After having the boat sitting over the wintertime, it is always a good idea to run the motors, check everything out and make sure all is well. Then, off to explore new regions we have not been to before, and have learned from fellow boaters that we meet and greet on the docks (sometimes while helping keep their boat off the pilings on a windy day). Yes, there is a story behind that one!

Boat is up and running smoothly, traveling at about 1200/1300 RPMs and VERY peaceful. Crossing Puget Sound and heading south on a peaceful morning. Ears on the motors and they are running smoothly. John has gone through and checked out all of the systems and everything is A-OK! Did not call ahead, and it is Monday morning, with lots of open slips in Poulsbo Marina. Pretty much had pick of the "litter". Of course, we ended up on the one that was having a 'little' electrical issue; however, the othe outlet was not being used and so just switched hook up and let the marina office know about the problem. The next morning their local experts were on the dock, fixing the problem. Great wifi connection. Found 'lazy on the water' who did not want to be disturbed, but did introductions to mateys before they all took off!

We decided to go to Gig Harbor first before exploring the South Sound. We were able to meet up with friends we met last summer near Deer Harbor and shared a nice Mexican dinner. We hope to be able to meet again for some crabbing in the San Juans. We were very happy to be able to meet with our good friends, Mike and Judy, who live on nearby Fox Island. And of course we also shared a nice Mexican dinner together. It worked out while here we needed to finish some correspondence for our Nexus applications and had only a short time to complete the necessary paperwork. So we rented a mailbox and managed to move on to the next step. Complicated to say the least. Thank goodness for overnight mail. We discovered that Gig Harbor has a Trolley bus that you can ride and easily travel to most attractions after getting a $1 Senior all day pass. Works for all Pierce Transit city busses. First stop was the Glass Museum. The more we used the Trolley the more sight seeing we were able to do. We moored our boat on the public dock which has both water and power. Also included are locked restrooms and showers. The rates are very reasonable plus the city keeps the facilities very clean and they are patrolled nightly along with a major camera. The park is multiuse with different activities occurring daily. We enjoyed watching young people training every day in their racing kayaks. With our time here nearly finished we started making plans to head South. Our charts showed a few promising destinations, plus we picked the brains of the locals on the dock, about locations to stop and visit. Next stop: Longbranch.

It is amazing what you see on the waterfront, as you meander towards a new destination. Once you leave Gig Harbor, very carefully on a low tide, there are a variety of waterfront homes that are interesting to look at as you slowly power by on the boat. Leaving Gig Harbor early let us catch the favorable tide going south. This is our first time going UNDER the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. We were moored at Breakwater Marina several years ago while the new bridge was under construction. Passing under the bridge you can't help but think that you are going over the original "Galloping Gertie" (named by the construction workers once they laid the deck) which collapsed on November 7, 1940. Now it is the home of a giant octopus. As we traveled south past the large McNeil Island, we were reminded that you have to maintain your distance because of the very large men's prison.

The weather was starting to change to windy and rainy but it was the threat of lightning that was of some concern. We spotted some state park mooring buoys but the location wasn't inviting. Rebecca found on our chart a small marina up a long draw that looked interesting. The closer we got to it we could see that the guest docks were empty (dock rails were highlighted in yellow) plus there wasn't a harbormaster to be found. We tied up and did some exploring. We found some fellows that were repairing electrical boxes on the docks and they told us to just read the instructions and sign in. Turns out we just happen to be at a very old historic site dating back to the logging industry. The guys on the dock had just finished upgrading the electrical systems to be in compliance with new safety regulations. All the docks and the ramp had been finished just a few months ago. There are no nearby stores so supplies would be a problem if you were running low on any items. All the private slips were full. There was also a large commercial fishing boat and two tugs moored. This would be your sleepy but very friendly marina. We enjoyed our stay.

