Out of the water 10.30.09

Just four short days back at the boat and we pulled the boat out of the water into the boatyard for some repairs under the waterline. We scheduled the haul out last year before we left as the boatyard fills up quickly when everyone is back. Michael had identified some sloughing of paint near the dynaplate and was concerned about a few other spots that seemed to have issues, we had two thru-hulls that were weeping, & we needed to look at the forward bobstay chainplate as we brought new bolts for it. There was even a concern that we were burning ‘hot’ somewhere. So we pulled to take a look.

Leaving the slip for the first time of the season is always a little nerve wracking so most of the dock was up & available if we needed any assistance. Since we have been in Marina Mazatlan there has been a huge space between dock 6 and dock 4 as dock 5 was never put in….well, that changed this summer. Not only was dock 5 put in but also dock 2, which is very close to the lift dock. So now that Dock 5 was new, we were even more nervous. But thankfully, Mike & Julie from S/V Slacker was in their snazzy new dinghy and on hand to give any assistance needed, as well as Rick from Cape Star, who has worked on the boat this summer.



Turned out that Michael did a fantastic job navigating and we cleared dock 5 with ease. Now getting to the boatyard/lift dock was another story! When Marina Mazatlan put in dock 2, it was put in at an angle that is not conducive to getting into the boatyard lift dock….in fact if you are sitting in the lift area and motor straight out of the lift dock, you will run into dock 2. It’s….interesting! So we got to test out our nerves. Again, Michael navigated the space like a pro and Rick on his dinghy acted as our bow thruster to push our big ‘ol heavy boat around and we backed directly into the spot. I’m usually not the ‘worrier’ but I was nearly scared to death! Whew! I was glad when we were in our spot and tied up safely awaiting haul out.

We had an 8:30 haul out appointment and she came out of the water with no problem.



She swung in the sling for a few hours while another crew was working on a boat beside where we were heading. That was OK too as we had everyone come by and check out the spots and determine the cause before we were even blocked. Once that crew was done, the boat was blocked up, boat stands in place….at a 10 degree angle leaning forward (the boatyards never get us blocked right)….by about 1pm.



It wasn’t nearly as bad as was expected. It has been 2 years since we last pulled and the bottom paint looked very good. The ‘hot spots’ that we saw turned out to be an over-zincing problem, not a stray current problem. When there is a zinc that doesn’t have anything else eroding it, it will eat the paint around it, which is what was going on.



There were 3 over-zinced spots – two on the rudder and one on the underside of the hull. The spots were sanded & repainted and the small zinc from the rudder was removed. The bobstay chainplate was removed and sent to be welded as there was some surface corrosion going on – from dissimilar metals. We had some new bolts made by Bob at Total Yacht Works, some super duper mega costly ones machined out of an old rudder post, so hopefully it will prevent the dissimilar metal issue and we ran an 8 gauge wire from the bobstay chainplate to a zinc which we hope will help the corrosion. Michael and one of the workers from Total Yacht Works pulled one of the weeping thru-hulls but damaged it in the process so we had to replace that one. And while we’re in the boatyard we had the damage that was done to the side of the hull during Tropical Storm Rick repaired.



We’re also re-insulating our refrigerator this season so we had the bottom pan sawed out and all of the insulation ripped out. The burning of paint around the dynaplate is still a head scratcher. The speculation is that the bottom paint was touching the dynaplate and shouldn’t have been. The dynaplate was removed, the area around it was sanded, and a new one will be re-installed with a rubber backing behind it, hopefully preventing the dynaplate from energizing the paint. Whew! It’s all a little over my head!

Of course Michael has done a million other things while we’ve been waiting for our thru-hull – serviced all of the other thru-hulls, cleaned all of the wheels on the transducers, ran some halyards, greased the propeller, etc. I can’t begin to tell you everything but he’s been super busy. I have been working on getting our new computer up & running and all of the data moved. I haven’t done a ‘clean install’ for over 8 years so it was time and I’m taking my time to ensure it’s as clean as possible. So far so good!

We have been living on the boat while it’s in the boatyard which is no small feat! The boatyard is very dusty & dirty and we are without water as all of our sinks go overboard…which means they would drain right to the ground. Not good when there are workers below! So any dishes must be bagged up & taken to the sink in the bathroom, the showers have no hot water, we have to climb a vertical ladder to get on and off the boat, and it’s hot!



