A long time ago, back in 1979, in a land far to the north, I wanted to rent a motel room. Please keep reading, this might be more interesting than at first glance, then again, maybe not.

A job opportunity took me to Homer, Alaska located on the Kenai Peninsula between Cook Inlet and Kachimak Bay. This bay is famous for the millions of shorebirds that migrate through here each spring and fall. What a spectacle. The birds come to feed and rest on the vast mudflats of the Bay where the tides have about a 30 foot exchange. It is wonderful to walk out on the mudflats when the tide is out. However, when the tide comes in, it flows faster than a person can run. Some people do get caught and end up swimming to shore or getting rescued.

The same Homer is also famous for its two bars at the end of the spit, The Porpoise Room and the Salty Dog. The Porpoise Room was more modern, a wood frame building with glass doors and windows that overlooked the bay and inlet. Painted a pale blue inside and out it had a motif reminiscent of the tropics. Perhaps this was to take the minds in attendance off the fact that the winters were really cold and the summers just somewhat cold. The Salty Dog was up at the head of the marina (for commercial fishing fleet and more) in what looked like a wood replica of a lighthouse out of New England. Cedar shake siding added to its charm. Inside it had wood timber beams with business cards and a least one dried herring stuck up with thumbtacks. The most memorable drink was the Snowshoe (peppermint schnapps and brandy) and following a long drinking bought with beer.

Keep in mind that the hours for the bars in Alaska was from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. (Yes that is 21 hours!) The Salty Dog had quite a reputation among the fishing fleet and well deserved I might add. But that is for another story. Homer, at the time, had no paved roads and was rugged and the epitome of one's image of Alaska and the free spirit of making a living off the land and living as you chose. Unless of course you want to rent a motel room.

In late April of that long ago year, I called to rent a motel room for my husband (partner in the project) and myself. I was informed by every place I called that in order for me to room with a male I must provide proof that we were married. So, upon arrival I was to show them a copy of our marriage certificate. Incredulous as this sounded, they were serious. Upon arrival in this rustic town, sure enough they demanded a copy of that license or else we would have been sleeping in the street. How times have changed. Now you can go anywhere in Alaska and sleep in the same room with anyone you want and no one hassles you. There are many strange things that happen in Alaska, this is only one story. Perhaps at another time I can elaborate on my visit to St. Mary's, Alaska where I found a real live chimpanzee that likes to smear typing WhiteOut on the telephone at the St. Mary's airport. Tucker, my dog, found her to be most interesting as she traveled down the road on the back of a four-wheeler with her owner steering, a banana firmly held in her hand. (This town is truly in the middle of nowhere, hours west of Anchorage by small plane. Educate yourself, look it up on a map).

Martha Jordan has more realistic squeaky tub toys than you do. Some of them grow up to be Trumpeter swans, which you can read about at the site for the Washington Working Group of the Trumpeter Swan Society.