Today we are relaxing and doing whatever. I need to do laundry so after breakfast we drove to the laundry mat and washed a load of clothes. While I was doing that Dave went and got the jeep washed as it was getting a little embarrassing to be seen in it. He also stopped at Walmart to get more shaving razors. I had 4 minutes on the dryer when he returned. After I folded the clothes we left and went back to the hotel. I dropped off the clothes in the room grabbed my computer and proceeded to the lobby to finish my letter and check emails. I finished around 1:00pm and came back to the room to drop off my computer. Dave and I went down to the jeep to get a heavier sweater or cover-up to walk the beach. Then we headed to the beach. Halfway down the driveway from the hotel it was getting cool and breezy so I put my fleece jacket on and when we got to the beach Dave had to stop and put his golf cover-up on. We had a nice long walk and reached a point it got really blustery so we turned around and headed back. The fog didn’t clear totally so more clouds were coming in. There were a few people enjoying the beach, digging in the sand and making castles and flying kites. Dogs were running around and people wading in the surf. Fun, fun!!! As we were heading back Dave felt for his car keys and didn’t find them. Oh no!!!! He had dropped them somewhere. We walked to the jeep then stopped at the lobby desk to see if anyone had turned in a set of keys. Nope!!! So it was back to the beach to retrace our steps. We walked up and down the beach and didn’t find them. He figured they dropped when he put his golf shirt on, fell by his foot and when he started walking away must have covered them with sand. We came back to the room and Dave called a jeep dealer to see if we could have another key made as I had mine to use as a guide. Well as it turns out they didn’t have a spare grey key with a computer chip in it so we were out of luck. And get this------we didn’t know it had a computer chip in it and to replace it costs $150.00. WOW!!! Well we will have to wait and get that done in Bremerton. We are heading out in the morning and will be at the Brownsville marina in the afternoon. It sounds like they are anxious to have us get there. So we did have a good day up until the key got lost. Bummer. Nothing we can do now so I am really glad I decided to bring my key, otherwise it would have been a disaster!
We arrived in Bremerton and at Brownsville Marina on the 2nd. Ron was waiting for us in the deli and Noreen was down on the boat still cleaning. She came up afterward and we had a bite to eat and visited. We got hugs from all the people we know down here and it felt good to be back. Ron and Noreen had some errands to run so they went and did that while we took our suitcases and stuff to the boat. We are all unpacked and for the most part settled in. It is taco Tuesday at the deli so we are to meet Ron and Noreen there at 6:30pm. We took the dinghy instead of walking because we knew Ron was going to have some groceries and it would be easier to get them to the boat that way. We got to see Connie and Lary, and Magoomie, friends of Ron and Noreen and we had a good visit and dinner. Then we unloaded Ron and Noreen’s car and were able to fit all of us and the groceries in the dinghy and headed back to the boat. Once things were put away we visited some more. My friend Carolyn was coming down to visit Fleeta, the neighbor next to Ron’s boat and Carolyn didn’t know we had arrived yet so I surprised her!!!! Heheheh!!!! Dave came over with some special rum and did a taste remember test. She didn’t get it at first but figured it out that it was the special rum we had when JB was captain of the Lady Washington a few years ago. So it was kind of neat to share that with her. She isn’t going to tell her husband JT because we will give him the taste test when we see him.
We will be heading to Poulsbo in the boat to watch the 3rd of July fireworks display in Liberty Bay, when Dave and Ron get done with stuff they need to do. Dave went to the Jeep dealer to have a key made. We thought it was going to be cheaper but it wasn’t. $250 later he had his key. Not much you can do about it. So when the guys got home and our friends Steve and Dixie came on board we took off for Liberty Bay. I got to drive the boat most of the way until we got to where we needed to scope out an anchorage. It was fun. We found a nice spot to anchor and we ended up with 5 boats rafted up to us. We had a great time and later Ron took the dinghy and picked up Noreen, as she had to work today, and also got Connie, Lary, Magoomie, and their friend Joy. So we had a boat full and it was fun. Steve BBQd steak, shish kabobs and brauts. We watched the fireworks show then Connie, Lary, Magoomis and Joy back to land via dinghy. All 5 boats stayed the night rafted together and later the next morning we separated and headed for the Bremerton Marina to see their fireworks that evening. Ron and Noreen are expecting family tonight to join us for dinner and the show. Noreen has to go to work in the morning so she will walk to the ferry from the boat and catch the Bremerton/Seattle ferry. She won’t get home until around 7:00pm so it will be a long day for her. We will take the boat back to Brownsville Marina later in the morning on the 5th.
