The other day the Betster stood in line at the liquor store between some nice guys from Yukon Territory, Canada, and a couple with British accents. While cruising the Spit on a photo safari recently, yours truly spotted a slick little 4-wheel-drive motorhome from France. Yep: it’s that time of year when we’ll see not only tourists from the Lower 49, but travelers from foreign countries.

Not that Canadians are all that foreign. We Alaskans probably have more in common with Canadians than we do with Southerners — well, as long as you put politics aside. More than once while travelling overseas the Betster has been mistaken for a Canadian, like those French men who said en Francais when the Betster tried to get them to make room on an elevator, “Canadians! They’re almost as rude as Americans!” Score!

We haven’t quite gotten to the height of the tourist season, but if you’ll look at page 2, you’ll see we’re at the start of summer, when the sunrise and sunset times hardly change. That’s because we’re nearing the Solstice, 8:24 p.m. June 21, the longest day of the year, a whopping 18 hours and 44 glorious minutes of daylight. We’ve earned every second after that bitter cold and snowy winter we just came through.

Here’s what we have in common, Homerites: the sun shines on all of us equally, making our gardens grow and brightening up our lives. Take time this weekend and next week to celebrate that blessing. Liberal, conservative, moderate or way off the spectrum, whether born here or transplanted, we chose to stay. Honor that and welcome our visitors, and have some fun with these Best Bets:

BEST FEET DO YOUR STUFF BET: You have one more week to finish your training schedule for the big Spit Run on June 24. Get in some miles with the Kachemak Bay Running Club’s Thursday Night Fun Run and Walk from 6-7 p.m. today starting at Homer Brewing Company on the beautiful south shore of Beluga Lake, Lakeshore Drive.

BEST BIG BLANKETS BET: With all this sunshine, you might need to hide under a blanket fort for a bit just to get out of the glare. That’s the perfect place to read a good book, too. Check out Family Fort Night from 6-8 p.m. Friday at the Homer Public Library, one of the cool things the library does to get kids into the library and reading.

BEST BOP IT BALL BET: While once stranded on a remote Alaska beach with some fellow marine debris cleaner uppers, the Betster invented Buoy Ball, a variation on the classic Italian sport, Bocce Ball. You can play the real thing with Special Olympics Bocce Ball from 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Fridays at the HERC Building. They’re always looking for players, so check it out.

BEST PEOPLE ARE STRANGE BET: We’re glad to see the Indomitable Dax back leading Very Strange Karaoke. Citizens, this isn’t your Lower 49 version, and if you think you can out weird Dax, well, you can’t, because he’s a pro. The event starts at 10:38 p.m. Wednesdays at the Alibi on Pioneer Avenue — that is, Homer time for 10:30 p.m.