October 1, 2012: HOME AT LAST!!! I feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz saying – “there’s no place like home”. For me, it is very true. I did miss the Pacific Northwest very much. However, the journey to Mexico was challenging, interesting and adventuress. Bob & I both learned a lot, met wonderful people both cruisers and locals and came home with a sense of appreciation for the bountiful lives we live here in the states.

It would do some people good to experience what little 3rd world country citizens have to live on. Yet the majority of the locals we encountered were very courteous, kind and helpful. I can’t honestly say that about my fellow Americans. One can hope …

So we are back and ready to make another life style change. There are many more travel adventure years ahead of us. Ponderosa cruised 11,924 nautical miles between April 20, 2010 and October 1, 2012. I am guessing by the time we throw in our first trip to Alaska, our trips around Vancouver Island and all the other Puget Sound and British Columbia travels we have tallied up about 23-25,000 nautical miles. Not bad for two Montana dirt dwellers in their 40’s & 50’s who never sailed before. I am glad we took the plunge to enjoy life on the sea.

We will now turn our sights to buying car, relocating to a home and selling the boat. Once settled, then our focus will be land cruising to visit state and national parks. It should be fun! This was our original “retirement dream” until we got sidetracked sailing. Stay tuned for the rest of the story …

September 30, 2012: Our last stop on the Puget Sound tour was Blakely Harbor. The view of the city from here is without doubt one of the most impressive sights especially with clear skies and a full moon to fill in the landscape. We shared some wine with Lani on Balance who was and will be our neighbor back on E-dock. It’s so good to meet up with dockmates we have shared many adventures with in years past. The weather is still holding. I can’t believe our good luck getting to enjoy sunny dry days for the past 7 weeks. It’s almost too good to be true if I wasn’t here experiencing it firsthand.

Blakely Harbor 47°35.721N 122°30.604W

September 27 – 29, 2012: After working up enough energy to leave the dock, we meandered down to Gig Harbor, another favorite spot of ours to enjoy free moorage at the city dock, fish & chips at the Tide’s Tavern and one heck of a good pizza at Spiro’s. You would think we were hungry for all American food by what we ate. The homes around this bay are unbelievably huge and expensive but very attractive. Downtown seemed to be doing okay as far as business was concerned; far more vibrant than Bremerton.

Gig Harbor 47°19.905N 122°34.845W

September 23 – 26, 2012: Next stop was Bremerton, a relatively new marina that was virtually 85 - 90% empty. It was quite sad to see especially since the city has been working hard to revitalize the downtown corridor. We touched base with old friends, enjoyed a long dinghy ride thru Dyes Inlet and both managed to come down with a cold. Welcome home to coughs and runny noses.

Bremerton 47°33.753N 122°37.244W

September 15 – 22, 2012: Ya sure you betcha … we are in Poulsbo. Yup that’s an “UFF DA”. I just love this small community. We hunkered in for 8 days strolling thru the shops, dining out and simply enjoying the downtown. Of course, small shops have come and gone over the last couple of years but the basic charm of Poulsbo still exists. We especially enjoyed the bakery and all its goodies, JJ’s Fish House and the ever present Italian restaurant. Oh yeah, don’t forget the ice cream treats.

Poulsbo 47°43.741N 122°38.963W

September 9 – 14, 2012: We got back to the boat Sunday afternoon after another round at the Wooden Boat Festival to find Ponderosa was doing a walkabout … well a small minor dragging incident so we opted to haul anchor and head out to Port Ludlow. The wind and water chop was living up to its reputation and with all the boats anchored around us there was no need for us to take chances. We didn’t travel all this distance to get home and find ourselves in a pickle.

We spent the next 5 nights tied up to the dock in Pt Ludlow doing our favorite boat chores … okay I am lying. Bob worked on sanding and adding a couple more coats of varnish to the toe rail. And I did a bunch of my womanly chores. Yes I know they are pink jobs.

Port Ludlow 47°55.286N 122°41.349W