Fall has arrived. We’re losing nearly 20 minutes each week in daylight. The sun still has authority when it’s out, but when absent there’s a chill. One by one the petite cruise ships are coming down from Alaska and one by one the large cruise ships are peeling off taking their own ‘big left turn’ out the straits down to warmer climates.
The mariners, oh so close to post season play, faded when it counted the most. Today is the last day of the regular season. Seahawk excitement is building.
The rains have started. Summer is over. Started the furnace for the first time today. After over 30 years, it still works.
Watermelon is out, pumpkin is in.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Sunday, September 14, 2014
PROJECTS ON THE DOCK
August was project season on the dock. 3 boats had their masts pulled with new rigging. 2 of those boats have now left the dock for warmer climates.
Brightwork, new dodgers, paint, rejigging are all going on. Much of the work is driven by looming departure dates. After three years of preparation, Rick and Sharon are headed for the 'big left turn' down to Mexico. Greg quietly left as well. Andy and Jill are entering the next phase and have shoved off. Mike and Marisa are on a what was supposed to be a month long cruise, but scuttlebutt has it that their trip will go longer than originally planned.
We've taken some small trips as well. Cambria is in better shape now than a year ago. New exhaust, water pump, and other engine work has the mechanical side in good working order. Brightwork is looking good. New carpet was just installed. Progress, but more needs to be done.
Fall is approaching. Shorter days, cooler nights, lots of dew in the morning. Summers on the dock are glorious and while Fall is OK as a season, I'm not yet ready for winter. The thought of going to work and coming home in the dark isn't appealing at all.
Brightwork, new dodgers, paint, rejigging are all going on. Much of the work is driven by looming departure dates. After three years of preparation, Rick and Sharon are headed for the 'big left turn' down to Mexico. Greg quietly left as well. Andy and Jill are entering the next phase and have shoved off. Mike and Marisa are on a what was supposed to be a month long cruise, but scuttlebutt has it that their trip will go longer than originally planned.
We've taken some small trips as well. Cambria is in better shape now than a year ago. New exhaust, water pump, and other engine work has the mechanical side in good working order. Brightwork is looking good. New carpet was just installed. Progress, but more needs to be done.
Fall is approaching. Shorter days, cooler nights, lots of dew in the morning. Summers on the dock are glorious and while Fall is OK as a season, I'm not yet ready for winter. The thought of going to work and coming home in the dark isn't appealing at all.
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| New rigging |
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| Any projects require the right tools.... |
MORE SEAL ENCOUNTERS
This morning we went for a quick paddle around the breakwater in the kayaks. Something I do a few times, but Jodi has made it a near daily habit.
Shortly after we got underway, we noticed a mom and seal pup ahead of us splashing in the water. Fun. But then they splashed right in front of me and just a second later one of them was at my stern appearing as if it wanted to climb aboard.
Then I heard Jodi squeal as they played with her kayak and the mom surfaced just forward of her cockpit and with her paw she splashed and doused Jodi with water.
A few passing boats were taking pictures and ooohing and aahhing at this close encounter with wildlife. They were doing so from the safety and security of their boat. From Jodi’s viewpoint it was fun, but briefly a little more terrifying as an animal that outweighs her by a considerable amount gets unexpectedly playful.
None of this was captured on film, but the mental images will last a while….
Shortly after we got underway, we noticed a mom and seal pup ahead of us splashing in the water. Fun. But then they splashed right in front of me and just a second later one of them was at my stern appearing as if it wanted to climb aboard.
Then I heard Jodi squeal as they played with her kayak and the mom surfaced just forward of her cockpit and with her paw she splashed and doused Jodi with water.
A few passing boats were taking pictures and ooohing and aahhing at this close encounter with wildlife. They were doing so from the safety and security of their boat. From Jodi’s viewpoint it was fun, but briefly a little more terrifying as an animal that outweighs her by a considerable amount gets unexpectedly playful.
None of this was captured on film, but the mental images will last a while….
