BOATS FOR BIG BOYS

This morning we boarded the 9am ferry for a short 35 minute ride to Whidbey Island.

  This is one of the smaller ferries in the Washington State Ferry system and you are advised to have a reservation.  We had one for the morning ferry but did not make one for the return trip.  More about that later.

It was a smooth but foggy crossing.  When we arrived we headed next door to Fort Casey State Park.  We wandered around the gun placements and Mollie enjoyed stretching her legs as well.

While we were at the park we could see the ferry heading back to Port Townsend.  We watched as it disappeared into the fog.

We then headed north to Coupeville.  We picked up tourist info and maps at the visitor center and continued our drive north.

Our next step was Deception Pass and the beautiful bridge over it.  We watched as a small sailboat made it's way through the narrow pass fighting tricky tidal currents.

 Once you cross the bridge you are on Fidalgo Island.  We headed to the north end of the island to the town of Anacortes.  Anacortes is a commercial boat building town as well as the stepping off point for the Ferry to the San Juan Islands and Vancouver Island.

It was time for lunch but first we made a quick stop at  LensWork Publishing.  For years I have been a subscriber to their fine art photography journal focused exclusively on black and white photography.  While the owner was not in I did get a quick tour from one of his designers.

After the tour we headed to Adrift, a local restaurant that the designer had recommended.  We love eating local, and we were not disappointed.  We shared a salad,  and a plate of 3 pork and sweet potato tacos. We also shared a bottle of locally produced hard cider.  

Not only was this a local restaurant, but it proudly listed the local farms which provided the produce and meats they serve.  We don't mind spending money to eat out when it's like this.

After lunch we headed over to the local ship yard.   This yard builds some really big boats.  As I stepped up to the fence to try and take a couple pictures a security guard approached me.  I figured I wasn't allowed to take pictures and started to turn away.

He stopped me and said I could take better pictures inside the gate and proceeded to open it for me.  Wow!!  He then talked to me for several minutes explaining who the boats were being built for and how they would be used.  What a neat experience. 

Our last stop before leaving Anacortes was a park overlooking the harbor and marina.  Even Mollie enjoyed the view.

We headed back to Keystone hoping to catch the 4:30 ferry back to Port Townsend.  We arrived with 5 minutes to spare, but since we didn't have a reservation we had to join the standby line.  Our luck didn't hold out though.  We were next in line when the ferry was full.  It was frustrating watching the ferry leave knowing it would be one and half hours before it returned, but we also could relax knowing that we had no deadline or appointments to make.  The good news is that a new larger ferry will be going into service next month and reservations probably won't be necessary except for peak times.  Another great day messing around with boats.


Until later.

Caffeine Jitters

Our trusty french press glass carafe bit the dust or maybe I should say, hit the sink.

This french press is the only coffee maker we have so I was forced to drink hot tea with my oatmeal this morning. I like tea. There are times I love tea, but I love coffee especially in the morning.

So we drove into Port Townsend hoping we could find a replacement carafe. Port Townsend is a small town but we remembered a couple of kitchen gadget stores along the main drag. The first store we went into had a lot of (pricey)gadgets but no Bodum carafes. The second store had the replacement we needed. The price sticker said $20.  Huh, we didn't pay much more than this for the entire french press. We almost bought it anyway until the saleslady showed us this.

We had mentioned to her earlier that we lived in a motorhome and she thought this would be perfect for us. We had never heard of the AeroPress but apparently anyone who has one of these just loves it. At least that is what she said. It isn't made of glass so that eliminates the breakage factor and it is much easier to clean.  So we bought it and brought it home. And made coffee.

It made great, smooth, rich coffee. I get coffee for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Until later

Messing with Boats

Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING--absolute nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing,' he went on dreamily: `messing--about--in--boats; messing-----about in boats--or WITH boats, `In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not. Look here! If you've really nothing else on hand this morning, supposing we drop down the river together, and have a long day of it?'

 The Wind in the Willows  by Kenneth Grahame  

In our former life we were boat owners.  They say the two happiest days of a boat owners life is when he buys the boat and when he sells the boat.  In between, there are mostly good memories.  We started with a 22 foot S2 sailboat, quickly outgrew it and moved to a 28 foot O'day. We then bought a boat big enough to live on, a 40 foot Endeavor cruising sailboat.  We sold our home in Michigan and headed south.  Our trip took us down Lake Michigan into the Illinois River and down the mighty Mississippi. At Cairo, Illinois we turned left to follow the Ohio River to Paducah, Ky. We then turned right to head down the Tennessee River, which took us to the Tenn Tom Waterway.  Countless locks later we entered the Mobile River which took us to Mobile, Alabama, and on to Florida.  There we decided that a 40 foot sailboat was not the best choice for a family with four kids.  So we sold the sailboat and bought a slow cruising trawler, a Gulfstar 43.  We kept this boat for 8 years and finally sold it when the kids were in college and we no longer had time to use it.  I think it is safe to say that our children have more family memories about boating, both good and bad, than almost anything else.

