Across the Bay

With such beautiful weather we just had to take a boat ride across the bay!  We met up with my parents at the harbor to load up on their boat the MoJo and head out.  Dad's boats are always a quick ride across the bay.  My kids no longer think it's fun to motor slowly across the bay, they've been spoiled with the fast Bay Weld boats!

Black bears are usually rather easy to spot in the spring in Sadie Cove, so we went there first to see if we could find any...none to be seen today.  But we did spot several mountain goats high up on the mountain side.  A small white dot on a dark background isn't too hard to find and then binoculars bring them into full view.  We saw several eagles and an otter too.

We cruised out of Sadie Cove and around the corner into Tutka Bay.  I am always amazed at the many bays and coves on the other side of the bay from Homer.  No wonder so many people find that area irresistible for a summer home or getaway.  It is absolutely breathtaking in between the mountain peaks! And the depths in those valleys are amazing...the depth finder on the boat read 220ft and from shore to shore was only about 1/4 mile. 

We meandered up into the bay and stopped at a beach with a cabin just up in the woods.  Some friends of my parents own a little property and are busy clearing trees and getting the land ready for a house and shop.  Their friends live in Anchorage and are down for the weekend, so we stopped in to say "hi" and look around.

The kids had a lot of fun combing the beach for shells, and searching the edge of the water for starfish and jellyfish.  Our study this year of swimming creatures makes going to the beach a lot of fun...knowing so much better what all those creatures are and how they live makes beach combing that much more enjoyable!  The first thing the kids picked up was a rock with several barnacles and other creatures attached to it...all attached with God's super glue!  You ever try to remove something like that without destroying it...nearly impossible.

They also found several small jellyfish and caught one in a cup, careful not to let its long tentacles touch them!  Such interesting creatures as they move in the water.  The kids observed the jellyfish for awhile and then let it go.

The sun was still shining bright as we cruised across the bay back to Homer.  An otter seemed to wave to us as we passed by!  We arrived back in the harbor as the sun was getting lower in the sky(10:30)...what a beautiful warm glow of the late evening sun!

Dad and mom...thanks so much for the wonderful evening of a treasured boat ride across the bay!