Storm- Last I wrote we were in Post Falls ID, we are now in Port Townsend, WA getting ready to move along to the East Coast for work stuff.

We left Idaho and went to the town of Winthrop for our first leg- completely cool town and a gorgeous part of our country. Winthrop has been made into a tourist mecca with all of the local merchants participating in making the town up into a homogenized version of a “Cowboy” town, complete with wood sidewalks and weathered storefronts- the place was packed!

We then headed over the North Cascades Highway, which to me anyway, is the prettiest stretch of two lane in the West. It cuts through North Cascades National Park and every turn brings out another OMG gasp.
So then onto the 11th Annual PNW Cruisers Bash. Held this year in Everett WA. Every year a bunch of us sailors get together for a big party; it rotates from venue to venue, and is completely volunteer run. Kelly and I actually loosely organized one in Fishermans Bay on Lopez Island, but it was not nearly as large as these have now become.

It was a great time seeing all of our friends, and meeting up once more with our Mexico cruising buddies, the crew of Puddle Pirate. It was so nice to see them again!

So we did the Bash, and then caught the ferry to Whidbey Island for some more camping. Tough place to find a spot! Very popular this time of year- if we have learned anything on this trip- summer is not the best season for finding a campsite- no matter how good the weather is supposed to be!

And “supposed to be” is the operative term here. I think we have completely lost any tolerance for weather out of the “warm” range. Cool and cloudy with a little drizzle was most of our week on Whidbey- a few nice days, but mostly cooler than what I would like, and not just me- Kelly found she lost the ability to absorb the chill as well!

After a few days camping in South Whidbey State Park we went up to Cornet Bay and hung out with our friends from Puddle Pirate at Captain John and Salmon Queen Trish’s place. What a great time! And great people- had a fresh salmon and crab feast cooked right on the dock; it was just a real PNW party.

On to Port Townsend, undeniably both Kelly and I’s favorite town in Washington, for what we were expecting to be a warm relaxing week on the shore of Puget Sound.

While Port Townsend never fails in its character- this time someone made a big mistake on the weather supply. Who ordered the December gale? In August? Well, maybe not a December gale, but damn close- and it lasted up until our last day- which was the typical gorgeous day we expected for the entire week. Oh well…….

We really love the PNW, but we have moved a little towards the tropics in our heads- it is really nice not to have to worry about which socks to wear-we just don’t wear any at all!