Kenai Peninsula Roadtrip: Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival

It's April and the thermometer on my back porch reads 15 degrees. The back of the house faces north, so it's probably 20 degrees on the south side of the house. It may get as high as 39 degrees today--which means everything will thaw, then freeze again, making roads and sidewalks slick.

I am sitting here in my kitchen, sorting through the mountain of mail that has mysteriously accumulated during the long winter. One of my absolute favorite brochures is out--the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival. I love it! We always try to drive down to Homer during the Shorebird Festival, although I have to admit, I'm not much on identifying birds. I can tell if a bird on the wing is a duck, a goose, an eagle, a raven, a tern or a gull--but it's only in the past year that I have learned what a plover looks like. Sigh.

I like to go down to watch the birders. We'll be following a car down the Homer Spit, and suddenly, it will pull over to the side of the road, stop abruptly, and four people will leap out, deftly wielding spotting scopes and arguing about the identification of a tiny winged speck in the distance. My plan is to at least find the binoculars (I'd buy a pair, but we have about four pairs wandering around in our winter mess), and find out what they're talking about. It looks like fun.

If you need a cup of coffee, we always stop at the Captain's Coffee Roasting Company--they have a drive through, and it's usually easy to find and easy to park, or the Two Sisters Bakery--if your rig is big, the parking can be a little trickier.

The Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival runs from May 8-11. Even on a rainy day, the view from Homer is one of the most beautiful in the world!

Minnow's tip #1: Where is Homer and how do you get there? Homer is on the Kenai Peninsula, south of Anchorage, Alaska. Depending on traffic and road conditions, you can drive there from Anchorage in about 5 or 6 hours. The trip from Soldotna to Homer is 75 miles and it takes us between 75 minutes to an hour and a half, sometimes longer because we like to stop and take pictures of the west side of Cook Inlet. You can also fly to Homer from Anchorage. Happy Bird Spotting!

Minnow's tip #2: The weather in Homer can be extremely variable in May--it will be beautiful--but please plan for anything from cold and rainy to sunny and warm. The good news is that the mosquitos probably will not be out yet.

Next time: my favorite part of the Shorebird Festival: the Migration Fun Run.