Homer’s Best Bets

July 9, 2014 5:46 pm
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A bald eagle sits in a nest near Beluga Slough and the Lake Street stoplight. A pair of bald eagles has nested in the area for several years, first at a tree closer to the light and then in a tree by the motorhome dump station. This tree is a new nest.-Photo by Michael Armstrong, Homer News
A bald eagle sits in a nest near Beluga Slough and the Lake Street stoplight. A pair of bald eagles has nested in the area for several years, first at a tree closer to the light and then in a tree by the motorhome dump station. This tree is a new nest.-Photo by Michael Armstrong, Homer News

Not that the Betster actually saw it, but observant citizens reported that last weekend tents covered every square foot of beach above the high-tide line on the Spit. A campfire haze circled Kachemak Bay from Point Pogibshi to Bluff Point, which probably had some homesick Californians pining for LA.

Holy Woodstock! We sure had a lot of people in town last weekend. Even though the weather called for rain, you know Alaskans. Weather forecasts are like horoscopes, only true when you find out at the end of the day they’re right. As it turned out, we had fantabulous weather last weekend, even for Friday’s Fourth of July Parade, even for the Highland Games on Saturday.

That’s just life in a maritime coastal climate, where some days it rains, some days it doesn’t and you can pretty much count on the weather being crummy. Admit it, citizens: You want the weather to be awful. You like dreary days. You don’t want the weather to be too wonderful lest too many people decide Homer is paradise as Americans define it — say, 250 days with sunshine and temperatures above 70 degrees. OK, 60 degrees. That would have been almost every day last week.

Fear not, Betsteroids. The forecast this weekend calls for cloudy and chance of rain, or as our friends at KBBI call it, “Concert on the Lawn weather.” Seasoned COTL fans know to always pack a poncho with their folding chairs. Usually KBBI holds Concert on the Lawn in late July or even August, when the odds are better for damper weather. Even moving COTL up two weekends hasn’t allowed them to escape the curse.

But that’s how we roll in Homer. Rain or shine, sleet or snow, our motto isn’t just “The city that works,” but “The city that embraces weather.” We’re mariners and bush rats, people who need to get stuff done and can’t let a little storm get in the way. Besides, the weather could turn, and this could be yet another great weekend.

Damp or not, though, it’s just going to be epic, with lots to do, like these Best Bets:

 

BEST YIN YANG BET: Neil Simon’s classic play, “The Odd Couple,” creates a classic drama setup: Put two opposite characters in the same room and let the sparks fly. Lance Petersen directs the classic play at Pier One Theatre version, opening at 7:30 p.m. today and playing 7:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday.

 

BEST MUSICAL BOUNTY BET: With so many awesome bands visiting Homer for Concert on the Lawn, you can see them not just at COTL Saturday and Sunday, but around town over the weekend. Gary Sloan plays 10 p.m. Friday at the Down East, Todd Grebe and Cold Country do a concert at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Quiet Place Lodge in Halibut Cove and Los Holy Santos Gang does an after-COTL concert at 10 p.m. at Kharacters. Oh, and Concert on the Lawn is noon-10 p.m. Saturday and noon-9 p.m. Sunday at Karen Hornaday Park.

 

BEST HOT MICS BET: Things are beginning to heat up in the race for the Republican Party nomination for the U.S. Senate election. Joe Miller, Mead Treadwell and Dan Sullivan all want to take on Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, in the general election, but first one of them has to win in the primary. Hear them debate at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Land’s End Resort.

 

BEST SUMMER SCENTS BET: The wildflower bouquet is ever changing at the Eveline State Recreation Area near Mile 13.8 East End Road. If you don’t know your lupines from a chocolate lilly, take a guided tour at 1 p.m. Sunday.

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