Homer's best bets</MCC HEAD>

Story last updated at 1:48 p.m. Thursday, March 25, 2004

Homer's best bets

Photo by Carey James, Homer News
Hang time Paraglider Konrad Schaad soars along the cliffs of Baycrest Hill on Sunday, attracting a crowd of onlookers and photographers in the spring sunshine.

In his novel "The Golden Compass," Philip Pullman creates an alternate fantasy world adrift in a quantum substance Pullman calls "dust." Here in the Cosmic Metropolis By the Sea, we're choking on the real stuff. Forget pleasant harbingers of spring like the trill of a varied thrush. The first sign of better weather to come means strapping on a respirator if you want to take a stroll down the Bypass.

Oh sure, the valiant street sweepers have tried to push back the dirt, but our roads and parking lots still look like the mother of all shop vacs burst a seam. At sunset, with the glare burning through the haze, you might as well close your eyes and navigate by hope. Pedestrians daring to cross in front of a westbound Subaru might want to make eye contact with the driver first.

Eventually, public works or nature's backup plan (i.e., r-a-i-n) will clean those mean streets, and Homer won't look like the Haul Road after a Prudhoe-bound caravan has rolled through. If you want to enjoy a walk through nature, better to hit the beaches, like every man, woman, child and dog has been doing this fine spring break week. After a long day of working on your tan, try out some of these Best Bets.

BEST EAT DESSERT FIRST BET: Homer has no shortage of volunteer opportunities, and some of 'em are pretty cool gigs. The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies holds a volunteer gathering starting at 7 p.m. Thursday at its Lake Street building for people interested in volunteer opportunities. Just to sweeten the deal, they're serving dessert.

BEST TOP OFF THE TANK BET: Alaska's hospitals need 2,200 units of blood a month, and rarely get all their supplies from Alaska donors. Blood Bank of Alaska holds monthly blood drives in Homer, so you don't have to drive up to Kenai to donate. Saturday, you can help out at this month's drive from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at South Peninsula Hospital.

BEST GROVEL IN THE DIRT BET: Forget those boring garden talks about the proper way to say "fuchsia." At this month's Homer Garden Club meeting, we're talking a hands-on, interactive event when Wendy Anderson runs a workshop on propagating herbs. The meeting starts at 2 p.m. Sunday at Homer City Hall

BEST HOT DAYS, GREAT SNOW BET: A quick glance to the north reminds us that up in the hills, those lucky Ridge Rats still have a lot of great snow. Whether skiing on the Nordic club's most-excellent packed trails, or heading out into the backcountry, skiing just doesn't get any better.

The Ohlson Mountain Rope Tow is still operating, too, and runs 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Call 235-SNOW for updates.

We encourage you to add your comments. To prevent spam, comments with links are manually approved during the normal business day. Please be respectful of others with your comments, bear in mind anyone in the community may be reading your comments.