Morning all,
Will start working on the photos for the posts that we made over the trip. Finally back home with a good Internet connection for uploading photos.
So as you get “page change” notifications, go back and look at the photos …. and enjoy.
Craig
down on wetness in the boat, I do another load of laundry eliminating the soggy piles of clothes. We pull out of the lot right on time.
Traffic along the route into Seattle is moving but crowded. We call Ed and discover they got 2″ of rain last night. Nevertheless the roads are fine and we arrive in Orting a bit after noon.
As usual, we find grandson Cole is with his grandmother. What a changed little man he is! When we last saw him he was just having his first food and could not sit. Now he is gobbling jars of baby food, sitting up and rolling around on his own. He is only days away from crawling with walking not far in the future. He used to look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy but has now lengthened out and slimmed down. The only place he still has real “baby fat” is in his cubby checks!
Ed and Diana have spent more of the summer away than usual – starting with our trip down the Snake and Columbia Rivers. Their garden has suffered for it and Diana is now trying to plan some remedies for problems with their apple trees. She’s also thinking about weeds and plans for next year. In between, she is dealing with this year’s crop of blueberries, apples, tomatoes, cabbage, and zucchini. There’s no getting around it, gardens are a lot of work; especially when you factor in the using and preserving of the crop itself. It really makes me appreciate how amazing modern life is with so many of us spending almost zero time on the basic survival need of obtaining food – something most animals spend almost all their time doing.
We get the boat parked, re-inflate tubes, re-hang the surround in the cockpit and settle in for a good, quiet sleep.
ConeSpot
Latitude:47.08534
Longitude:-122.17725
GPS location Date/Time:09/06/2013 20:28:34 EDT
Message:Attention, this is Conepatus calling: All is well in Paradise:)
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Yesterday afternoon the lines were dry enough to put away. It turns out to have been a good thing as it’s been raining since the early morning. We get ourselves up and moving oping the rain will subside.
About 7:30 Craig goes to check the ramp and decided we should haul despite the rain. The tide is dropping and we don’t want to haul at low tide. We move Conepatus to the ramp dock and Craig backs the trailer into the water. It turns out the ramp has a good angle and we are getting more experienced. Out comes the boat with little effort. Now we are sitting in the parking lot in the rain. We need to tie up the tubes and deflate them; and lift the dinghy off the boat, turn it over, and secure it to the top of the truck. With so much rain, we decide we will miss the 9 AM traffic window for passing Seattle so we will stay on the boat in the parking lot and move tomorrow. By the end of the day we have the work done even though it’s still raining. We order in a pizza, shower, and retreat to our dry, clean bed.
My wishes for a dry night are not granted. It’s been raining and things are dripping wet. We plan to get the boat on the trailer tomorrow so today is another clean up/chore day. I get the upholstery covers off the forward cushions and take them up to the laundry. The machines are "commercial" but have a gentle cycle and are only $1 each. After the covers are clean and dry, I spray the foam mattresses with Lysol to kill any mold, struggle to get the covers back on, and spray the fabric with Scotch Guard. As the day gets dryer, I set the various pieces an end in the forward cabin under the open hatch so they will dry and air. By evening all smell is gone and our bed feels much nicer.
While I’m futzing with things inside, Craig works on a couple of bilge drainage problems. We have a couple of small places there where water stands. It’s really does no harm but we like a dry boat. We figure out how to get the water to drain to the bilge pump. We also figure out that while a small portion is condensation, the rest comes it where the forward samson post comes through the deck into the anchor locker. I seal the area and make a "mast boot" to protect the sealer.
At the end of each season we treat the tubes with 3M 303 and leave the tubes inflated. In the afternoon Craig works to figure out how to clean the tubes before we put the protector on. The internet offers a number of ideas and we try several. By day’s end we have a plan but still need to get the plan executed.
I have been trying all day to get enough done that I take the time to get to the grocery store. Bellingham Harbor is quite a distance from the closest – a Fred Meyers. To address this, the marina has a curtesy shuttle available until 7 PM. I finally decide we really need a few items to gets us through the next 3-4 days and arrange for a pick-up at 4. The store is about a 15 minute drive through town. I discover it this store is being re-modeled so it’s a bit confusing and disorganized. It’s been a long time since I’ve had any real "retail therapy" so i take my time looking through the household items as well as the food. By pick-up time I’ve had enough and am out the door in plenty of time.
