Kathleen and I drove home to Portland yesterday. I'd spent over three weeks away. As we drove south on I-5, passing some of the stretches of the Columbia River that we'd navigated back on May 28th, it seemed like a year ago. My biggest concern then was getting across the Columbia Bar. That turned out to be a relatively easy part of the journey; it was the next 40 hours that were challenging as we battled 20+ knot head winds and six-foot swells. Not that the Bar isn't dangerous. I just read this morning that a 26 foot fishing boat capsized yesterday. Sadly, one died, but six were rescued by another boat that was following them into port.

I woke up this morning, and for a brief moment, I thought I was back on Wilparina. I even had a dream about her last night. I still have that lingering feeling of the slight rocking of a boat on calm waters. I realize that I kind of miss being there. Waking up here in Portland is nice, and the luxuries of being home are comforting. We have some birds singing out our window; and in the background I can hear the white-noise hum of the I-5 freeway a quarter mile away. Waking on the boat in Orcas however - even in our marina - I hear what to my unaccustomed ear seems like an endless assortment of birds, and the only traffic I hear is the occasional car or truck passing along the road that skirts the White Beach Bay, in West Sound on Orcas.

On the road trip south, I towed a large, empty sailboat trailer for one of the owners of the West Sound Marina. Delivered it without any problems.

I'll be returning to Orcas on July 4th or 5th, and will continue with some maintenance, including a haul-out later in the month to get new bottom paint and replace the anodes. Will also have a few friends visiting, so there will be some new adventures ahead.