A Cozy Rainy Alaska Day LIVING in a VAN

How's it going, everybody? I'm Nikki Delventhal, and these are my dogs, Rodney and Camper Delventhal. For over three years, we lived in a Toyota Prius, but now we're in a 4x4 Sprinter. And we're here to take you along on the wild ride. So fasten up your seatbelts and let's have some fun. Don't forget, if you like what you see, like, subscribe, comment, share with your friends, and turn on notifications. We would be so thankful. There's somebody up there. Oh, look, there's a bird on my roof. Oh, that feels good. It's so cozy and rainy out. I'm going to need some coffee in order to talk to you guys. Oh, yeah. There was never a realer statement. This morning, we are about 200 miles south of Anchorage in Homer, Alaska, known as the halibut fishing capital of the world and also the world's second largest spit. If you don't know what a spit is, it's basically a body of land that just like jets right out into the water. This one is about five miles long. This is just any vacationer's dream as well, which is why I think everyone calls it so magical because across the bay, you have mountains, you have volcanoes, like it's all in the same scene, which is so rare. But not only that, all along the spit, it's a ton of art. It's a foodie's heaven. It is a place for literally everyone, but also fishing. Am I right? Hopefully, we can go fishing, but if not, we'll come back for it. It's off season, so it's really a hit or miss when it's not full-blown season. In case you're new here or you missed the previous Alaska adventures, we were flown in for this big event and decided to stay. We rented this van from River Wild, so this is not our normal van. Our van is back in the lower 48 with Rodney and Camper who are currently on a staycation and having a blast and miss them so much. But if you did miss the previous adventures, they are wild. We've already done so much. We did a glacier landing, of course, fully equipped with snow angels, saw the Northern Lights, went to a town where the whole town lives under one roof, but then we were invited to a local's wedding that night. It was just so nourishing. Had an explosive interview with a cat that on paper is literally mayor of a town. Slept in a rooftop tent along the Denali Highway, North Pole Santa, gorgeous lakes and waterfalls, gold panning, and this is just in a week and a half. So we have four more days here and the last two days are going to blow your mind. So make sure you're staying tuned. Alaska has become my favorite state. Almost, honestly, almost favorite place I've ever been to. And I've been to like 50 different countries as well. So if you haven't been here yet, put it first on your list any time of year. Still a little drizzly out. I was thinking let's explore the beach this morning, but I just checked the weather and apparently the rain is gonna stop in about an hour or so. So maybe we'll start at one of the shops, be a little foodie, little cafe gal. Yeah, I like that idea. One of my favorite things to do when on the road is check out different bakeries in every place. It's like my favorite. And a local told me that Two Sisters Bakery was their favorite. So we're gonna start our adventure there. It's also in a really convenient location because right now we're on the spit and that is back there a little bit. So we'll probably get a really nice view of everything. And yeah, it's a good starting place. Let's hurry up and get there. So Two Sisters Bakery was closed, which, you know, second choice, maybe the best thing that ever happened to us. They're closed Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. Today's Tuesday. But yeah, I also realized I have to get out of pajamas, but let's try this place. It is called Wild Bistro. Wait, it's called Wild Honey. No, what does that say? Yeah, Wild Honey. There was no unpacking. There was just have some clothes. What am I gonna wear today? I'm gonna get some shoes on. Oh yeah. Even though, honestly Crocs are my jam. They usually make me a lot more friends. All right, let's check this baby out. It's my first time in an extended van and I gotta say, there's so much room. Aesthetics are adorable. And I guess it is pretty clear. It says Wild Honey, huh? Hello honey. You guys, I'm not crazy. John just told me this place was Bistro something at one point. So I'm not crazy, I did read Bistro somewhere. John, what do I have to get? What is like your best thing here? Sweeter savory. Oh God, I don't know. I'm usually just a sourdough kind of gal who just like goes with coffee. Chocolate chip cookies are sourdough and brown butter. And then the bread on the bottom is an artisan sourdough. Oh my gosh, it's all sourdough. Even our croissants use a sourdough starter. So everything, the starter is sourdough. Wow. You guys, we accidentally ended up in heaven. Thank you. Thanks. Clearly we made the right