Homer, Alaska: Almost Perfect Except For...
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- Homer, Alaska in the summer. It's quite a destination. There's beauty all around. Friendly, creative people. Adventures around every turn. It's almost perfect, except for one of the most iconic features in the town.
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Come along and travel the world with Richard Green. Retiring in the spring of 2023, I am embarking on full-time world travel. I'm going solo, but the idea here is not to focus on me so much. It's about the places and the people along the way.
The title Old, Alone and Far From Home might initially come across as a sad state of being. My mission is to show that it's just the opposite.
A quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem. I had a great time.
I'm sure that's a pretty fair assessment!
Thanks, I'll pass. F'n hate alcohol-dependent people and their "problems."
When I was a kid growing up in Anchorage, 1953 to 1966, I remember thinking that having a house on the cliffs above Kachemak Bay would be the most beautiful place in the world to settle down and not go anywhere else. I got to know an old miner who lived on the cliffs, Bruno Agostino. He lived and died alone in a one room cabin and gave his property to the Catholic Church when he passed away. I've never been back to Homer since the 60's and now it's probably too late unless my health takes a new turn, but thinking about it is fun thanks to the internet.
Boy, Seldovia sure looks all "cleaned up" from when I worked over there on the Flying Shark and in canneries. It's barely recognizable from what it looked like back when it was a very busy port.
It is great to hear from people who are familiar with the places I feature in my little videos. Thank you for watching!
@@oldaloneandfarfromhome Is Bruno Agostino's name posted anywhere about the town? He owned a long stretch of the cliff section as one comes into Homer from the north. An easy walk from his cabin to the center of town. Surely the Catholic church has turned all that empty real estate into money by now. I wouldn't be surprised to learn It's become the most expensive real estate in Homer. Bruno was well known all over Alaska for the mining claims he'd developed. Immigrant from Italy. Graduated from Colorado School of Mines turn of last century. Came to Alaska and spent his long life prospecting and developing claims. Famous old guy. Surely somebody around there must know the name. If he were alive today, with what he owned when he died, today he would be Alaska's richest resident. Instead, the Catholics are probably the state's richest church. At least his name should be around there somewhere. Historical Society if there is one in Homer.
I never saw any mention of Mr. Agostino when I was in Homer. I also did a quick search over Google and found just a very few mentions of him and Homer on the internet. I am sorry that I couldn't provide a more satisfactory answer.
So you were there during the '64 earthquake. That would have likely scared me to no end as I was 10 in 1964.
@@muffs55mercury61 I missed it since I was on a trip to Colorado. My parents experienced it. My mom's strongest impression of it was how it smelled. I suppose it was methane? Later, when prowling around Afognack Island (part of the Kodiak chain of islands) I saw where the land had split and created probably a 30 foot drop off.
Homer used to be an amazing place. But People from the lower 48 bought every up and it's to expensive to live here anymore. Dumpy houses for 400 K and over populated and people just keep coming. The summers suck because the tourists take over the town and it's hard for people living here to get things done. Yes Homer is beautiful but it's being ruined by all the out of state companies buying up all the land around town and tuning vacant home into Air B and B and the local can't find a place or afford the rent.
You have described a problem that exists in tourist areas all over the world.
@@oldaloneandfarfromhome it's a different kind of crime in alaska....
You sound like my Own words
Watching the Demise of The Cosmic Hamlet by the Sea ...
I graduated from High School in Homer in '86, worked a couple of summers in the harbor after graduation and with the exception of a weekend in the 90s and another weekend in 2003, I haven't been back. I miss it. Thanks for this video. I used to clean the fish cleaning stations in the harbor (one of my duties as a "harbor assistant" which was my job title for the two summers I worked there)...kind of fun to get the memories back watching this. There are obviously changes since I lived and worked in Homer in the 1980s ('81-'86 which were my 8th-12th grades and then the summer of '87 too) but the great views and the spit boardwalk and the Salty Dawg all look the same! I live in Virginia now and have seen much of the world since my Homer days but that town stays in my heart. It was a magnificent place to spend some key formative years of my life.
That makes me feel really good that my video was able to bring up great memories for you. Homer is a special place!
thank you for watching.
Hi. Are you Cynthia's brother? Can you tell her Jenn Cook says hello and thinks about her.
@@SleepingTiger-vlog Yes indeed Cynthia is my sister. I shall pass your message along.
@@vincentlittrell6845 Thank you!
@@SleepingTiger-vlog Cynthia was pleased to receive your greeting. She does remember you and she says a friendly hello in return.
What a wonderful town
The town and the natural beauty that surrounds it are truly amazing!
