Homestead-Days Three and Four
Day Three-Got up a little late. Both us still seem to be bus-lagged. Went to McDonalds for coffee and a biscuit before departing for the city of Kenai about 85 miles up Hwy 1. There we found both the largest Walmart I have ever seen and the Largest Home Depot I’ve ever seen. The Walmart is least 2 blocks long and over a block wide. Looking down the main aisle you see people at the other end who look about two feet tall. The place was so large that we spent most of our time just wandering and looking.
Day Four-Still have no WIFI, water or electricity. These people are even more lackadaisical than the lower 48 utility workers. Tomorrow seems to be an Alaskan mantra. Now on the other hand, I have always wanted what I want NOW!!! My middle initial P is not an abbreviation for patience.
Went to the laundromat/personal shower station today. Washing was $11 per load and showering cost us $7.50 each. With the drying at $.25 per 2 minutes we dropped about $45 for washing our clothes and ourselves. RIDICULOUS! This is a great incentive to get the electrical service reconnected to the house. The previous owner, not doubt handicapped by some self induced mental illness, tore the laundry room off the house. In doing so he ripped off the entire electrical panel and where the service entrance wire has gone is a mystery for the ages. In addition, he ripped every piece of 3/4″ sheetrock off the walls. I’d never seen 3/4″ sheetrock in my life. Plus the idiot was up under the house with small jacks trying to level the floors.
One bright spot: I stopped at a garage sale and found about 150′ of 100 amp copper wire for $20. The stuff up here is over $3 per foot. Same sale found enough used triple wall vent to install the gas water on the lower floor where it belongs and two heavy duty roller fishing rods for $10 each. Can’t fish or hunt anyway because you have to be a resident for a year before you can buy a fishing license. Non-resident licenses are hundreds of dollars per person.
Everything in Homer is 25-40% more expensive than in Kenai. Only explanation is that they are extremely greedy and ripping of the tourists or they’re paying a lot of extra freight for the extra 85 miles. I guess that is the reality of life in the Homer lane.