Things Get Exciting!!!

July 12

Well, here I was thinking that I had nothing new to post on the blog – as my friend Liz would say, be careful what you wish for!!  We anchored out in Garrison Harbor yesterday afternoon after leaving Roche Harbor.  After listening to the weather forecast, we had already decided against going to Victoria today.  We were sitting in the boat reading our latest Reacher novels, when Bill happened to look out the back door – just in time to watch the dinghy roped snaking over the rail!!  We pulled anchor – not a quick task - and took off after it.  As luck would have it, a guy on another boat saw the dinghy blowing by, got in his dinghy, and caught ours.  Whew!!!  We re-anchored and boy, was it windy!  The boat was swinging around all night.  This morning, we pulled the anchor and got the anchor rode wound up in the prop – no steering and no power!!!  We were headed for a couple of other boats that were rafted together.  The wind blew us to one side of them, they had great family crews, pulled us alongside them and tied us off.  I got on the swim platform and was able to unwind the rode and free our boat with no harm to the outdrive or the engine.  What a great bunch of folks!  One guy was even going to get in a “shorty” wetsuit with goggles, go in the water, and work on the rope.  Thank goodness he did not have to. 

We headed back to Roche Harbor and decided to moor for the afternoon and night.  Both of us were feeling a bit stressed.  I got the laundry done and we will take showers later.  Then, weather permitting, we will head for Victoria tomorrow.  Here’s a photo Bill took of the floating pumpout boat at Roche Harbor:

The San Juan Islands

July 9

We decided to cruise around the San Juans for the weekend and head for Victoria, BC on Monday, July 12.  We have been having really warm, wonderful weather and calm waters.  Here is a shot from our mooring spot last evening.  Mmmmm, peaceful!  We have been sleeping so well on the boat – the gentle rocking seems to be just the ticket!

Friday Harbor was so crowded yesterday that we fueled the boat and got the heck outta there!!  I was going to get groceries, but there was not room on any of the docks to tie up!  We went to Fisherman’s Bay instead and it was a long, hot walk to a very nice grocery.  

Today we cruised up the east sound of Orcas Island past the Moran Mansion  at Rosario Resort and Spa.  A float plane took off right in front of us, but I didn’t have the camera handy (grrrr).  I did get a couple of photos of the mansion: Then, we decided to see if there were any spots available for moorage at Jones Island – HAH!!  The little cove on the north side was stuffed with boats!!  So it was on to Reid Harbor at Stuart Island State Marine Park.  Lots of boats there, too, but we found an available mooring buoy.   The captain (Bill, of course) maneuvered the Bonaroo so that the deck monkey (yours truly) could grab the mooring buoy and get us tied up securely. 

By then it was time for happy hour and for admiring all of the other boats here in the harbor.  Bill “dinghied the dog” while I cooked dinner.  Ahhh!  We have decided that we could get used to this life!  We’ll see how we feel when we run into rough seas and/or nasty weather.

July 11

We spent two nights at Reid Harbor enjoying the weather, walking around on the Stuart Island, schmoozing with a few Canadians.  Lots of other boats in the harbor and lots of other folks doing the “dinghy the dog” duty! 

Today, we went to Roche Harbor at the NW end of San Juan Island.  We fueled up and picked up a few groceries.  I have never seen so many yachts in my life!  One was at least 100’ and was from Park City, UT – or at least the owner was.  Obviously, not everyone is feeling the economic pinch!! The Dulcinea, Park City, UT !?!?

We continue to enjoy sunny days, but the wind has come up, so we will likely not make the Haro Straight crossing tomorrow.  They are predicting 25-39 mph winds.  Better stay here in Garrison Bay for an extra day, snug at anchor.

Will post this when we have better internet service…

Heading North

July 7, 2010

Yesterday, we left Port Orchard in the afternoon and cruised to Appletree Cove where we anchored out for the first time.  We awoke to find ourselves in shallow water full of eel grass, so up came the anchor!  We moved out into deeper water where we finally had our morning coffee.  Bill bought be a great camp-style French press for this trip and it has been great!!  I have never made coffee in a French press before – very full-flavored coffee.

Life on the boat has been a fairly easy adjustment for us.  No doubt our experience as RVers has helped immensely.  We are used to close quarters and to behaving civilly with one another.  The galley and head are even smaller than our travel trailer, but the Taurus seats at the dinette are more comfortable than the seating in the Nash.

