Figure things out

These past two months on the boat have been fun, and amazing, and at times frustrating.

I have enjoyed so much of this but always held a lonely spot inside me missing my grand children.

Mornings like this are fresh and quiet, damp and lately very cold.
Most days are of potential for where we will go next or what we will do that day
We really knocked out a lot of places maybe too many all at once.
Next summer we want to try and go to Desolation Sound and then explore islands up the inside passage until we make Alaska. I can't get excited right now, I just need to get home and see everyone.

Ill be more prepared, maybe, for pay showers, crazy laundry room set ups, and general stores that look like something my kids used to set up when they played store as children, bigger grocery stores that have prices through the sky with product names and ingredients written in French and English.

Sheesh. What will happen if I get someplace and can't read the language at all. David has been fairly demanding about food needs, it's hard to take time and learn the lay of a place when time is short and folks are expecting familiar goodies.

I keep thinking I'll just go to Costco and stock up everything so I don't have to worry about how to find stuff  while we are traveling.  I mistakenly thought retirement was going to be relaxing.
Silly girl.

Visit Shaw Island

It is so completely beautiful right now. The sun has presented the gift of warmth and we are parked out of the wind (and unfortunately the phone reception) and life out on the back porch is glorious.

We heard of. some whale sittings over the radio but we haven't seen any today. Yesterday there were several pods of porpoises playing around as we crossed to our destinations.


We spent last night at Rosario marina in Cascade Harbor, (Orcas Island) it was an amazing place very old but full of great amenities. We actually got to use the hot tub and take showers without quarters...there was a nice lounge with good draft and a guitar player named Robbie Christmas who could do nearly all of Eric Clapton's hits.

Nights have been quite cold sometimes even the days are as well. We met some really nice people at Rosario and learned about a small diesel powered heater Espar that we might be able to fit on our boat, that would make it so nice heading to Alaska next summer. The condensation inside the boat for now stays on the windows, but we have heard horror tales of the whole interior sweating making everything inside wet, that really becomes a problem in the cold up in Alaska . Either way We are definitely getting at least one electric blanket to warm up the bed before we get into it.

Across the bay is a beautiful dark red barn style home with bright red and gold trees around it. The seasons are very real here, even if the evergreens dominate there is still places you can find color.  The weather is supposed to dip below freezing this week. So tonight or tomorrow night ( oct 13-14) may be our last before we shoot across the Straight of Juan de Fuca  to Port Angeles. David can't quite bring himself to say goodbye to this cruise.


There seems to be no open Internet here right now on Shaw Is. I am writing this in draft for now, will send ASAP. The store here is closed Sunday's so tomorrow we will hopefully get there for milk. Some things never change. We are trying to get creative and make dishes that use what is currently in the pantry, it is challenging.