A year ago April we were privileged to spend 10 days on a small boat cruising the Canal Du Midi in Southern France with our friends Bob and Linda.  This only served to cause the glowing embers to reignite.  I had forgotten how much fun it was to simply "mess about in a boat".  In spite of rainy days, toilets that didn't function well, and cramped sleeping arrangements, we had a great time. Bob and I got to play Captain, and Linda and Judy were our able first mates.  We learned how to navigate the locks quickly and showed our fellow boaters on the canal, Italian and French, that the Americans knew how to handle a boat.

Why do I tell you all this.  Well, we are staying on the Olympic Peninsula right now with lots of water and boats nearby.  I must tell you the siren call of the sea is strong and loud.  I think Judy is hoping we can hold out for a couple more weeks until it is time to leave.  We poured gasoline on the still smoldering fire when we went to the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend yesterday.  Wandering the docks brought back lots of great memories.  Then Judy reminded me about bottom paint, zincs, bilges, barnacles, and taking care of teak. I hate teak!!  Oh well..... it's fun to dream a little.  My grandson Nemo has promised me that when he grows up and is rich and famous he will buy Grandpa a new trawler.  "Nemo, I am counting on you"  and don't forget the hull should be dark navy blue and no teak.

Until later.

HERBIE GETS BLINDSIDED!!

Herbie got blindsided (pun intended) by his buddy Tyson.  When he wasn't looking, Tyson made his move and won over Mollie. 

We insisted on a proper chaperon.  Jeremy was happy to oblige, but fell asleep on the job. 

Sorry Herbie, better luck next time.

Herbie, The Wonder Pug!

He is out to win Mollie's heart. So far with little success.

HOT DOGS AND TEA

Sometimes when your home is mobile it's easy to forget where you are at.  You might be in an established RV resort like we are now.  Or, like this last weekend, you could be in a rustic tree covered campground.  So we are coming to learn that "home" is wherever we make it. 

Our daughter Michelle and family joined us for Labor Day weekend.  The park we are staying at in Chimacum doesn't allow tents. So we moved down the road 10 miles to a rustic campground where we could all be together, complete with campfire and smores.  We spent 3 days just messing around.  We took the ferry to Edmonds, went to Hurricane Ridge, and visited Port Townsend where we enjoyed a hot dog while being entertained by a trombone player.

But there comes a time when you need a little more refinement.  So it was off to Port Gamble to the Tea Room for afternoon tea.  Of course the ladies got to pick out a hat to wear, and we all got to pick our favorite tea. 

So we finished the afternoon with finger sandwiches, scones, and some wonderful tea.   Once again proving why we enjoy this lifestyle so much.

Until later.

CATCH UP TIME

I know it has been a couple of weeks since our last post so I'll try to bring you up to date.

I got to play professional photographer for a day, helping daughter Julie photograph a wedding on the Oregon coast.

Took Grandkids for a ride in the motorhome when we left the coast on Sunday.

Moved  up to Olympia, WA. for a couple of days.

Attended a professional photographers workshop in Seattle with Julie.

Spent the Labor Day weekend camping in Port Ludlow with Michelle, Ian, Nemo, and Mia.

Visited our Niece Lauren and her new baby Judah in Edmonds.

So we are now settling in for the month here in Chimicum.  We do have several things planned.  We want to attend the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend this weekend.  Next weekend we are going on a farm tour.  Sometime this month we want to go to downtown Seattle for the day, and also Whidby Island.  Then there's the Olympic National Park and the..... 

Yes we have plenty to keep us busy.



Until later.

Manzanita Beach

We took a drive north to Cannon Beach to visit a gallery featuring the work of Christopher Burkett, one of my favorite photographers.  After a lunch at Bill's Tavern we headed back to Nehalem State Park.  We stopped at an overlook and took a few pictures.  These are of Manzanita Beach with Nehalem Bay in the back ground.  The State Park is between the beach and the bay.

Until later.

Relaxing in Nehalem

After our VooDoo Donut breakfast, and feeling slightly guilty about it, we decided we should get back to eating lower carb. This morning it was this

with coffee from here

in a cup from here.

The campground at Nehalem Bay State Park has 265 sites with water and electric.  We don't have sewer hookups. But this

     is only a few steps away from us.  Dumping our dish water in here will help us keep the holding tanks from filling up before we leave on Sunday.

They also have some nice Yurts you can rent complete with bunk beds.

The beach is just a short distance away from us. In fact we can hear the surf from inside the RV. On our walk through the campground loops we took the sandy beach access trail

and walked up the dunes and down to the beach

and then we saw this   

The campground is mostly full this week . There are lots of families with tents and tent campers and lots of kids riding bikes and scooters.

We are tucked into our site with trees around us which gives us a sense of privacy. We like it here.

Until later.