Monte and I made a long weekend trip to Seattle to visit family – old and new. We have 3 new great-niece/nephew babies to meet, and my brother had a big birthday to celebrate.
The last time we were up in the Pacific Northwest together was 5 years ago. The last time all my siblings were together was over 4 years ago. So I was really ready for this trip 🙂
Mount Rainier viewed from the north
We visited the Museum of Flight just north of the SEA airport. This was my first visit, and I would recommend it. It has one of the largest collections of aircraft on display. We flew a flight simulator and did a barrel roll. We walked through a Concord, a 747, a 787, and one of the Air Force One planes from the Kennedy, Nixon, and LBJ administrations. The space flight exhibits are great, too.
So many planes
After the museum, we drove to southern Washington to meet Byron, Rachel and Matthew’s 4-month-old baby, and my great-nephew.
Sunrise at Rachel & Matthew’s home
The next day, we booked it back up to North Seattle and stayed with Patrick and Nga. We had a nice visit and a great dinner. And as a bonus, both their boys were home.
Sunset over the Olympic Mountains, the beautiful view from Pat & Nga’s home
Saturday morning we made it to Noreen and David’s. We took the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry, popped into Poulsbo for coffee and a walk along the waterfront.
Saturday evening we had a party for Brian. It was wonderful to have all 5 of us siblings together again after way too long. We laughed way too much and enjoyed our time together.
On Sunday we walked around the woods in the morning, and watched the Seahawks game in the afternoon. Jared and Cass came over with their new twins, Nora and Viola, my great-nieces. I got to hold each of them for a while. They are tiny and precious.
The next day it was time to head back to the furnace that Austin is. On the way to the airport, we stopped in Port Orchard to see Fran’s kids, Rebecca and Aaron. They are 20 and 18 and each has a good plan for their futures. It was great to see them.
The only faces I didn’t get to see were Neil, who is working 12-hour days, 7 days a week for the next few months, and Julie, who is in Denver. But other than missing them, it was a perfect visit. ❤
A month ago, the Universe reached out to remind me that “things are just things.” I was rear-ended in our brand new Subaru Outback (sniffle). The other guy was very remorseful; and uninsured.
Anywho… repairs are now complete, and the Subie is fixed and back home.
At the end of July, I flew up to Portland, Maine, to join Lori, Mike, and Louie aboard S/V Trident. They have been on board together since June, making their way from the Chesapeake up to Maine. I joined them for the two-week cruise along the coast and islands of beautiful Maine, ending up with a visit to Acadia National Park (’cause, you know, goals).
Friday & Saturday – Austin to Portland to Boothbay Harbor
I flew into the Portland airport. After several unsuccessful tries, I finally found an UBER driver that agreed to take me the 90-minute drive to Boothbay Harbor. Mohammed was at first reluctant but finally agreed to drive me, and we had a great talk along the way.
Boothbay sidestreet
The first night in Boothbay, we dinghied to the Lobsterman’s Wharf for the first of many lobster dinners I indulged in during my stay. In the morning we taxied to and from the grocery for provisions, loaded everything up, ready to head out the next day.
Sunday – Boothbay Harbor to Monhegan Island
We sailed to Monhegan Island. Its beautiful, sheltered harbor has only a few visitor mooring balls, available on a first-come-first-serve basis. We snagged one and enjoyed a great hike up each of the two hills – one led to the Monhegan Lighthouse, and the other to the Monhegan Brewing Company. I logged a geocache along the way, earning my Maine badge! 🙂 (’cause, you know, goals…) I even found a few pieces of sea glass where we beached the dinghy.
View of Monhegan Island from the lighthouse hill\
Monday – Monhegan Island to Matinicus Rock to Camden
Lori & Mike raised the dinghy and we dropped the mooring line early the next morning. Lori graciously added a long side trip out east to visit the remote Matinicus Rock, home to the largest colony of Atlantic Puffins in Maine, and Razorbills and Arctic Terns as well. We didn’t stay long, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing these rare birds. Mike saw a shark, we think it was a blue shark, along the way.
