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DATE: Friday, April 19, 2002 LOCATION: Santa Barbara
Never did we expect that packing a pick-up truck would be so much work. We had several discussions and arguments about who thought they had a “better way” or the “right way” to load the truck. We finally kind of gave up and just packed every square inch on top of the tarp & pulled the ends up like a big package and duck taped the hell out of it. So we worked hard, overly securing it with ropes & tape and binding it with all different sizes of bungee cords, (and not covering any essential tail lights this time). When we finished, we stepped back to admire our masterpiece. It didn’t take long before we realized there were several essential things we still hadn’t packed in the bundle and other items that were packed that we needed for the drive to the boat! We never discussed or even mentioned these oversights to each other though it was obvious we both knew about the missing items and the unpacked items. We both knew there was no way on earth that we were we going to tamper with this master piece now.
So it was done. No further delays. Ziggy and I went into the house and collapsed on the sofa. Every inch of me was aching as I was so exhausted. Larry came and gave me a foot rub to make me feel better. We all slept like logs that night.
DATE: Saturday, April 20, 2002 LOCATION: Santa Barbara, CA. DESTINATION: Mt. Shasta, CA
We managed to squeeze ourselves into the
only open space left and that was inside the truck cab. It still was packed but
we saved a small bit of space and off the three of us went. It was not as early
a start as Larry would’ve liked, but we were off and that’s what was important.
There we were, the three of us, heading out on the 2½ day drive in the cramped
cab of our pickup truck. We were finally on our way to our big adventure, to
cruise the Inside Passage to Alaska in our Grand Banks motor vessel, Knotty
Dog. Larry is on one side, me on the other, and Ziggy, our feisty hyper
neurotic Jack Russell, in the middle.
It’s a long trip and one of the thing’s that got packed under the tarp were my reading supplies. My new guitar was packed too. All the things that I had put aside to keep myself occupied, while Larry did most of the driving, were out of my reach. This was going to be a real challenge for me to keep from going crazy on this long monotonous drive. So, at the first stop, I bought myself a couple magazines and will try to make do with those.
We headed up the coast from Santa Barbara on beautiful Hwy 101 and I suddenly remembered I left some egg salad, bread, and milk on the counter in the house. I had cooked the last remaining eggs and was planning to eat them for lunch. Wow, I thought, what will that stuff be like 6 months from now when we return? Good thing we made arrangements for Dick Olivos to check on things in the house while we will be gone. We gave him a call and left a message for him to come by, at his convenience (I hope soon), to throw the leftovers out. Whew! Thanks to our good friend Laurie Potter who recommended him.
As we headed North of Santa Barbara and turned inland and through the hills that separate the ocean from the huge farming valley of California, we neared the horse country of Santa Ynez. Ziggy started getting antsy. It always happens in this area. He can smell the horses and cattle before we even see one grazing along the hillsides. Larry thinks it has something to do with his childhood (I should say puppy hood). He was born on a horse ranch in Massachusetts and his first few formative weeks were spent smelling way too much cow and horse manure. Now the minute he smells horse manure he goes wild. Larry can’t stand his crying and whining. No matter how Larry tries to intimidate Ziggy with strong commands and finally yelling, Ziggy won’t stop. All commands and training go right out the window in this area
Ziggy finally settles down as we leave manure enter the beautiful wine country of Santa Ynez. We guess Ziggy doesn’t like the smell of wine and grapes not igniting any deep seated memories. Ziggy quieted down for the next couple hours but then started crying to stop. He’s not a good traveler today. It’s a bit of a concern because he’s got to get used to staying put for long periods of time on this new boating adventure. Hope he catches on quickly or this could be a miserable trip. It’s always a challenge traveling with a dog but I’m confident he’s going to be an asset instead of a deterrent. I just need to convince Larry. So far it’s not going too well.
