Anacortes

The skies look very forbidding but very little rain today. We had our breakfast in the hotel and spent the rest of the day working on Aquila . Fred spent a good amount of time repacking the stuffing boxes. Hopefully they won’t leak when the boat gets into the water. Merlin was making a ruckus up on the bow. I went out to see what was making him bark so much. He and a beautiful black-tailed deer had their eye on each other. The deer just walked by and didn’t pay Merlin any more attention. I also saw several jack rabbits and two eagles. Our wildlife viewing is off and running. We had dinner a Naung Mai Thai Kitchen. We love Thai iced tea but Fred wasn’t prepared for how spicy his order was. He ate it, but he turned red, his eyes were bloodshot and he was short of breath. He now refers to the food there as Thai Rocket Fuel. The waiter said that his meal was three stars out of five. Next time he will stay with one star.

Anacortes

There was a new lady in the dining room this morning. She cheerfully offered us soft boiled eggs and fresh baked bread. She showed us that if we butter the warm bread and add chocolate sprinkles (already on the table) we will have a lovely breakfast food common in Holland . It was really delicious. We then grabbed a couple lattes from Starbucks and headed to the boat. The new props we had put on look beautiful. They will never be this clean and shiny again. The big project this morning was to collect the bimini (that broke off in 2007) that has been stored in the shed. Of course it is Sunday so no one was working in the shed. It was a long walk carrying this very heavy object. Then we got to haul it up to the upper helm. I’m complaining but Fred really did the hardest part. We were hoping that Fred could repair the damage to the support rods that broke off. !@#$, we don’t think this will work. I have no idea what our plan will be next. While Fred was putting things away and organizing his engine room I was checking the galley and paperwork. I had a horrible feeling that something was wrong. I told Fred that I thought I knew the answer but… “did you pack the binder containing the boat documentation and passports?”. He said “no…” We looked high and low and it isn’t here. Without that paperwork, we can’t get into Canada . I looked through the documentation of the items from home that went into Mayflower storage when we emptied the house. Looks like the binder we need is in storage in Union City . I sent off an email to our contact to see what recourse we have in locating what we need. We’ll see. We came into town for lunch and then ran by West Marine for more necessities. Of course, Fred could only find one of the three things we were looking for. We need some floating line to arrange for pulling the dinghy and we couldn’t believe that they had none. OK, another project on hold. Fred decided to repack the prop shaft stuffing boxes. Fred had everything he needed but after pulling it apart, found out that we needed another part. We will hit West Marine on our way back to the hotel. The boatyard closes at 5 PM and we headed out at 4:30 PM. OK, why is the gate closed and locked?? I called the office and got a recording that everything closes at 3 PM on Sundays. We cannot believe this. Not one of our better days. Fred called the Anacortes Police (non-emergency) number. An officer showed up and asked Fred why he was on the wrong side of the fence (ha ha). He had also contacted the marina emergency contact and the owner showed up and let us out. What a day. I needed some comfort food so we order pizza. The best part of the day was when our realtor called to say there were about 40 people who came through the Open House today in Piedmont . She thinks we will have at least three offers on the house. That would be awesome!

Day One: Alameda, CA to Roseburg, OR

We were on the road by 8:30 this morning. I don't think we could fit an extra paperclip in the car. Merlin had to sit on my lap because his kennel was full too. He was a really good boy. He slept most of the time curled into a little ball on my lap. It rained cats and dogs (sorry Merlin) most of the time. The traffic was not a problem and we arrived in Ashland about 3 PM. We took a long walk downtown because we were too early for Diane. Ashland looks a bit like Telegraph Ave in Berkeley. Cute stores and strange looking folks. We had pizza and "fake" beer at Diane's and hit the road again about 6 PM to head another 100 miles north to Roseburg. This Best Western had milk and fresh baked cookies tonight and will have breakfast in the morning. We will all sleep well tonight.

ready, set, go...

This has been an interesting time. Fred & I have worked very hard at the Piedmont house. After a team of professionals has worked there for over a month, the house will go on the market this weekend. We are both having all kinds of mixed feelings. At the moment we will be glad to get out of a hotel room. Our realtor believes that the house will sell quickly. We have our fingers crossed. We are planning on leaving here on 5/26 and arriving in Anacortes the next day. We will stay in US waters until the house sale is final. It will be wonderful to be on the ocean again.