Travels with Samantha Slide Show Page 14

There was something a little ominous in the air as I approached Homer, Alaska

but the sight of Homer out on the end of the world's longest natural gravel spit (over 3 miles long, bottom left of picture) reassured me

Many people come here to fish for halibut [BIG] [BIG]. I preferred to watch puffins from the ferry boat to Seldovia.

[BIG]

Walter had come up here in 1960 and his stiff swollen fingers betrayed several decades working lines. He went away every winter to escape the darkness of Seldovia, population 250. After his first winter here he got married in the spring.

How come he didn't wear a wedding ring?

"Wedding ring?" Walter chuckled, "Everyone here knows who is married and who isn't."

I told Walter that I liked living in a city because it was possible to date a woman, have her conclude that you are a total fool, and date another woman the next week without her being aware of the first woman's low opinion of you.

"True enough, but I don't like starting from Square One with people. If you are a gentle, kind, helpful person, you become known for that in a small town. You don't ever have to `go in cold' with anyone. I'm not fond of the city. Anchorage isn't even part of Alaska anymore. People there don't know how to survive."

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The distance from Homer to Seward is measured in a complete change in attitude

[BIG]

[BIG].

Passengers from luxury cruises sail through Kenai Fjords [BIG] and check out the wildlife [BIG] [BIG] and ...

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