It is cloudy this morning on the 4th, but it is trying to burn off. The weather is suppose to cool down a little from 80 degrees and then get warm again next week. That is good!!!!
When we arrived at the Bremerton Marina, we got direction from one of our Yacht club friends as to where our slip was. It was a great slip and we backed into the slip so we could watch the fireworks from the bridge tonight. We got settled and visited with people and had a relaxing afternoon. When it came time for the fireworks to start we waited---waited---waited---and wondered what was going on. There were plenty of fireworks to watch as everyone was setting them off on the beaches, but no Port Orchard ones yet. After 30 minutes, they finally started which was 11:00 o’clock now and they had to manually set them as they had a computer glitch. It was an o.k. show, but Liberty Bay was better. None-the-less it happened and we enjoyed it.
Noreen went to work this morning and we are getting things ready to leave and go back to Brownsville Marina. We had a nice ride home and Dave drove this time. The sun was trying to break through so it was warming up. We all decided to have pizza at the Clover Leaf Tavern for dinner. They have excellent pizza and have been around for a long, long time.
We met Noreen at the Clover Leaf Tavern as she took the bus which dropped her right in front of the tavern. We made it there before her so we got a table and ordered a pitcher of beer and a glass of chilled white wine for Noreen. She arrived just a few minutes after that. We had a nice dinner then we went back to the boat for a quiet evening.
I have appointments for a doctor visit in August and a Mammogram as well. So those two things will be out of the way. I have already had blood taken for a cholesterol check so that is done too.
Ron and Dave got the heater parts we took out of our boat and sold to Ron, out of Ron and Noreen’s condo so they can bring it all down and install it on the boat. While they have been busy with that I went looking for shorts and a skort. Went to Goodwill, but had no luck. Went to Costco, Old Navy, and the East Bremerton Walmart and still no luck. I will try other places another day. I don’t want to spend a lot of money on these items. I’m kind of funny that way!!
Noreen made some really nice curtains for the boat out of painters canvas drop cloth. She did a beautiful job. Here is a picture.
I want to copy her idea so I went to Lowe’s and Home Depot and Walmart to check prices for the drop cloths. The size I want is 9 x 12 which will give me two window curtains. Right now we have one window which needs to be covered as the blinds broke so I will start with that one when we get home. We have 8 windows in the house and I want to do all of them. Anyway---I went to Joanne’s and looked at webbing and all to get an idea of how I want to decorate them and found a 2 inch band that is called Aztec with Mexican colors. So I want to use that. I had fun just walking around thinking and planning and writing down information. Then I went back to the boat and shared the information with Dave. Making these curtains is a cheap way of doing it and if you double them, which Noreen did and I will, they will last a long time. Plus you can wash them. So I am excited to have finally decided what to do about our windows and getting away from blinds. The curtains have a cord that runs vertical on the curtain and you use a toggle clip to push the curtain up and hold it in place. Very functional and practical.
I finally found shorts and a skort at the Poulsbo Walmart. It is the super store so they have a lot more than the Bremerton one has. So I was happy about that and didn’t spend a lot of money. We are really trying to watch our spending as the new bimini is going to cost us $500. We weren’t expecting that but Dave said he did remember a conversation with Mike about cost. So, so much for free!!!! It needed to be done and Mike is giving us a really good price on it. We should actually have the side curtains with new zippers and Bimini on Monday, the 8th!!! Another item we can check off our list. The guys are planning to go over to Seattle on Monday or Tuesday to shop at Fisheries to buy the stuff they need for the boat before we head north for vacation. Noreen is taking a 2 week vacation starting July 26 and has to go back to work on August 12. They want to go to Canada and we will be boating with Fleeta, and she will have Carolyn and her husband J.T. onboard and their dog Pearl. We will have places we want to go separate from where they want so we will have some together time. It will be fun and I think the weather is going to be great. It has been a long time since we have been to Canada.
Noreen has her cousin and her boy friend visiting from Louisiana for 2 weeks so we have been visiting with them off and on. Aaron, the boy friend has gone out with the guys crabbing and Laura Mae went one day. They are great young people. Last night, we went to Noreen’s sisters home for dinner and Aaron and Laura Mae cooked all day making the stock for Gumbo. It had oysters, shrimp and fresh crab in the sauce served over rice, with a scoop of potato salad. Yummmm!!!!! So I have tasted real Cajun cooking. Then they made a sauce to serve over vanilla ice cream that had alcohol, bananas and some other ingredients and when it was cooked, Aaron lit the sauce so it had a nice flame on it for a while then went out. It was also very yummy!!!! We had a very nice evening.
