July 16, 2009
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We drove into the town of Kenai and stopped at their visitor center. We next went to the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church which was constructed in 1894. It is one of the oldest standing Orthodox churches in Alaska and is a National Historic Landmark. Church services are still held regularly. The resident priest gave us a tour of the small church and told us about its history. He said he is now retired and only serves this one church; he had served 4 other churches in the area. He was quite a character and we enjoyed listening to him. The interior was beautiful with an ornate chandelier and portraits of saints, which all came from Russia. We had lunch at Veronica’s, which is in one of the original houses in Kenai. It was a very weather beaten house and had beautiful flowers and plants all around. The food was excellent. After lunch we went to Scout Park to a scenic overlook of the mouth of the Kenai River. You can sometimes see Beluga whales and the v...