Homer, Alaska - Announcements - Homer's Best Bets 06/04/08

Story last updated at 10:08 PM on Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Homer's Best Bets

In his novel, "The Last Starship from Earth," John Boyd describes a planet named Hell that political prisoners get sent to. Hell's discoverers first found it to be cold and miserable, but it turns out they landed on the dark side and in winter. Most of the time, Hell's a pleasant place, and to keep its secret, the political prisoners make sure new arrivals come only in winter.

Photographer: McKibben Jackinsky, Homer News
Ninilchik resident Henry Theodore, who frequently guides first-time clamdiggers, spend Tuesday morning filling his own bucket with razor clams.

That doesn't work here in Alaska. Except for idiot Floridians arriving in December, most cheechakos first come into the country in summer. Still, every few years it turns out Alaska gives us rotten, crummy summers cold, damp and miserable. Ya know, like this summer so far.

Just to keep the second-home set from getting too comfortable, periodically we're blessed with a summer that isn't. While we'd love for our visitors to have a fantastic, real Alaska experience, truth is, cold damp summers have their own charm. If nothing else, they keep real estate prices down so that the people who clean your toilets don't have to buy a prove-up shack at Mile 22 East End Road.

If you're visiting this week and you get weather that feels like early spring in normal parts of the world, the Betster apologizes. Do what we do: retreat indoors with a good book, read your favorite Thursday morning weekly at an espresso joint or strike up a conversation with an interesting local. While Alaska can turn sour, we Alaskans are always pleasant, or at least interesting, and have some good stories to tell. Ask us what's cool to do in this town, bad weather or good, like some of these Best Bets:

BEST STILL LIFE WITH DREADLOCKS BET: She's sarcastic, she's witty and with her blonde dreadlocks, she'll fit right in with Homer's trustfarians. Want to see the face behind "Bird by Bird" or "Operating Instructions"? Meet Anne Lamott, keynote speaker for the Kachemak Bay Writers' Conference, when she gives a free public reading at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Homer High School Mariner Theatre.

BEST WHAT ARE WE? CHOPPED LIVER? BET: Hey, don't forget about all the other cool writers visiting town this week, too. They'll be reading at 8 p.m. Sunday at Captain's Coffee, the Homer Bookstore and the Kachemak Bay Campus East.

BEST COSMIC DUDE BET: After listening to Lamott, you might want to trip out on Team Juice's big bold multi-media presentation starting at 10 p.m. Saturday at Wasabi's Club Fusion. Another hip happening Bunnell Street Arts Center thing, tickets are $10.

BEST LOW, LOW TIDE AT LOW PRICES BET: If you're a member of the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, you can get across the bay for the minus tides coming up this week at a pretty good price. With ever-rising fuel prices, CACS will soon be tacking on a fuel surcharge for members to visit its Peterson Bay field station. Members now pay $85 for adults, $60 children, but soon it will go up to $105 and $73. The minus tides run through Monday, with guided tidepooling tours departing from the harbor at 8 a.m. and returning 4 p.m. You can still do tidepooling at the harbor with the CACS Creatures of the Docks tour at 1 and 3 p.m. daily, $5 a person. Call 235-6667 for details.

BEST SWEAT EQUITY BET: Want to meet some locals and help us improve our local trails? Join the trail clearing party from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at the Homer Demonstration Forest at Roger's Loop Road at the top of Baycrest Hill. There will be food, fun and prizes, and lots of good stories hey, maybe even a moose sighting or two.

Homer Alaska - Announcements -