The trip to Fisheries in Seattle was delayed as Ron hurt his back. He has an appointment with a masseuse so hopefully that will help. He is having a hard time going up and down stairs and even walking. I got dog duty a couple times taking the pugs up to the grass area. They are so use to Ron they can be stubborn but we did just fine. They each got treats when we returned to the boat.
Ron got his massage and felt a lot better. She worked on him for an hour and a half. His muscles were really tight. So now he has to ice his back to keep it limber. The guys are planning on going to Seattle tomorrow to get boat parts.
The guys were running a little late so Ron didn’t have time to take the pugs up to let them do their business so he asked me if I would do it. They actually did very well. I did have to bribe them with a treat once, but everything else went well.
When the guys got back from Seattle they had a cart load of parts!!!! They got all kinds of goodies to fix things on the boat and to put the heater in. They have been working really hard getting things done with the heater installation and fixing things on the boat before we leave on vacation. Noreen can hardly wait for her time off. She has been going to meeting after meeting and trying to get her work done and being stressed. She needs to unwind!!!
Dave and I met Ernie, Brooke, and E.J. along with Jon, Susannah and Jonathan Jr. at Steel park in Federal Way. It was a nice park and we had a nice picnic. Susannah and Jon took Jonathan down to the lake to get his feet wet while E.J. and I went too just to watch and I took some pictures.
It was fun to see Jon Jr. and get to hold and feed him. He is such a cutie.
It was nice visiting with everyone. After we get back from our trip to Canada, we will get together again with each family. Time is going by quickly.
The weather has been absolutely wonderful and warm. NICE!!
The time has finally arrived to start the vacation. It is the 27th. We got up, had coffee and Dave and I headed for Fred Meyer to do some grocery shopping and Ron and Noreen headed for Costco. We returned and put everything away, untied the lines and unhooked the electrical cords and we were off. Our first stop is Everett Marina. It took us 3 hours and we were there by 5:30pm. Cocktail time!!! We had a beautiful day on the water with a gorgeous sunset and great food. Now we are just chillin listening to music and enjoying the evening. Tomorrow we are headed to Deception Pass and north. Fleeta and crew will catch up to us on Monday as they will be leaving tomorrow afternoon. I hope they have a great trip up. This is her maiden voyage. Fleeta lost her husband to a heart attack last year and she has decided to keep her 50 foot boat and learn how to operate and care for it. Good for her!!!! So she wanted to tag along with us for a while and then at some point we will separate and go to different places and then meet up again later on. It will be fun!!
Today was a long travel day. We left Everett Marina around 11:30am and arrived at Garrison Bay, Roche Harbor around 6:30pm or so. The clouds burned off and had sunshine and only a small patch of rough water out of Everett. After that it was a smooth ride. We had the charts out and all of us were keeping track of where we were. Dave and I have never been to Garrison Bay before so it was neat to go someplace we have never been. We are anchored and enjoyed watching the sun go down and Noreen is making Shrimp pasta for dinner. We talked to Fleeta and they will go ahead to Reid Harbor and wait for us. We are staying in Garrison another day.
The next morning we had mimosas, pancakes and bacon for brunch. Ron, Dave and I took a dinghy ride to Roche Harbor Marina to get a few groceries; beer and ice. Noreen stayed with the pugs on the boat and had some quiet time. When we got to Roche we had a hard time finding the dinghy dock. We finally found it and tied up the dinghy and walked to the top of the marina dock; through a few booths with locals selling their wares and then we went over and watched some people play bocce ball.
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After that we went to the store and got what we needed and headed back to the dinghy. Then it was back to the mother ship. The tide was turning so we got a little wet coming around one of the corners but all was well. When we got back to the boat, Noreen went kayaking while we put the groceries away and I went to the bridge to crochet and the guys did their thing. It was a great afternoon. As the sun was getting lower in the sky we noticed a bald eagle in the tree.
Then just for fun I took pictures of Capt. Jack Sparrow and Callipso!!!
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We will leave tomorrow afternoon for Stuart Island, Reid Harbor and meet up with Fleeta, J.T. and Carolyn. We had a quiet night and Ron and Noreen turned in around 10 but Dave and I sat up on the bridge for awhile and then went to bed, around 10:30pm.
