Just to add a picture...

Hurricane Ridge in panorama... it was a good deal cooler at 5000 feet of elevation and we could see across the Straights of Juan de Fuca to Canada and east to Glacier Peak. Spectacular views everywhere.

Boats, Boats, Boats

Yes, that's a Cal 20 Sailboat as a tender to the Trawler

Now that we are back in Vancouver (and, as I learned... that would be the Original Vancouver) I need to catch up a bit. We attended the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival for two days last week and then caught another ferry to Whidbey Island for a day. Of course, because we had a sunny day finally, we went to Hurricane Ridge above Port Angeles as well but missed out on a sailing trip into the San Juan Islands due to wanting to calm our travels a little!! The drive down from there the following day was anti-climactic in a way. We are now back in the RV Park where we spend our otherwise down time. It is now getting close to the time when we will turn further south and go to Mexico... that means there is lots to do to get ready.

There were more wooden boats than you could shake a stick at...

So, whirlwind trip(s) in the Northwest now completed we will organize our "other" trip.

All kinds of sailing craft at every turn!!

Trains, Planes & Ferries

High Speed Ferry across the water to Victoria and Return

Hanging out in Comox and cruising by sail boat to some nearby islands had been laid back but filled with walks and explorations. It was time to head south again to Victoria then Port Angeles. We had left the truck in P. A. but the Travel Trailer (Errol) was still in Port Townsend. This meant a full day of driving around when we got back to Port Angeles because once we united the truck and the trailer we still had to come back to Sequim to set up for a stay. But I am getting ahead of myself. Our morning in Comox was slower getting started than it had been the previous few days. Angus had a breakfast cooked up in no time but we were just slow getting moving; this is no complaint at all. Once underway we had time for a walk around a local park with flora and fawna, (yes, I know it’s fauna, but this park had baby deer mingled with the adults and we got VERY close), then the air park...




...after a noodles sort of lunch of Vietnamese food. Yum, is all I can say about that. In any event it was finally time to say good bye, it was hard because we likely will not see Angus and Rolande for a long time since their general plan includes crossing the Pacific (the puddle jump) this coming season. Hugs all-round and we were on the train going back to Victoria. Until that moment I did not realize that this was Sandy’s first time on a train!!

We saw a lot of interior on the way!!

One thing about this train ride was that the whistle is liberally used at the many road crossings and another is that the forest does not allow for much view much of the time. I did not tire of the whistle but I would have liked more of the fantastic view. This is a place where scenery is captivating so what we could see was thoroughly noticed. There must be something about trains on this island because everywhere I saw people waving at us. Everywhere we went the people were more than just friendly… they were positively effusive and helpful. I have seldom been someplace where my “accent” was noticed so much… I do not hear it myself!!! As it happened Jean-Guy was waiting for us at the station and drove us a few blocks (it was truly close) to his home and we had a splendid dinner before retiring. It was extremely fun chatting our way into the evening. Hopping on the ferry going back to the U. S. of A. was slightly more complicated because we were going to have to go through customs/immigration… BUT, it is not nearly as nasty as the stupid way WE (Homeland Security) handle border crossings in Nogales, Arizona. Can we say, “Too much hassle”?? Having waited in line for more than an hour in Nogales it was good to just pop into line and spend a couple of minutes to get through the process. I will leave the idiocy of the current fear-mongering on U.S. radio and TV making life miserable for so many to a later day (this is something where the political middle line has disappeared in the mist of bombastic crap) and full book to follow. Whoopsy!! I digress way too much!! Suffice it that we did reunite truck and Errol and in the fading light settle in for a few hours to get up early the next day for a rapid trip (four hours) back to Vancouver, Washington for a medical check up and return as far as we could toward Sequim!! We made it to Olympia.

B. C. Mania

Shortly after our arrival

There are times when you get to do something that you have long wanted to do. This is one of those sorts of stories. After the Cathlamet Cruiser’s Rally we went to Port Townsend and dropped off the Trailer (perhaps now named Errol) at our friend Sue’s house (that would be Sue of Sophie). Then we headed for Port Angeles and Catherine’s home. Now Catherine is someone that Sandy knew from growing up in P.A. and there are continued family ties there even though Sandy has not seen her for many years. We were fed and put up for the night and then deposited at the ferry dock to make our way to across the channel to Victoria, British Columbia. Catherine could not possibly have been a better hostess!! I have never been on that sized ferry before and as a family run business it was a great experience. After less than an hour crossing we were entering the customs and immigration area on the Canadian side and waving at Angus and Rolande of Periclees waiting to pick us up.

The Great & Colorful

Interesting Signage

We bopped around the downtown area for a few hours and included a shopping fix for us all; though our list of what we were looking for was pretty short it was a pleasant day of wandering. Traffic was interesting as we toured via Rolande’s mini-van after giving up on the shopping. This culminated in a stop for wine, and I have to say here that Canadian wine prices are high, before going to Jean-Guy and Fran’s of Gosling for dinner and a stay for the night. Talk about awesome, this was a fantastic night of fun and chat.The next morning Angus and Rolande took us to Butchart Gardens.

Small arch...

This is a place I had wanted see for a very long time. It lived up to expectations in triplicate!!! If you want a dose of gardening envy or inspiration this IS the place to come to. I know that initially Angus had hopes that we would cruise through this experience in a speedy fashion but he graciously succumbed to our slow pace quickly. Getting the chance to see such a wide variety of flowers arranged in so many ways was incredible. I am given to understand that it does not matter what season you go there (except the dead of winter) there is always a great experience awaiting you. By the time we got to the Hidden Garden, which we saved for last, we were floating on a garden high. There is simply no comparison with any garden I have ever seen before. The temperate climate here is the perfect place to carry out the vision of such a fantastic display.

