Last night provided some punctuation to my journey. My dear friends Karyn (with a "Y") and Kathy are paarrtaaaay gals, and they weren't about to miss the opportunity that my impending departure provided for a soiree. Mabrouka is to vacate her slip at Lee's Landing Marine tomorrow, June 1st, although Lisa Ordway, the marina manager, has been graciously casual about that date.

Lee's Landing has been a wonderfully fortuitous find for our winter stay and it's turned out to be among the best neighborhoods I've had the pleasure to be part of. All my fellow tenants have taken me in and called me "friend". Who could ask for more?

My original May 1st departure date from Lee's Landing had already come, gone, and then slipped to May 15th. That date, too, had gone by the wayside when I chatted with Lisa about staying another two weeks until I finished my pulley modifications, hopefully before May 31st. She didn't make me plead, just assured me not to worry. She wasn't advertising the slip, just waiting for serendipity to find the right tenant.

Although I was grateful, I have to admit to worrying about Lisa's management techniques and business acumen. Shouldn't she be standing at the dock, machete in hand ready to hack away my mooring lines and set me adrift while the next tenant hovered about waiting for me to leave? Then I twigged on how well her approach works. I'm sure my tenancy, however brief, was due only to Karyn's kind recommendation. And Lisa's in no hurry to replace me, patient to wait until the next "right person" comes along to join the neighborhood. It's very pleasant there, with everyone getting along and participating in the community atmosphere. I highly recommend it!

Please take a look at the Lee's Landing Marina pictures in the Photo Gallery. Here's one of them:


So Karyn prodded me to agree on a bon voyage party date, then followed up with me to see how many derelicts and miscreants I'd invited. We'd already decided I'd move Mabrouka the 50 yards from her slip and tie her up at Kathy's houseboat next door, so I figured the drunk and disorderlies could pass out on her decks. In the end, we had about 15 or 20 very well behaved guests pass through, sitting and chatting at Mabrouka's cockpit table or enjoying Kathy's lovely house and deck. She has a wonderful party setting that looks out on the eastern end of the Seattle Ship Canal, overarched by the Aurora Bridge.

I've posted a couple of pictures that I took at the party. Frankly I was too busy enjoying the people to spend much time with my camera. I did get some photos of the morning-after scene and our recovery session with coffee and my daughter, Lisa, so check out the Bye-bye Party section of the Photo Gallery, too.

Thanks so much to Karyn for the inspiration and Kathy for the venue. You've provided a great big exclamation point to bring the winter and spring to a close and start off on the next adventure.