Underway

Thursday, May 16 I flew to Seattle. I arrived to a beautiful, sunny day. The cab ride to Fisherman's Terminal was quick and in a new Prius (very sound, environmentally.) We spent some time cleaning the boat and the had a few of Bob's friends over for a Taco dinner. Several were kayaking buddies of Bob's and we had a good time talking about paddling and kayaking I the Grand Canyon. The tacos were take out from Chinook's (a really good restaurant located right at the Fisherman's Terminal dock head.) 

Friday was spent shopping. Food, some pillows for the boat and clean underwear ( should have packed more), then we loaded the kayaks on top, did some cleaning and were all set to cast off Saturday morning. Foe dinner we went to a nice Irish Pub not far from the docks in a neighborhood called Magnolia. The place is named Mulleady's and was quite good. Boy's friend, Tim had recommended it and he joined us as well.

Saturday we left the dock at 9:00 and made a fuel stop before heading through the lock from Lake Union to Puget Sound. We cruised right into the lock,which was a bit of a problem since I was not ready with the stern line and had a bit of a panic trying to get tied off.

Once through the lock we headed off to Port Townsend, WA. The tide was with us and we got to the yacht harbor around 13:00. Port Townsend has a fairly large marine repair center and a big lift so there was an interesting assortment of yachts, big and small, under repair.

After viewing the boat yard we went for a walk to town. After a while, we realized there was a parade happening a few streets away. We asked one on the locals what was happening and they said it was "roady" day.??? They meant Rhodi as in Rhododendron Festival.  They had the whole 9 yards! High School Bands, Fire Dept, and local antique cars, it was a real hometown parade! I laughed. Last year we ended up in Victoria, BC for their parade as well....what good luck.

We went to Port Townsend to visit another friend of Bob's, Paul Anderson. Last year we stopped by and he mixed his special Martinis for us. Now he has moved into Port Townsend so we met him and had a beer and watched the events. Bob and I went to dinner latter at a very good restaurant, Alchemy. The food and atmosphere were good and the oysters really fresh.

Sunday morning we woke up to cloudy skies and a harsh rain. Paul came by and we went to a local place called Sea J's for breakfast. The waitress was really nice and the place was full of a few local guys who it seems have breakfast there every day. The bill for three of us was $14.00 a real bargain and we gave the waitress an extra bit for being so friendly.

We left the dock and headed North. It was cloudy and a bit rough going from Port Townsend to Lopez but the weather got better and the skies cleared and the temperature is up to 70f as we pass Salt Spring Island bound for Nanaimo, BC. The weather is perfect for a trip through the San Juan and Gulf Islands.