We took all of the sails out to the van as they were in the way every time we turned around which is nice as we have room now! I’m ready to be back in the water…. :-) Just a couple more days…

Rene

Made it to the boat!! 10.26.09

Ahhh....we're back! It's such a great feeling to be back 'home'. After leaving Michael's mom's house, we drove out to Mesa, Arizona where our friends Greg & Sharona, whom we met this summer in Ketchikan, live. We spent the evening with them, chatting away, catching up, & enjoying their company. They cooked a fabulous dinner of salmon and crab legs....yum!!...and we were able to meet Sharona's sister as well. We were thoroughly exhausted by the end of the evening and had an early morning the next day.



Sunday morning we were up and ready to leave around 7:00 or so. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive to the Mexican border and we were anxious to get across and start the long haul down to Mazatlan. The border crossing was no problem this time, we've perfected our answers so as not raise suspicion by the U.S. border patrol and we breezed through aduana (customs) in Mexico with a 'pase' (green light). Whew! At the Km 21 marker we had to stop and get our temporary import permit for the van, something we were not able to do online though we tried and tried. We had all of our paperwork ready and stood in the line only about 10 people deep. At the window, I'm reminded of just how little Spanish I know when the man behind the window started to talk. He kept referring to our van as a van conversion, asking if it had a TV inside, etc. We told him no, it was just a van. He seemed dismayed...kept shuffling papers, walking around, etc. Finally, he points to our title and registration and says he must classify it as a van conversion because it says 'VC' on our paperwork. Fine, we say...and wait for how much THIS is going to cost us! After entering all of the info in, he tells us that it's a 10 year permit and will be $49.50. One problem I have with Spanish is when they tell me something I'm not expecting, I get stuck on the part I'm confused about. When I heard 10 years, I didn't hear anything else. We asked again...and he confirmed that I heard right - because it's a Van conversion, we get a 10 year temporary import permit instead of the 6 month permit a standard car gets! That's GREAT news! The 6 month permit is a pain in the a$$ as you have to have it renewed every year and it costs about $40 a year. We scored!! I still couldn't believe it as we walked away...

Again, at the Km 21 checkpoint we were given a 'pase' (green light) at customs and we scooted on down the road. We made it to Guaymas and stopped for the night at The Flamingo hotel, a small, clean, little hotel we have stopped at before. We walked across the street to a fantastic little restaurant and had a wonderful dinner, then back to the air conditioned room for some sleep! As luck would have it, someone down the hall was having a party until the wee hours of the night but we still managed to get some much needed rest.

The next morning we were up and at 'em and on the road early. We had a 9 hour drive ahead of us to get to Mazatlan. The toll road all the way to Mazatlan were pretty good. We ran into some construction but nothing major. We were amazed at how green everything was since we had just left California and was amazed at how brown it was! You could see the damage done by both storms to hit the area - trees toppled, signs ripped down, water that had overflown its banks - but it seemed the cities were recovering. The temperatures gradually got warmer and warmer though we still drove with the windows down.

FINALLY!! We made it into Mazatlan where, again, we saw lots of damage done by the storm. We pulled into Marina Mazatlan's parking lot and were greeted by friends with hugs, smiles, and cold cervezas! We sat and chatted for a while before heading down to the boat.

We found some damage that those looking after the boat described as cosmetic from the visit from Rick. Nothing that can't be repaired but still a bummer to find. When the last part of the storm went through, it flipped the bumpers up and the boat was rubbing against a bolt that had come loose that was holding the docks together. LUCKILY....the bolt hold the docks together or we would be talking major damage. Unfortunately, it took about a 4" diameter circle of scratches - through the gel coat, into fiberglass.



It didn't hole the boat, just scratched it up good. Nothing a little fiberglass & paint can't fix!

Inside the boat looks good. Our two fans quit working in the past couple weeks and there is a bit of mold growing in very unusual places, indicating to me we had some very, very minimal water intrusion from the storm. I've already been in my yellow gloves and bleach to combat the spots. Again, no issues. No bugs (though we found one HUGE, dead, flying cockroach beside the freezer that freaked us out), rodents, and even my plants survived (thanks to Tony's wife who took them in and cared for them!). We had a guy looking after the boat, Tony, who met us at the parking lot, bought our first round of cervezas, had the boat washed, & even left us a large bottle of water for the evening. What a great guy & he did a great job. We fired up the freezer and it's working great. We're planning some major renovations on the fridge so we're working out of a cooler.

