Today I drove south west across Highway 1 to Palmer, then down past Anchorage to Soldotna on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula. [The traffic around Anchorage was as bad as any other major US city. And the road goes right through the city too. Watch for speed limit signs going through Cooper Landing.]
Scenery along the way towards Palmer:
I went to Soldotna primarily to visit some childhood friends who live there. Their younger brother was in my class at school and was going to also be visiting at the same time!
The couple works with Samaritan’s Purse. So I was able to visit their offices/headquarters. What a great ministry they have to the needy, not only indigenous groups, but also the Wounded Warrior Project etc. I will not post pictures of all that to maintain their security.
After much reminiscing and good food, the husband and my classmate flew off for a few days, doing a SP project. So I and the wife had some girl time to our selves!
We spent some time exploring Soldotna, taking a nice easy hike in Centennial Park and viewing the Historical Museum.
Then we went to Homer. We ate lunch at the Lands End restaurant at the west end of the Spit. Yummy halibut sandwich! 
We saw sea otters from the restaurant window and as we drove back east on the Spit, we saw a couple of bald eagles perched on the top of poles right at the side of the road.
At Ninilchik, you can see lots of beautiful Russian-style buildings. Remember, Alaska used to be owned by Russia! When the US bought the land, some Russians stayed.
Boats in the Cook Inlet.
View from the hills overlooking Homer.