We stopped for lunch near Salinas. Ziggy has an opportunity to run around and expend some of his energy. Larry took advantage of the stop and got a HUGE Carl’s Junior hamburger, much of which, ended up on his one and only clean shirt for the next 2 1/2 days. Extra shirts were one of the many things that mysteriously got packed away under that ducked taped pile of stuff on the flat bed behind us. I urged him to go into the rest room and try to wash out the spot. I had hopes that he could salvage the shirt since we would have to look at it for the rest of the trip. I also suggested he might wash his face too, which had more of his lunch on it than his shirt had. That hamburger was just too big and juicy I guess.
Ziggy and I waited outside in the truck and were shocked when Larry came out of the Carl’s Junior completely shirtless! He was carrying his shirt all wadded up, sopping wet in his hand and dripping a trail from the restroom out to the parking lot where the truck was parked. When he got to the driver’s door he then proceeded to wring it and then to my surprise and horror, put it on. I never dreamed he was going to wash the whole shirt nor did I imagine that he would put it on sopping wet. So he traveled for the next several hours with a wet shirt. Good thing the valley was hot and dry. It actually served as a personal air conditioner. Wonder what those people in Carl’s Jr. thought when they saw Larry walking around shirtless?
Our next rest stop happened to be at town called Redding, which is barely within the California state line. We were lucky, as this weekend they were having a huge 50’s style classic car festival. The town of Redding was packed. It is the last town before you head up the grade climbing into the mountains that join California and Oregon state lines. It’s a big recreational area for mountain and lake activities and the town exists primarily to support those activities as it’s loaded with motels and restaurants. It was the perfect place for these collectors to show off their cars.
All the motel parking lots became their car lots, perfect backdrops to display their pride and joys. You could easily identify the owners as they would be in constant motion, polishing and dusting over their already highly shining metal bodies, or if they weren’t in perpetual polish mode, they were answering questions from drooling admirers milling around. Other owners were cruising up and down the Boulevard, showing their wares on the hot asphalt, some displaying how low off the asphalt they could cruise and they all, occasionally couldn’t resist, rumming up those juiced up engines which so beautifully amplified their magnificence through enhanced mufflers, but always with an eye out for the black and whites. Cop cars were strategically parked or following along the boulevard here and there, hoping to catch a hot rodder that just couldn’t control the urge to show off a little too much. The boulevard stretches the length of the town and it’s just one big “cruising boulevard”. It was just like we stepped into the movie American Graffiti in the flesh.
It’s late, 6:00 PM, but there’s still some daylight and we can see Mount Shasta ahead so decided to carry on and leave reflections of the past. The farther we get tonight, the easier the ride tomorrow will be. We want to catch the 2:40 PM ferry out of Anacortes, Washington to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands, if possible. That means we need to be in Anacortes by 2:00 PM at the very latest. It’s probably impossible to get there by then, but we always like to give it a try.
So, we leave all those nostalgic characters and the hundreds of miles of farm lands that stretch across the California valley behind us and begin the slow steep climb into the mountains heading for Lake Shasta area.
We made our first night’s stop at the little village of Shasta. It’s at the base of beautiful Mt. Shasta, now a sleeping volcano, but still looks pretty important as it hovers over us. We stayed in an old Best Western Motel that was built in the days when logging was big activity up here not jet skiing and house boating in this area. The lobby and furniture still has the taste and crude talents of the old loggers with their rough hand made furniture and carved doors. The Best Western also takes dogs which is our prime reason for being there. We can always tell when we are delegated to the “dog rooms” as once inside the motel room, Ziggy makes the rounds, sniffing every square inch of the room sorting how a 100 or more smells of different guests in this room. It’s not a pleasant feeling for us but it sure is interesting for Ziggy. It must be strange to have this super innate sense to tell you all sorts of history about a place going back who knows how long, just by a sniff. I’m pretty glad I don’t have that ability actually but just think of the things you could do with that talent.
It’s a cute little town but the immense Mt. Shasta volcano is a bit intimidating as it hovers over you as you enjoy your evening meal. The air is clean and crisp up here and the sounds of the city are long gone. We ate at “D’s Kitchen” across the street. They serve just plain food for plain people. There are no city slickers up here. One guy, who looked like he’d been in the mountains a little too long, couldn’t quite figure out the salad bar and its sneeze shield. He was a big guy and thought it much easier to reach over it instead of under but still it was an awkward site that I just couldn’t believe my eyes. The waitress finally came over and explained how to do it.
