I was up early, showered and left the campground to find a cafe and get online in downtown Homer. I completed my journal entries at a downtown coffee shop, and then skipped over to AMP Cafe to upload them on their free wifi access. I spent a good portion of the day there, and was finally on the road to Seward by the late afternoon. The weather was cool and the sky had been overcast and turbulent in Homer. As I pulled out of Homer, the clouds departed and the sun and blue sky began to peek out. I could finally see the mountains surrounding the town in my rearview mirror.
The 170 miles to Seward took me back along Highway 1 (aka the Sterling Highway) to the northeast where I reconnected with Highway 9 (the Seward Highway) and headed south. I arrived in time for supper and I couldn't leave the Kenai Peninsula without a taste of their famous fish, so I headed to Ray's Waterfront located on the Seward waterfront. There was a long waiting line for a table, so I bellied up to the bar where they served the full menu and asked the bartender for her recommendations. I settled on Halibut Cheeks Rosario; The fish would be pan-seared and cooked with sun-dried tomatoes and capers. As I drank my beer and watched the baseball updates on ESPN, my neighbor leaned over to introduce himself. Turns out, Ron very well could have caught the halibut that I was about to eat. He was a fisherman up for three months from Bellingham, Washington and was a principal supplier of the restaurant's halibut. The serving staff all knew him by name. Of all things, Ron ordered a steak!
As we ate and drank, Ron told me all about the local fishing industry and his many years of experience. Sue, on my other side at the bar, soon was involved in the conversation. She was a tour guide that had just arrived on a cruise boat from Vancouver (if I recall correctly.) She had her itinerary pre-arranged, but asked to borrow my guidebook to discover possible destinations for the future. I soon learned that she was an aspiring travel-writer and had made contributions to the Moon Guide for Quebec.
I learned that Ron was planning to head out to sea for 3 days - about 100 miles off the coast from Seward - and was searching Seward for one more crew member. My curiosity was piqued and I began to question him about the trip. He could tell I was interested in joining him and began questioning me about my fishing and boating experiences. Finally, he invited to show me his boat and meet the rest of the crew. He said that he would hire me if I was interested. I was intrigued, but I wanted to let the beer clear my system before making this decision. He showed me his entire outfit and I met Kevin and a second man named Ron, the second most experienced man on the boat. Both were sizing me up immediately after hearing that I might join them for 3 days on the boat.
My biggest concern was sea sickness, to which I was prone in the past. I didn't want to be the weakest link on the team while spending three days curled around the boat's john. Ron told me that he was going to take a quick cat-nap and that they would leave the dock in about an hour's time, around midnight or one in the morning. We swapped cell phone numbers and then I returned to Conrad to let my head clear and to make a list of the pros and cons of going on this fishing trip. Topping the 'pros' list was the rewarding experience and the extra cash. Topping the 'cons' list was the risk of bodily harm as well as possible sea sickness. The pros list won out and I drove to Safeway to stock up on sea sickness medication and breath mints in case I was barfing a lot on the boat.
I returned to the boat about 12:30 in the morning. Captain Ron was asleep, but Ron #2 was on deck eating a sandwich. He had obviously been drinking since I last saw him and was at first jovial, then belligerent. Not a good sign. Captain Ron had decided to wait until high tide the following afternoon to leave. I learned from Ron #2 that if I was going to join them, I would need to purchase some gear in town.
I hadn't collected all of the information, and as I considered the new circumstances, Ron #2 demonstrated how to properly coil the line that we would be hauling into the boat following a catch (of which there would be three on this trip), I decided that it was best if I didn't go. 3 days was too long to spend in misery if I did get sea sick, I had just met with the friendly/belligerent first mate, and I was concerned that the 3 day trip could get extended as easily as the departure time had been extended.
So I said good-bye to Ron #2 and I went in search of a campground. It had been a really long day and the day got longer as I visited the now-full campgrounds in the Seward vicinity. I ended up 'creating' my own tent site at a campground at Ptarmigan Lake about 20 miles north of Seward. It was really late by the time I pulled my sleeping bag around me.
The 170 miles to Seward took me back along Highway 1 (aka the Sterling Highway) to the northeast where I reconnected with Highway 9 (the Seward Highway) and headed south. I arrived in time for supper and I couldn't leave the Kenai Peninsula without a taste of their famous fish, so I headed to Ray's Waterfront located on the Seward waterfront. There was a long waiting line for a table, so I bellied up to the bar where they served the full menu and asked the bartender for her recommendations. I settled on Halibut Cheeks Rosario; The fish would be pan-seared and cooked with sun-dried tomatoes and capers. As I drank my beer and watched the baseball updates on ESPN, my neighbor leaned over to introduce himself. Turns out, Ron very well could have caught the halibut that I was about to eat. He was a fisherman up for three months from Bellingham, Washington and was a principal supplier of the restaurant's halibut. The serving staff all knew him by name. Of all things, Ron ordered a steak!
As we ate and drank, Ron told me all about the local fishing industry and his many years of experience. Sue, on my other side at the bar, soon was involved in the conversation. She was a tour guide that had just arrived on a cruise boat from Vancouver (if I recall correctly.) She had her itinerary pre-arranged, but asked to borrow my guidebook to discover possible destinations for the future. I soon learned that she was an aspiring travel-writer and had made contributions to the Moon Guide for Quebec.
I learned that Ron was planning to head out to sea for 3 days - about 100 miles off the coast from Seward - and was searching Seward for one more crew member. My curiosity was piqued and I began to question him about the trip. He could tell I was interested in joining him and began questioning me about my fishing and boating experiences. Finally, he invited to show me his boat and meet the rest of the crew. He said that he would hire me if I was interested. I was intrigued, but I wanted to let the beer clear my system before making this decision. He showed me his entire outfit and I met Kevin and a second man named Ron, the second most experienced man on the boat. Both were sizing me up immediately after hearing that I might join them for 3 days on the boat.
My biggest concern was sea sickness, to which I was prone in the past. I didn't want to be the weakest link on the team while spending three days curled around the boat's john. Ron told me that he was going to take a quick cat-nap and that they would leave the dock in about an hour's time, around midnight or one in the morning. We swapped cell phone numbers and then I returned to Conrad to let my head clear and to make a list of the pros and cons of going on this fishing trip. Topping the 'pros' list was the rewarding experience and the extra cash. Topping the 'cons' list was the risk of bodily harm as well as possible sea sickness. The pros list won out and I drove to Safeway to stock up on sea sickness medication and breath mints in case I was barfing a lot on the boat.
I returned to the boat about 12:30 in the morning. Captain Ron was asleep, but Ron #2 was on deck eating a sandwich. He had obviously been drinking since I last saw him and was at first jovial, then belligerent. Not a good sign. Captain Ron had decided to wait until high tide the following afternoon to leave. I learned from Ron #2 that if I was going to join them, I would need to purchase some gear in town.
I hadn't collected all of the information, and as I considered the new circumstances, Ron #2 demonstrated how to properly coil the line that we would be hauling into the boat following a catch (of which there would be three on this trip), I decided that it was best if I didn't go. 3 days was too long to spend in misery if I did get sea sick, I had just met with the friendly/belligerent first mate, and I was concerned that the 3 day trip could get extended as easily as the departure time had been extended.
So I said good-bye to Ron #2 and I went in search of a campground. It had been a really long day and the day got longer as I visited the now-full campgrounds in the Seward vicinity. I ended up 'creating' my own tent site at a campground at Ptarmigan Lake about 20 miles north of Seward. It was really late by the time I pulled my sleeping bag around me.
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