Sunday, September 7, 2014
PARENTING - SEAGULL STYLE
A persistent sight and sound at Shilshole and all during our trip was the noisy interaction between juvenile and mature Seagulls (presumably the moms). The young ones want to be fed. Since they were born in the spring, the instinctual actions (head down, bobbing, pecking at the mom and a sort of bleating sound) would have the desired results -- namely mom would regurgitate a tasty meal. Tasty has a broad bandwidth if you are a seagull.
But now, in the fall, that same head bobbing, pecking, and bleating are met with indifference by the parent. That indifference only seems to accentuate the youngsters annoying behavior.
Jodi looked on line then emailed a bird expert. As expected, the parents have presumably taught their kids how to fish and hunt and it's high time to employ those skills. Predictably the kids find it easier to whine and head bob and have a meal magically appear.
This has been going on for weeks now all around the sound and once you are aware of the nature of the interaction, you see it everywhere.
'Feed me'! 'Get a job'. On and on and on.
But now, in the fall, that same head bobbing, pecking, and bleating are met with indifference by the parent. That indifference only seems to accentuate the youngsters annoying behavior.
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| The young are gray -- and this one has its head down and was bobbing |
This has been going on for weeks now all around the sound and once you are aware of the nature of the interaction, you see it everywhere.
'Feed me'! 'Get a job'. On and on and on.
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| Mom flies off leaving a less than amused youngster |
FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY
We left Olympia after the military appreciation procession. We were at the southern most harbor in Puget Sound and headed north towards home. I suppose you could make it from Olympia to Seattle in one long day, but it's a better 2 day trip.
Headed out of Budd Inlet there was a freighter coming in to pick up a load of logs.
Mount Rainier is everywhere in the South Sound.
One thing we saw quite a bit in the south sound was small boats poorly handled. Running out of gas, miserable landings, etc. It was like having access to water and having a boat were instant qualifications to boat. I don't like boating licenses (they are in place and nothing we witnessed would suggest they do any good), but there was a general disregard for good practices.
We pulled into Gig Harbor and kayaked to the tides tavern for dinner. Good dinner, better than the last time we were there.
Saturday morning we left relatively early and threaded our way out of Gig Harbor, up Colvos passage to Blake Island. We nearly hit 10 knots over ground as the Ebb was in full swing.
At Blake we had to tie between the pilings as the docks were full. Jodi suggested we take a hike, and we circumnavigated the island for the first of two times for the day. We decided the walk around the island qualified as a hike owing to the more than expected elevation gain and the 4 mile length. Done quickly, it provides a reasonable workout.
Once back on the boat it was roughly 2:00pm and we decided to Kayak. The water was a little rough around the north end of the island, but peaceful along the western side. So we decided to push on and kayak around the island -- our 2nd circumnavigation of Blake Island for the day.
We were fairly tired at the end of the kayak trip and Jodi's appetizers (Thai lettuce wraps) and concurrent refreshments were much appreciated. Dinner was Thai noodles with peanut sauce.
Spending the night between the pilings wasn't as restful as we would have liked. The lines squeaked and I was worried about the lines hanging on the pilings as there was a considerable tidal exchange. With the night finally over we headed back to the home moorage, roughly 9 nautical miles away.
All and all a good trip.
Headed out of Budd Inlet there was a freighter coming in to pick up a load of logs.
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| Mt Rainier through the rigging |
Mount Rainier is everywhere in the South Sound.
One thing we saw quite a bit in the south sound was small boats poorly handled. Running out of gas, miserable landings, etc. It was like having access to water and having a boat were instant qualifications to boat. I don't like boating licenses (they are in place and nothing we witnessed would suggest they do any good), but there was a general disregard for good practices.
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| Tacoma Narrows Bridge from the south |
We pulled into Gig Harbor and kayaked to the tides tavern for dinner. Good dinner, better than the last time we were there.
