05/28/2012
Cable internet is gone, cable tv is gone, tomorrow we pull out at noon. I am trying a post from my smart phone. We are only traveling 12nm to Joemma park,then on to Blake island on Wed. We had a final potluck at the marina last night. We will miss our friends, but look forward to new ones. Will post as often as we have connection.
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Comments [1]
Cousin Denise
05/20/2012
It's getting closer, we will set sail for the northern lattitudes on May 29th. We plan on meandering our way north to be in Blaine, Wa by June 7th or 8th, to attend a wedding in Wenatchee on June 9th. We have done most of our provisioning, runs to Costco, Top Foods and Target. Lots to think about and plan for -dog food for 4 months, because we don't want to change his diet in the middle of the trip, vitamins and emergency medicine for both us and the dog, enough books and movies to keep us entertained, supplies and spares for the boat, finishing all the little details, passports, nexus cards, a canadian cell phone, forwarding our mail for four months-wow the list goes on. This next week we will spot one of our cars in Blaine for the summer, the other will be in Chehalis. We have finished the last of the major boat projects, the picture is me up the mast installing the "hailer horn" and radar reflector. Fog is a consideration during the summer, so both will be welcome additions.
Our annual marine swap meet was this last weekend. It is amazing what you can pull out of your storage locker and turn into cash. Of course we saw some things that we couldn't live without, so we did some "reinvesting".
Suzie and I for the last thirty years have always had the secure life, now we have no address, nor a particular place to be or time to be there. It may take a little while to adjust to the life of a vagabond, some think we're crazy, others wish to be in our shoes.
We have made some dear friends here in the marina and in Chehalis, they will be sorely missed. We won't be too far away, we'll be back for visits. Just this last week we attended a suprise birthday party at our marina, went to dinner with friends from Chehalis, walked with some local friends and are trying to get all our goodbyes and "so longs" done. Next week will start a new chapter, We'll keep you posted on as regular basis as we can, "eh".
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04/20/2012
As the Jimmy Buffett song says, we both have had another birthday. We took a little weekend run with Oliver to "Dockton". Dockton is on Vashon island. At one time(1908) it was a booming shipbuilding area. We traveled back across Commencement bay with 30+ mph winds, thru the Narrows, on to Penrose park. We anchored with 25 mph winds, testing our45 Lbs Manson supreme. I have an App on my phone called Anchor watch, works pretty good. No dragging all night. Next day to Boston harbor for fuel, first time in two years. Couple more weeks of work, then prepare to leave for Alaska at the end of May.
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Have a great trip north,,,we will follow along as we can
03/25/2012
Time continues to march on. We have been gathering guide books and charts for our planned journey north. Our plan is to leave Oly around the end of May and head towards Juneau. We have had our sails restiched by "Schattauer Sails", great guys and a resonable price. We located a full set of Canadian and Alaskan charts at "Second Wave", everyone's favorite second hand marine store. We purchased guidebooks for British Columbia and Alaska. We are going to install "lifeline netting" to keep the dog on board. Some last boat projects include mounting our radar reflector and a hailing-fog horn that will work off of our vhf radio. We have attended some seminars at our local "West Marine" about heading to Alaska. We plan on taking our time up and back, not returning until the end of September. Our plan is to give up our slip in Olympia, so we won't have to pay moorage all summer, then move to Blaine.
We have explored most of the marinas headed north. They included Brownsville, Bremerton, Eagle Harbor, Kingston, Shilshole, Des Moines, Everett, Bellingham, Anacortes and finally Blaine. Blaine is a quaint little town at the north end if I-5. We felt that the reception at the marina and the town suited us. It will allow a different area to explore. We found a place to park one of the cars and they feel they will have room in the marina. You can see the "Peace Arch" border crossing from the marina.
I'm back to work for a few weeks before we take off, Suzie and I are watching the grandkids one day a week, attending dog agility one day a week and waiting for good weather to arrive.
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02/09/2012
Well, we are full into northwest winter. A little bit of snow in January, some awesome days in February, and now back to rain. We have got the boat out a couple of times during streches of good weather. Our first run out was to "Jerrells' Cove". We tied up to the dock, which made the "dog" process easier. Oliver doesn't like the sound of the engine, but he is getting more and more comfortable. We hiked around the park and enjoyed the weekend. Last weekend we, along with another couple from the marina, went to Penrose park. Weather was in the mid 50's, strange for early Feb. We anchored out the first night. We have only anchored once before, so this was a learning experience. We had added a new 45 lb. Manson Supreme which didn't budge during the night. I tried out an app for my phone "My Anchor Watch". Seemed to work fairly well, using gps to measure swing. We got almost a full day of sailing in Carr inlet with 15 mph winds in the morning. Back on Sunday in time for the Superbowl. This week back to regular schedule, babysitting on Tues, dog training on Wed. and going to the "Y" to work out alost every day. We ordered a collection of "cruising" guides to Alaska. If all goes as planned, we will leave for Alaska at the end of May. We are exploring moving farther north when we get back. Anacortes, Bellingham maybe Kingston, but somewhere further "up". Well that's all for now.
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Tom & Jeanne
12/18/2011
Wow, 2011 is almost over. Quite a year it has been for us, work, retiring, getting a dog, learning to live with no schedule-what fun. Fall progresses into winter with unseasonably mild weather. No snow or rain, is this the Northwest? We continue to do small projects on the boat in anticipation of heading to Alaska late May-early June. We have built a collection of spare parts, added cockpit doors and have done minor maintenance and improvements. Future projects include installation of a hailing/fog horn, a radar reflector and plumbling for our additional propane tank. As winter turns and spring approaches it is time for some local voyaging. Our dog is still fearful of both the engine and the moving over the water. We need to do some local trips to refresh our skills and get Oliver used to life on the sea. We continue to babysit our grandaughter on Tuesdays, Oliver's agility training on Wednesdays and work Thurs thru Sat. The picture above is Oliver at his agility Christmas party. He is becomimg very skilled at his jumps, his teeter totter, his tunnels and A-frame. We hope that all our friends are in good health and all look forward to a great 2012. Rory, Suzie and Oliver
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