My biggest worry has been Pogo’s potty ritual.  We bought a Potty Patch for use on the boat and he has shown absolutely no inclination to use it.  Therefore, Bill has had to “dinghy the dog” to shore a couple of times. 

And here they are now…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today we put in 69 miles – from Appletree Cove, across Puget Sound, up the east side of Whidbey Island, through Deception Pass and into the San Juan Islands.  This evening we are tied to a mooring buoy in a cove at James Island State Park.  What a glorious day and evening!

Here is a photo of the Bonaroo in front of Mt. Baker.  She looks good, doesn’t she?

We are getting better and better at our GPS skills and have been plotting our waypoints correctly. 

Hope you are all having a wonderful week – we’ll be in touch!

July 4, 2010 Happy Independence Day!!!

With a great deal of help from our friend Chuck Palumbo, we launched the Bonaroo at Port Townsend. Shortly thereafter, we realized that the fuel tank had a locking cap and we had no key! Bill and Chuck started drilling out the fuel cap while I went to West Marine for a replacement. The replacement was the wrong size – back to West Marine for another cap that was not a good fit, but Bill made work. After taking the boat out in the bay for a trial spin, Chuck tinkered with the carburetor for better idling. We took Chuck back to the dock, spent more than $300 for gas (gasp!), and were on our way.

We had an uneventful, smooth trip to Illahee State Park where we tied up for the night. We disrupted the crabbers and squid snaggers who were using the dock, and Bill did a professional job of docking the boat.

Pogo keeping an eye on the cook!

4th of July in Port Orchard – took my sister and her husband for a cruise around Blake Island and into Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island. Scads of boats out on a holiday in Puget Sound.

 

Beautiful homes on Bainbridge Island

Sailboats, cruise ships, Seattle in the background.

July 5, 2010

“The cop climbed out of his car exactly four minutes before he got shot.” This is the opening line from a Lee Child book starring Jack Reacher – I wish that my blog entries were as riveting!! I’m just not much of a humorous or exciting writer. Oh well, if you get too bored, I guess you will just stop reading!

Stayed in Pt. Orchard for an extra day to do some more work on the boat. Turned out to be a beautiful afternoon after an overcast and cool morning. We think that we will be ready to head north tomorrow. Sure was quiet here on the dock after all of the 4th of July festivities! Met some nice people on a boat (big boat!) named the Big Sky. The boat is from Seattle, so I just had to ask if they were at least FROM Montana. The woman said that her husband was born and raised there and that, since when boating we are always under the big sky, they chose that name for their beloved boat.

Take care, everyone, and have a great summer!

Countdown to Launch (cont.)

OK, I'm trying something new to get photos to upload.  Here I am painting the ceiling and installing laminate flooring (with Pogo's help, of course).

And this is the Bonaroo!

Countdown to Launch

Hi, all!  It has been 3.5 years since I posted to this blog, so bear with me!  We are finished working on the cabin for the summer - whew!  Bill and I accomplished most of what we wanted to complete - new front door with knob and lock, painting and covering plywood gaps in the ceiling, installing flooring, installing wiring in bathroom, more work on plumbing, insulating the walls in bathroom, putting up sheetrock, taping sheetrock, new doors in bathroom, new wiring and lighting in main cabin,  installing wood/gas stove, new propane tank and propane lines into cabin.  I think that's about it.  Next step is to texture and paint bathroom walls, insulate ceiling in bathroom, finish ceiling and put in flooring.  We may not get to that until next year.  Then we can finally place the bathroom fixtures - woo, hoo!!

Now, we are loading the truck and travel trailer with gear for the Bonaroo (our new - to us - 28' Bayliner Victoria cabin cruiser).  Our expected launch date is July 1 at Port Townsend.  Our friends Chuck and Peggy Palumbo have agreed to let us store our truck and boat trailer on their lot while we are cruising, saving us big bucks.    

