It’s been too long since I updated the blog; here’s what’s happening: Dorothy and I arrived back in Seattle (from Hong Kong) 12 April; very kindly picked up at SEATAC by Kurt & Marcia (Alpenglow). An interesting moment on the flight home was during a lay-over at Narita Airport (outside Tokyo); sitting around the departure lounge we had a little earthquake! Not particularly violent, although it did go on for about a full minute – interesting to note the terminal building was built to move with it, rather than try to rigidly stand against it. Just a very small taste of life in Japan post-quake & tsunami.

Once re-settled in the Seattle apartment, we headed over to Bainbridge Island to pick-up Rusty. Rusty’s been bunking with Wade (who crewed with us from Sitka down to Ketchikan, doing the outside of Prince of Wales Island end of last summer.) Old Rustifer was in Wade’s backyard as I came in the front door; Rusty spotted a ‘stranger’ coming through the door, started a low growl, head down, stalking forward towards me, hackles up. I stayed where I was and about halfway from the back of the kitchen, through the front room to the vestibule, Rusty’s nose started working, he ran up to me, stuck his nose into me, took a big inhale, then the same to Dorothy and started jumping (for joy?). Didn’t stop for 20 minutes. I guess he remembered us.

We’ve been taking him to Golden Gardens Beach pretty much every day since then, on a series of minus tides. Rusty always enjoys the beach, able to run around, dig and smell at pretty much everything. Lots of other dogs too, and Rusty always shows good manners with them and other folks. Good Boy!

While in Hong Kong, we spent some time with “Acorn”, an 8 month old Tong Gau male, who has been living for the past 4 months at the Acorn Vet Clinic in Sheung Wan district, HK. The Acorn Clinic is our boat neighbor from Aberdeen, Tony, who was a vet surgeon at HK SPCA, now with his own shop. Tony and his fiancé Annabel, also a vet at HK SPCA, are two of the reasons we enjoy going back to HK to visit – great people. Now about “Acorn”; we’ve wondered for some time, if a buddy would be welcome company for Rusty. We’re going to give it a try and “Acorn” will fly out of HK to join us, sometime before we head back up to SE Alaska to DavidEllis. Tony & Annabel are finishing up the details at their end now.

We find “Acorn” doesn’t roll off the tongue so much, and after a high level meeting last week at Hale’s Brewery with cruising friends Kurt & Marcia (Alpenglow) and Peter & Ginger (Marcy), the new pup has been re-christened “Radar” in absentia. We plan to introduce the two dogs at the beach (hopefully to avoid a proprietary reaction by Rusty) and we’ll see how it goes. Acorn / Radar seems a bright, good-natured little guy, and I presume if things don’t work out with Rusty, that we’ll be able to find him a good home.

I’ve hooked up with a new physical therapist here in Seattle – my third since the surgery. Hillary’s doing a great job, and has gotten my range of motion much improved. Still lots of work to do and almost always quite uncomfortable (due to the always increasing exercises). I look forward to getting beyond this part, to the part where I can sleep more than a couple hours at a time.

Somewhere around 11 or 12 May, we’ll fly back up to Wrangell with both dogs and start to get DE ready to go for the summer. You may recall we left her on the hard, in the care of Don Sorric who contracted the boat bottom work. It’ll likely take a couple of weeks to get things put back together, splashed and ready to get underway. We’ve got guests coming aboard in July and August and are looking forward to showing them spectacular SE Alaska.

Longer term cruising (intentions; we tend not to use the word “plans”) is whether to leave DE up in AK another winter, and so have another summer (2012) up there? Whether to head down the Pacific Coast to Bodega Bay at the end of this summer (2011) and then what? Hawaii? Mexico and points south?

In the meantime we’re dealing with bills and vehicles; deciding what needs to go up to the boat; getting bits and pieces for the boat from the vendors here in Ballard; visiting with friends; helping David C work on his spec list for his DD under construction; amusing Rusty and doing my PT exercises. Not all high-speed, just things that need to be done before we get into the summer’s cruising. How about you? What’s going on in your lives?