Great Loop & Cruising Adventure Blog

We met the Huang family at our B&B on Capitol Hill. Chen (Meg) is a student from Taiwan now studying in Seattle, Yu-Yen, Chen’s mother, stays with her here while her father commutes back and forth from Taiwan. Just before Christmas they moved from the B&B into their new apartment, which is close to where we are staying. We’ve made fast friends with them in the short amount of time that we have been here. Hsu-Yu is a very friendly man who loves to travel so he and Jim hit it off right away.We had the honor of being the first guests in their lovely new home. Yu-Yen prepared a delicious, as well as visual, feast for us with different kinds of teas, soups and flavors that were new for us. Hsu-yu explained about the foods and many customs of his country. The Huang family was very gracious; they created an evening we will never forget.Here you see the Huang family with another family friend, Sam (also a student) and another guest from the B&B, Tom.

  
SNOW IN SEATTLE ON CHRISTMAS DAY! This is a rare event we are told.We were a long ways from home for the holidays but the Innkeeper, Michael, and the many other residents of the guest house helped make us feel right at home with a big Turkey dinner and pleasant company. We missed our young men and being close to our families but we called everyone on Christmas day and tried to be as close as we could.We have gotten to know several of the people here at the B&B and some that have come back just for the holiday. We have enjoyed everyone’s company and have found this to be a home away from home and a good place to be for the holidays. We also met a young woman, Barbara, from italy who stayed here for the holidays and it was fun trying to communicate with her. On her last night here she made us all a big spaghetti dinner, Italian style. We were in heaven.

There has been a lot of progress on Kismet since our last posting. Most of the progress is not immediately visible. In the top 2 photos you’ll see the 9KW Northern Light diesel generator has been installed and unlike our last generator this one will have a sound shield, making it extremely quiet.The bottom 2 photos show the deck that has been moved inside. Fathom’s expert craftsmen are installing, wiring, lighting and storage compartments all in preparation to mount the deck onto the hull the week of January 7th. Prior to this the Cummins QSB425 HP diesel power plant will be installed.

Jim had the pleasure of visiting the Boeing Airplane Museum. Lots of old aircraft to explore and photograph.

We took a whole day to drive up and over to the Olympic Penninsula to visit the Hoh Rain Forest. We took a ferry from Edmonds to Kingston and drove to the Hoh Rain Forest. It was a long drive but we finally made it there. Unfortunately the road to the park was closed due to a washed out road due to the excessive rainfalls in the area recently. So, we walked in as far as we could but did not even make it to the entrance to the park. But what we did see was amazing, as you can see. We look forward to coming back when we know that the park will be accessible.

We made our second trip to the Fathom plant and were pleasantly surprised at the amount of progress made in 7 working days.
Top-left - Jim standing next to the boat gives you a good idea of expedition design. The bow thruster has been installed and the holes have been cut for the windows.
Top-right - Here you see the completed hull’s aft exterior without the swim platform installed.
Middle-left - A close-up photo of the lazarette area. Storage in the center with water tanks to both the port and starboard along with some of the many battery boxes.
Middle-right - The two stainless steel tanks you see here are the fuel tanks inside the engine room and to the rear of the starboard tank you see part of the exhaust system. As you can see they have started to run the start of the wiring - however what you do not see that has been installed are the rudder, drive shaft housing, water strainer and holding tank.
Bottom-left - After 7 years of dragging a 50 amp power cord off and on our Silverton it will be a treat to have the Glendenning Cable Master on our new Fathom. You can see the system in the lower right corner of this picture.

The first place we wanted to visit was the Pike Place Market near the waterfront. It definitely was a feast for the eyes… and the stomach. We picked up some salmon and fresh veggies for dinner. YUM.

Jim did a great job in selecting our home for the winter. It is a Bed and Breakfast located on the Top of Capitol Hill near downtown Seattle. It is a homey environment with many amenities. We feel very much at home here. A great spot to live while we wait for our boat to be launched.