We will be arriving in Alaska on the 30th so don't think we will be dressing Penelope up this year for Halloween but didn't want her to miss the whole experience so the grandparents had a great idea. This weekend we took Penelope to a pumpkin patch. We went to Mahaffy Ranch in Coos Bay, Oregon and had a great time. Penelope got to run around in the patch and pick out her pumpkin. We also went on a hayride and she decorated her very own cookie and had her face painted. She had so much fun. Here are just a few pictures of our day.
We also carved our pumpkins this weekend I will post pictures of that later. Penelope's came out great.
So I thought I would share a little information about our new home. It's right there on the map between Kodiak Island and Anchorage. This map doesn't show all the places in Alaska but it was one of the only maps I could find where Homer was easily visible. Homer is located on the Kenai Peninsula on the shore of Kachemak Bay. It's most distinguishing feature is the Homer Spit, a narrow 4.5 mile gravel (correction road is paved)road that extends into the bay. According to the most recent population census, the population of Homer is 4,137. It is the southernmost town on the Alaska Highway. It got it's first traffic light in 2005! About a 4 hour drive to the big city of Anchorage and 1 hour and 20 minutes to Fred Meyer in Soldotna. :) Shopping is pretty much local run business with one Safeway grocery store and no malls. Their are several restaurants but only 2 fast food chains, McDonald's and Subway. From what I have read Homer has a very active outdoor lifestyle in the summer months but slows down during the winter. It's the place to go if you like to fish, especially halibut and salmon. The temperatures average at 53 degrees in July and August for the high and 22 degrees for the low in January. Snowfall averages at 13 inches in December with July and August having 0 inches of snow. Compared to some other places in Alaska the weather is pretty mild. June 18-22 are the longest days of sunlight with the sun being out about 19 hours while Dec 19-22 are the days with the shortest daylight around 6 hours.
Of course all this information is just what I have gathered while doing my own research. I might be totally off so if anyone reading this is a native to Homer please feel free to correct me and once we get there I will try to give you some more accurate information. Sooo excited!
Well I bought Penelope's and my airline ticket. On October 30th we will be flying one way to Homer, Alaska, our new home. It's going to be a long day...We fly out of Eugene, Oregon at 9:55am, get to Seattle, Washington at 11:00am, fly to Anchorage, Alaska at 12:00pm, arrive in Anchorage at 2:45pm, have a 3 and a half hour layover there and finally hope on a small 19 passenger plane at 6:30pm to Homer, Alaska arriving at 7:10pm. Penelope has flown several times as a baby but this will be her first time in her own seat. She has always been a pretty good traveler so I am hoping things go smoothly. I will post more about our new home later, in the meantime check out Penelope getting ready for the snow in some of her new winter wear.
When we arrived in Reedsport Penelope was very excited about finding a cute Fairy bed of her own along with some toys and new clothes. Thank you Grandpa and Grandma! One of the goodies they gave her was a plastic pail and shovel and as soon as Penelope saw it she asked to go digging for seashells. I don't know where this girl gets this stuff! We took her to the beach a couple of days ago and here she is digging for seashells for the first time.
She had a blast!
It was so much fun to watch...
Last night we went bowling, another first for Penelope. Check out her bowling shoes. They were 3 sizes to big.
Here she is with her 6 pound ball.
We made it to Reedsport, Oregon! Penelope and I are going to be staying here with the grandparents for a few weeks before heading to Alaska. Chris has to go back up in a little over a week and then he will be flying Penelope and I up after his hitch at work is over. I will try and take some pictures to post and share the Oregon coast with you. It's really pretty and the weather is great. It's in the 70's, nice and cool. No more 100 degree Bakersfield weather. YAY! I am really excited to be moving back to Alaska but a little sad to be leaving Bakersfield. There was a lot for her to do in Bakersfield and many little ones to play with. I hope we can find that again in Alaska. We made some really great friends and Penelope had her own little sidekick, Destiny her BFF. I am going to get my webcam set up once we are settled so the two of them can chat. I can't wait! Well we are off to eat at Chris' favorite Mexican restaurant, Sol De Mexico, he says they have the best Mole ever. Meh...
