Posts

2024: August Cruising Summary

-
Image
August was a short cruising month for Amy Marie.  She was treated to a spa treatment at CSR South Boat Yard in Des Moines while we attended family events.  Beth headed to San Diego and Santa Rosa California and I headed to Colorado.  We reunited with Amy Marie in mid-August.  During her "spa" visit she had damaged gel coat areas repaired, heat exchangers serviced and a full exterior buff and polish.  She looked quite jaunty and proud of herself when we returned! As we planned to attend the annual PNW Ranger Tug Rendezvous in Roche Harbor in early September, we started meandering that direction.  This gave us an opportunity to re-visit some favorite destinations as well as explore some new ports of call. Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island Our first stop was Eagle Harbor.  Why?  It has a great grocery store and it is fun to walk and explore.  Town and Country Market is very close to the public dock, so a good location to perform a major resupply.  Their produce is wonderful, they
Post a Comment
Read more

2024: Jones Island

-
Image
This afternoon I'm sitting on Amy Marie and listening to live classical violin  being played by the skipper of the vessel Vya Lynn.  The notes just seem to hang in the air.  A perfect compliment to a lovely location.  We are in a typical PNW cove on the north side of Jones Island.  Why the north side?  Today some nasty cold south winds have been blowing and we sought shelter here.  It really is a sanctuary of sorts.  Our fellow voyagers are a mix a small cruisers and sailboats.  Throw in a couple of motor vessels approaching 40 feet in length and you have the whole crowd.   We meet one fellow who has been here a week.  He motored over from Anacortes on his 16 foot center console.  He is retired and travels with his dog, a  Corgi.  He and the Corgi were camped in  an orange dome tent from the '80's.  Those of you who use to backpack know the tent.  It used to be ubiquitous back then.  You could visit a High Sierra lake and not see its shoreline dotted with these tents.   We
Post a Comment
Location: Jones Island, Washington 98245, USA
Read more

2024: Butchart Gardens

-
Image
We visited Butchart Gardens the end of July.  I'm going to "interview" Beth about our visit. Q: Why did you want to visit Butchart Gardens? A: This time of year flowers were in bloom that we had not seen when visiting earlier in the year. For example the zinnias, the dahlias, the begonias, and the roses.  I also wanted visit later in the day,  after 5pm, as the tour busses have all departed by that time reducing crowd size.  We also timed our visit for Saturday evening as live music and fireworks were scheduled. "Ketchup and Mustard" rose Q: Where did you stay for your visit? A: There is a back cove at Butchart Gardens with 4 mooring balls.  It is located at the base of the Japanese Gardens.  It even has a separate ticket booth.  Boats can stay free for 24 hours, so the moorings are a hot commodity.  They are also limited to boats less than 40 feet in overall length.  As an alternative, if the mooring balls are full, boaters can anchor in Tod Inlet and dinghy to
2 comments
Location: The Butchart Gardens, 800 Benvenuto Ave, Brentwood Bay, BC V8M 1J8, Canada
Read more