It's been great to see friends as they come by and say Hi. We had a great first night on the boat...after unloading some of the stuff from the van we met a group up at a new restaurant for dinner & some Monday night football & conversation. We bailed early as we were absolutely exhausted and came down to get settled in on the boat. It's great to be back....we missed it.

Temps are warm but not horrendous. It's sunny and humid but do-able. We have the air conditioner going in the main cabin and Michael works outside for an hour or so and comes in to down lots of water and cool off.

We're headed to the boatyard on Friday and there's LOTS to do before then! But we're very happy to be here.... :-)
Rene

Palm Springs & T.S Rick 10.23.09

After watching the taping, we drove out to Palm Springs where Michael's family lives. We stayed with Michael's Mom that evening, arriving around midnight. Michael's mom had plenty of honey-do's on her list and we spent the past couple days both enjoying spending time with her, Michael's dad and sister's family. It was a great visit! Jennifer works dispatch at the police department and we managed to catch her on a day off, which was great as we got to do a little shopping & visiting.



We're beginning to jones about getting back down to the boat and during our visit to Palm Springs, Hurricane Rick, which was downgraded to a Tropical Storm, ran right over Mazatlan, his center being shown as only about 10 boat lengths away from our boat - it doesn't get much closer than that!



The marina had 70mph winds, heavy rain and suffered some damage. We have heard our boat suffered no damage except for a scratch from a loose bolt from the slip...but we'll see when we get there! As you can imagine, we're fairly anxious to get back down to the boat and check out everything, not to mention seeing all of our friends again!

Just a couple days more until we're down there!
Rene

The Big Bang Theory 10.20.09

Since we were in town, we made arrangements to attend a taping of The Big Bang Theory and be part of the studio audience - woohoo! It's one of my favorite TV shows. We don't get TV on the boat and most of the time while we were in Ketchikan we were without TV...but this is one we can find online and watch. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's a sit-com on CBS in it's 3rd season about a group of amazing scientists, the pretty girl next door, and all the crazy things that happen to them all. It's a great show. If you remember from last year, we had tickets to go last year but unfortunately I came down super sick and wasn't able to attend. Tickets are very difficult to get as you must be online at the exact time they're released to get one....and having a ticket doesn't eve guarantee you will get in!

The taping was down in Burbank at 6:30. The tickets told us to be there at least 1 hour before taping time so we arrived 2 hours before. We had a fun time driving in the parking garage as the top of our van and the bottom of the ceiling was mere inches away. Once at the top, we walked back down and got in the long line already formed at the base of the parking garage. We were lucky, we were number 56 and 57 in line....and we made it inside! We met some very fun, super duper Big Bang Theory fans, who could recite many lines from the show, were wearing matching t-shirts from the show, etc and got to know them pretty well by the time we were told we were going. Finally, we were led in groups of about 20 across the street, through security with a metal detector, down the streets of the WB studios, to set number 25. We went through yet another metal detector and were then led up a set of stairs to the audience area. Once we were seated, we could see in front of us, behind black curtains, a big portion of the set. We saw the stairwell, staircase, Sheldon & Leonard's apartment and Penny's apartment. To the right was what was called a 'swing set' where they had it setup as a campsite and to the far left was also a swing set that was decorated as an Emergency Room. The taping began at 6:30 and we left the studio around 10:00pm. Whew!! But it was great! Very funny, great seeing the stars of the show, and how it all worked. They passed around pizza about 1/2 way through and a bottle of water and all the while we had an emcee who kept the hours lively. It was great! And something I've always wanted to do. There were a couple things that were not cool though....one was I had hoped to get to meet the stars, or at least get an autograph or something...even something to buy! But that wasn't available. The other, which went against every fiber of my being - should have been illegal even! haha... I had to leave my camera & phone in the car. Can you believe it!! I understand not being able to photograph while they're taping though... Oh well! It was a great experience!

Heading to Palm Springs this evening to spent time with Michael's family.
Rene

Catching up in Ventura 10.19.09

Whew! How quickly 9 days flies by when you’re having fun catching up with friends back ‘home’!! We’re blessed to have such amazing friends, Sue & Dennis, who allowed us to stay with them the whole time. We arrived on Sunday, the day of the Long Beach Marathon which Sue’s daughter was competing in. She did spectacularly well, finishing number 22 among all women runners! Unfortunately, she ended up in the hospital for 3 days, which delayed us getting to spend time with Sue a little bit, but thankfully she is fine now. We spent the first few days just regrouping, re-packing, and doing our best to boost the economy….haha!! We had lots to stuff to buy, little stuff & big, parts we can’t find in Mexico, spares we used up last year (think capacitors for the generator!), and those things we just can’t seem to live without down there….coffee mate, miracle whip, sun-dried tomatoes, good chocolate, etc. Lots of little stuff, at a million different stores! But it was great fun to shop around, stopping at all my favorite stores and looking at all the new fun goodies!! We also tried our best to get around to either see everyone or get in touch with as many as we could.

