July 5th to 7th - Soldatna to Homer

July 5th – Thurs – Soldatna
We started with a trip to WalMart so I could get a haircut (marginal!) and Margo & I could look for rubber boots. Margo got boots but they didn’t have them in my size. We picked up a few groceries and went back to Fred Meyer where I found some boots and Dave got waders in anticipation of doing some salmon fishing somewhere.
We drove back the way we came yesterday as Terry & Margo had looked at a road on the map that Terry thought would be interesting. Boring is more the word!! It was a 17 mile, gravel, loop road that went by Skilak Lake which is fed and drained by the Kenai River. There are lots of trailheads for hikes which we were not into. On the way back – finally! – we stopped for lunch at a place advertising ice cream. We waited quite a while for our late lunch and then were all too full for ice cream.
We got diesel at $4.29 before returning to the campground. Terry bought firewood yesterday but it was too rainy & cool for a fire then so we had one this evening. Margo brought out a popper for making popcorn over a fire and that is what we had for dinner.

July 6th – Fri – to Homer
We were going to dump our waste tanks at the campground on the way out until we discovered it cost $15 even if you camped there. So we went to the free dump at Fred Meyer and lucked out with no one dumping. Margo & I went for doughnuts while the guys were dealing with dump detail.
The weather continued cloudy and cool for our short (75 mile) drive to Homer where we are camping in the Homer Spit Campground. We stopped at a few lookouts but the clouds obscured the tops of the volcanoes across the We are in the second, elevated row so we can look at Kachemak Bay over the tops of small rigs between us and the beach.
After lunch we went exploring. We did some comparative pricing for halibut fishing and decided on a trip for tomorrow afternoon. We are doing a half day trip as Margo tends to get seasick but is willing to try a shorter trip that won’t get as far into the open water. We stopped at several shops along the spit and made the mandatory visit to the Salty Dog Tavern. Then we drove into town to check out the Elks club which we had seen on the way in. They have spaces for RV parking but it is not as inexpensive as others we have used. However, the drinks were reasonable and the view superb so we stayed for a couple of rounds.
I put a pork roast in the crock pot when we got here and invited Dave & Margo for dinner. We enjoyed a fire while Margo & I were finishing dinner prep and then enjoyed a nice dinner. We chatted with a couple next door – Bill & Cynthia – from Connecticut.

July 7th – Sat
We didn’t do too much this morning except look for gloves & rain gear, pack a lunch and try to get on & stay on the internet. About 11 we all drove partway down the spit and found a parking spot. We picked up our boarding pass for the fishing boat and browsed through a couple of shops before carefully walking down the very steep ramp to the boat docks. It was very steep because the tide was out.
We were all on the boat when the captain gave his mandatory safety speech and then said that we were waiting for 2 more customers who had called and said they were running late. We finally left about 12:45, 15 minutes late. We went about 1 hour & 45 minutes to the fishing area. It took longer than usual as we were running against a large tide but we –and 24 others! - were on a 57 foot boat so the ride was smooth.
We expected a huge mess with so many people fishing but their system works pretty well. We anchored at the front so the tide was running towards the back of the boat. Some people let out lines at the back of the boat and the rest moved up the sides to the very front. As the first person let out line, he/she moved towards the back and the next person could let out line. When someone caught a fish or needed new bait, the whole line of people moved down to fill the space and the people who had to put out a line again did the “excuse me dance” to the front again. There were amazingly few tangled lines even when fish were caught.
Because of the running tide, we had 3 pound chunks of lead on our lines. They were hard to reel in and really a work-out with a fish on. I caught a keeper halibut early. When I caught my second fish, Terry was right beside me and I asked him to reel it in as my arm was really sore by now. He had a hard time getting it in and said my reel was much harder to turn than his. The rules of the boat (and possibly Alaska fishing regs) say that the fish belongs to the person that sets the hook. Some people had the crew reel in their fish.
Everyone on the boat caught their 2 fish limit – we guessed in the 10 to 20 pound range - and we headed back just after 4:30. The crew filleted the fish as we travelled and we each had a bag of lovely halibut which were heavier than we expected. We came back to our rig and started cutting off the skin, cleaning & packaging the meat. We had 2 fillets left in the 3rd bag when we had to go for dinner.
Dave found out about a restaurant that will cook your catch for dinner and made a reservation for 7:15 based on the usual time that boats get back. We took 3 smaller fillets and had them cooked in the 3 styles offered by the restaurant – grilled, deep fried and baked. This meal cost $17.50 per person and included the normal side dishes offered with their meals – a huge salad, bread and baked potatoes with all the fixings. We got a window table and enjoyed the meal immensely.
When we got back we finished dealing with the halibut before relaxing a bit with the news & weather on TV.