decision. There's like 30 people in there right now. Amazing. Everything is sourdough. That is so cool. I am so excited to try this together. First off, coffee, 10 out of 10. Oh, we gotta close this to dull the lawnmower sound. I got the veggie sandow. Look, I made the bed for you guys. Oh, here we go. All right, starting with the veggie sandwich. Now the brew house sourdough. You guys know my style. We're just gonna beast it here. That might be one of the best sourdoughs I've ever had in my entire life. Dessert for breakfast, don't mind if I do. The final test. I'm speechless. You guys, I'm gonna speak. Just come here, just come here. You're welcome. Moral of the story, Wild Honey, not bistro, was bistro, is worth coming to Homer all on its own. All right, we're gonna save this for later. We have a lot of adventuring to be doing. Now that we're on a little sourdough high here, let's head down the spit, which it looks like we might be able to get a pretty good view on the way, which I'm really excited about, and see what it has to offer. Here we go. Oh, it's a big van. And forward march. All right, let's just see what's in here to start. Maybe. All the cute little shops are starting, so it looks like there's gift shops, places to eat, food, coffee. Let's just keep going and figure out where our first stop's gonna be. I like that idea. I don't know if it's because it's rainy, or if it's because it's rainy and it's the off-season, but it kind of feels like a ghost town. Just a few people, really kind of moody. I don't know. I love that. I gotta do it. Yep, she's doing it. Roar! You guys, I need more friends. Getting kind of lonely. It's not raining. Let's go look at the docks. I don't know. Let's just walk around this place. It looks amazing. Apparently, you can spot a lot of wildlife out here, like otters and sea lions and stuff. I have a feeling today we might not have that much luck, but you never know. There are so many boats. I'm tempted to try to go fishing today, but I imagine the rain and cold weather might make it kind of miserable. But the goal of being on the Kenai Peninsula right now is actually to get a feel for it, because we are gonna be coming back to Alaska again, hopefully soon, but definitely multiple times. So yeah, I'm kind of just like, this is the feel for it, the bare basics, and then we come back and deep dive. So yeah, come on our bare basics adventure, where we find all the best things to do and then give you recommendations. You guys, if you've been here for a while, you know the recommendations are always spot on and honest. Wow, this really is so pretty. It started raining a lot again. I think we'll take the van down a little further or just get a rain jacket. There's no such thing as bad weather. Just bad clothing, they say. There we go. You know what? Yeah, we're gonna walk. It's a half mile to the end. Rain jacket it is. All right, here we go. Oh, the door. Now we're ready. Don't tell me I forgot the keys. Oh my God, I'm losing my mind. Where are the keys? Are they in my backpack? Oh, they're right here. Holy moly. Wow, I need like a babysitter. This is not okay. Losing it. Okay, here we go. Let's adventure the rainy Homer Spit together. Starting here with some food, a water taxi. Which 100%, if the weather was better and I had the time, I heard that taking a water taxi to one of the smaller towns like Seldovia is so much fun and so cute. So yeah, with more time I'd do that and I would also definitely go fishing. But look at this. So we have more food, some art, tours. Ooh, and I would definitely go bear viewing at the local national park. So cool. Although it looks like most of these shops are closed maybe for the season. This stop right here behind me is one of the ones I am most excited about. We are at the Salty Dog Slush. Other than its fame from being featured on things like The Deadliest Catch and for the thousands of dollars on the wall, which we'll see in a second, it was also one of the very first cabins built during the establishment of the town, I believe in 1897. Here we go. Side note, to be respectful and so we don't get a copyright strike, we put the tripod away and we're gonna cue the music. You can hear the music from out here. Wow, that was so much fun. And hands down one of the coolest bars I have ever been to, not to mention Sony the bartender was the sweetest. Before we continue on our adventure, a quick note from our sponsor. So living on the road, there are some things that you need. And for me, one of those is a portable power station. And now this isn't just good for on the road, this is great for in a home. For power outages, emergencies, essentially you can have all of your things back up and running in seconds. For the three years I was living in a Prius and then that year and a half in a truck, I used this for my hot plate for cooking, my refrigerator, powering my