Happy Father's Day & Pelican Sighting!

After a nice walk in Gig Harbor this morning, and grabbing chowder to go from the Tides, my sister picked up the three of us and we headed to Purdy to have lunch with my parents. The chowder was quite good!

On the way back to the Foss, Nick and Caleb were at the helm when, from the cockpit, I spotted a dim shape on distant rocks that I didn't recognize. I almost passed it off as a goose but decided to grab the binoculars and take a closer look. A brown pelican! We've heard they are sometimes around but hadn't seen one. (Although we spotted many white pelicans just ten minutes east of Yakima last weekend on our wine tasting road trip to Walla Walla.)

So no, we didn't see our previous boat (not that Pelican) but is was pretty exciting to see the real thing so close to home!

Busy Weekend

We are in Gig Harbor for the night...again. It's nice to have such a beautiful little harbor to visit when we don't have time to get very far away. 

GO MARINERS!

Nick and Caleb spent Saturday morning fishing...the first time on the Europa. No joy but good time on the water. I worked commencement ceremonies and then the three of us headed out. That was after Caleb made a trip all the way out to Minter  Oyster Co. to get oysters for happy hour. We arrived in GH to find one city buoy available. After a quick trip ashore to get a lemon (and a lime for beers) Caleb, a master shucker, opened enough oysters to satisfy all of us, with some leftover for tomorrow.

GO MARINERS!

Nick grilled a couple of excellent steaks as we watched the Mariners beat the Red Sox.

Did I say GO MARINERS?!

Maritime Gig Festival

This weekend is Gig Harbor's annual maritime festival. The college has a booth at the fair today, and I volunteered for a shift, so we decided it would be a great time to be here in the Europa! Much better than fighting the traffic and crowds on land.

We arrived late afternoon yesterday. We planned to dock at Jerecich Park, or anchor if the dock was full. Of course, it was full, and then some. Boats were already rafted by the time we got here. What we didn't know, is that there are two mooring buoys at this park. Both empty (one still is as I write this early Saturday morning), and they're free! You still need to register but the ticket prints with no payment. The harbor police boat checked in with us later and confirmed this is in fact how it works.

We had a very pleasant evening, visited by  family of geese looking for handouts. 11 goslings!

Waterfront Park & City Dock, Bainbridge

A soggy but lovely morning here at the Marina.

I forgot to include a photo of the Sea Eagle kayak yesterday, so here it is. Although filled with a bit of rainwater this morning. Not sure how this is going to work. We really don't want to deflate it totally, as it took some time and energy to blow up. Maybe partially deflated and stuffed in the dinghy? Along a gunnel? On the roof? On the swimstep?

The other photo is of the newly finished public park and dock. We took a walk through this morning and it's very nice. Kayak loading, pump out, power and water. Not a lot of space for overnighters but really accessible for all kinds of users. Certainly better than what they had before. And the landscaping of the park area is really beautiful!

We're Going Boating!

It seems like an age since we've been on the water...but it's really only been two months. Several things have worked against us...jobs not coinciding with weekends and good weather, health-related stuff, other obligations, and well...life.

We left the Foss this morning and headed north to Eagle Harbor, always a favorite. Smooth sailing, with some clouds and some sun breaks.

Had a nice lunch at the pub, then spent some time cleaning the Europa and pumping up our new inflatable kayak. Jury is out but I took it for a quick spin and it's probably worth the whole $300 we spent!

The afternoon was quite sunny and warm, and then the rain came. We're hunkered down here in a nice, cozy boat.

A note about the wine: We didn't pack any white, so visited the local chandlery and all they had was white wine in a can.

BRILLIANT!

Edmonds?

Not sure what the weather will do...the forecast keeps changing. Might take a quick trip up to Edmonds this Saturday.

I guess it's just degrees of gray, drizzle, hail, and sun.

Windows

Keeping windows clean on a boat is a monumental task. As I tend to do, I was using an environmentally friendly product...trying to be kind to the planet. Well, I'm not sure if it's the product, the cloths, or the build up of dirt and grime, salt water and diesel fumes, but it's not working!

I cleaned the windows (exterior) when we arrived in Longbranch yesterday. The good news is that it was a bit chilly and I warmed up pretty quickly. The bad news is that the windows ended up dirtier than when I started! Okay, maybe not worse but just as filthy...in a different way.

So...REALLY GOOD window cleaner is on the boat shopping list. Let me know if you have a favorite. (And if you have a preference for equipment: Micro fiber? Paper towels? Handi-wipes?)

I want to use this blog to make note of what we like best about the places we visit. The Longbranch Improvement Club Marina is small, has a great clubhouse (if you need that kind of thing, it's almost completely enclosed), and Filucy Bay is very pretty, is super quiet, and has great morning sun! Drawbacks: Nowhere to go from here unless you want to walk alongside of the shoulderless country road.