It was a short drive from the boat launch at Point Defiance to our destination of Gig Harbor. Well, it did take a little longer than needed because the water was smooth, the wind was so warm and we yearned to just cruise – but our schedule dictated that we…

Jim and I have been long-distance cruisers for five years. Most of that time has been spent on good sized boats, most recently our Fathom 40, but last year we decided it was time for a change. After redefining our cruising goals we came up with a plan to buy…

Here I am with my dad boating on Lake Chemung. When I was a child, our family would drive to Lake Chemung (Howell, Michigan) to spend summer weekends, a family event I always enjoyed. Like many things children look forward to, like getting to the lake, it never seemed to…

We don’t want to do it, but then again we do… We are talking about leaving Washington to go home. We’ve had such a rewarding experience while in the Pacific Northwest making new friends, reacquainting ourselves with some of Lisa’s old friends, sightseeing, watching our new boat be built, cruising…

After the boat was safely secured on the truck we headed back to Seattle where we were the guests, for dinner, of Walt and Margie with whom, along with friends Patti and Eric, we celebrated our last night in Seattle. We spent the night at Patti and Eric’s home and…

Yesterday they took off the fly bridge to prepare it for shipping. Today we got up early drove the boat over to the lift where it was lifted out of the water and onto the truck for the long ride east.

Today is our last day, touring the islands. We left Friday Harbor this morning to head to Hunter Bay, off Lopez Island. This is quite a large bay located on the southeast side of the island. We made our way into the crook of the bay and found only one…

Friday morning finds us leaving Fisherman Bay and Lopez Island at high tide and cruising the short distance back to Friday Harbor. We found more liveliness in this harbor this trip since the weekend is approaching and there are more boat and people activity.The weather cooperated with a warm afternoon…

Thursday morning we rose to a gentle rainfall. We took time with our showers and preparations to leave not wanting to vacate the peace and quiet of Reid Harbor. We find that most days include rain of some sort accompanied by ever changing skies, which open and close to expose…

One thing you can’t help but notice out here in Puget Sound, and surrounding waters, is the continually changing character of the water. With the rise and fall of the water, which constantly and rhythmically comes in and out on a predetermined schedule, Mother Nature is right in your face…

Today’s destination was Stuart Island’s Reid Harbor and a secluded, well-protected anchorage within three miles of Canada’s Vancouver Island. It was optimistic but, our mission today was to try to spot a rare (this time of year) whale sighting in the 800-foot water of Haro Straits on the Canadian /…

We left our protected dockage in Anacortes for a five-day tour of the San Juan Islands, which is located in the northwest corner of Washington State. First stop was Friday Harbor – this is one of those boating towns we’ve all heard of. Most wonder where it is and even fewer,…

What can we say?  How about… a photo is worth a thousand words.

This was home for a few days while Ross and Brooklyn visited with us.

Our son Ross and girlfriend Brooklyn came from Portland, by train, to Anacortes for a short, but very sweet, two day visit. They came to visit with us one more time before we head back to Michigan. We packed a lot in during the short visit. We had really wanted…