Lunch with the Sue & Jeanne was at the top of the list as we used to do lunch almost every day when we were working together!



And to spend time with Emma, my friend and ex-boss, at the Saturday Farmers Market!



Nine days sounds like a lot but it sure did fly by!! We managed to get a few people together after a quick e-mail blast the day before down in Channel Islands Harbor on Friday night –



Dave & Sandra and Bunni – sailing friends of ours, Tania, a great friend from Bunco Babes, a monthly dice game gathering I used to belong to, Wally & Linda – some cruising friends who were friends of ours in the harbor before we left (Wally gave us sailing lessons!) who are now down in Mexico too, and even friends of Michael’s who just stopped in for a quick drink. It was a great night.



And then again at Sue & Dennis’ house on Sunday, which was great. Dorothy & her family, who I met at my first job and who found out we have similar roots, and is one of my oldest friends in California



Nancy who I met at my second job….but she already knew Michael!, Kristina, a neighbor of ours and one of those friends you have a very funny story about when you first met! Ellen & Sue, from my last job,



Mark, Dave & Sandra – our great sailing friends! Some of the friends who made it we haven’t seen for a couple years! It was great getting caught up and just enjoying each other’s company. Oh, how we miss everyone. Ventura is where Michael & I moved only four short years after high school and where we lived, worked, owned businesses, & played since 1995 – it is still a form of ‘home’ to me. I miss everyone there….

We used the time at Sue and Dennis' to prepare for the big trek down to Mexico - packing and repacking the van, picking up our mail from the past few months (it's like Christmas!), getting our Mexico insurance in place, and getting everything settled for the trip. It sure does take a lot of planning! It was great being able to spend time with Sue & Dennis, visiting, catching up, & just enjoying each others' company. I miss them a lot.

Onward to Mexico!!
Rene

Not another one...Hurricane Rick 10.18.09

We've been in Ventura for the past few days and are leaving here on Tuesday for Palm Springs and then down to Mexico by next week. I'll write all about our great times back 'home' later...right now all eyes are on Hurricane Rick, currently forecasted to hit Cabo/Southern Baja by the end of the week.



Now we all know that forecasts change (remember last year when Hurricane Ike was scheduled to hit Corpus Christi, TX and instead hit near Houston) but the forecasts are scary. We have so many friends in the area, as well as our own boat, so any way you look at it, it has the possibility of doing major damage.



Please send all of your good thoughts & prayers to the area! We'll be following it incredibly closely and will be thinking of all our friends down in the area. Make it go WEST!!! ;-)

More to follow...
Rene

If you’re going to San Francisco 10.10.09

….be sure to wear some flowers in your hair. Well, we didn’t have any flowers, but we did stop in to see a dear friend, Dale.



Dale is a friend of Michael’s family as Michael’s Dad worked with Dale many years ago. We have stopped to visit each time we’re near as we both really enjoy spending time with Dale. We arrived in San Francisco around 2pm or so and were amazed at all of the boats out in the bay! There seemed to be thousands of them all milling about. Later, we found out that it is Fleet Week. Ahh…that explains it.

We spent the afternoon and evening visiting with Dale, bringing him up to speed on our travels, and listening as he brought us up to speed on his activities. We are so glad to be able to spend time with him.

Tomorrow….Back in Ventura – woohoo! :-) Can't wait to see everyone!
Rene

Video of Ahea Kali 10.11.09

It's incredibly rare to get a picture of your boat and a huge treat when you are given a video! We're motorsailing along here with a double reefed mainsail as we just passed an area with gusts to 45knots. The movie is narrated by our friend Joe from S/V Pacific Jade. Enjoy!