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 2002 LOCATION: Mt. Shasta, CA DESTINATION: Friday Harbor, WA
We’re up and out @ 6:30 AM after a dreamed filled night of sleep, mostly dreaming about all the dogs that had slept here before us. Ziggy must have been doing the same as he was twitching and making little barking noises part of the night. It was way early for Ziggy as he is a dog that likes to stay in bed and get up at a leisurely pace but no sleeping in today as we had a ferry to catch.
We stopped for coffee, sandwiches & rolls “to go” at the Beanery in Ashland, Oregon. We’d eat the rolls now and save the nice sandwiches for later down the road. That would save us some time. It’s beautiful cattle country here. There are many picturesque farms in the mountain plateau with Mount Shasta in the distance as a back drop. Ziggy and I sang songs in the car until Larry got mad at Ziggy for howling too loud.
The downside of the trip today was getting stopped by the Highway Patrol somewhere in Oregon at a speed trap. We got a speeding ticket in the only 5 mile area that has a 55 mile zone in all of Oregon. Of course there was no visible reason that we could see for slowing the speed limit down in this area other than providing a steady monetary income for the locals. This little ticket will set us back a hefty $175. We will have to pay the penalty by mail using one of our rationed blank checks that we brought on the trip for emergencies. I guess this could be called an emergency.
Driving, driving, driving, boring, boring, boring.
We’ve decided we won’t make the 2:40 PM ferry. We will try for the 5:00 PM as usual.
Larry says its 1153 miles from Santa Barbara to Seattle. In order to make the 5:00 PM ferry Larry says “there will be no more pee stops, no gas stops, no food stops, (I’m thinking and wanting to add, no speeding ticket stops), and we just might make the 5:00 PM ferry”. So we are rushing but now we’ve hit Seattle’s notorious work traffic that has already started way before people are getting off work and as the case, when you are in a hurry, you get some goof that decides to day dream in the diamond lane. So we have slowed down now to a mind numbing slow pace. Why do they do that? Why don’t they stay in the slow lane way over to the right? Watcha gonna do?
Well, we made it in time for the 5:00 PM ferry. Ziggy was glad when we got there because he had a bad tummy ache all day and was hoping to run around a bit at the ferry landing. Larry was finally relaxed and less serious now. The pressure to get on the ferry was over.
We were invited to stop and visit our good
friends, the Fipps, in Friday Harbor, so that’s our next stop. We arrived at
their house a couple hours later. It was great to see them as it’s been quite
awhile. Their house was warm cozy and we had forgotten what a stupendous view
they have across the water to Orcas Island and Mount Hood beyond. We watched as
the ferry went by heading to Sidney, on Vancouver Island. It may be the same
ferry we came in on.
Ziggy loves it here and Bev always lets him out the back door to explore. It wasn’t long before he was chasing a deer away that had been eating all their new plants. The house was warm and smelled of good cooking. It was good to catch up. We talked a little around the fire before turning in for a good nights sleep underneath their warm down comforters. No dreams of other dogs tonight. Ziggy was snuggled by the heater vent lying on top of his fuzzy black & red checked blanket.
DATE: April 21, 2002, Monday WEATHER: Cloudy but Sunny LOCATION: Friday Harbor, WA TEMP: Crisp & slightly breezy Ziggy and I were up at the crack of dawn. The sun rises earlier here and the heaters started early so the house will be warm when everyone finally gets up. We slept like logs as there are no city sounds and when the lights go out its pitch dark, womb like. Maybe you’ll here the screech of a bird or an owl hoot but that’s it.
Z
The Fipps told us they had a big day today as a crew of workers was coming to clear several cedar stumps and finish some rough grading on their property. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the grading crew arrived. We could tell it was a busy time for Bernie and Bev so we left them there and went to town to do some errands.
