Just another day at the beach

I have a feeling that today will mark the end of a remarkable week of nearly continuous sunshine. I'm so glad we took advantage of it yesterday by taking a short hike to the beach.

I'm not sure what this stuff is...clam poop?

This one looks like a rose.

I'm so lucky to live near this!

 

At the beach on Near Island

Across a short bridge off Rezanof Drive, very near to Kodiak, is a small island uncreatively named Near Island. There is a network of hiking trains on the island. On Sunday morning, we walked on some of them to the beach.

 

I couldn't get a good enough look to ID these guys.

This was the only garbage we saw on the beach.

Walking down by the harbor

In my opinion, a sunny day with blue skies should always be treated as an unexpected gift in Kodiak. We had such a day here last Saturday. T's parents were visiting from Anchor Point, Alaska. T was at a conference in Texas, so he missed the nice weather. His parents and I (and Rainbow) decided to enjoy the beautiful weather with a leisurely walk at the harbor. 


(Side note: T's parents live very close to us, only an 8 to 13 hour ferry ride or two short plane rides away!)

The harbor is within short walking distance of our new apartment. I'm not really into boats, but it is sometimes interesting to look at them. The mountains are always in the background, adding to the visual interest of the scene.

Rainbow's grandma and grandpa S.

Now that's an anchor! (Photo courtesy of Gary S.)

 But the reason I like the harbor is that I'm just about guaranteed to see wildlife. The seafood canneries nearby mean the harbor is filled with good stuff for fowl and mammal alike.

There are so many eagles here that I don't always notice them!

I saw this sign last April when we visited Kodiak and said, "That's silly! There aren't going to be any sea lions right here in the town harbor."

And since then, every time I've gone to the harbor, I've seen a sea lion. (Photo courtesy of Gary S.)

(Photo courtesy of Gary S.)

(Photo courtesy of Gary S.)