VW Repair time! 10.9.09

We purchased our VW Westfalia early this spring and it has been a very, very good little van. I like to call it ‘Tillie’ as in the Little engine that could. It’s a great runner, gets good gas mileage, can carry all of our ‘stuff’, and has been pretty problem free. We do have a few minor ‘issues’ that need to be looked at though and there are very few Westfalia repair shops since they aren’t made anymore. I have been signed up to a Westfalia e-mail group called www.vanagonauts.com or ‘Been there done that for Vanagons’ for quite some time and have been asking questions and, in general, ‘listening’ to the questions asked. There were two main responders who helped me the most and one has a repair shop in Southeast Oregon so we decided to stop and have him look at the van for us. We contacted him the day before and he said he’s meet us around 11am at his shop and gave us directions to get there. We both arrived at the shop around the same time closer to noon. Now I’m not one to stereotype but one look and 5 minutes of chatting with this guy and my insides screamed CRAZY!! He had crazy white hair that reminded me of Doc on Back to the Future, in fact almost everything he did reminded me of Doc. He was wiry, jittery, super smart, bounced around from one subject to the other, had white hair that stood up in every direction and appeared like he had just rolled out of bed.



But I’ll tell you…he sure was a wizard on the van. Michael had the pleasure of working with him until 9pm and they fixed all kinds of things. Things we didn’t even know were wrong! Haha… Parts were exchanged, tweaks were made, lots of areas were inspected, wrenching was done, the van was taken apart piece by piece, there was even some cursing & bloodshed…but put it all together and WOW! We have a brand new van! Well, almost. Some of the highlights were the starter was replaced (yes, the starter that was replaced in Ketchikan….the starter that was supposed to be new….grrrr…), the muffler and all it's parts were tightened, the throttle body was adjusted, this and that changed and whalah! What an amazing guy – so incredibly knowledgeable, patient, happy to explain how everything works to me (now that says a LOT!), and very fair in his labor and parts. One of those people that are put into your life for a reason! And best of all…it starts! Hey, maybe we won’t even overheat at the border crossings anymore….now where’s the fun in that?!

We specifically came this way so that we could also pick up additional solar panels for the boat in Mt. Shasta, California. Of course, Friday morning we realized they probably weren’t open on Saturday and sure enough….they weren’t. We also didn’t want to hang around in the area for two days just to pick up the darn solar panels (I would have, no problem!) on Monday….so it’s off to Plan B. Since Michael was working with the mechanic all day, I figured I would rent a car, drive the 1 ½ hours to Mt. Shasta, pick up the panels, and drive back! No problem! I did a little research and found cars for about $30/day with unlimited miles at the airport. Now if only I could get to the airport... As luck would have it, our mechanic had a visitor come by and ask him to take a look at his van. He looked like a decent enough person so I asked him how far out of his way the airport was and if he would mind taking me. No problem he said…it’s only 5 miles or so out of my way. So I grabbed my purse and jumped into his car, headed for the airport. Soon after pulling onto the road, he remembered he wanted to go to a fruit coop for some asian pears and would I mind going with? No problem, I said. We stopped at the fruit spot and he picked up a whole box of pears & apples for $7….my treat, I said. We got back on the road and he proceeded to tell me his whole life story – worked as a contractor for the past umpteen years, was upset with his kids as they didn’t want to do any ‘nature’ stuff (hiking, biking, camping, hunting, fishing) they only wanted to play wii, get a new iPhone, a new Macbook, etc., didn’t like his wife because she wanted to go to Mexico and he wanted to go to Alaska, was ready to leave her, etc. It went on and on. He was a weirdo, in all aspects of the word. I couldn’t wait to get out of the car at the airport and vowed not to ask strangers for rides again…at least in Oregon. :-)

I made it to the airport and went to the car rental booth, then found the right car rental booth (they all look the same!) and checked in. The lady behind the counter asked for my drivers license and credit card. I dug and dug through my purse and couldn’t find my credit card! Doh! I had left it sitting on the computer when I made my reservation. Thankfully, I had an old Discover card that we very rarely use and handed it to her. Declined. Impossible I say!! When I was a the shop, I realized I had a dead cell phone so I borrowed the phone from the gal at the counter. Thankfully there were no other customers in line. Turns out, Discover had sent me a new card and deactivated the old one…what?! The lady on the line explained that I must go home and find the new one and that one would work. I very calmly explained that I was far, far from home and would she please re-activate this card as I really, really needed to use it now! Hmm…I don’t know if that will work but I’ll try, she replied. I looked at the woman behind the counter, gave here the go-ahead, and got a thumbs up – success! Whew! Crisis averted! I didn’t know what in the world I would have done if they had not fixed it.

I drove back to the mechanic, spent 20 minutes searching the van looking for my charger with no luck, and then drove the 1 ½ hours to Mt. Shasta, picked up the solar panels & drove back! Ahhh…..all is right with the world again.

