Unique 4th of July

Sunny and it seems like its warmer. Mike and Mary arrived about 10am and we walked down to the ferry office, got our ticket and walked across the main strip to a little coffee shop. With our coffee’s in hand we sat at a little hand painted table on the boardwalk and enjoyed the sun. Soon we meandered down the pier to our brightly painted boat called the Rainbow Connection with an all female crew. The 1 ½ hour ride over to Seldovia was fairly rough. The clouds were back but it was still a nice trip. We could see Sea Otters laying on their backs appear and disappear bobbing in the waves about 100 yards away. The mountains were majestic as we sailed.

This tiny community 15 miles southwest of Homer Spit offers 300 friendly locals, a slow pace, and natural beauty which makes it Alaska’s best kept secret. The laid-back peaceful atmosphere disappears as thousands arrive for 4th of July celebrations. However on the back streets you can still experience the feeling of being in one of the last unspoiled areas of the world. No traffic signs, no road rage, and no big stores. Now we get to experienced this wonderful hidden treasure.

Soon we rounded the point and came into Seldovia Bay with intersting rock formations and people tent camping along the beach. Arriving in Seldovia’s harbor we climbed the ramp and found ourselves in the middle of the festivities. Tables and booths were set up in the town park along the waterfront. Tons of food, craft tables and yellow duckies to buy for the race later today. We bought yellow ducks and put them in the buckets to be released later in the afternoon.

Next we strolled along the historic boardwalk, dating back to 1931, which runs along Seldovia Slough. The houses are weather worn wood shingles and reminds us a lot of Maine. Many have quaint gardens which made the walk really nice. We found some unique items along the way like a birdhouse mailbox with a doorknob and a pair of yellow rope shoes we dubbed "Blanche's shoes ". (Ken's sister Blanche loves shoes). The boardwalk brought us back into town through back streets.

Now it was time for Reindeer Sausage sandwiches. We sat under a tent top eating and watching people. There was a local folk band playing, but not many were paying any attention. Too bad they were pretty good.

Roaming down main street we stopped at the library. They were having a sale and Ken picked up 2 books for $2. Now it was time to watch the games, Tug-O-War visitors against locals (locals won), Egg toss, then the Slimy Fish toss. Finally the Survival Suit relay which was really funny. It was a lot of fun. Next was the Canoe Jousting. We walked through downtown which is really cute. The clouds have come in, its windy, as we parked ourselves on the rocks along the harbor. We watched crazy people climb into canoes, paddle out into the cold gray water and use the paddles to push, shove, and pull each other until one or all fell in! We watched several heats, but got so cold watching we headed for the Linwood Bar for Irish Coffees. Mike had to tell the bartender how to make them.

Now that we’re warmed up we tried to find a place to eat. They were all closed as pretty much everyone has gone home. There was a sandwich shop across from the pier so we had some barely warm soup…eh.

Finally our boat arrived and we sailed back to Homer. The trip back was much calmer. We got into Homer Harbor just before the rain started. We said goodbye and promised to let each other know where we were going next.

Hopefully we could connect up again.

It was a fun 4th of July. They don’t do fireworks here on the 4th because it never gets dark enough!

Photos: Coffee with Mary & Mike, Rainbow Connection, Seldovia Coastline, Seldovia Harbor, Seldovia Waterfront, Welcome to Seldovia, Historic Boardwalk, Jorgenson Park, Unique Mailbox & view, Himalayan Poppy, Blanche's Rope Shoes, Houses on Slough, Otter Carving, Grocery & Jail, Survival Suit Relay