They’re blurry, but they’re puffins!
After seeing the Puffins, we headed back to the northwest to the vibrant harbor of Camden and grabbed a mooring ball before sunset, for two nights.
Sunset from our mooring in Camden Harbor
Tuesday & Wednesday – Camden to Rockport to Isle au Haut
Camden Harbor has hundreds of moorings. We explored both sides of the harbor, checking out their wine bars, and bakeries. On our second day there we went ashore for a short walk, and ended up walking the 2 miles or so to neighboring Rockport. Along the way we stopped in to the Camden-Rockport Historical Museum. We grabbed a taxi back to Camden in time to clean up for a nice dinner ashore. The next morning we left Camden, and headed to the southernmost portion of Acadia National Park, an island called Isle au Haut. We anchored there for one night. We took a long dinghy ride to their town dock, and walked down the road to the Acadia National Park Ranger Station for our first official park visit. We visited the lovely Shore Shop Gifts store and bought some ditties, and then picked out 3 big lobsters from the local lobsterman to boil on the boat for dinner.
Isle au Haut anchorage
Thursday – Isle au Haut to Seal Cove to Burnt Island
Bad weather was in the forecast for the next few nights, so we all took one last dinghy ride to shore for a morning walk along the rocky beach and then we said goodbye to Isle au Haut and made our way to a sheltered anchorage. Along the way, we stopped and anchored in Seal Cove for lunch, a beautiful undeveloped place, but we didn’t spy any seals. After lunch, we headed to and anchored off of Burnt Island (near North Haven) for two nights. We were the only boat there, so we had the entire island, its trails and coastline, and a pair of osprey and bald eagle nests, to ourselves. We explored the island at the end of the first day, and spent a rainy second day aboard the boat, doing boat chores.
Osprey guarding its nest
Friday & Saturday – Burnt Island to Southwest Harbor
After the storm passed, we moved farther up the coast, to Southwest Harbor, one of several harbors on the biggest island in Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island. After we grabbed a mooring ball for the night, we headed to shore for dinner. We ended up at Beal’s Lobster Pier for my third lobster of the trip!
Southwest Harbor mooring field
Sunday – Southwest Harbor to Somesville
The next morning, we moved on, exploring the Somes Sound, which cuts up the middle of Mount Desert Island. Somes Sound was formed by glaciers many years ago and the sea filled it in when the glaciers melted. It is a rare US coastal fjard, which is like a fjord, but not as deep or mineral-rich as those found in Scandinavia. Regardless, it was beautiful, and we made our way up to the top of the sound to anchor overnight outside of Somesville.
Looking north into the mouth of the Somes Sound. The 140 yacht to the left is the S/V Rebecca, owned by the CEO of H-E-B
It was a peaceful, beautiful spot. We got there early in the day, and we took the opportunity to go ashore and hop on the Island Explorer free Acadia Park Shuttle for a ride into Bar Harbor for some more provisions. The bus is a fantastic way to explore the entire park. It’s a well-run outfit with 11 different routes that you can take to visit different spots in the park.
View from carriage trail near Hulls Cove Visitor Center @ Acadia NP
Monday – Somesville to Northwest Harbor
The next day we headed back down Somes Sound, this time going into a slip at a marina, as there were some strong storms expected for the next few nights. Lori and I explored the downtown area, and for dinner we all walked over to the Nor’Easter Pound and Market for dinner. I had my fourth lobster of the trip!
Tuesday & Wednesday – Northwest Harbor to Winter Harbor
The next day was a rainy lay day, so we got up early to shower and do laundry. Then Lori and I donned our rain jackets and boots and took the Island Explorer bus to Sand Beach, hoping to find some sea glass. Sadly, we only found one jagged piece of recently broken brown glass. Oh, and a sand dollar! We walked the Ocean Path from Sand Beach to Otter Cliff, catching the bus to Jordan Pond, and then back to Northeast Harbor. We made the most of a rainy day and saw more of the beautiful Acadia park.