We finally finished with the mechanic around 9pm, threw everything back in the van and headed back to the hotel.

What a day…
Rene

The Oregon Coastal Route 10.8.09

We were up and at ‘em at o-dark-thirty this morning (not really, it just seemed like it cause the sun was behind the mountains) and headed down the coast. Wow, this area is really beautiful. The beaches are long with powder white sand, there are amazing bluffs, the towns are small with lots of cute shops to check out, the antique bridges have incredible architecture, it’s just a beautiful place. We will definitely be coming back here and spending some time. We are hurrying down the coast as we need to be in Southeast Oregon to have the van worked on before the weekend. Who knew this was a holiday weekend?!

We stopped at a place called Cooks’s Chasm where there was a spouting horn to take photos. The surf rolls in and pounds against the rocks and an opening blows the spout of water up into the air. It’s quite spectacular. Michael shot a video that I’ll post below. The pictures just don’t show the sequence of events.



Today was a travel day since we had to get to where we’re going fast so we didn’t do much more stopping than to eat and stretch. We made it to Medford around 5pm and found a hotel. We were tired, knew we could sleep in the following day, and you just don’t sleep in when you’re in a campground!

Wish us luck on a successful and inexpensive visit to the mechanic tomorrow…
Rene

Let’s go over the mountain 10.7.09

Our campsite last night was at a place called Ritzville which was right at the intersection of Highways 90 and 395, at the La Quinta Hotel that was also a campground. We decided to take an alternate route today and see more of Washington! We’re going to run Highway 90 to the 82, to the 12, to the 5, to the 30 which takes us to Astoria, Oregon. Whew! Highway 12 goes up and over the cascades via White pass, skirting Mt. Adams at 12,276 ft, giving us some spectacular views of Mt. Ranier at 14,410 ft, and sending us just beside Mount St. Helens. Woohoo! New scenery!

The scenery differences when you travel from one side of the state to another are just amazing. What started out as brown, dead, rolling hills



turned into spectacular greens, reds, oranges, & browns on the trees & hills again.



We passed through some incredibly cute little towns on Hwy 12 and we saw lots of fruit stands, apple trees ripe for the picking, fields of corn along with loaded trucks full of corn being taken to be processed. Again we have been so lucky to have nice weather! This morning was very cold, it was in the low 40’s, but the sunshine came out and has been following us since we left. I guess we’re being treated now since we suffered so much this summer?! The small two lane highways are incredible with the evergreen trees towering above us and the ferns & bushes below bursting with color.

All of the towns we drive by are obviously getting ready for Halloween as the houses & businesses are all decorated. The houses are beautiful, lots of old farm houses on sprawling acres and acres of land. There appears to be a fire in the area as there is a little smoke and that distinctive smokey smell in the air. The road winds back and forth as we go both up and down the pass and I bet it would be a wonderful place to ride your bike. I wonder if BJ & Merry have ridden up here already. There are lots of livestock and horses around too, it makes me want to go horseback riding!

We made a stop at Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument and were amazed by the images, stories, & videos about the eruption of Mount St. Helens. What an incredible story and such a learning experience.



We drove on further to Astoria, Oregon where we first stopped at the Astoria Column – a 125ft concrete monument to salute early settlers for their critical role in the United States’ stretch to the Pacific Ocean (Spain, England, France & Russia had competed for this land that now makes up the NW section of the U.S.)



The column sits atop a hill overlooking the entire valley & pacific ocean but you can also climb up a circular staircase of 164 steps and step out onto a platform with an even more amazing view.



The artwork winds around the column and details 22 significant events that occurred in the region such as Lewis & Clark expedition crosses mountains 1805, Indians greet explorers, coming of the pioneers 1834, and arrival of the railroad 1880’s. We wound our way up the column and stepped out onto the balcony to check out the view. Michael did good, considering he has a height issue, he checked out the place and even posed for a picture before heading back down. The area was beautiful and we left just in time as a huge tour bus pulled up behind us!

Next it was out to 38th street to see what we stopped in Astoria for. Astoria has hosted several films – Kindergarten Cop, Free Willy, Short Circuit, but what we went to see was the areas The Goonies was filmed! Don’t you just love The Goonies?! OK, well maybe not everyone loves it but I do…haha!! I got the idea from one of my tours this summer, the folks were movie buffs and told me all about the places they had stopped where movies were filmed and Astoria was one of them. So we went to the Goonie House….





the County Jail….



and raced the sunset (literally) to get to Cannon Beach to see Haystack Rock. We were even treated with an amazing sunset.