We got up and Noreen prepared a quiche and put it in the oven and got dressed. The rest of us sat and drank coffee and enjoyed the morning sun. Ron and Noreen took the pugs to shore to do their thing and when they returned we had quiche. It had crab and all kinds of good stuff in it. Yumm!!! Then it was time to secure the boat for travel so the dinghy went up and the kayaks went on the bow. Once things were secured we headed for the fuel dock at Roche. We got in, fueled up and filled the water tank and we were headed for Stuart Island. It was a short ride over and we found Fleeta and rafted to her boat. After getting settled and talking with Fleeta, Carolyn and J.T. we had boat drinks and then went for a dingy ride to take the pugs to shore and take a little walk. Tomorrow we will all walk to the light house. Looking forward to that. When we returned to the boat after the doggy walk, we had more cocktails and visited with Fleeta, Carolyn and J.T. Then I did some crocheting, Noreen laid in the dinghy and I finally laid down on the bridge and got in a snooze. Ron and Dave were beating on the boat doing something down below. Later on these two little girls were kayaking to our boat and they wanted beer. We told them they needed to bring a note from their parents so they turned around and went back to their boat and told their parents they needed a note. The note was written and given to the girls and they kayaked to our boat, handed us the note and we gave them 2 beers and they took them back to their boat. It was so cute. Here is a picture or two.
The two girls were friends and their parents were traveling together on separate boats. The oldest was 9 and the youngest was 6. The youngest was learning how to kayak and her kayak was tied to the older girls and a long tether line was hooked to the boat and the youngest girls kayak. It was a lot of fun. So then Noreen and I got in our kayaks and went over to their boat asking for Vodka.
We had a note from our husbands which we didn't get a picture of. They gave us a bottle partially filled!!! It was fun. Then we took the Vodka back to our boat and dropped it off and headed out to kayak around the area. It was a nice evening. When we got back we had hamburgers and beans for dinner. Nummy!!
Here it is Wednesday already. After the dogs were walked Ron, Noreen, Dave and I took the dinghy to shore to walk to the school house. We huffed and puffed up the hill and came to the school house. The first one was where the teacher lived and taught the kids that lived on the island. Then a larger school was built and now is a library. Then they built a larger school which is really nice. Right now they don’t have any children on the island so the school is closed. There were totem poles the kids made outside the school in a little garden area. Here are some pictures of the teachers house/school, the second school and the last school and the totem poles.
J.T.; Carolyn and Fleeta met us at the school. After reading all the interesting literature and walking around the grounds, Dave and Ron walked back to the dinghy to go back to the boat and do some projects they had on their list while the rest of us walked to the lighthouse on Turn point. On the way we stopped at the cemetery and read all the tombstones which wasn’t many. There was one tombstone that said Little Wolf. Apparently he was quite a character and was full of stories like he had been raised by wolves and such. The grounds were very well kept with plastic flowers at each grave site.
It is 7.5 miles to the lighthouse and a couple of spots we climbed hills and we wondered if we would make it. It was partly cloudy with fog in the straits. You could see the top of the trees on the islands and some of the water ways and the fog would lift then come back in again. Then there is lover's leap!!! They now have a museum at the lighthouse which is really cool.
Unfortunately we didn’t see any Orcas. Once everyone had a chance to walk around and read about the lighthouse, we headed back. It seemed the trip was quicker coming back. When we got to the school we stopped and Noreen called Ron on the VHF radio to have him or Davy meet us at the beach. When we got to the beach Ron had just pulled up on shore and we all tried to fit in the boat but unfortunately J.T. had to stay behind. So Ron had all three ladies to himself. He had a large bottle of white wine on ice and cups and we all partook of the beverage. It tasted really good. Ron dropped Carolyn and Fleeta on the dock where their dinghy was tied and they were going to go back and J.T. while we headed for the boat. It was a very nice day and we were all very tired. We had walked 15 miles. That was as much exercise as we wanted for the rest of the trip!!!!! Ha!! When we got back to the boat we had some more wine and the guys said they didn’t get accomplished what they were hoping to but that was alright. After dinner we went to Fleeta’s boat and visited and discussed about the trip tomorrow. We will be heading for Sidney. I am excited because Dave and I have never been and everyone says how beautiful it is.
After everyone was up and things were stowed, dogs walked and breakfast eaten, we untied from Fleeta’s boat and milled about until they got the anchor up and moving. Then we were off to cross the straits. The weather was a little cloudy and the wind was picking up. The forecast was calling for wind and possible showers later in the day. We had a bumpy ride across but all was well. Jack got a little anxious with a couple of the bumps, but then he settled down.
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