Homer Alaska - Announcements -

If you slept in Monday morning, just like gas prices flipping for the weekly price increase, summer came. One moment we had rain and temperatures barely two digits above freezing, and the next moment, shazzam, summer.

Holy Halibut Bellies! No sooner could you say turn off the oil heater, Hilda, than the sun came out, the alder bushes spat pollen and the thermometer climbed into the low 60s. The taxi cab driver with the Hawaiian shirt and straw hat who drives around that way all winter didn't look like he was nuts. Women put on Capri pants. Women put on shorts. Crusty old carpenters whacked off the legs off their Carhartts. Everyone wore sandals. If you ignored the glaciers in the background, what with all the pink motor scooters in town, it kindasorta looked like Key West.

The best thing of all? Summer has come just in time for, well, summer. Just like it says on calendars all over the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice arrives on Friday. Go ahead, admit it: You had your doubts, right? Well, as sure as sunset, we finally get summer. Never mind that like our sunsets, summer came late. It's here.

So celebrate the longest day and the shortest night with some hot, hot, hot, only in Homer, Alaska, Best Bets:

BEST GET-GET-GETAWAY BET: Sure, you might have to pay a fuel surcharge, but hey, a weekend in Seldovia can't be beat. Don't wait for the Fourth of July to visit our big little neighbor across the bay for the annual Seldovia Summer Solstice Music Festival. The music starts with a song circle on the M/V Tustumena leaving port at 11:55 a.m. today, and continues with concerts at 6:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday. See Arts, page 2B, for the details.

BEST ARTS, 0; NATURE, 1 BET: When it comes to raging moose, summer thunderstorms and howling winds, art doesn't have a chance against Ma Nature. That's why artists make their outdoor art tough. Check out the annual Facing the Elements art exhibit, opening from 5-7 p.m. Friday at the Pratt Museum.

BEST BIG HAIR BET: The last time the Betster saw Trish Ham and Lulu Small, they had hairdos as high as Poot Peak, sort of a classic 1980s 'do with swoops and swirls like frozen Spit surf. No doubt they've changed a bit, but one thing you can be sure of is they still know how to rock a crowd. See them back in Homer tonight at 8 p.m. at where else? Alice's Champagne Palace.

BEST HOME, HOME ON THE GRANGE BET: Go east, and every little town has a grange a meeting hall where families meet. Want to start a grange in Homer? Attend a meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the National Resource Conservation office, 4014 Lake St. Refreshments will be served. While the grange once was all about farming, today it's all about community service and family fun.

BEST LOW, LOW TIDES BET: With the full moon this week, we'll have lots of good minus tides for clamming, hiking and tidepooling. The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies offers guided hiking tours at Peterson Bay Field Station from 8 a.m.-4 pm. daily. Better yet, see the sea critters from a seat with kayak tours running 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Call 235-6667 for prices, reservations and details.

BEST FUNKADELIC-GROOVIN BET: It's hard to believe one guy could make such way-cool music, but if you haven't heard J-Wail, well, wail, you're missing out. The man also known as Jonah does his magic starting at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Down East Saloon, with a low $5 cover price. Better yet, proceeds support Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic.