Moose, Eagles, a Hill, and a House

So much for lollygagging.  We tried to lollygag, but because of our lack of experience with the area and the risks involved when maneuvering a rig of this nature around in unfamiliar territory, we ended up giving up on it, as the special spots seemed to want to continue eluding us.

Not that we didn’t try.

Normally, we eschew fried food, but halibut and chips seemed like an excellent choice for lunch today.  Any form of fish and chips would have done, but contrary to what you might think, finding anything resembling fish so close to a coastline renowned for its fisheries was a bit much to ask, so today we had cheese and vegetable sandwiches for lunch.

Again.

Not that I mind these sandwiches…they are in fact my favorite heavy-duty, all-around lunch substance, especially when chased by an amber ale, augmented by chips and salsa or nuts, and followed by an apple or such.  Can’t beat it.  But today, we wanted fish and chips.

We were hoping to eat our fish and chips that turned into a cheese sandwich on some promontory overlooking the Cook Inlet, but this was not to be the case.  We ate our cheese and veggies and bread in a parking lot by a bland, windy beach of mud, surrounded by houses and No Trespassing signs.

Undaunted, we attempted to add a little spice to our lives by navigating a loop that was supposedly scenic, based on information garnered from a tourist brochure of the Kenai (“kee nigh” accent on 1st syllable) area.  This brochure, however, was more poorly written than my latest posts, and the information therein was obviously based on the point of view of someone who already knew where all the places to go were to be found.

What we did find, shortly after the wretchedly-creased pavement ended, was that the beach at the end of the dead-end road we were on was not only preceded by a narrow parking lot just BARELY wide enough to turn a 34′ bus around in, but was chock-full of parked cars and trucks, as well as their curious owners.  More were arriving by the minute.

This was going to be fun.

Needless to say, I could never have turned around with the toad attached, regardless of the amount of other cars.  I wasted no time bemoaning the time lost, and set about the re-installation of the Toyota’s drive shaft, and the de-coupling of the two vehicles.  In no time at all, I had both of them turned around, but it was a bit hairy for a moment, as I needed all of the space allotted to me by the happenstance openings provided by people who just left.  There were no nice people from Vancouver this time, and the feeling I got was that I really just wanted to leave.

We reconnected in the parking lot of a curious little food shack where, by the signage, you could procure fresh roadkill, smoked, on a roll, or whatever….interesting.  The fun thing about this place was that part of the shack (attached) was a Flxible van “Flxette”.  I took a picture.  So did Michele.  After we get better internet, we’ll post them in our galleries.

We decided to hightail it for Homer, and so away we went.

And here we are.

We made it.  Penelope made it.  We made Penelope make it, whether she wanted to or not.

The last climb was the worst of the entire trip, and I’m not really sure why I did it.  I was sure asking for it, and we are both glad that we didn’t break the crankshaft, melt some valves, warp the head, or throw a rod.  That was some hill.  Thanks to the patient locals who were caught behind us as we ascended East Hill Road in 1st gear.  Barely!  There was another route, but at the last minute, I decided to go for the steep one.  Whoops.

Then we got to our new house, and looked around for a long while before unhitching the Toyota for the last time and moving Penelope into the driveway in front of the house.

Where her tires promptly sank approximately 8 inches into the soft ground.

Um….

OSB and plywood scraps are now keeping the wheels from sinking, and the unpacking has begun.  The mess is incredible, and the amount of work to be done is overwhelming.  But we’ll take it one day at a time.  Kind of like that sitcom from the 80′s, but without the graces of Valerie Bertinelli.  There’s so much to do, and we are so far from the headspace required to deal with it all that we may have to go fishing or something.

It is hard taking things out of Penelope.  She’s been our home for just over a month, and we really really like her a lot.  We are looking forward to the road trip days of the future, when we are on the road again.

So this is not the end of Travels of Penelope.  Not even close.  We have yet to post relevant stories as we recall them, offer photos we dredge up from the millions of shots taken, edit and share the video captured, and that is before we begin the customization of this old coach into something we can be mobile, comfortable, and secure in, for the long haul.

No, it is not over.  With the end of this 3300-mile trip is only the beginning of a far greater story.

But first, we must needs find a source of some local smoked salmon with which to augment our celebratory dinner.  It is apparently easier and cheaper to get smoked salmon in California, where the wild salmon are dying in droves due to pollution, dams, overfishing, and fish depression.  They are becoming scarce here, too, those salmon.  Will humans respond fast enough this time, having learned from the mistakes made in the southern coastal areas, or will we demolish all the wildness here, too?

Either way, it is surprising to find that it is expensive and difficult to find smoked fish here in Homer.  Maybe we’ll have better luck locating some fish and chips for lunch.

In the meantime, we are busying ourselves with unpacking and home-making.

Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to Sally, our neighbor, who without a moment’s hesitation drove over to our place to get the meter number for us so that the HEA could begin the cumbersome process of beginning to turn the wheels that would set in motion the necessary cogs required to activate our electricity….sometime next week.  It is wonderful to have neighbors who cheerfully step up to help despite the blatant rudeness of starting a relationship with someone by asking for something!  We’ll make good on it, I swear!

In later posts, there will be photos, but the internet here is barely enough to keep the connection alive.

During our drive from Kenai to Kasilof (cass ee loff, accent on the second syllable), we saw three moose….those things are really big!  If I hit one in our bus, it is entirely possible that the windshield would be compromised by its head!  Ouch.  Something to avoid.

Michele approves of Homer.  She was awed by the spectacle of the mountains across the Kachemak Bay, and the well-kept gardens, and lush natural springtime vegetation.  The layout and look of the town appeal to her.  “I will like living here” she says.  Good deal!

I think it is about time for me to sign off.  It is late….12:54 a.m. and still light enough to see without artificial light, although stumbling over the happy cats is not a good thing to keep doing.

Gene