electronics. If I wasn't gonna have a big drive day cause you can charge this back up while you're driving or maybe it wasn't sunny out, I could also go into a cafe or a truck stop and I'd be back up in an hour or two. It is honestly a game changer. I love Jackery portable power stations. If you would like one for yourself, there is a massive deal right now. I'm gonna have all of that information in the description below. And if it's past that time, I do have a discount code that could save you hundreds that will always be available. But if you do get one, please use my link because the link is what helps me, Rodney and camper out. Yeah, and again, thank you Jackery for being a partner for all these years. You guys are the best. Okie dokie, let's keep walking on down. Oh man, Homer in the off season, huh? Not even mad about it, this is epic. I just love having places to myself. And then you really get to meet the local locals cause there's not that many tourists. So it's like such a different experience. Well, that seems appetizing. Oh yeah, there's fish processing going on here. You can smell that. I think we are close to Land's End. That's literally what it says right there. Looks like this is Coast Guard, U.S. government stuff. Yep, I was right. And then it looks like there's a hotel or something at the end here. I bet in the sunshine and with people around this place is a freaking blast. We did it, Land's End. Let's explore around a little bit and then back yonder. I love that they have that sign so they can stay wild, but also that's pretty cool. End of the road park, that's what it's called. Let's follow the seagull sounds. Check that out, there's a bunch of people fishing from shore. We're gonna ask them if they caught anything. So apparently because of the shelf or something about low tide or I don't know what it is, we're gonna have to ask someone. But I heard that the fishing, even from the shore is incredible and you can still catch some pretty big fish. I wonder if these guys caught anything. Have you guys caught anything today? No, we just started. Just started? Yeah, do you know, is it low tide that it's best to fish? Yes, low tide tends to be the best. So I just asked that guy who was fishing over there and yes, there is a shelf low tide that's the best time to do it. Did you guys catch anything yet? We caught two fish. An Irish Lord, it's called. Oh, wow. That's cool. Oh yeah, I think I forgot to introduce you guys. Kara and Troy from Canada. They're super cool. What are you using to catch the fish out here? Octopus. Octopus, wow. Just spin the star up there. And that's doing it. Oh my gosh, a sea lion. Oh my God, he's so cute. Oh, look, we found a seal. Kind of look like an otter. Holy cow, you guys, look at these rocks. They're beautiful. You guys, I got a drop of water on my head but I could have sworn it was poop and I just freaked out. That was funny. This has got to be one of my favorite days. It is just perfect. And we worked up quite the appetite. So what do you say we hop on over to a restaurant? Okay, we're not eating. There's just a really cool bird. Oh, what? I'm gonna lose my mind. Birds, rocks, trees. That's it, game over. Oh, it's so beautiful. Let's just take a minute to appreciate this gorgeous bird. Oh my goodness. Okay, now we can go eat after we say hi to this guy. And between going to Harbor Grill and Fresh Catch over here, this one's closer. Yeah, thank you so much. Of course we had to get the halibut, which it sounds like it was caught today because the bartender even said the guy's name. Doesn't get much fresher than that. Yeah, that was really good. Just in time for the rain to come back. Let's get to the van. Oh, by the way, that is a golden eagle, she said, and they can get a wingspan up to 10 feet. That's crazy. Oh, and get the pistachio-crusted halibut. It was insane. Taking a shower over here, which honestly, maybe we should wait because we kind of need one. Just kidding. I'm getting inside. Okay. So yeah, got a couple options here. We can stay in Homer, or honestly, I kind of want to explore a little bit more of the rest of the Kenai Peninsula. So I think we might head north to go sleep on a beautiful river in the rain. I'm not 100% sure where we're going, but I do know some incredible river camping. So let's see where the road takes us. That could have been a close one. We still got a little while to go. I always forget about gas. Okay, I'm gonna have to move out of the way for a second because I cannot figure out for the life of me where my wallet is. Okay, I need to rip this place up and down because I'm actually kind of panicking right now because I just looked through everything and I can't figure out where it is. You guys, I am like ripping this van apart. I cannot figure out where my wallet would have gone. What did I do with it? Think, think, think. One here. I'm actually