Chatting with the van driver, I ask about Bellingham. He moved here from Seattle to attend Western Washington University and likes it a lot. As a small city with a college there are plenty of activities and it’s easy to get around. The one draw back is lack of jobs. After getting his BA in history, it took him 5 months to find a part-time job. He then found this current job with the marina but it is only seasonal. He is planning to go back for his masters in Scandinavian medieval history – a course which will take 3 years as he has to take 2 years of a language (he has chosen Latin) al well as the normal courses for a master’s. I wish him luck in finding a permanent job and in completing his studies. ( Many decades ago, I, too, got a BA in history. While I never worked "in my field", it was a worthwhile education. Through serendipitous events, I eventually found a wonderful job and made a decent living. I hope his life leads him down an interesting path.)
ConeSpot
Latitude:48.75656
Longitude:-122.49823
GPS location Date/Time:09/04/2013 09:54:33 EDT
Message:Attention, this is Conepatus calling: All is well in Paradise:)
Click the link below to see where I am located.
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Once again we find port cities are intermodal transport centers. Trains pass near the marina at all hours. Unfortunately this seems to be a whistle blow area so it’s very hard to ignore the trains. After the peaceful anchorages and quiet docks of our trip we both have a difficult time sleeping.
Norman and Claris load up their gear. We say good by and wish them luck with their plan to find a Nordhavn to move onto. They will need to sell some real estate, sell Sea Meadow (a well equipped R246), and find a Nordhavn within their budget. It will be a real challenging project but should set them off on a lifetime adventure.
About 8:45 I get the bags of laundry together and lug them to the coin laundry with Craig’s help. He is headed out to meet Jeff Roddick, another R246 owner. Jeff is headed to Seattle and very kindly offers to give Craig a ride all the way to Orting where the truck and trailer are waiting. "Local knowledge" has it that the only way to attempt to deal with Seattle traffic is to leave Bellingham at 9. Craig says the traffic is still heavy but moving on the way down. Coming back is even harder as there is no traffic window in the afternoon.
I get the laundry done – It’s wonderful to have clean sheets and towels!!! Yippee! In the afternoon things seem to dry out a bit so I work on rinsing salt out of ropes and cleaning out the anchor locker. I’m hoping there will be a dry night so I can put stuff away tomorrow. Craig gets home about 4. We are both ready for bed early and starting to wonder if we’re getting too old for these shananigans!
We had showers during the night. Before daylight we hear a dinghy going by – maybe an early trip to the ferry?
It’s time to get serious about wrapping the boat up. Everything on the outside is wet. We filled up with water at Friday Harbor and it tastes badly of vinyl. I use it to wash the scum line off the dinghy. While I’m at it I clear out the gear – stow the dinghy anchor and fender, etc. Now it’s time to head for Bellingham.
Most of the slips in Bellingham are taken by permanent residents. The visitor slips are on a first come first serve basis – no reservations. We want to get there after some of the slips have been vacated and before the afternoon crowd. We arrive just after noon and easily find a spot. Although the guide books say the marina monitors VHF channel 16, we eventually have to call on the cell to get information. This is the first place we’ve been in quite awhile that folks are using the dock hoses freely to wash boats so we join in.
About 2 Sea Meadow joins us parking right behind us. Norman and Claris have been out with their daughter and 2 grandkids spending time at Stuart and Sucia Islands. Now they will change gears putting dive gear and more food onboard before heading up toward Princess Louisa.
After getting some of the work done we head out to dinner before 5. Deciding on the Anthony’s Hearthside Grill Restaurant and discover they have a nice "early dinner" selection. It’s obviously popular as the place fills up before 6 (the cut-off time) and is quiet by the time we leave about 8:30. It’s a bit depressing but I’ve reached the age where the smaller portions of the early bird meals is plenty. Both the food and the service were very good.
ConeSpot
Latitude:48.75656
Longitude:-122.49818
GPS location Date/Time:09/02/2013 15:07:09 EDT
Message:Attention, this is Conepatus calling: All is well in Paradise:)
Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://fms.ws/DgmEd/48.75656N/122.49818W
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ConeSpot
Latitude:48.58014
Longitude:-122.94070
GPS location Date/Time:09/01/2013 23:51:41 EDT
Message:Attention, this is Conepatus calling: All is well in Paradise:)
Click the link below to see where I am located.
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Conepatus 