One of places we wanted to go to was the customs office. We wanted to see if there were any new requirements for entering and leaving the states since 9/11. We had read there were some and thought we’d better find out what we needed to do. We were surprised to find that they knew nothing about any new requirements. So we then just poked around Friday Harbor for a few hours. It’s such a cute town that it’s hard to tear yourself away.
We had some delicious chili that Bev made and then Bev and I went headed over to Roche Harbor to do some shopping while the guys, including Ziggy did manly things with the graders. It was a good excuse for Bev and me to try to get into trouble at the cute shops in Roche Harbor.
It was sunny and very windy. You could see the ocean was very choppy.
That night, our last night together, before we headed to Sidney and Knotty Dog, we all went out for dinner at Vinnie's. Larry and Bernie couldn’t resist trying out some “smoky martinis”. We had a great table overlooking Friday Harbor. It was a good time.
We came back to the cottage and Bernie built a big fire and we sat around until very late talking and catching up and talking about our plans heading up the Inside Passage.
DATE: Tuesday, April 23, 2002 LOCATION: Fipp’s Cottage, Friday harbor DESTINATION: Canoe Cove
We got the truck in line for the ferry.
They told us the ferry was going to be 45 minutes to an hour late so we had
plenty of time to spare as we waited. We went to our favorite little coffee
place, ordered up some coffee and decided to send Bev an email since she wanted
us to “keep in contact”. We thought it would be a good joke to send one so
quickly. It was a struggle sending a message on their antiquated computer at
the coffee shop but Larry finally figured out how to do our email at a snail’s
pace. We spent the rest of the wait just walking around town until it was time
to start engines and drive onto the ferry.
It is a short ferry ride to from Friday harbor to Sidney. We were first in line to get on the ferry and last in line to get off so that meant we were at the ends of the line for customs. Guess it doesn’t pay to get to the ferry too early. In this case the early bird didn’t catch the worm. As we were approaching customs, I could see Larry was getting a little nervous and for no reason that I could think of. We looked a bit like the Beverly Hillbillies with all our junk packed so clumsily in the back. I guess Larry was worried that they may want to search through our stuff. We had nothing to hide but it would’ve been disastrous to have had to unload all that stuff for a customs inspection and then figure out how to reload it again, especially since it took us a couple days in Santa Barbara to accomplish that task.
Maybe the customs agent could see what he was getting into and just waved us through with no unpacking. The only unexpected thing that he had us do was document the truck with them so it wouldn’t be questioned by customs officers while it stayed parked in the boatyard the next few months.
We began the major job of unloading the truck, hauling up and down the dock ramp, unpacking it, sorting, inventorying, removing unnecessary items from the boat and packing all “the stuff” for the voyage in an orderly fashion onto the boat. It was a huge job – just as bad a moving I’d say. We started with clothes and then food. We packed things in every available nook and cranny.
By the end of the day we were exhausted and slept like a log.
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 WEATHER: Sunny but cool LOCATION: Canoe Cove
Of course with boats and especially after they’ve been stored all winter, there is always something that doesn’t work or needs to be replaced. We discovered the refrigerators weren’t working. Also the heater in the salon wasn’t putting out any heat. The yard quickly fixed them knowing we were on a schedule to get headed north as soon as possible.
We installed the new helm seat that Larry ordered over the internet. It turned into a joke at the boat yard. When Larry ordered it he it shipped directly to the boat yard. Al Dore, the boat yard manager, brought it into the boat yard coffee shop, where all the locals congregate. He and several others had a good chuckle at how little it was. Since we didn’t have enough room for a seat at the helm station because it was right by the exit door in the salon we came up with the idea of installing this little seat that when not in use it folds down against the bar cabinet where it was going to be mounted. The seat itself was nothing more than a circular piece of oak about 6” in diameter and an inch thick. They all got a good laugh when they held that up to Larry’s rather wide posterior. It was questionable how well the little round donut of a seat was going to work but Larry used it all the way to Alaska and back so it did the trick.