After a walk along the beach we decided to find food and a place to stay for the night. We drove on to Manzanita where we found a great Mexican restaurant and on to Nehalem Bay State Park where we found a spot for the night. What a great campground! Nehalem Bay SP is right on the dunes, a super clean campground with nice big campsites, showers that don’t need coins, and you’re lulled to sleep by the crashing waves of the beach! It was a great spot. They even had yurts to rent! Another place to come back to. When we had just pulled in, we went up to the information area and another couple was there reading all of the signs. I was on a mission – looking for the payment envelope and map. They asked me if I had been there before? Nope, I said. They said they were confused as to what to do so I told them to take the payment envelope, find a spot (it was pitch dark by now), write the number on the envelope and slip it in the slot. I asked them if they’d ever stayed in a State Park and the woman said to me “We don’t know…we’re from Michigan!” I had to stifle a laugh as I thought about that comment…and every time I saw them driving around in circles (it seemed). We found a spot & were all setup and almost asleep when I swear they were still trying to find a spot. Haha… The evening was incredible – the stars & full moon were putting on a show and the surf pounding the beach put me to sleep quickly. Michael was up in the middle of the night and gone for a long time and the next morning he told me there were coyotes out all night and he was cornered in the bathroom as one of them wouldn’t leave the area! All while I was sleeping…haha!

On down the road…
Rene

Cheney (Eastern) Washington 10.6.09

We kinda decided last minute to go our to Eastern Washington to visit Michael’s grandma in Cheney, WA. She’s getting up there in age and since we were only 8 hours away and didn’t know when we would get up this way again, we figured we should visit. Cheney Washington is near Spokane, about a 6 hours away from Seattle. We left Coupeville and went down to Mukilteo at the very bottom of Whidbey Island and caught the ferry over to Clinton on the mainland. The scenery sure does change as you drive across Washington! We started on the West coast where the trees surrounded us, with their changing leaves, and colors of green, red, orange, & brown.



Just a couple hours away, the trees gave way to sage brush & tumbleweeds, which in turn changed into barren brown hills as far as the eye could see.



We even encountered a dust storm...



We crossed the Columbia River, saw some wild horses



(not really, they were fake…), and marveled at how much produce comes from this area. We got to Grandma’s place, chatted for a wile, ate dinner with her, chatted some more and hit the road in the same direction as we started the day. It was a nice visit, Grandma is still sharp as a tack and loves to talk. It was a quick stop but we enjoyed seeing her again.



As always, there are lots more photos in the photo album...
Tomorrow…back to the Washington coast!
Rene

Whidbey Island, WA 10.3.09

We left Salt Spring early Saturday morning on the 7:45am ferry from Fulford to Schwartz Bay, back on Vancouver Island. It was sad to leave Joe & Deb but we know we’ll see them in a month or so and we hope to cruise with them again! We drove from Schwartz Bay down to Sidney and jumped on another ferry over to Anacortes, Washington via a quick stop in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. This last ferry is part of the Washington ferry system and is not nearly as nice as the B.C. Ferries we’ve been riding on. But again we were greeted with amazing weather, sunshine all around, blue skies with big puffy clouds, calm blue seas, and lots of boat traffic.



We have a couple of minor problems with our Van. Not necessarily problems, just issues that we have had no problem dealing with. One is that the van likes to get hot when it idles….and once hot, doesn’t like to start right away if we turn it off. Now, knock on wood, it always starts but sometimes it takes a few or 10 seconds to start. As we were in line for the ferry in Canada, we left the van idling for the few cars that we were behind so by the time we got up to the border official it was nice and hot. And, of course!, the first thing they asked us to do was to shut off the engine. We chatted with the official and they waved us on. The engine rolled, rolled, rolled….and finally caught, after giving both Michael and the official a little bit of worry time. I knew it would start. I’ve started calling the van ‘Tillie’ as in the ‘little engine that could’. Michael doesn’t like it though….haha!!

Anyway we had a successful travel across on the ferry and got to U.S. Customs & Border inspection and held our breath. We have been searched so many times we’ve grown accustomed to it but hate it anyways and, amazingly, we were waved on through! Woohoo! Of course it helps that we know better now how to answer their questions so that we blend in and not raise suspicion.

On our way to Whidbey Island we crossed Deception Pass Bridge, a beautiful 976 foot span bridge that connects Whidbey Island to the tiny Pass Island, and Pass Island to Fidalgo Island.