Saturday morning we left relatively early and threaded our way out of Gig Harbor, up Colvos passage to Blake Island. We nearly hit 10 knots over ground as the Ebb was in full swing.
At Blake we had to tie between the pilings as the docks were full. Jodi suggested we take a hike, and we circumnavigated the island for the first of two times for the day. We decided the walk around the island qualified as a hike owing to the more than expected elevation gain and the 4 mile length. Done quickly, it provides a reasonable workout.
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| I just don't understand how a starfish can be tasty |
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| Blake Islands western shore |
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| Raccoon at Blake |
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| The longhouse at Blake Island |
Once back on the boat it was roughly 2:00pm and we decided to Kayak. The water was a little rough around the north end of the island, but peaceful along the western side. So we decided to push on and kayak around the island -- our 2nd circumnavigation of Blake Island for the day.
We were fairly tired at the end of the kayak trip and Jodi's appetizers (Thai lettuce wraps) and concurrent refreshments were much appreciated. Dinner was Thai noodles with peanut sauce.
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| The space needle through the breakwater at Blake |
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| Mount Baker in the distance |
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| Receding view of Mount Rainier |
Spending the night between the pilings wasn't as restful as we would have liked. The lines squeaked and I was worried about the lines hanging on the pilings as there was a considerable tidal exchange. With the night finally over we headed back to the home moorage, roughly 9 nautical miles away.
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| Navy tug headed south in Puget Sound |
All and all a good trip.
Friday, September 5, 2014
THURSDAY / FRIDAY
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| Sunrise at Hope Island |
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| Friendly Seal |
I woke up Thursday to a small splash and a huge exhale. A seal surfaced just under my open porthole and was about 2 feet away. I could hear it breathing very clearly as he swam away from the boat.
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| Jodi kayaking at Hope Island |
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| View of Rainier from Hope Island |
Thursday we decided to go back to Olympia. Great moorage and nice showers.
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| Out of sequence picture from the previous evening |
We hiked up around the capitol building above capitol lake and strolled the grounds. Somber memorial to WWII, with all the battles and names of Washington state service members who perished in that great struggle.
From there it was a one mile jaunt to the West Side Tavern, a sports / seahawks fan bar that was recommended to us. We snared one of the last tables and watched the Hawks roll over the Packers. We also won a raffle during the game with a tee shirt and various odds and ends. Fun night watching the game.
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| Water front homes dot the south sound |
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| The Military appreciation day by the Olympia Yacht Club |
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| Note the latter extending over the harbor with a firefighter up top... |
Friday morning back at the Olympia Yacht Club the docks were humming. It was military appreciation day. Some 300 to 500 (we kept on hearing various numbers) are hosted by club members aboard their boats and taken for a day of fun to 'Home Island', the Olympia Yacht Club's outstation. Fire and Police have quite a presence as the procession leaves the main docks on their way to the outstation, some 8 or so miles in the distance.
MONDAY / TUESDAY: TACOMA, LAKEBAY, OLYMPIA
MONDAY - TACOMA TO LAKE BAY
We toured Tacoma and visited Stadium high school. Originally envisioned as a Hotel by the railroad, it was converted into a school. With a view. Jodi had watched a show focused on the most beautiful high schools in the US and recalled that Tacoma's Stadium High School was rated as the most beautiful High School in the US. And the stadium has a view that puts most colleges to shame.
From Tacoma we went south through the Narrows to Lake Bay Marina and stopped by the narrows brewery. From there we went to 'Lake Bay Marina and Resort', which sounds fancier than it really is.
The 'resort' was apparently a going concern in the 50's and 60's, but then became run down. It was a destination for kids with access to small boats to come for an ice cream before they could drive a car (I can identify with that..). One of those kids, Mark Scott, had fond memories of he and his older brother taking the speed boat from their water front home in Wollochet bay well before they could drive a car to get an ice cream cone.
A year ago Mark bought the run down place and has been putting his energies to restoring the old place as he once knew it. It has potential. A lot of potential.