We also installed weather station that Larry purchased. This little device, we found out later, was a very important part of our daily lives on this trip. Larry also installed our new life-sling. He put the mast back up. He has taken it down last fall so Knotty Dog would be low enough in height to fit in the boat house that we rented for her over the winter. We continued with the unrelentlous and arduous job of unpacking and packing. We also took everything off the boat that we thought we would not need or be using and packed it in the truck. We needed all the space we could get to store our provisionings for this several month trip. The tasks seemed endless and I couldn’t see the end of it.
There were so many things to remember and to get. We had to get plenty of Canadian cash so we would have money in the areas far north that we had read would not accept credit or American cash. One bank in town wasn’t very cooperative and wouldn’t exchange any money for us which was a surprise. Larry tried another bank and it was no problem.
By the end of the day we had made excellent progress. The truck had been emptied and most things were put away. The boat was almost looking like a home. Larry got the TV working for me and I had a small spot that was now cleared where I could sit and I was happy. We had installed Direct TV on the boat and looked like it would be great, at least for the short geographical area where we would be able to receive it.
DATE: Thursday, April 25, 2002 WEATHER: Sunny. It's cold in the morning and warm in the afternoon. LOCATION: Canoe Cove
We have the heater on the boat working pretty darn good now so it’s comfortable as its pretty cold in the morning. Each morning we have breakfast with all the boaters and workers at the local café at the marina.
Ziggy has now become more comfortable with his surroundings here at the boat yard. In fact he has started sneaking off the boat when we’re not looking to explore the docks. The Canadians don’t seem to be concerned with the leash laws around here so they don’t seem to think much about him wandering around.
I spent all morning doing inventory in the galley and getting rid of things that that I don’t absolutely think I’ll need. I’m keeping only necessary and useful items as space is very valuable on a trip this long. Larry is busy making sure everything is working properly on the boat. I’m not sure of all that he’s doing but he’s very consumed and focused. He has a lot of responsibility so I don’t want to distract him. I appreciate that he’s diligent in making sure everything is working the way it should.
I started inventory of everything on the boat and where it’s located. We had to stash things in the most unlikely places (like under floor boards and all sorts of weird places) so we knew we needed a list to help us find them and partly quickly if there was an emergency. I also made lists of things we still needed to buy while we were here.
We are waiting for our dinghy to get back. That’s the only thing that may delay our departure. Larry hired someone to install a steering wheel and seat with in the dinghy for us as it was so uncomfortable before. We’re hoping it will make things easier for us as we (Larry mostly) spends a lot of time taking Ziggy to shore.
We had bought a nice teak chaise lounge from Cosco before we left. We hauled it all the way up here and when we opened the box the arm was crushed. Larry had one of the carpenters take it and make a new one. There are some very talented woodworkers here.
Larry continues to make headway. He fixed a new speaker for the phone so we could hear it ring better as Larry has a slight hearing problem. He put together a fish filet platter for us in case we are lucky and catch some fish. He was busy with many things.
We decided to go to town and have some lunch for a break. They were having a Boat Show in Sidney and we thought we’d drop in for a break. It was very small boat show but a lot of people showed up and it was the busiest place in the area with lots of hustle and bustle. We went to the marine store to get a long stern line in case we need it for anchoring and tying the back of the boat to shore and we found some nice wool socks which should come in handy to keep our feet warm on the boat.
We also went to a couple other stores to get some things on our list. I saw several things that I had bought in the states and lugged all the way up here. I could have saved myself some trouble. I mistakenly thought they didn’t have much up here. The dollar is very strong too and it would’ve been much less expensive too. This cute little town of Sidney has lots of things.
Ziggy has a love making bout with his lover babe every night so I guess all is well on his side.
DATE: Friday, April 26, 2002 WEATHER: Rainy Day. LOCATION: Canoe Cove
We breakfasted on hot oatmeal. I also made a big pot of Bev’s chili for later. I did more inventory on the boat. We went to Victoria about 11:00. We stopped at Hudson Bay Department store and bought three of those great looking Hudson Bay Blankets on sale. I needed to get some warm bedcovers for the guest quarters and hoped these Hudson Bay blankets would do the trick. I love the look of them and the history behind them. I felt they were appropriate for this trip.
