This is what Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz said – you do this, and you will be home. This statement appeals to everyone because it eliminates the commute. Road trips are fun for the first few hours, then restlessness sets in. Maybe it’s the anticipation of a road trip that sucks us in. Yes, today after a few hours of being on the road, I was ready to click my heels. I just wanted to get to my immediate destination, Homer, Alaska, considered by Tom Bodett the place “at the end of the road.”

I stayed at the Land’s End Resort a few weeks ago. I am now staying in a very upscale Air Bed and Breakfast. The air part – this means that they don’t serve breakfast. They did serve breakfast at the Land’s End Resort.

I am here courtesy of Milena Sevigny who works for TOTE Maritime. She came down to this end of the world for a few business meetings. Her focus is on grants. The last time she brought along hand sanitizer and disinfectant. Not this time.

View from B&B

However, we did (again) travel here in the company van. It is very roomy although the seats (after a few hours) leave something to be desired. We picked up this van at the TOTE Maritime port. Milena gave me a short tour of the facility and filled me in on the port issue.

This is the major port for Alaska – most of the goods that come by barge, come into this port. Alas, right now TOTE is paying $26 million a year to have this port dredged. If it becomes impassable or inoperable during an earthquake, those who live in this state are going to be up Shit Creek. Milena, like us, has a large garden, so we are less screwed than others.

This, and my previous trips, are the only book project perks that I’ve received. This makes the other, and this trip, more special to me. Well, the other project perk is books – I have more books at home than I’ll ever be able to read in a lifetime.

I had one work-related stop today and will have another tomorrow. Today I stopped at the Kenai Emergency Preparedness office and picked up some directory related fliers. I obviously didn’t make it clear to the man in charge, when I talked to him on the phone, that I wanted emergency preparedness information particular to the Kenai. His handing me the packet, it was sort of like someone tossing a rock in my Halloween bag. I thanked him and left.

Tomorrow I am going to the Homer Library and talking with Dave Berry, the head librarian, about the book project.

In the meantime, I’m staying in this beautiful one-story house that overlooks Kachemak Bay. The interior is simple – lots of Alaskana books here, they have been stashed in drawers, I think to give the place a clean, tidy look. Hmm, this has got me wondering, perhaps I might stash some of my books at home in my dresser drawers.

Next: 257. 9/17/21: Birthday