Howdy! Yes, we are indeed back in Montana and it is 21 degrees!! And to think that just a few days ago we were in Florida complaining about the humidity and the bugs. We turned around from the Florida Keys on November 3rd and seemed to be headed in the wrong direction, judging by the number of RV's we passed. We spent two nights in St. Louis visiting Barb's friends Paul and Isabel. They were generous hosts and it was wonderful to visit with them and their kids (and I use the term loosely) again. We drove downtown to the new Busch Stadium - very retro - the home of the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals!! We visited the Missouri Botanical Gardens and the Chihully blown glass exhibit. And, of course, we had to buy a bag of "slyders" at White Castle. Greasy, tasty little burgers that are a tradition for Barb when she visits St. Louis.
Then we drove to South Dakota and established residency there - our new address is 3700 S. Westport Ave., #1063, Sioux Falls, SD 57106-6360. Things go around in circles - Barb's father was born and raised in South Dakota. We woke up in an RV park in the Badlands on Friday Morning to 4" of snow - we gotta get going and get where it's warm!! We stopped at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD and at Wall Drug - what a hoot! We visited Mt. Rushmore and the as yetunfinished Crazy Horse Monument. Then it was on to Rapid City for a visit with Barb's Aunt Audrey and cousins Linda, Rodger and his family. It was a nice visit, but too short. Next time we will stay longer, when there is no snow on the ground!
We have had a wonderful trip and have seen just a few of the beautiful regions of this country. We have made some new friends and have re-acquainted with some old ones. When we do this again, we will allow more time in each locale and less time on the road. Now it is on to Plains, MT, Florence, OR, Redding, CA, Death Valley, and Phoenix! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Barb and Bill

Florida!!

Flooded street in Key West

Barb with cousins Jim and Olga A nice sunset at Bahia Honda State Park

Roosting white ibis









With cousins Jim and Marisa Alligator!!

After we left Bill's sister Kathy and her husband Ron, we headed south to Naples on the gulf coast. My friend Ann was visiting her mother and brothers and we dropped by for a brief visit. Ann and Barb have been friends for 30 years and Barb had never met any of Ann's family - time to fix that! We had a nice visit at Mrs. Goetten's house and Ann gave us a tour of the beach and pier in Naples. Bill was blown away by the growth in the Naples area since he was there last (47 years ago). We visited the Big Cypress National Reserve and Everglades National Park. We viewed many species of wading birds never seen by Barb before - wood stork, tri-colored heron, little blue heron, great white heron, and a couple that I can't remember right now. Also saw several red-shouldered hawk and a peregrine falcon. We saw at least three dozen alligators - from the safety of the truck! They ranged in length from 6-12 feet. We also had the opportunity to watch the final game of the World Series at a neighbor's camper. He didn't have room for us inside, so we watched through the window while being bitten by mosquitoes! It was worth it - hooray for the Cardinals!!!
We visited Bill's cousin Jim and his wife Marissa in Ft. Lauderdale. These are relatives that Bill has never met, but contacted via e-mail after learning about them through a Google search. Great folks who treated us to a wonderful seafood dinner and a selection of good red wines. Now we have another reason to return to Florida - spend more time with these cousins!
We headed for John Pennecamp State Park on Sunday, October 29. Barb took a snorkeling tour of the Florida Underwater Preserve (part of it anyway). Saw many species of reef fish - just beautiful! She also did some snorkeling over the seagrass flats along one of the keys and saw a sting ray - gave it a wide berth! Bill went fishing and caught a black grouper and a jack crevalle - what a fighter! We had a great time, except for the "no-see-ums". They ate us up on our first night. Bill bought some mosquito coils and we lit one in the camper - got rid of those little devils, so we could get some sleep. Nevertheless, we both look like we have the measles!
We spent two nights at Bahia Honda state park in the lower keys - a beautiful park, but the weather was not condusive to good snorkeling. We went to Key West in the middle of a thunderstorm! Walked along Duval Street and had lunch at Sloppy Joe's - a Key West tradition. The next day, we met Bill's other cousin Jim and his wife Olga. They just happened to be in Key West for the "Meeting of the Minds", an annual Parrothead reunion. These folks are REAL Jimmy Buffett fans! They and their friends are so much fun! It poured down rain all afternoon, so what were we to do but sit on the porch of their B&B drinking beer and shark piss. Shark piss is a mix of equal parts mango, coconut, and pineapple rums - Yikes! Then we made our way through the flooded streets to a Cuban restaurant for dinner. We had never eaten Cuban food and it was very flavorful and yummy. Great time with some fun new friends! Too bad about the weather, but we had a great time anyway.
Today we made the turn and are headed north to Montana with a stop in St. Louis to see Barb's friends Paul and Isabel Allen. More later...

