Well we are still here in Neah Bay and it has been a bit of mixed feelings the last couple of days. We have much more sophisticated weather prediction capabilities than we have ever had before and have been downloading the wind and wave models that span the entire west coast out several hundred miles. It is amazing to be able to see the high and low pressure areas, their predicted paths, and the resulting winds. Unfortunately what we are seeing is a very strong southerly wind pattern for the entire area we need to cross. Even though it is beautiful and sunny here now, to leave would put us out into very rough and unfavorable conditions for the entire trip to SF. So we are staying here until the weather improves. We are ready to go and have that either Christmas morning 'want to have it get here feeling', or that go to the dentist and 'just get it over with feeling', depending on who you ask and when. No hints for who or when... The current plan is to wait until Wednesday and leave as the wind starts to shift back to the North.


Since we are here, we are making the best of our third honeymoon. Neah Bay is beautiful and we are sitting in the sun on the deck at the Makah Marina watching the eagles hunt over the beach and the fog roll in and out over the entrance to the Straights of Juan de Fuca. Yesterday we walked the � mile or so through town and bought smoked salmon for lunch still hot out of the smoker. The shed was marked with a couple of hand lettered sign boards in the back yard of one of the houses. It was amazingly good, served on a paper plate with a couple of paper towels and no forks. Don't tell the kids, but we ate it all with our fingers in about 3 minutes. We got a kick out of the mix of tradition and technology as we watched a native artisan was working on the paint on a totem pole out in front of the supermarket, while sitting in the bucket of a lift truck about 25 feet in the air.

We are planning on walking out to the beaches on the Pacific coast today or tomorrow. It is tough but we will find something to do before Mary's next nap.