The cherry trees were bursting in full bloom in Victoria, particularly in Chinatown. They are the most magnificent trees I’ve ever seen. The trees looked wonderful against the Chinese architecture.
It seems like a good percentage of the population in this town have English or Irish roots. Everyone seems to have an accent and many working in the stores our young people who have just come from their native countries looking for better opportunities.
We went to Capitol Iron hardware and bought some fishing gear and other things. It’s a fun store to go in and poke around. We then went to Murchies, our favorite place for afternoon tea and scones.
We always have to then visit Monroe’s Bookstore next-door and browse around that terrific bookstore. We love Victoria as there’s so much to see and do.
DATE: Saturday, April 27, 2002 LOCATION: Canoe Cove DESTINATION:
Larry is busy wiping down the teak. We need to get the boat washed before we leave.
We went to Sidney and picked up 500 feet of line we ordered for a stern anchor line. We also stopped in at the Sidney library to check our email and our bank accounts. We had to make a reservation to use the computer so would have to come back at noon. We also had to reserve the computer that had printing capabilities so we could print out our Visa and Checking accounts. I’ll take these reports back to the boat and enter the info into the lap top so we can keep our accounts up to date. This will be our new mode of keeping track of our finances while we’re gone. Each place will be different, with different rules I guess.
Sidney has a charming little library; the community really makes use of it, old and young alike. It’s very organized and clean. It’s a nicely designed building with lovely gardens.
Sidney is actually a beautiful little town and very community oriented. There’s lots of pedestrian space, like walking paths and flowers everywhere. The shopping is really good too. They surprisingly have everything you need.
Larry tracked down Keith, the dinghy man. He’s the only one we need to finish now so we can leave. He said he would be finished by 9:00 AM Monday.
DATE: Sunday, April 28, 2002 WEATHER: Sunny and warmer LOCATION: Canoe Cove TEMP: Low 37, Hi 59
I finished my major inventory list for food and personal items. Larry finished packing the truck. We have now thoroughly and meticulously gone through every inch of the boat getting rid of anything unnecessary and repacking what we have more efficiently. We took Ziggy for a long walk through the surrounding woods and over to the marina on the other side of the hill.
It’s a beautiful day. We decided to go to Tisham Harbor for lunch to see that Harbor and Marina. We ate at Blue Peter’s on the marina. It’s a cute little restaurant. It reminds me of Newport Beach, California for some reason. The marina water looked very shallow. Larry said we were having minus tides.
After lunch we went to the grocery store. We had the shopping cart so packed you could hardly move I around the store. We had to get another cart just to get it all out to the truck. I have never bought so much food in my life. It was very stressful deciding on all this food and to purchase so much at one time but I think it was the best place to load up. I have no idea if I have bought enough or too little. I think it was smart to do as much as we did though here because we had such a sweet spot at Canoe Cove. The boat was docked close to the parking lot so we didn’t have to truck things far from the car and the grocery store was a great. It had everything I needed and the prices were good. So it made sense to do the provisioning now.
We brought everything from the truck to the boat. He carried it all down to the boat in several trips with in a wheel barrel that was left by the docks. We put much of the food it under the salon seat. It was mostly canned goods in boxes. We put frozen food that we won’t be using until later in the trip at the very bottom of the freezer. That way I won’t be wasting valuable freezer cold by leaving the freezer hatch open too long searching for things at the bottom. I have to now update my inventory list again with all the new purchases and their locations. It’s a tedious job that I hope will pay off in the months to come.
We went to Stonehouse Pub for dinner which is a really cute local English place. We came back, tired but relaxed and it felt good that the stress of the trip preparation and provisioning was almost over.
I’m saving some additional shopping for Friday Harbor. They have lots of extra things that I like and some really good Washington meats that I want to purchase there. Now we’re really packed and only need a few specialty items and the fresh foods.
