My little sister, Sarah, my father, Dewey, and I boarded a boat for a weekend in Seldovia. Located near the tip of the Kenai Peninsula across Kachemak Bay from Homer, the small fishing town attracts many visitors for its quaint Fourth of July Celebration.
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| Serine Halverson | |
The boat ride across the bay was beautiful. We stopped at Gull Island, where nine species of nesting birds were diving, flying, feeding and nesting, and we drifted past sea otters that were bobbing in the water. Sarah snapped pictures from the moment we boarded the boat to moment we stepped onto the dock at the Seldovia Harbor.
After checking into our cabin we made lunch, borrowed some cruiser bikes from the bed and breakfast owner, and hit the town. Much of the traffic is either pedestrian or bicycle because motor vehicles have to be shipped into town on the M/V Tustumena Ferry. It took about 10 minutes to cruise the whole town, so we took a walk through the harbor and strolled along Seldovia Lagoon where planes from the local airstrip buzzed overhead. Then we headed back to our cabin for a quiet night’s rest.
Seldovia was abuzz the next morning. We wandered downtown just in time to see the parade that included the town fire truck, a flotilla of little girls dresses up as sea otters, boats and kayaks pulled by trailers, and veterans carrying the Alaska and American flags. If we had arrived five minutes later, we would have missed the whole thing.
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| Serine Halverson | |
The day’s events included a Hula Hoop contest that Sarah won, becoming five dollars richer. We also soaked locals in the dunk tank, searched for quarters in the sawdust-pile treasure hunt, watched contestants tip each other in the canoe-jousting contest, and saw pole climbers of all ages attempt to shimmy up a vertical log near Main Street.
At 4 p.m. it was time to catch a ride back to Homer. While I sat on the deck with my arms around my dad and little sister, I realized that the Seldovia Fourth of July Celebration was like any other in the United States: centered on family, friends and community. And I realized how lucky we were to enjoy the most important things in life in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
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| Barb Baysinger |