For our last big trip before my maternity leave was up, we decided to head down to Homer. It's the longest road trip we've attempted with the boys, so we figured there would be plenty of stops and we would be fine as long as we didn't pretend otherwise.
Stop one was actually a family agreement - we were all hungry! We found a campground after the turn-off to Homer from Seward highway. I think it was called Quartz Creek or Crystal something. I should probably just google that instead of guessing...
After we ate, I fed Henry while Matt and Thomas walked down to the nearby creek and then found the bubbles I had packed in the car. Thomas *loves* bubbles so much - of course he was excited to chase giant bubbles around a deserted campground. I think this trip was right before the summer season really takes off up here. Things were open, but there weren't any services available.
Of course, I had to run down to see the creek for myself. You can see that things are starting to get green, but there are still a few brown holdouts!
The next stop was 'requested' by the boys. One was antsy and one was hungry - you can probably guess which was which. So we stopped at another campground. This was mostly driven by the fact Thomas could stretch his legs and that we just bought a park pass and want to get our money's worth!
We walked down to the lake, but booked a quick retreat when we saw the vast number of mosquitoes that were already hanging out. I think we managed to get away bite free (these mosquitoes are indeed bigger than the Texas ones, but much slower), but we weren't taking any chances.
First stop in Homer was to check in to our cabin. Second stop was (obviously) for some food. We were told to try the Salty Dawg as it is an institution in Homer, but it really is more of a bar and we deemed it not the best spot for an overly tired 2 year old and baby. But the place we did find was outstanding - Thomas was even eating clams and halibut. With a name like Captain Patties I was kinda thinking Spongebob Krabby Patties, but the food was actually super good. I highly recommend it.
Thomas chowing down on the rest of my clam chowder. If I had known I had to share, I would have ordered a bowl, not a cup.
Our cabin was just down the hill from the Alaska Islands & Oceans visitor center. I read online they are a conservation entity for birds and sea life, so I was thinking it would be like the Seward Marine Center. Not quite... It was ok, but Thomas wasn't as interested in the hows of conservation as he would have been in looking at birds.
See? Bird sculptures were enough to make him smile!
Just outside of the center were a few trails to walk down to the beach and those were probably our favorite part. Henry and I came back and walked them again when Thomas was napping - had to get enough steps on my fitbit for the day!
These reminded me so much of the bluebonnets back home that I had to share them. Not enough to do the classic "kid sitting in a field of bluebonnets" photos, but Thomas kinda hated that last time anyhow...
He much prefers pushing his stroller than riding in it most of the time. We figured it would wear him out and let him blaze his own path. He, of course, chose uphill when we needed to go down. Toddlers...
The end of the Homer Spit - it's not technically the end of the land, but it is the end of the highways in this direction.
Hanging out on Bishop's Beach. It was a little windy, which Henry didn't much care for...
But made it perfect for kite flying! I know you can't tell in this photo because the kite is so awesomely high up in the air, but it has minions from Despicable Me on it. Thomas didn't appreciate this at all, but I think the minions are adorable and had to get it!
He also didn't quite get the concept of holding on to the string, but he loved looking at the kite and got all excited when it was going up or coming down.
Another park stop on the drive back home. We are pretty sure that volcano is the same one that we can see from our upstairs landing when the sun is just right. I am pretty sure it is Mount Redoubt, but it's hard to match up the Google Earth imagery with the view from across the inlet. We'll go with it until proven otherwise. And a plane landed on the beach down the cliffs while we were there. Pretty awesome!
And a second stop at the same location as the drive down. This time we didn't drive all the way back to the campground and the scenery was actually way better. And I googled it - it is indeed Quartz Creek. Well worth a stop just to take in the scenery if you are already driving by (especially if you have kids who could use a break!)