We drove into Coupeville, which is on Whidbey Island to visit with some more cruising friends, John & Gaye from M/V Maestra. It’s a long and funny story how we got to know them and if I’ve explained it before….sorry! When we were first in Mazatlan in early ’08, Michael needed to fly home to California to finish up some business. Getting to the airport in Mazatlan is a pricey taxi ride so many of the cruisers will share a taxi when possible. So Michael announced on the radio that he was getting a taxi to the airport and if anyone wanted to share to get in touch with us. That’s when John called and said he had a rental car and was going to the airport and would gladly take Michael. That was the end of that, we only saw them at one other anchorage, but never got together. Then, this summer, we were contacted by our friends Joe & Deb who said they had a friend who was coming up to Ketchikan where he needed to leave his boat and needed someone to look after it so we volunteered. All the while, Michael is saying ‘I think I know this boat!’. The time comes when we finally meet and the guys are both looking at each other and saying ‘I know you from somewhere…’ After a few minutes of ‘where you here?’, ‘where you there?’, John finally said ‘I gave you a ride to the airport!’. Haha!!! We looked after their boat while we were in Mazatlan and they told us to come visit them on our way down!

Coupeville is a lovely little town with one main street, right along the waterfront. John owns the tavern in town, Toby’s Tavern, which is the highlight of the town!



The tavern has been in town for years and is a local hotspot. Outside, the windows are decorated with stickers from all of the servicemen’s unit crests and inside the place is filled with memorabilia from years and years of good times. John looks around the place and can tell you a story from each and every item lining the ceiling, walls, and bar area.





Toby’s specialty is mussels cooked in a butter & wine broth and they are scrumptious, not to mention the 16 beers on tap at the bar. Toby’s has been used for two movies – Practical Magic and War of the Roses and we’re looking forward to re-watching those movies to see how it looked in the movies. We met John at the tavern and after a quick refreshment, drove out to his house, just a few miles from town. Driving up, John pointed to a driveway for us to park in and parked a couple houses down the street. We were shocked to find out that he owned 3 houses in a row….and we would be staying in one of them by ourselves! Woohoo! It’s nice to stay in a ‘real house’ after a few days in the camper. His mother lived in the house before she died and now he uses it for family and friends primarily.

In chatting with him, he mentioned we were coming to dinner….with about 13 other people! It was a friend of his’ birthday and he was cooking prime rib and lamb and of course we were invited! We interpreted it as a welcome dinner with cake! Haha… The evening was very nice – some great people, amazing food, and fantastic wine. We blended right in and had some fun chats with their guests & even sang happy birthday. The next two days we hung out with both John & Gaye, touring the area, eating, laughing, and relaxing. We watched lots of football – Gaye is a HUGE Huskies fan and was bummed they lost.



We went to Admiralty Head Lighthouse & Fort Casey, which served as a base to protect the Puget Sound from foreign warships mainly between 1901-1919.



It was used as a training facility once the Coastal Artillery Corps was disbanded and, ultimately, sold to the Washington State Parks. It’s quite an amazing place, the old gun turrets are still in place and a couple of the guns are still there to see as well.



The building is filled with rooms underground to explore and spectacular panoramic views. The weather has been perfect – sunny with temps in the upper 60’s – and the Puget sound was crystal clear. We’re told it’s usually rainy & cold here so we were very lucky!

Gaye and I also went to a lavender farm in town, the boys didn't want to go - imagine that!



I can’t imagine working there and being so relaxed after a hard day’s work! We chatted with the owners of the business and were given the grand tour. This day they were preparing lavender oil, separating the blossoms from the stems to make a cooking lavender, and ‘starting’ new plants. The ladies were incredibly nice and the grounds were beautiful as well. They had a lavender labyrinth that Gaye and I walked….while eating a vanilla lavender ice cream bar (we splurged…and it was yuuummmmyyy!!) and we checked out the gift store, picking up a few knickknacks before heading back home.

Speaking of lavender, John & Gaye have a cuuute little puppy named lavender who was such a cutie! And who never tired of playing ball, goose, or tug-toy. We miss our dog… :-(



After a couple days of relaxing, it was time to get back on the road. The evening before we left, we cooked them one of our specialties – Feta chicken with couscous & squash, and said our goodbyes. It’s always sad to leave friends and John & Gaye are not going cruising this year so you never know when we will see them again.



More to follow…
Rene