It rained heavy and we could hear the thunder during the night but the weather seem to clear in the morning. We cast off and continued our journey South to Olympia. Seems we hit a window that allowed the rain to let up and even some blue sky. We knew that it wasn't going to last long so we took advantage of the break. We have to admit that the scenery is nice, that is if you enjoy looking at waterfront homes constantly. Many of the homes were of a an older style but we'll maintained. Now we know where some of the rich and famous reside. The closer we got to Olympia we knew that we were in for some rough weather. The waterway was well marked but because it is so shallow you have to stay very carefully within the channel markers. We got our slip assignment and were happy to see that we had a nice view of the harbor. We walked over to the office to register and check out the facilities. Our reaction was first class. The marina name is Swantown. It is situated just outside downtown Olympia within walking distance to the capitol. There is a long boardwalk that takes you to some of the local attractions, farmers market, grocery store, etc. Make sure you wear comfortable shoes. Tied up on the outside dock, close to our boat was a an old 1958 Navy minesweeper. We were invited to take a tour with the owners. The boat was for sale and some perspective buyers were looking at it. Before we left we found out that they had made a offer and left a deposit. (pictures) Minesweepers were built out of wood and equipped with equipment that they towed jointly in tandem. The purpose was for the towing equipment to snag the floating mines that were attached to cables. After the mines were cut loose they were exploded, usually by deck guns. We enjoyed learning about the history of this vessel and looking at the original photographs. Copy and paste this link, to read more about the minesweeper. http://www.wolfemarine.com/core/listing/pl_boat_detail.jsp?slim=broker&boat_id=2862249&checked_boats=2862249&hosturl=wolfemarine&&ywo=wolfemarine&&ybw=&units=Feet&access=Public&listing_id=1450&url=

After a few days exploring Olympia we decided to leave and go back to Gig Harbor one last time. Rebecca had to pickup some forms from our P.O. box and we also wanted to watch the fireworks display on the 4th. The other item on our agenda was to revisit the Point Defiance Zoo. Now that we had learned to use the trolley system we were able to go to the movies (we watched Spiderman: Far From Home), grocery stores, etc. We had to use UBER only one time! Don't ask!!! We also met a wonderful couple, Mike and Shannon, who were relaxing on the boat, tied up to one of the two mooring buoys that are located near the public dock. They used to little red kayaks to get around, go exploring and paddling around the harbor. Rebecca had an opportunity to go kayaking with them and the three adventurers had a fun trip around the harbor getting pictures of herons and eagles. After a few days we decided that our time in Gig Harbor was over and it was time to move on again.

Less than 30 miles away and with a view of Seattle and the space needle is a state park called Blake Island. There are several mooring buoys and good anchorage around the island. There is a narrow entrance which once inside the park system has docks for moorage. There is also a information center. As you can imagine it is well used being so close to Seattle. We were fortunate to find an empty mooring buoy and had no problem getting tied up. First thing we noticed was the absence of sound. All that we heard were eagles and seagulls. On shore were many Canadian geese that mostly kept to themselves. We welcomed the tranquility that allowed us to catch up on our reading. We took one trip around the island in our inflatable. There were many boats inside at the docks and most of the buoys were occupied. There were several trails to hike but John decided not to go. While there we noticed that a boat was having problems with their buoy and untied from it and moved to one that was closer to us. Seems that the buoy they had been tied to was sinking and was underwater. Later that morning the same boat owner set some crab traps out and went fishing. John happened to see a fish and game boat go by and then make a wide turn and stopped to chat with the fisherman. Fortunately he was only given a warning. The best part was that the fisherman and his wife, kept their boat at the Port of Poulsbo which was going to be our next stop, as we were hoping to be able to meet up with our friend Paul Gahr. We decided to leave and continue on to Poulsbo the next morning because the weather was changing and becoming a little snotty. We knew if we left early we just might miss the bulk of the storm. We exchanged boat cards with the fisherman with a promise to contact them after a few days.

We remembered that the Port of Poulsbo had excellent WiFi so this would also be a good time for Rebecca to finish a school project for the upcoming school year. We had some interesting events happen over the next few days, but most importantly we found that we had met some new friends. A couple of days later, a phone call came from Ron and Deb, asking if we were free to meet them for lunch the next day at JJ's Fish House. At lunch the next day, after 3 and a 1/2 hours of chatting, we started talking about traveling options and what our schedules were looking like for both of u, and where we might be going to next, after leaving Poulsbo. Long story short, Rebecca had one more day to put FINISH to her school project and Ron needed to polish the fuel tank on their boat (leastwise, that's what he told Rebecca while John looked on with a grin). And then...Off to Langley we would go.