Tiny portion of organization...

Form here we slowly cruised up the east coast of Vancouver Island visiting several small towns and crossing occasionally back to a relatively untraveled freeway. There were views to be appreciated at every turn and the camera rarely left my hand. What a nice place to live!!! On arriving at the Pericleesian’s home in Comox we had yet another great evening. Maybe later I will get around to incorporating some of this into an entry… suffice it to say that these are some wonderful folks living in an incredible place.

Bearly fun towns...

The next day we got on Evening Breeze with Jim and Donna (another couple we had met while we were in Mexico) and the Periclees crew after a breakfast omelet that included the Chinese from the night before. Evening Breeze is a Morgan 41 like Faith. The deal was for us to spend two or three days aboard cruising the Gulf Islands. Out we went to our first lesson… Jim dropped some prawn traps just outside the anchorage at Hornsby Island (Tribune Bay) and then four of us dinghied into shore for a romp around the path going inland for a bit then back around along the coast to the initial beach. When we got back aboard we retrieved the pots with only about nine prawns (Note: Jim had previously declared that we were not likely to catch much there but it was something to do while we were there). These were designated as breakfast prawn to be dealt with in a couple of days. Off to the better anchorage in Tribune bay and a party that night aboard.

The signs on the side of the Morris car said something about going around the world

In the morning we were treated to breakfast (including some of our left over Chinese food from a day earlier). Great omelet Angus!! Up the anchor came and we ended a bit of sailing with a very tight anchoring job in Codfish Cove at Jedediah Island. When I say, “Tight,” I mean it. We came in next to a rock wall to drop the anchor in about 30 feet of water then slew around to tie a line aft to a tree ashore! There was another boat there as well, in a place with room for not much more than that. Kudos to Jim for knowing how to go about this and still allow for the 15 foot tide!!
This time five of us hopped off the boat for a walk about. Fascinating place and views. It even included a helicopter landing for a picnic while we were there!!

With six people on board we were still comfortable, as we have been many times on Faith too. The meals were really well coordinated and the party atmosphere came from sailors who know how to get along. That is something that I think is one of the best things about the folks we have met while cruising… we tend to be some pretty happy people.
When we left Codfish Cove the wind had come up. Jim negotiated some narrows and we popped out to into the channel with more waves and wind than we had the previous two days. Fortunately Evening Breeze has a full enclosure for the cockpit and we were very comfortable sailing across to what I think was called Blaine Channel to head back to Comox. This was a wonderful time for me as I watched the scenery and had a shot at steering the boat. The hydraulic steering does not give the same feel and feedback as Faith’s cable steering and the full keel was slightly different than I am used to as well. In any case, we had a super time on this sail and enjoyed every minute of the cruise.

A Hobbit Shed in a park

More pictures...

The next thing we had to do was to get back to Victoria so that we could board the ferry for the return to Port Angeles the next day.

Cathlamet's Charms

Somehow at the Marina

Well, here is the catch up for the last few weeks! We left Vancouver, Washington headed for the Sea of Cortez Cruiser’s Rally in Cathlamet, Washington. Just run your finger along the Columbia River as it flows past Portland and you will eventually come across Cathlamet on the Washington side of the river. This was where we stopped two years ago on the last day of this rally on our way south with Faith. It’s a small-ish marina with an RV park attached. That makes it a perfect interface for the water born and dirt born traveler.




At the rally we caught up with friends from cruising these last two years as well as some from much longer ago than that. When we docked there two years ago our friends Ken and Linde (in the tradition of using boat names as last names) of Rosebud caught our lines and they have crossed our path several times since then. It was the case this time as well in a way because they were already there in their motorhome when we arrived. Break out the party gear and get started on a great weekend… not that we can differentiate beween week days and weekends any more! I knew before we got there that John of Pachanga would be there but the surprise was bumping into Ralph of Annabelle Lee and then Stephanie of Ham radio fame!! Steph is someone I have talked to many times on the radio but never met. We have mutual friends and I have actually been in the same place before but never knew it until later. The cruising world is fairly small but this makes it seem even smaller. It was a welcome surprise when Pat and Mike of Somehow showed up at the dock and we caught their lines to invite them over for dinner on Friday night. As we sat around chatting I saw friends Chrees and Keem (Chris & Kim) formerly of Jasmine Isle and invited them to join us. What laughter to be had in the area was at our travel trailer that night!! I will be sore for several days from that and Chrees later said that the sun light was too loud the next day!!
We made lots of new friends as well. There were several people heading south either this year or next attending and we got a jump on finding out who the class of 2010/2011 will include.

Downhill into the second turn!!

So after all of two days of gathering the clans we had a few free moments and took walks into town. Cathlamet was welcoming the Long Boarders competition for that Sunday so we stayed to take pictures of crazy young people screaming down a blocked off street on large skateboards. This included wipeouts at the corners and a jump at the end of the run. These kids (mostly) are fearlessly competing for a $500 first place prize. Or, at least I think it must be fearlessly because they don’t seem to scrub off the speed until the last second as they approach the corners. They have on leather suits and wear gloves with extra padding that they use to brake as needed. Some just break instead of brake and we watched several become disconnected from their boards and crash into the hay bale barricades only to get up quickly, find their board and continue to the finish line. This is a far cry from the time, in High School, that I nailed some metal skates to a two by four and tried to go down the biggest hill on Swan road in the Tucson foothills!! Much more high tech than we had available then.

Looking to brake a little!!

From Cathlamet we headed north to Port Angeles for a transit into Canada!!!