Solitude and Recovery

So I ran off and hid for two days. I am now ready to face the world in California again. I rented a car and drove down the Kenai Peninsula, all the way to Homer. The drive was amazing, the accommodation's were interesting and the time was well spent. Now you might be preparing yourself to read some deep insights that I gained while being off by myself. But no such luck. I did look back over the summer to see if things went like I had hoped. For the most part they exceeded expectations. I loved the job and can handle the time away from home. I enjoyed the challenges of the job and just like any other place of work there are problems and things that need to be improved. However, as I suspected, I have made the right decision for my life at this time in it.

The driving was my favorite part. I hadn't driven in 3 months and to be able to go where I want and listen to the music that I want was great. The first day, the weather was perfect. I stopped by Kenai Lake, one of the beautiful glacially fed lakes that we passed making the weekly trip down to Seward. I was able to see Mt. Redoubt and the other huge mountains that sit across the Cook Inlet from the Kenai Peninsula. I found a funky little place to stay outside of Homer, it is a working farm with some small cabins and a main house that has been converted into rooms to rent on the main floor and a in the basement. Mossy, the owner, also had an organic raspberry patch that you could pay and pick but the best part was access to the water. She had a nice quiet beach on Kachemek Bay with great views of the glaciers across the way. On day 2 I had a late start, a wonderful lunch (halibut), drove back along Kachemek Bay and then took a long walk along the Homer Spit. The last day, the weather wasn't great but as I drove up to the City of Kenai for lunch I stopped to see some of the old Russian Othodox churches then through Soldotna and on to Anchorage. The weather in Anchorage was crummy but I spent the late afternoon in my favorite coffee shop, then had dinner at Tito's, a great gyro place and then returned the car to the airport and settled in for a long wait until my 1:20 am flight.

The last few days in Alaska were important in preparing to return to California. I am glad I spend the time and saw an area of Alaska that everyone talks about. Unfortunately, I was a little late to get out fishing, though there were still a few out on the river. Maybe next year.

Thanks for reading.