DATE: Monday, April 29, 2002 WEATHER: Warm gorgeous day LOCATION: Canoe Cove
Larry is up early because we have to turn the boat around for the dinghy guy to install an adjustment to the davit for the modification he made to the dinghy. When we got up this morning it was 48 degrees inside the boat! Ziggy and I were shocked. We turned the heater on and hoped it would warm up quickly. When we turn the heater on it makes the funniest whines and groans. It sounds so achy and tired, much like I feel. It makes us laugh. I just hope it lasts this trip. When it finally gets going it does a final rah tat tat tat TAT TAT!!
I decided it would be a good idea to do the laundry (mostly so I could escape the boat turning) and because we had the car which made it so much easier. We were in such tight quarters here in this slip that just the thought of turning it around gave me the shakes.
I found a laundry in Sidney. It’s right on 3rd Street and surprisingly was the busiest place in town. It took me a couple trips from the truck to get everything into the Laundromat. Once I got it in the laundry, I sorted and plopped the divided clothes stuff at the base of the washers that I was planning to use. While I was standing there figuring out the set up a woman came in and before I know it bullied her way into my machines! I was kind of shocked but didn’t let it upset me too much since I was in no hurry. The little lady that worked in the laundry seeing what happened was quick to unload some machines and helped got me started in them. She showed me the ropes of the Laundromat so to speak. I’m discovering there’s a whole scenario to washers and dryers in different laundries. Some machines have their own personalities. Some like a little soap and others are faster and use less water, etc. So the laundry guru filled me in. She even added my bleach at the right time when I wasn’t looking. Everything turned out fine. It was a little stressful at first but after I learned the ropes it become old hat. I never realized going to the Laundromat could be so complicated. Now, after my induction by the laundry guru, I could’ve taken care of that pushy woman without a problem.
I came back to the boat after doing the laundry and transported the loads of laundry to the now turned boat using Canoe Cove’s funky wheel barrel. I let Ziggy ride on top of each load that I brought to the boat. He loves to ride anything and he perches himself up on the top like he’s riding a chariot. Everyone at the docks got a chuckle at his antics.
Larry, Keith and Al were not at the boat but over at the boat harness trying to get the newly modified dinghy in the water. Al was cussing at them both Larry and Keith as they were having a heck of a time getting this accomplished. I decided to stay out of it and went back to the boat to put the laundry away.
Larry and the guys finally got the dinghy in the water and brought it around to the back of the boat. Now that the dinghy was modified, the weight on the dinghy had shifted so now all the mechanisms that held the dinghy on the davit had to be adjusted. It was a time consuming job.
I entered all the purchases and receipts in our financial program on the computer on the boat. We will check the balances with printouts from the internet that we will get at the library tomorrow. We want to make sure we have a good grasp on all our accounts before we leave.
It was a warm gorgeous day and night. We had a nice warm evening walk before bed with Ziggy.
DATE: Tuesday, April 30, 2002 WEATHER: Another warm beautiful day. LOCATION: Canoe cove TEMP: Up to 80/ down to 58 at night
There was no need for heaters this morning. Tony came by and cleaned the deck to remove a diesel spill. Keith was here again still working on the dinghy. Stan is here trying to figure out why the water is running hot and cold at the same time in the shower. If we don’t get that figured out I’ll be a grouch this summer. So far it’s been miserable taking a shower. First you get scaled and then you get cold.
Ziggy for some reason is very vocal this morning. It only took a week for him to convince himself that he now owns the boat yard and the surrounding docks! The sailors next door left. Ziggy nipped at him this morning when he was getting to friendly. He thinks he’s in charge of everything and everyone around here. We have to watch him every second as he’s constantly getting into trouble. Don’t know what’s gotten into him.
I seemed to have mastered the pressure cooker and cooked soup in five minutes so I guess it is going to stay on the boat. (The secret is to heat the pressure cooker up before putting the lid on. It’s as simple as that.)
Keith is still working on the dinghy.