Boating experience is... 'when you have a window with a calm day, then travel'; however, we did not follow this bit of wisdom. We left Poulsbo bright and early, meeting up with Ron and Deb on the Liberty Belle outside their Yacht Club Marina at 6:00 a.m. Since we weren't sure of the rate of travel they would go on a single screw, we agreed that the Liberty Belle would be the lead boat for the day. Traveling with other boats is always loads of fun and a learning curve. We were lucky (it was calculated in our planning) to catch currents going our direction, including going through Agate Pass. Gosh, Liberty Belle was going 14 mph, at one point! We were too. Continuing up the backside of Whidbey Island, we were text messaging options of staying the night (I remember when all of this was done over the VHF radio starting on channel 16 and then transferring to an agreed upon channel to check in as you traveled). Ron and Deb were checking to see if there was room at the Hat Island Yacht Club which was right across the way from Langley. John was checking to see if Langley docks had room for a 37 foot boat to stay the night with us. We already had a reservation before we had met with Ron & Deb for lunch (not knowing that they would be traveling with us). Hat Island Yacht Club had no room. Langley did, for a 2nd boat due to a recent cancellation and so arrived and were tied up by 11:00 a.m. A good day for traveling and water was calm all day. Weather report checking led to discussion about what to do for the following day. Talking with the dock master later that afternoon as the wind started kicking up and watching a front move in, the dockmaster said that if we needed to stay a 2nd night we might have to raft up. Okay, the next morning we moved Libert Belle up alongside. That was interesting but with loads of lines and buoys, it meant there were NO scratches to be found anywhere! You learn a lot about each other, when handling challenging situations together. Ron and Deb are GOLD! That night, the wind was really blowing. Patrick, on the 50 foot boat named, Wunderbar, behind us shared with us the next morning that the wind was blowing so hard, he had to get up and go out to tie the burgee up because it was making so much noise.

Thursday morning we pulled out bright and early, 5:30 a.m., and underway before 6:00 a.m. for La Conner. After doing the calculations of tides and currents, average speed of traveling, (not to mention if the Swinnomish Channel was going to be going north or south) and what the predicted wind patterns were for the day; the window for arriving at the public docks was best around 11:00 a.m.! 4 and 1/2 hours later, we arrived at 10:20 a.m. and the wind was soft and current slack. It was VERY slightly going north and about 10 to 15 minutes later it was starting to go south! Wind picked up as well, after we were on the docks. We had to go take care of moorage and while we were gone, Ron & Deb were able to slip over to the yacht club dock for reciprocal dockage fee! Very nice. They had lots of help and the wind was a gentle nudge right on over.

We had a wonderful time with Ron and Deb at Saddlebag Island. This was their first time for anchorning out and as Deb put it, "Ron will be like a father of a newborn child, up all night and constantly checking that all is well!" After the first night, he was reported with having slept well and getting up only three times. However, Ron did report that the first time he woke up, he could feel that the boat wasn't moving and he thought they were on shore, aground. After getting up, he realized the wind was not blowing at all and it was dead calm outside. Deb was up after dark and caught a beautiful picture of our boat with fireworks going off nearby. We were asleep and heard nothing! Friends that we met last year at West Sound Marina (after an interesting episode of trying to get to the the dock while slipping past a shallow point of land at low tide, and touching fenders on their boat as we slipped by) arrived at Saddlebag on their boat named Seacoaster. Between our three boats we all had fun trying to catch crabs in our crabpots. Sometimes it feels like we are 'just feeding the crabs', as Ron put it when he pulled his pots on the last day! Tom and Jane had to leave for Anacortes after a couple of days in order to get ready for company that would be with them for a week. We plan to meet up with them again.

Tuesday, and no crabbing allowed for two days. Ron and Deb left for home, having commitments to take care of, while we departed for Sylvan Cove on Decatur Island. FOGGY most of the way and we are getting pretty good at running on electronics only. Radar, Compass and GPS, the three necessities for traveling on the water. New compass John put in works fantastic. WOW! Anyway, pulled in to Sylvan Cove, you can't go ashore and the tidelands are privately owned. Hmmmm.... we dropped the hook and looked around. Neither of us were really comfortable and looking across to Spencer Spit we could see an open mooring buoy. Pulled the hook, scooted across the water and then worked at grabbing the buoy, first mate running down the ladder and up to the bow to run a line through while John's arms were growing progressively longer due to continuous breath of a salty wind bumping the boat around. All's well (Mark Twain) in river boat lingo! Got it! Stiff SW breeze continued all day and all night. Early the next morning, we could see boats moving on the north side of Spencer Spit (we were on the south side) and so we started up the motor, went through the narrow but deep passage, and found that we had the pick of the four mooring buoys. Nice. Still no crabbing so just relaxing. Next day we put out two pots, one at 30 feet and one at 70 feet. Guess which one had some lunkers? Went kayaking as well. Sun came out and breeze was soft.

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