will be doing another Blog if we are lucky enough to go again. Thanks to all of you for logging on and reading our adventures!

... the previous day was around. At this point I looked up and nearly fell over with shock as I exclaimed 'it f***ing is!' as a black bear wandered past the window inches from our noses. Unfortunately as fast as Debs legged it up the stairs to tell Matt about it, by the time he got out of the shower and down it had disappeared into the bushes. He was understandably a bit miffed about this so Debs and I did our best not to be too excited by it (it was quite exciting though ...

We drove from Tok to Anchorage skimming beneath the clouds blanketing the glaciers and the mountain peaks. Alaska felt lush and downright overpopulated and Anchorage was complete over-stimulation after the sparse, wild and vast Yukon. The Barnes and Noble store on the corner beckoned me in and I felt as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning. I managed to get out of there buying only two books, got back in the Subaru and drove ...

ok well this is the first of its kind here on neals blog. it seems i have gotten myself into a bit of hot water with hurt feelings and such from friends and family from my last post. after re-reading the damn thing i can see how it came out a bit more harsh then what i intended. the whole thing started out as a good humored little rant justifying why im skipping chicago this year ...

... adorable. ive moved back onto walts boat and am hunkering down for the summer. it really feels like i never left which is kinda good because i can just fall right back into work and not have that uncomfortable period where i dont know what the hell im doing but also it sucks because im automatically tired of my job lol. alot of the same people have come back for this season ...