So Friday morning I hoisted on a pack, caught the 17 Express out of Ballard then took the 550 over to Mercer Island. Public Transportation. What a wonderful thing.
Met Mom at Tulley's on the island and soon were zipping north. We were aiming at the 10:30, but caught the 8:55 with little time to spare. Perfect. Unless you are Kuper who had no time to pee.
On the island a quick trip to Kings to get some provisions and we were off to open the house.
Initially everything worked then I raked the parking area to the road, showered and it was off to the yacht club for dinner. We had the good fortune of sitting with some very interesting folks. One was a retired veterinarian, who, when Mom related a study that suggested that dogs poop oriented to the earth's magnetic field, said "I do too!!".
We did find a public TV pledge drive showcasing songs from the 50's. While rather fun, it was jarring to see a teen heart throb perform their song some 60 years after the original hit. They may have been twenty something and dashing back then, but now they're 80 something. There were 3 gals who had impeccable harmonies, but extraordinarily heavy make up failed to reverse the impact of time (just wait till high def arrives at the house!!)
Sunday was a blur. I built a contraption I'm calling 'Mast Cam', a platform to hoist the GoPro way up the mast, then Mom suggested running the generator. It started. It ran. It died. It would not restart. My hunch? Bad gas and the carburetor.
Then it was time to catch the ferry for one of the rougher rides across Rosario Strait. The morning calm gave way to 30 to 35 knots of wind come out of the South. The ferry rolled a little, but shuddered whenever a wave would slam against the side. I caught some of it on the video at the end of the blog.
Jodi met me at Anacortes and headed for Coupeville's 'Musselfest'. A festival showcasing what else? The mussel.
Coupeville is a cute little town. But add wind, rain, and lots of people. Then add a crowded bar and servers who just couldn't keep up. By the time we got their the tickets for tasting were sold out "happens every year" we were told (hello!). We wound up tasting some mediocre chowder anyway.
It was interesting, but probably something we'll skip next year. We wouldn't mind going back to Coupville on a nicer day without the crowds or the focus on Mollusks.
That night we wound up at Ruebens and sat next to 'Hugo', a 9 month old baby. Hugo and I got along just fine. Then over to Stoup for a terrific Vietnamese sandwich.
Sunday was a chore day. Cleaned the boat and as Jodi volunteered to take the hydraulic steering ram to Stewarts, I tackled getting it out of the boat. This allowed me to practice my contortionist skills (I don't have any), my mechanical skills (which I'm still developing) and my swearing skills (I excelled at that part).
Success was finally achieved and now Stewarts can rebuild the ram so it won't leak.
Sunday night Jodi prepared a great sausage pasta which we ate under candle light in the cockpit. Perfect way to end the weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment