Day 36 - Homer, AK

Wednesday, July 13, 2011
by:  Winifred and George Meiser #16

Homer, Alaska.  If ever a place could be described only through pictures – it’s Homer!  Every bend in the road tantalizes you with peek-a-bow glimpses through the windshield of the snowy mountain ranges and Kachemak Bay with its long bluffs and evergreen trees.  Once you are there you realize you better keep your camera’s battery charged because it’s a non-stop visual feast.  Sort of like a Hollywood life-size storage space for every beautiful scenic view in the world.  Heck! There’s even an actual Hollywood Castle set that has somehow found itself sitting out on the Homer Bay Spit – a giant sandbar with everything a tourist could want to do (mainly fishing) in the Halibut Fishing Capital of the World.

Most of our hardy fellow RVer’s did exactly that – go fishing  - apart from some of the wives who did a little team shopping in the thoroughly-stocked cabin-style stores).

a good day fishing

cleaning the fish

J.W. got his limit

However, George and I had a little different agenda.  We had read (thank you Google) that several Russian villages were in this rural area.  Mainly they kept to themselves and maintained their culture and Russian Orthodox religion, but that one of them, Niklaevsk near Anchor Point, has a café that welcomes tourists. It is the main source of funds for their church and children’s programs. Here, if we made advance reservations, we could enjoy the “Russian Dining Experience “ at Nina’s Russian Ethnic Food Café.

So we went.  And what a unique and wonderful time we had!  Once we stepped inside the simple cafe, we immediately were transported into a room of colorful decor and objects – a delight for the visual senses- somewhat like walking into a kaleidoscopic rainbow.

The proprietor Nina was the perfect host with a personality befitting the setting.  We put ourselves in Nina’s capable hands for selecting the dishes (pretty much a set menu in this one-woman run kitchen).  The food, and the accompanying tea were excellent, and the serving and presentation of each course was something of a performance unto itself.

As part of our “dining experience” we were attired in Russian ethnic dress and served our dessert in highly-decorated bowls for a Nina-directed photo op. (you pay an extra fee which is waived if you make a purchase from the gift shop.



The Russian “Dining Experience” at Nina’s Café
in the Russian Village of Nikolaevsk, Alaska

This one of a kind café, and its’ accompanying B&B, is rustic – the Hilton its not. But like Nina, it’s  personable, delightful and memorable. A truly unique and unexpected “dining experience” in this faraway corner of the earth.  I hope you’ll have a chance to experience it too. The website is www.russiangiftsnina.com and the reservation number is 907 235-6867.

On our way back we took a drive along the Homer Spit, watched a windsurfer making the most of the wind and waves, and the fishermen their own photo op with their catch of halibut, then checked out the Salty Dawg Saloon and stopped to photograph a Mama Eagle and her two young chicks perched in an enormous nest. No Chamber of Commerce could devise a more perfect downtown setting – rows of snow-tipped mountains along the shore AND an eagle’s nest right beside the road!



The Ugly Truth About  the Salty Dawg Saloon! – No dogs allowed!!!



Mama Eagle does a little nest mending.

Attentive Mom

One last stop for a scoop of black cherry ice cream to top off the day, and we headed home.   Just around midnight, the sun finally ceded the sky to the full yellow moon over the mountains and bay, and I took one last photo (well ok, several last photos) before turning in for the night.  What a day and place to remember.



The Midnight Moon over Kachemak Bay, Alaska



and finally -  I get to see a bobcat!