Yes it is I lived there...most content time of my life
Thank you
This is a great video, very informative. And I like your style! Thanks for sharing. We're heading up that way this year 🙂
So nice of you to say! You will have a great time in Homer and from what I can tell, just about any other place you choose to visit in Alaska.
Great video. Thx. What a beautiful place.
So glad that you liked it. Homer and the entire Kenai Peninsula was amazing!
I just had a 10 day trip to the Kenai Peninsula the same week you were in Homer for this, that first week of solidly beautiful weather mid July. It was an unforgettable experience.
In Homer we water taxied out to Tutka Bay to fish and kayak and camp, then we took a float plane tour out of Beluga Lake. Awesome few days in Homer.
So glad that you had a great experience! Homer and all of Alaska are spectacular!
Thank you so much for watching!
That sounds like a cool thing to do, thanks for the ideas. We're heading that way soon!
This is awesome episode...i do love it 💯👌🏻🇸🇦💐
Thank you so much for the kind words!
@@oldaloneandfarfromhomeyo
Thank you for sharing this video and I liked it.
I am so glad that you enjoyed the video!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
@@oldaloneandfarfromhome Well I'm from Hawaii and I wanted to move to Alaska and get away from Headaches... But GOD,, had other plans for me. So now I'm currently residing in WA. Since 2015.
I have lived in Homer since 2008. Beautiful place, a lot of good people. Quite in the winter, bustling in the summer. Even though quite in the winter there is still much going on in town. With one road in and out in one sense it is almost like living on an island set in a vast vibrant wilderness. I love the Spit. There is much to access there in the summer and peaceful and quite in the winter making for great walks on the beach. The homer to Soldotna area is fisherman's paradise.
Thank you for your comments! I think it would be amazing to experience Homer during the winter months. I'm sure it is a very different place than in the summer.
I was there in 92', on my motorcycle from Illinois. They had a great place to eat then called, Cafe' Cups, if I remember right. It had some really classy dishes, and racks of books you could read while waiting for your food. For some reason, it felt a little like home so I stayed an extra day.
I thought I had responded to your comment a few days ago, but it must not have posted.
I'll bet the trip from Illinois to Alaska on a motorcycle was epic! Your memories have to be phenomenal.
Thank you for watching and telling me of your experiences!
@@oldaloneandfarfromhome Yep, and I didn't take a direct route, sort of zig-zagged my up and back. Stopped by the world's largest mall, walked on a glacier, rode through a forest fire, made it up to the Arctic Circle, slept in an actual hand built log cabin, and rode through a small bit of Mexico (not a direct way back home), which I'll never do again. Fortunately, I have a photo album of most of it.
We were there in late July ‘23 and I really liked the Spit! 🤷♀️
Thanks for watching and thank you for the comment!
I hope I didn't come across as being too critical. I realize that the Spit is the sort of place that a lot of people will like. I was trying to point out that I was not in love with certain elements.
Well done!
I appreciate that!
I visited there in the early 1970s when I was stations at Ft. Richardson.
I'll bet it is a lot different today!
The last time I went to Homer was during "the virus of unknown origin:":. Restaurants couldn't get enough workers to stay open for a full schedule, and many were closed completely. The grocery store looked like it had been hit by a swarm of locusts, so I spend the three days living on cheese, crackers and smoked sausage, and one seafood meal on the Spit. I guess it was kind of my own fault. I didn't check before I went.
I'm sure seeing Homer in that light was completely different and almost surreal.
@@oldaloneandfarfromhome Yeah, I had been there several times over the years and always had a very enjoyable time.
oh no...we know where it came from....
👍👍
You didn't mention that Alaska The Last Frontier is filmed just 12-13 miles out of Homer, overlooking Kachemak Bay.
I try to only mention those places that I am able to visit, while I am in a location. That being said, I'm glad to know about the fact that the show is based so close to Homer. I'll have to check it out.
@@oldaloneandfarfromhome The Kilcher Homestead is a short 20 minutes east of Homer.
I looked everywhere for Marge, but alas, she wasn't there.
❤🇺🇸
LOL at the Salty Dawg Saloon take. Not sure what you were expecting but take your hipster opinion somewhere else. Camped on the spit for two nights last year. Amazing.
U have no idea...The Homer Spit is a wonderful place!!!!!
Looking back, I might have been a bit too harsh. It's a very cool geological feature. There were just some spots that I wasn't crazy about.
I appreciate your honest take@@oldaloneandfarfromhome
I am surprised you never mentioned the Iditarod.
What is Homer's connection to the Iditarod? I did mention the race when I produced my video on Seward.
