Homer, Alaska
Gittoffmy Island, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Waking up to a clear view across the Alaskan coast to monstrous mountain peaks and a warm sun is comparable to nothing. I got up a little early and went for a hike around the island to reflect on the trip and get a little alone time to take in the views. Although the island isn’t quite large enough to sustain much wildlife I again saw several sea otters eating off the shoreline and dozens of bald eagles, which were all over the island. Something many Alaskans take for granted but still make my jaw drop. Seeing bald eagles in the wild is a pretty magnificent experience.
I returned to the cabin and the breakfast making process went into full swing once again. This morning is was 12 eggs and 12 pancakes between the three of us. I’m not sure what it is but for some reason eating breakfast while camping is like eating the last meal of your life. You just can’t stop. Absolute joyful gluttony. After that we did a full cleaning of the house and restocked the woodstove supply, got some pictures, and caught our water taxi back to Homer. We stopped at the Salty Dawg Saloon, the local dive bar and an Alaskan staple. One Alaskan Amber Ale later and a short walk around the Homer spit it was a gorgeous 4-hour drive through the mountains back to Anchorage.
We walked through Lisl’s front door. Our mouths dropped. In a moment of primeval barbarianism drool came out.
There on the kitchen table Lisl’s mom had on ice 4 of the largest Alaskan King Crab legs I had ever seen. I capitalize these to stress their sheer superiority over…well everything. Along with grilled corn on the cob and a Gorgonzola and fruit salad, we dined on pieces of crabmeat comparable in size to small fish. I’m not sure if this is really a regular meal in Alaska or not just because the crabs come from Alaska, but for whatever reason it felt right. And it felt good. We will be forever in debt to Lisl’s mom and the pleasure she brought us. As if this wasn’t enough she emerged from the freezer a dessert called Baked Alaskan, which is essentially a dome of various ice creams on top of a bed of brownies and baked in meringue.
One couldn’t tell we’d just spent the past 3 days binge eating at the cabin as we collapsed on the couch a hot mess from the quantity of food we’d just consumed. We then took on the task of giving Hotel Jetta a final unload and cleaning. Too exhausted and full to do anything else we enjoyed a movie and exchanged the over 3,000 pictures we’d taken collectively. As hard as it is to believe the trip had just about come to an end.
A view from the beach of the island.
A bald eagle, it's a little hard to see but they were everywhere.
Me, Lisl, and Dan right before leaving the island.
In Homer at a lookout over the mountains and bay where the island is.
Baked Alaska.
1 comment:
Awesome job documenting your travels! It's funny how travel blogs are really just food blogs in disguise - what you're eating, who's making it, and how they do reveal so much about a place. I would love to try the Baked Alaskan, yum!
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