Homer

Homer is an interesting port that is not the tourist trap like the more southerly ports in Alaska.  Homer is a fishing town and a mecca for RV’ers apparently.  The cruise ship docked at the end of the spit, about 6 miles from the actual town of Homer.  The end of the spit has the small boat docks, the big ship dock, and the coast guard.  There are also restaurants, charters, and stores at the end of the spit.  The ship provides a free shuttle to the businesses at the end of the spit, but the shuttle to town is $15.95 per person via the ship.  I believe there is an independent trolley that leaves from the free shuttle stop at the restaurants on the spit to town for $15 per person.

We took the shuttle to town and went to Two Sisters bakery for some coffee and yummy pastries.  We checked out the beach and estuaries before going to the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center for a free restroom break.

We started our hike back to the ship with a couple of stops along the way.  First up was the Homer Brewery for a couple of pints.  Their China Poot Porter was amazing.  Next stop was Grace Ridge Brewery.  The visitor center told me that the opened at 4pm, but that is not correct.  They open at noon every day.  I told the owners what the visitor center told us and they immediately called to make sure they are telling people the correct information.  Grace Ridge Brewery only has their winter hours on the website, so there was no way to know their Summer hours without calling or stumbling upon them.  At this stop I had a stout.

Next was our long hike back to the ship on the spit.  The ship didn’t look too far away when we started, but 5 miles later we were both tired and hungry.  A quick note on the path, it is paved and level but there are no bathrooms for close to 5 miles.  This could be an issue if you just drank 2 beers.  Thank goodness for all those years of hiking and not having a shy bladder.  We ended up taking the shuttle from the spit stores back to the ship.  Tired and hungry, we went up to lido.