worried that when I was filming, it fell out or I called the restaurant and she said the bartender left, so she doesn't know. Okay, I still can't find my cards. It's been 30 minutes of searching. No idea where they could be, but we're gonna try Apple Pay. Justin gave me that idea. Nevermind, there's no tap. I'm gonna feel really stupid if I can find this wallet at any point, but I just flipped the van upside down. It's been 30 minutes. I can't find it. There's another place with gas five miles up the road. No one's answering, but I think I'm gonna go up there and try it and see if maybe I can get someone to let me Venmo them or maybe Apple Pay will work. Why do I lose everything? I should have known this was gonna happen today and to be more careful. I cannot figure out where it would be. I even watched all of my content back to see what could have happened, and I'm like, maybe while I was running in the rain, it came out of the pocket or I left it at the place. Otherwise, it would be right here. All right, here's the next one. We're gonna try the Sunrise for gas here. It's so much more expensive, though. Still a ton less expensive than California, so I guess we're still ahead there. All right, let's see if they have Apple Pay, baby. Honestly, I can't believe I'm saying this, but Apple Pay saved the day. Cool, and I have my passport, so I have an ID, so we can still get to the Arctic Ocean tomorrow. Anyways, okay, yes. There you go. At least we got gas. Now we have to actually see if we lost it. It worked! Yes, thank you for the offer. You are the best. Thank you, have a good one. This kind lady offered to give us cash, but I was like, let me try this Apple Pay first, and it worked, yes! What a lifesaver. Okay, worst case scenario, River Wild said that they would front us some cash, so we're gonna be fine, and I was smart enough to also bring my passport, because you guys know I'm crazy, just in case I went into Canada, so now we're not gonna have any issues at the Arctic Ocean and all that, so, yes! Okay, either way, if I can't find it, we're gonna be okay. Ooh, what an adrenaline rush. Let's get to a camp spot, huh? So this lake right on the other side of these trees is one of the most beautiful lakes, and yeah, I think there's a campground, a few of them around here, so let's pick one. Oh, no, please have a credit card machine. Oh wait, no, I think it's free this time of year. Oh, saved by the time of year! Oh, it's free this time of year, yes! Oh, today's the best day ever! That is it, we gotta back up. Boom, that's it. Oh, it's so beautiful. Oh, just started raining again. Okay, while we wait for the rain to let up a little bit, hopefully, I'm going to flip this place upside down one more time and just, you know, I've been losing a lot of stuff today. Maybe I'm just not seeing something. Well, shoot, I feel like I need to lose something in my van at home, because I've never been this organized in my entire life. This is amazing. Well, let's be real, the chances of me actually cleaning my van at home is slim to none. Come on. No. From here back, I have touched every square inch of this place, nothing to be found. But we have here, that way, to still cover. But before we do, this was not the content that I thought I was going to be making. Let's go check out the scenery. Holy cow. You guys, there's no sun and the lake is this blue. There's nothing like it. I just can't believe some places on this earth are real sometimes. Like, this is incredible. A little nature therapy. Now I feel so much better. We're ready to find that wallet. We're gonna find it. Okay, now we repack this whole side. Be right back. All right, yep, that's it. That's all she wrote, ladies and gentlemen. We flipped everything. I can't believe I actually lost something for the first time ever. I am famous for losing my keys 600 times a day, but this, I think I actually lost. Oh well. You know, we're happy, we're healthy. We have our passport. We have River Wild who will front us some cash. We'll be fine. And we're going to the Arctic Ocean in the next 48 hours. How could I be upset? It's fine, we'll replace everything. We're good. But this is probably a good time to maybe get an air tag for that too. Maybe like a credit card style air tag. Oh, I hope they like those. That would be awesome. Cause I have like 26 air tags and they're on everything I own. Next thing, and if not, I'm inventing it. Cheers. We got greens on greens tonight for dinner. Probably extremely unnecessary. I just like how it tastes. So yeah, a little work, a lot of heat coming in the van. Again, thanks to River Wild for outfitting us with this awesome van this week. If you're interested in getting in one of these yourself for your Alaska adventure, I'll have some information in the description. Don't forget to like and subscribe. We'll see you next Friday in the Arctic. Bye everybody.