After lunch two girls came by to scrub down the teak decks. Another workman came by to fix the side of the hull that was damaged this winter (a 3 day process). He’ll buff it out tomorrow. Stan came by again to try fixing the water temperature problems again. I decided to leave since I had to keep all the doors and windows shut because the girls hosing down the boat. Stan & Larry had the floor boards up in the salon and there wasn’t a free place to sit and be out of the way so Ziggy and I decided to go elsewhere for awhile.
I grabbed Ziggy and off we went to nearby Sidney to do some last minute shopping. I was looking for some plastic containers and a couple other odd ball things. While I went to the stationary store, Ziggy decided to go exploring on his own and escaped from the truck and went to the health food store. I happened to see him in the act from the stationary store. He ignored me when I called him and instead headed right for the cashier counter thinking he’d get a free biscuit. He figures all counters now give out free biscuits. He’s too used to the Chandlery in Santa Barbara and other dog friendly places.
Anyway, I got him out of the health food store and we headed to the local Pet Shop. They have rental bathing stations and I rented one and gave Ziggy a bath at what I like to call their self serve stations. For $10.00 Canadian you can wash your dog with their shampoo and their towels and hair dryer to dry him off. What a deal.
We came back to the boat and Larry was still in the midst of it. Now he and Stan were trying to figure out what’s wrong with the depth sounder. That’s an important instrument for us so I hope they can fix it. We never did figure out the hot and cold water shower situation.
The girls are still scrubbing the teak. They are really adorable girls and they really love their job. They are doing an excellent job. I don’t know how they can work so hard. You don’t often see that kind of enthusiasm these days. The teak looks better than it ever has. They worked for hours in the blistering hot sun.
The girls finally finished. Ziggy is barking and growling at everything. He’s all bluff but he’s having a fabulous time.
I tried out the new rice cooker and steamed broccoli in it at the same time. It’s a winner! That will be an asset on the trip.
The flies are becoming a problem. They come in the boat and just fly around in circles. They don’t do much else but they are very annoying. We will need to have some kind of make shift screens made if this persists. Maybe we can get something made at Friday Harbor when we go there.
The guy that will finish buffing out some damage on the side of the boat that the yard did will be by at 7:00 AM tomorrow morning (“if we have coffee waiting” he said). Hopefully then we’ll be done and on our way by 9:00 AM tomorrow!
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Ziggy,
Larry and I are finally off after: after 3 trips to the hardware store to
purchase 3 different tarps until we finally got the right size, after 100 other
trips for God knows what, after wrapping the truck load a gazillion times with
masses of rope and duct tape and to finally realize that when we thought we had
it all loaded and packed that we had covered over the tail lights and had to
start all over again. 
In
the morning, Larry had somehow figured out how to pack all the extra
“unmentioned and unpacked items” on the top of the tarp. I would still have to
suffer without “my stuff”, that I wanted for the drive, which was packed deep
inside the secured pile in the flat bed. We went around doing all the last
minute things you need to do when leaving a house for 6 months; like making sure
any clothes were out of the dryer, that draperies and window coverings were
closed so the sun wouldn’t bleach out the furniture, and making sure water
heater was turned down, and so on.
iggy and I took a walk down by the pond.
We saw two eagles soaring above probably wondering who this new white critter
was sniffing around their territory. By the time we got back up to the cottage
we could smell breakfast cooking from the road. It was the delicious whiff of
that great Washington peppered bacon. Everything tastes so good up here. 
We
headed back to the Fipp’s about noon to see how things were going with the
grading. They were making great progress and the property was looking much
improved.
We
were up early and had some hearty wholegrain cereal for breakfast. We thanked
our friends for their hospitality, took in some last glances of the magnificent
view from their deck and said “so long” to our good friends and off we went to
catch the ferry to Sidney.
We
got to Canoe Cove Marina and Boat Yard where Knotty Dog was patiently waiting
for us. Ad Dore, the boat yard manager at the time, put Knotty Dog in a close
slip to the parking lot for us as he knew we had a lot of provisioning to do.
We came back to the boat totally
exhausted. We might not get out of Canoe Cove until Monday because of the wait
on the dinghy.