A view from the Ocean Path, Otter Cliff in the way back
We all walked back up to mainstreet and enjoyed some beverages at the bar at Colonel’s Restaurant, then had another fine meal aboard the boat for the evening.
Thursday – Winter Harbor to Bar Harbor
The next morning, we had a lumpy sail over to the Schoodic Peninsula, getting a ball at the Winter Harbor Yacht Club. This area is home to the only portion of Acadia National Park that lies on the mainland of Maine. We went ashore, walked into town and caught the Island Explorer one more time for a ride around that portion of the park.
Sunset in Winter Harbor
In the morning, Lori and I took Louie on a lovely walk down to the end of Grindstone Point and enjoyed the views. Back on the boat, we dropped the mooring and headed to Bar Harbor for the night, where we got one of the 5 mooring balls that the city of Bar Harbor maintains.
We went ashore, and I walked along the shore path and back to take in more of the beautiful sea views. We had drinks at Paddy’s Irish Pub and then went back to the boat for dinner aboard – my last night of the trip.
Friday –Bar Harbor to Bangor to Austin
Friday morning, Lori dinghied me over to the dock and we hugged goodbye. Another adventure come to a close. I grabbed a taxi & a bus to the Bangor airport, and then made it home at the end of a long travel day.
Maine calls itself ‘Vacationland.’ After spending 2 weeks there, I can see why. The Maine coastline is huge and full of rustic islands to explore. Acadia National Park is the 3rd most visited US National Park. The scenery is amazing. The free shuttles make it easy to get around without a car. The seafood is delicious. There is a nice mix of remote destinations and tourist destinations to explore. The summer weather is pleasant. The wildlife is abundant. I’ve never seen so many beautiful b0ats. This is definitely a must-see sailing destination.
Lori, Mike, and Louie were very gracious to let me join them on this part of their summer cruise. I had a really wonderful time. ❤
S/V Trident (left of center) moored in Bar Harbor. S/V Margaret Todd on the right.
I headed down to the University of Texas campus today to meet up with a bunch of friends to celebrate Laura’s birthday. Not all the ladies could make it, but we had a great lunch at Gabriel’s Cafe in the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, just down the street from the UT Tower. We all enjoyed catching up with eachother. Afterwards, we walked the few blocks to the Blanton Museum. Tuesday’s are free!
UT Tower – funny story… I was down here a month ago in May, right before graduation…the groundskeepers were spraying the grass on the medians with green spray paint. 🙂
I haven’t been down to the museum district since before COVID. And things sure have changed! There is a new pedestrian-only mall that goes all the way from the Capitol Building, up to the Blanton – and huge new office buildings where there used to be only a surface parking lot.
This is a pretty cool feature – the new Capitol Mall. The Bullock Museum is on the right.
The Blanton has done much work on their grounds, and this pretty awesome feature consists of a dozen 3-story tall structures that they call Petals. They provide much needed shade.
The new Petals architectural feature at the Blanton Museum. I LOVE this.
I need to come down more often to enjoy the exhibits.
This week we drove down to Houston to celebrate the birthday and anniversary of friends of ours, Asha and Shekhar.
I’ve known Asha for over 35 years, which seems strange just typing that. We were roommates way back when. We ended up moving to the same state, though different cities. She’s always reached out to remain connected over the years, and for that, I am thankful. I’ve enjoyed her family as it grew over the years, attending her wedding, and getting to know her husband and her strong, successful daughters as they’ve grown up.
Happy Birthday Asha, and Happy Anniversary Asha and Shekhar!
We drove straight to Colorado on the way north, about a 15-hour drive, and stayed with Julie in Denver for a night. Then we headed to Gene and Jo’s for two nights. We made a side trip to Estes Park as well. The family get-together was very special.
On the way back south we had another nice visit with Julie.
Dinner and desserts with Julie in Denver.
Then we broke up the long trip home into a couple of days including stops at two national parks.
