Happy Clammer!

Last weekend Bill and I took advantage of the extra two days off (plus two more that we requested off) for the 4th of July weekend and took a road trip down to Homer, Alaska. We had a lot on the agenda, but were bound and determined to fit it ALL in to the 4 days we were actually in Homer.

First on the agenda for Saturday: Clamming! Homer, and most of the Kenai peninsula beaches are home to some of the kookiest looking clams, I've ever seen called razor clams. They get their name apparently because their shells are long, slender and super sharp on the edge. Bill and I were fortunate enough to not go diving in head first looking for the clams, but instead mastered the art of using the clam gun.

This nifty little tool uses suction to get sand, water, and hopefully a clam out of the hole that you shove it down. If you can't tell from the video it's tough work! However, it's a completely fun, exciting and age appropriate for everyone in the family. There was one family we saw on the beach where the dad would dig down to the clam, while each kid took turns diving into the hole for them. Definitely a great activity for all ages!

Happy Clammer!

Even though the weather was gray and drizzly, we drove the 45 minutes north to the beaches of Ninilchik Village to find our harvest. It took 2 hours to dig 60 or so clams. We probably could've gotten a lot more had we had two clam guns, and the tide stayed out a bit longer. The limit in this region was 60 a person. Not knowing before hand how long it was actually going to take to CLEAN all these clams, it's a good thing we only got 60!

Our harvest. Over 60+ clams.

We got back to June's Bed & Breakfast, where we were staying for the 3 nights we were in Homer, and she graciously let us commandeer her kitchen for the next four hours!

Bill was in charge of getting their shells off.

The first thing that you had to do in order to clean the clams is get them out of their shells. Bill did this buy dropping them, one by one, into a pot of boiling water for about 6 seconds until their shells pooped open. From there you slide the little guys out of their shells and into a dishpan of cold water to stop the cooking process.

Our makeshift clam cleaning obstacle course!
We took over June's kitchen for the afternoon.

From their, you grab your kitchen shears and start cutting them into two usable, freezable pieces. There are plenty of YouTube videos out there on how to clean a razor clam, so I won't go into the gory details. Hey, that's how I learned! It definitely got faster after the first 20 or so.

Mmmm... Clam steak. Excellent cleaning job, Bill!

We ended up with about quart-sized freezer baggies of cut up clams ready to throw into June's chest freezer until we left on Tuesday afternoon.

The next day was the day Bill was looking forward to the most, Halibut fishing! We took a charter, AFISHUNT Charter out of Ninilchik to try for some halibut. We were out on the water for about 5 or 6 hours, and caught our limit of 2 fish a person. They're not the "barn doors" people are used to seeing, but Bill says they're the best eating when their smaller, and younger.

Four of those are ours... I'll say the big ones.

The last day we were in Homer, we spent driving around, walking around on "the spit," visiting shops, going to bakeries, and looking at land that was for sale. How could you not want to buy land and live somewhere with a view like this:

The view from June's Bed & Breakfast living room.

There isn't a BAD view in the entire town. Only semi-good views, and great views. This was the view of the ocean and glacier from June's living room window. I could definitely get used to looking at that with my morning coffee everyday. So, we grabbed our clams out of June's freezer, and the sourdough starter that she gave me, and said good bye. We still had to drive the 4 hours north to Anchorage where we would spend the night and drive the 7 hours back to Fairbanks on Tuesday. Lots of driving, but lots of good stuff!

Saying good-bye to June before we make our trip back home.
I will miss this place. Until next year...