Thank you for watching.
They've got pizza too. Hit up the pizza parlor.
I didn't have pizza there, but it always sounds like a good idea!
@@oldaloneandfarfromhome go to Finns if you return. It's a Homer summer spit classic.
I will take your recommendation, if I ever return to Homer!
I want to go to homer one day but the trip is a lot I go to valdez every summer. but homer from fairbanks is a drive I don't want to do lol
I totally understand. Some of the distances getting from place to place in Alaska are a little intimidating!
How about the halibut fish and chips
One of my biggest regrets in this piece, was not including some of the food that I had to eat. And yes, that included halibut.
This video would have much more balance if it showed you getting blacked out drunk in the salty dog and starting trouble with the locals
That could have been fun for all involved!
I appreciate you watching and for the laugh.
So the thing you didn't like, after all that, was the saloon? Hmmm.
How rainy weather is there?
It didn't rain at all (or very little) during the few days that I was there. I spent time in Seward, however, which is also on the Kenai Peninsula and it rained constantly.
I know that might not help much, but I can only speak to my experiences.
I live here and it rains often in spring and fall, snows in spring and winter and rains/hails only a few times in summer
@@oldaloneandfarfromhome Seward weather, compared to Homer, sucks.
My card is in the Salty Seadawg if it still exist😂
That's cool!
It is the Salty Dog. I doubt the blogger actually made it to Homer and the Homerrhoids
about a map?
I could live in a town like this. The only thing that concerns me is I noticed according to the census, the population doubled from 2010 to 2020. Overgrowth ruined my home town city and another that I later lived in.
No footage of the town itself which was quite disappointing.
Thank you for watching.
It is hard to say where downtown Homer is located. There is none in the way that we usually think of downtown areas, with a concentration of city streets, laid out in a grid-like pattern.
@@oldaloneandfarfromhome
The downtown would be considered Pioneer St.
Our downtown is not the best area but it is considered along pioneer street
That was the closest to a downtown that I saw. Captain's Coffee Roasting, which I mentioned in the video, is located there.
Thanks for the info. I spent time on Pioneer Avenue, but didn't know that was considered the downtown area.
So what do you do in the winter?
It would be quite interesting to find out what a winter in Homer would be like!
If you find so many things not to like about my home then you don't belong here... move out, move on and don't bother coming back.
Be nice
You live in a beautiful place. I had friends move up there from Michigan about 40 years ago, never looked back. the father-in-law Big Jim followed not long after. Last i heard they have all passed. R.I.P Craig,Pat and Jim.
we found the "homeroid!"
Who cares what you think
@@shaynelhtahuh?
This video reminds me of a public televison production out of Seattle or Portland. Boomer hippies. They seem nice enough but once you get to know them for longer than ten minutes, they disapprove of just about everything you do. Maybe this is where the perfect Karens of the world go to be among their own kind.
Homer has always had a variety of types of people. When I was a kid in the late 70's/early 80's there was probably an equal mix of rednecks and hippies. Lots of interesting characters. Now there's a lot of boring "normal" people moving in from outside, but we try to keep it weird still. The beauty attracts artists and people with creative minds so it has always been home to many artists.
A lot of Texans and Floridians have vacation homes up here and completely ruin our towns
@@MclaisonIlsasad
Say what you want about it. Without the airport it wouldn't exist.
Moved to Homer 44years ago with my wife and 4 children. It was still pristine then! You could feed your family easily with seafood from the Kachemak Bay! But all that is pretty much gone now ! Still beautiful and still beats living in the lower 48! I was told by many locals that finding work would be difficult; the reason being it was not what you know but WHO you know! Turned out to be true! Nevertheless we stayed and raised our children here! In spite of the difficulties in living here the natural beauty here and the rest of ALASKA is ADDICTING!
Living in Alaska is a dream for many. After spending just a short amount of time there, I can see why!
Thank you for watching and for sharing your experience here in the comments!
Nice area. Is it a liberal stronghold ?
I have no idea. I was there for three days and enjoyed the natural beauty. Didn't care about the politics of those who live there.
It's half and half
@@MclaisonIlsa ....like much of America it seems. A divided nation.
Homer and Alaska, in general, is a bit more Conservative than liberal.
If you think Homer is real Alaska, your clueless! Simple!🤣🤪😂
It’s a tourist trap😂😂😂😂
Really depends on how you engage with the town. There's a great local scene, but basically all of the businesses on the spit are only open in the summer.
I wonder how many sunny days you have like in this video and temps that make it into the 60s ?
I think we got lucky with the weather!
We moved on to Seward after Homer and had three straight days of rain.