When you mention Kodiak to folks, you often get one of two reactions. "Grizzly bears!" said my 13-year-old son, Drew, who longs to hunt one there. "Coast Guard," said a friend of mine who flies there often.
Of course, they're both correct. There are plenty of grizzly bears on the island. If you're a hunter, you also can visit in fall to hunt Sitka blacktail deer or sea ducks. And Kodiak is home to the largest Coast Guard station in the country.
But the word is out that there is plenty more to Alaska's "Emerald Isle." Chaz Glagolich can't stop talking about the fishing. "We're still catching great winter kings right now," he said. "You can be out of the harbor and into the fish in less than 40 minutes."
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Glagolich custom-built a boat just for fishing the waters around Kodiak. The C-Devil is a 32-foot aluminum craft built to haul in the halibut, salmon, ling cod and rockfish that Kodiak is famous for.
Marion Owen and her husband, Marty, take folks out on gourmet dinner cruises from the harbor in their 42-foot motor yacht, the Sea Breeze. Marty guides the boat, finished in fine woods with all the latest electronic gizmos, through St. Paul Harbor with confidence. After all, he's the harbormaster. But it doesn't mean he's too good to do the dishes between gourmet courses once they've docked in a sheltered cove for dinner.
Marion loves all the parks around Kodiak. Hiking through Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park, Marion boasts that her friends in Southcentral Alaska have "park envy."
"We can sit out on the beach here and watch the whales frolic. Just turn and look toward shore and see the puffins and the eagles. It's glorious," she said.
Marion also is a master gardener and is known as a "fearless weeder" around town. So she is a great wildflower guide as we walk the trails, noticing the first signs of spring. The light-colored soil at the base of the trees actually is volcanic ash, left over from the 1912 volcanic eruption at Katmai.
"We have very little topsoil of our own here in Kodiak," she said. "So this ash provides some great nutrients."
Although there are many state parks at far-flung points around the island, some of the most popular are close to town and feature some of the town's rich World War II-era history. That is what Fort Abercrombie park is built around. And some of the other islands around Kodiak include wartime elements. At Long Island, where the Owens dock their boat to serve dinner, there are many overgrown quonset huts from the 1940s.
"It looks like Smurfville," quipped Marion. "But it's evidence that this island once was a bustling supply depot for the considerable wartime force stationed here in Alaska."
These days, the military presence is concentrated at the Coast Guard base, which is home to three Coast Guard cutters and a host of other activities at Women's Bay, just south of town.
"People ask me what I like best about Kodiak," Marion said. "They expect I'll say the natural beauty, the wildlife or the recreational opportunities. All that is great -- but it's the people that make this a great place to live."
As we spoke, French chef Joel Chenet entered the Sea Breeze galley and brought in his "piece de la resistance" for the evening: Salmon Kiev with a King Crab sauce.
Chenet starts the day at Mill Bay Coffee Company whipping up some French pastries for the local crowd. He came to the United States as the chef of French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing in 1976 and stayed as the chef of the French consulate in New York. But he loves Alaska because he hunts with "zee long bow" and "zee flintlock."
Marty likes to serve some of Ben Millstein's beer from the Kodiak Island Brewing Co. to accompany dinner on the boat. The brewery is fairly small and does not serve beer by the glass, although you can request a taste. But local restaurants, including the Best Western Kodiak Inn, serve up the local brew with pride.
"We have a variety of brews that we produce periodically," Millstein said. "But we usually have the Nightwatch Porter, the North Pacific Scottish Ale and the Liquid Sunshine Steam Beer available. Those are our most popular."
In addition to the food, the beverages, the French pastries, the fishing and the parks, Kodiak hosts a musical crowd. Casey Janz, a local physical education teacher, talks of touring with her local balalaika group around the state. Plus, she plays in a drum group for visiting cruise ship passengers during the summer.
Like may other ports in Alaska, Kodiak boasts a strong Russian heritage. St. Innocent's Academy, a local school operated by the Russian Orthodox Church, turns out impressive music on a series of CDs available at their bookstore, the Monk's Rock.
Kodiak already is gearing up for the Crab Festival, May 27-31. With bed races and survival suit races, a frog-jumping contest and a 43-mile ultramarathon, there's a race for everyone! Of course, there is plenty of crab to be eaten, in addition to local halibut and a host of variations on the island's natural bounties. It's a chance to take a tour of one of the Coast Guard's cutters, see the local museums and see many of the displays and contests held all around town.
If you're flying to Kodiak from Anchorage, take advantage of frequent service from Era Aviation or Alaska Airlines. Or, take the ferry from either Homer or Seward aboard the M/V Tustemena. For airfares, it's a good idea to check the online specials, or ask your agent about discounted "festival fares" offered by the airlines.
(Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based travel marketing consultant.)