Great Sand Dunes National Park – snow on the dunesWhite Sands National Park – a truly unique place
We stayed in Ft. Davis for a night with a reservation to attend one of the McDonald Observatory’s star parties. The skies were not cooperative for viewing at the observatory, but we had fun.
McDonald Observatory socked in with clouds.
We left Ft Davis on Wednesday well before dawn, and on the drive up to I-10, I noticed that the clouds parted, opening up a clear, starry sky. So we pulled over in the middle of pitch-dark range land with coyotes howling all around and enjoyed a full-sky view of the Milky Way.
We enjoyed the view for a few minutes and then resumed our drive. A few minutes later the skies were filled in with thick clouds again. It was a treat to get that brief moment of star gazing.
A successful road trip, but it’s always nice to get back home.
Well, it happened! Monte and I went on a road trip together for the first time since before COVID. We drove to Colorado for a family gathering of Gene and Jo’s entire posse. It was really a treat to be there. Lots of special people. Many laughs, stories, and hugs.
We took our friends Tim & Fiona and their three kids sailing on Nirvana today. We’ve done it many times over the years during their Spring Break holidays.
The kids are now 13 or 14, and 19 years old. It’s amazing to watch them grow up. They all have an intuitive feel for the helm. Monte and I didn’t need to steer much at all. It was a beautiful day for a nice long sail. I’m glad we got to spend it with them.
Monte and I both hang on to the cars we buy a long, looong time – one is 26 years old, the new one is 13 years old. It’s time for some new blood in the garage.
We’ve been thinking about getting an electric vehicle, as much of our driving trips are less than 70-miles roundtrip (to the lake and back) and much shorter errand-trips around town. We have been shopping for a month or two. Last week we found one we were looking for in San Antonio. So on a wild hair, we hopped into the fossil-fuel vehicle (ironic, right?) and drove 75 miles to see it, sit in it, test drive it. We liked it, so we brought it home!
We picked a Chevy Bolt EV. Pretty roomy. It’ll hold our boat loads to and from the marina (ice chest and our bags) and lots of room for groceries and other things.
I had an opportunity to visit two more National Parks this week. Lori and Mike are driving to Arizona to visit her sister, and planned to visit two parks I’d yet to see. So, I stowed away in their backseat on Wednesday morning. We drove all day, staying in Van Horn, Texas for the night.
A Say’s Phoebe singing to me outside the Van Horn hotel
Thursday we took a short detour north to see Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We crossed into New Mexico to see it, and the underground caverns are stunning.
One of the too many photos I took inside the amazing Big Room cave chamber at Carlsbad Caverns National Park
After the caverns we turned around and headed back south. We hiked the Devil’s Hall trail at Guadalupe Mountains National Park on our way back up I-10.
Guadelupe Peak in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, aka the ‘Top of Texas,’ the highest natural point in the Lone Star State
We stayed in El Paso for the night, my first time visiting this border town. Our hotel had an amazing rooftop bar with great views.
This morning I flew back home. Lori and Mike are continuing on west. That was a whirlwind 48 hour trip. And two more Parks in the bag!
Three weeks ago, Lori and I flew to New York City to move S/V Trident south to Cambridge, MD.
It was raining when we arrived. We joined 50+ other boats waiting in Manhasset Bay for the weather to improve. But after one day of hunkering on the boat on a mooring ball, and one day of provisioning, a good weather window opened for a few days. On day 3 we were blessed with a sunny, clear day as we went down the East River, highlighted in my last post.
We ended that day at anchor at Atlantic Highlands, NJ with the rest of the transient fleet moving south. We left at sunset on day 4, for a sporting overnight run down the coast of NJ to Cape May. We enjoyed strong Northwest winds and a bright full-moon to light the way.
We spent one night at anchor in Cape May Harbor, then moved to South Jersey Marina for one night, for a walkabout, a bike ride, a geocache (my first in NJ!), a shower, and dinner ashore.