October travels

Bill and his sister Kathy Bill at the old fort in St. Augustine

On the beach at St. Augustine Charleston, SC


Smokey Mountain fall colors Old grist mill at Smokey Mt. Nat'l. Park

Barb at Marine Corps Memorial Tomb of the Unknowns
Wow! We have covered so much territory since our last post!! It has been difficult to find an internet connection and we have been sooo busy! We spent a few hours with my aunt Edna in Laurelton, PA. She is 93 years od and is sharp as a tack. Her son Raymond and his wife Ruth also came over for a visit ( along with a lemon sponge pie - a real treat). Barb had not seen these relatives since she was a teenager, so it was good to renew acquaintance with them. We spent a day at Gettysburg, driving around the battlefield and reviewing the history of the area.
After that, we camped in Maryland and rode the Metro into Washington, DC for three days. Barb had not been to DC since she was 15 and Bill had never been there, so we had a lot to see. We went to the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, the Museum of Natural Hisory, and the Art Museum. We saw the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Women in Military History Memorial, and the WW II Memorial. We also saw the Arlington Naitonal Cemetary and the Iwo Jima Memorial. There is so much to see, we could have spent a week there, but on we went...
We drove to the Smokey Mountains and again were in time for the beautiful fall foliage. Barb ate boiled peanuts for the first time and they were O.K., but she still prefers the roasted variety. We met up with our friends from Van Wert, OH, Ray and Linda, in Pigeon Forge, TN. The home of Dollywood - what a tourist trap!! We had never seen so many gift shops, junk shops, and dinner show places before! Seems like a great place to avoid in the future!
We drove to Charleston, SC and Barb took a bus tour around this beautiful old city. So much history here and a place that she would like to visit again. Last night we spent in St. Augustine, FL - another beautiful historic town and are now in Ft. White, FL visiting Bill's sister Kathy and her husband Ron.
We are enjoying seeing new birds, Spanish moss on the HUGE live oaks, and the Florida weather. We will try to post some photos in the next few days. We have been having a great time and have enjoyed seeing new parts of this beautiful country. If you need some tips on what to see or where to stay, drop us a line and we would be happy to share our experiences.
Stay tuned...

Pennsylvania

West Quoddy Head Light house, Campobello Island,
New Brunswick with a BIG tide rip
Atlantic salmon pens
Lubec, ME harbor at sunset


East Quoddy lighthouse, ME







During the past week, we spent three days at Acadia National Park - what a beautiful place!
We drove to the top of Cadillac Mt., the tallest mountain on the eastern seaboard and enjoyed a 360 degree view of the Atlantic, islands, bays, and lakes in the immediate area. Most of the land in the park was donated by wealthy people, including the Rockefeller family, who owned summer "cottages" on the island. Rockefellers built miles and miles of carriage roads which are now open for hiking and biking - no traffic! We had a couple of great rides. Then we ventured northeast to Lubec, ME which is the easternmost town in the USA. We had coffee with a couple of local guys who filled us in on some of the history and commercial fishing operations in the Bay of Fundy. We drove across the international bridge to Campobello Island, New Brunswick and saw FDR's summer cottage as well as several lighthouses. The tide swings were 21' last week!
Monday, we turned south back through Maine, NH, and VT. We drove through New York and dropped down into north central Pennsylvania. We are here to visit my 93-year-old aunt before we head to Gettysburg and Washington, DC. Enjoy the photos!

New England Colors

Barb and Pogo at Bar Harbor, ME On Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park


A Vermont covered bridge


We are now in Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine. The weather has cleared and it is colder, but sunny! We have included some photos taken in Vermont and New Hampshire - the "leaf peeping" as they call it here, is wonderful. We ate the obligatory fresh Maine lobster dinner last night - Oh, boy! So sweet and tasty! I guess we are eating our way through New England, having stopped at Ben & Jerry's creamery as well as the Cabot Cheddar Cheese factory. Well, the weather was crummy - whadda ya gonna do? We have seen some beautifully maintained old homes and farms. The economy seems to be much better in Vermont and New Hampshire than it is in Maine. We have run into some "Mainiacs" speaking "Maine - ese". No r's in their vocabulary. We will be staying in this area until Sunday and will head up the coast a bit further before heading to Pennsylvania to visit Barb's mother's hometown of Lewisburg and her 93-year-old aunt in Laurelton. Then on to Washington, D.C.