The dining room is a throw back to the 50's and it's pretty cool. From his actions he appears to be all about customer service and he's making it work.
Lake Bay is right next to Penrose state park with 4 miles of trails. Jodi made me hike them all and it was quite fun.
From there we headed south and headed for Boston Harbor, but like Lake Bay there were no showers and the crew was getting a little ripe. Aside from that, Boston Harbor had no room, so we continued to Olympia.
Olympia is a funky town. It has quite a freak flag and they waive it. Tats, wild hair, etc. The non-traditional appears to be traditional. Cool restaurants, one off specialty shops specializing in special things makes Olympia, well, special. We like it.
The Olympia yacht club would lead us to believe that our walk up 4th street may not have represented Olympia as a while.
We found Fish Tale brewery, along with a cool wine shop with stunningly good food.
There was an event Wednesday morning. We noticed some police and fire activity across the small water way at Percival Landing and a little later a news copter was hovering overhead. A body had been found, not 200 feet from where we were moored. The circumstances of the fellows demise were not available on the news.
On Wednesday the Senior Krafts departed and we headed up to Hope Island, a state park about 8 miles away from Olympia. Hope Island is pretty cool. Jodi kayaked around the island and we had happy hour on the bow bar. A group of kayakers were there as was a Westail 32.
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| What a high school!! |
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| Stadium - with a view |
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| Quite the history..... |
We toured Tacoma and visited Stadium high school. Originally envisioned as a Hotel by the railroad, it was converted into a school. With a view. Jodi had watched a show focused on the most beautiful high schools in the US and recalled that Tacoma's Stadium High School was rated as the most beautiful High School in the US. And the stadium has a view that puts most colleges to shame.
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| Jodi feeds 'Jonathon', Foss Marina's pet seagull |
From Tacoma we went south through the Narrows to Lake Bay Marina and stopped by the narrows brewery. From there we went to 'Lake Bay Marina and Resort', which sounds fancier than it really is.
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| Lots of old stuff at Lake Bay |
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| Jodi goes kayaking just off Lakebay |
The 'resort' was apparently a going concern in the 50's and 60's, but then became run down. It was a destination for kids with access to small boats to come for an ice cream before they could drive a car (I can identify with that..). One of those kids, Mark Scott, had fond memories of he and his older brother taking the speed boat from their water front home in Wollochet bay well before they could drive a car to get an ice cream cone.
A year ago Mark bought the run down place and has been putting his energies to restoring the old place as he once knew it. It has potential. A lot of potential.
The dining room is a throw back to the 50's and it's pretty cool. From his actions he appears to be all about customer service and he's making it work.
Lake Bay is right next to Penrose state park with 4 miles of trails. Jodi made me hike them all and it was quite fun.
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| Odd leaf we found on the hike |
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| Dinner? |
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| Flying the flags at Penrose State Park |
From there we headed south and headed for Boston Harbor, but like Lake Bay there were no showers and the crew was getting a little ripe. Aside from that, Boston Harbor had no room, so we continued to Olympia.
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| Capitol building in Olympia |
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| Jellyfish were everywhere |
Olympia is a funky town. It has quite a freak flag and they waive it. Tats, wild hair, etc. The non-traditional appears to be traditional. Cool restaurants, one off specialty shops specializing in special things makes Olympia, well, special. We like it.
The Olympia yacht club would lead us to believe that our walk up 4th street may not have represented Olympia as a while.
We found Fish Tale brewery, along with a cool wine shop with stunningly good food.
There was an event Wednesday morning. We noticed some police and fire activity across the small water way at Percival Landing and a little later a news copter was hovering overhead. A body had been found, not 200 feet from where we were moored. The circumstances of the fellows demise were not available on the news.
On Wednesday the Senior Krafts departed and we headed up to Hope Island, a state park about 8 miles away from Olympia. Hope Island is pretty cool. Jodi kayaked around the island and we had happy hour on the bow bar. A group of kayakers were there as was a Westail 32.
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