On day 7, we departed Cape May at the morning’s slack tide and headed up Delaware bay, with both the wind and a several-knot current on our nose, making for a slow, long day of motoring. We made it about halfway up, anchoring in the mouth of the Cohansey River on the NJ-side of the bay.
Day 8 took us from Delaware Bay to Chesapeake Bay, via the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, in which sailing is not allowed, so another day of motoring. We went as far south as we could, anchoring at sunset in Worton Creek on the NE shore of Chesapeake Bay.
With anchor up on day 9, we had a chance to sail down Chesapeake Bay, and up the Choptank River, arriving at Cambridge, MD near sunset.
SV Pride of Baltimore sailing past Thomas Point Shoal Light near Annapolis
We anchored outside the town, in the river, on the first night and then moved into the town’s harbor to anchor on day 9.
For the next 5 days, we busted our butts to get Trident ready for haulout for the winter. We lowered and stowed 3 sails, removed the bimini, secured the bimini frame, consolidated and removed all the foodstuffs, linens, and appliances, removed the outboard motor, cleaned the boat topsides and below, changed the oil & filters, topped off diesel, prepped the freshwater system for winterization, and worked on completing the long todo lists.
Trident in Cambridge harbor before being stripped for haulout
We worked hard, but dinghied to shore with the bikes and explored the town a bit, too. Renting a U-haul truck for a few days worked out great, which we used to move all the offloaded items to a temperature-controlled storage unit.
We enjoyed dinner ashore with Teri & Jim, who graciously drove 2+ hours from Washington, DC to meet up with us. It was so great to catch up.
We also got in a few visits with Edwin, who will be leaving Cambridge to join the Salty Dog Rally to Antigua on Nov 1st, on his boat S/V Frog’s Leap.
A stubbed toe, several bruises and sore muscles later, Lori backed the boat up to the dock at Yacht Maintenance Company in Cambridge for haulout, some maintenance, winterizing, and shrinkwrapping for the winter.
Lori and Mike will return in May to put Trident back in cruising shape and take her back north to cruise through Maine for the summer.
Every three months we take a drive through the Texas hill country to pick up our wine club package. The May pickup party was lovely. The weather was beautiful. The nibblies were delicious. We made a few other stops and enjoyed a really lovely day.
This week I headed to the Gulf Coast of Texas in search of birds. Doray met me at High Island a day before a cold front was expected, which is a good thing if your goal is to see some colorful birds during Spring migration. On an ordinary day, the migrants just keep flying north once they cross the Gulf of Mexico – they’re on a mission. In the face of strong northerly winds and inclement weather, they will stop for a bit on the first land they come across to rest, which, for many migrants, are the woods on High Island.
Over the course of 3 days, I logged nearly 100 unique species of birds; a real treat for this birder. Doray and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. On Wednesday, Doray was heading home, and I was staying an extra day. We decided to stop in together at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge to see what we could see, and then go our separate ways. As I got into my car to head back to High Island, I was greeted by a flat tire. In the middle of pretty much nowhere.
The red star is where I ended up with a flat.
Changing a tire is not daunting. My dad showed me how to change a flat when I bought my first used vehicle way back when, and I’ve changed many a tire since then. However, this flat was a teensy bit more challenging due to a jammed lug nut, which didn’t want to come off. Eventually, the lug nut and bolt broke off. Which was not great. BUT if it hadn’t broken off, I would not have been able to change the tire at all. Silver linings! 🙂 So, I changed the tire. Doray stayed with me till I figured out my next move, which was to drive back to my hotel on the emergency spare and then get the tire fixed. Driving on the emergency spare is slow going. Driving with 4 of 5 lug nuts was a little concerning. But, in the end, everything worked out great. The repaired tire and one missing lug nut were enough to get me back home safely the next day, and the dealer is fixing the broken bits as I type this.
My 3rd day of birding was cut short, but it was a great trip, seeing many, many colorful warblers and other migrating birds. I didn’t get many bird photos to share here, but they are forever in my mind’s eye.
Sheila365 