We've been planning this dinner ever since we saw Patti & Eric in Sandpoint, Idaho, in August. Finally, it was time to meet kids and grandkids, see a new home and share a meal. It was one of those nights that you never want to come to an end. Thank you all for a memorable night.
We live so far away from Ross and opportunities to connect are so few. So these five days in Portland with Ross are very precious to us. He took time off work several days to sightsee, eat out at favorite restaurants and take us on errands like the DMV, hardware, and grocery store. We knew the weather was supposed to be great today so we planned a cruise downriver to the little town of Lake Oswego. We spent the day going slow, trawler speed. The Willamette River is very scenic, rocky with big houses on hills and steep cliffs. We docked…
On our own, this time dropping Kismet into the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. We took our time and eased the trailer onto the boat ramp and into the water. Because we were going slow it took us about an hour to complete the whole process. Finding a spot to park the truck took a little more thought and time. Since we could only park the truck and trailer in the parking lot at the boat launch during the day we decided to take it upriver to a spot Jim heard about from another boater, we could leave the boat…
We Now Call Ourselves "Boaterhomies." Battle Ground State Park, in Washington State, was the spot for our first "Boater Home" experience. Since we had just driven six miles off the freeway to check out this park, we were happy they had availability for us to spend the night. We choose the first site available, right by the entrance, since it was a very thick wood, and being new at this type of camping and trailering a big boat behind the truck, did not want to contend with low-lying branches or too sharp of a winding curve in the road further…
After a few minor fixes and upgrades, we prepared to depart from the Ranger Tugs factory in Kent, WA. Kenny (below-left) helped us get on our way by checking tire pressure and helping with hitching the boat to our truck for the first time. We'll be heading to Portland, Oregon today (a two-day trip for us) to visit our son, Ross.
You guessed it – raining on the day we went to the rainforest, but we have to say it only added to the experience. A slight drizzle lasted during our entire hike through the forest. One of the most colorful and absolutely beautiful fungi we have ever seen. We weren't in the little town of Forks very long before we realized we were in the midst of "Twilight Zone." Since the popular movie, Twilight was shot here not too long ago the little town has become something of a tourist attraction for those interested in vampires. When Jim saw the…
After a walk through the market, with dinner still warm in our tummies, we were treated to a full moon and the bright lights of downtown Seattle. A great way to end our stay on the water in Washington State. We'll take the boat out of the water and drive down to the factory for some minor adjustments to Kismet and while this is being done we'll drive over to the Olympic Penninsula to visit the Hoh National Rainforest. We were not able to visit the rainforest when we were here in 2008 due to unusual flooding that year which washed…
Dinner On the Boat – Bell Harbor Marina A day of shopping produces a feast on the boat tonight.
Pike Place Market – Seattle, Washington The flowers come in all shades of pinks, golds, reds, purples, oranges, and more, a bounty of color.
Pike Place Market – Seattle, Washington Meats, sausages, pastries, cheeses, olives, peppers and salads. The Pike Place Market is a one stop shop.
Pike Place Market – Seattle, Washington A little bit of this, a little bit of that...
Pike Place Market – Seattle, WA Soon after tying Kismet up to the dock at Bell Harbor Marina, in downtown Seattle, we headed up the hill on a mission. We would secure ingredients for dinner, which will be made on the boat tonight. One of our favorite spots in Seattle is the Pike Place Market. The market will bring forth not only a feast for our eyes but later tonight it will provide a feast for our tummies. So many decisions. What to get, what to get. We would have liked to get one of these Dungeness crabs but we…
We didn't linger too long in Bremerton after the Ranger Tugs Rendezvous because we had a really interesting cruise planned for today. We said our goodbyes to new boating friends and shoved off the dock late morning. Just around the corner from Bremerton sits Blake Island, a 476-acre Washington State Park which lies in Puget Sound approximately eight miles from downtown Seattle. This Island, with its five miles of beach shoreline and magnificent views of the Olympic Mountains and Seattle skyline, is only accessible by boat. The island was an ancestral camping ground of the Suquamish Indian tribe. Later, it…
The People... "We Love Our Tugs!" We arrived in Bremerton on Wednesday so that we could take care of some chores before the festivities began – we were the third boat to arrive in the harbor. Over the late afternoon and early evening, and the whole next day, the tugs slowly arrived in the harbor. After we tied up to the dock I took off to do laundry while Jim cleaned the boat, then we treated ourselves to dinner at Anthony's – a great choice. We've been anchoring out a lot and, with no dinghy to get to shore, cooking…
Not long after we set the hook for a peaceful night at anchor in Oak Bay along comes this racing skull with mostly women aboard. I think we provided some amusement as they had a ton of questions about the "cute tug boat." We knew they were a friendly and happy group when they started to inquire about what sort of alcoholic beverage we might provide them for happy hour. Apparently, they were on an end-of-class outing and were not too serious about practicing. You wouldn't normally think you'd run into many social opportunities when anchored out for the night…
Nothing can be sweeter than a slice of homemade island blackberry pie unless it's being able to connect with good friends who live on Lopez Island. When we were making plans to revisit the PNW again this year we immediately let our friends Dave and Judy know we were coming. After several calls to negotiate where and when we'd all be able to meet while we were in the San Juans it all miraculously came together on Monday. We would leave Roche Harbor mid-morning and head right to Fisherman Bay on Lopez Island. We put something into the crockpot in…
Success! After two nights on anchor in Garrison Bay we called Roche Harbor Marina early Sunday morning and were put on the waiting list. We only waited a half hour or so before they called us in. The busy harbor was in stark contrast to our previous night's surroundings. With the holiday weekend in full swing, we were pretty quick to pick up on the electric, party atmosphere. As were coming down the fairway, we spotted another Ranger Tug just a few slips down from where we soon docked. We had noticed their dinghy tied to the back of their…
On our way to the Roche Harbor Customer Appreciation festivities. Apparently, if you are in Roche Harbor on this special day you are invited to this amazing party. Your choice of many fine wines, tasty seafood sandwiches, and a live band were the highlights of this party, all put on to thank the community, mostly boaters, for visiting Roche Harbor. We were only minutes tied up at the dock before marina personnel came to our boat to make sure we knew about the party. What a way to get in the party mood and join all the other boaters who…
We left Friday Harbor this morning after a quick walk through town. We wanted to get into Roche Harbor today but knew it would be full for the Labor Day holiday weekend, so Jim looked up anchorages in this area on Active Captain and came up with Garrison Bay as a good choice since it is just around the corner from Roche Harbor – we could hang out here for a day or two and try to secure a slip at the marina on Sunday or Monday when the holiday traffic slows down a bit. Just minutes after anchoring, way…
On our way into the San Juan Islands, we cruised by Olga, on Orca Island. So many people had recommended this little village as a great place to stop. If we have time we might return here and stay a night, but right now we're headed to one of our favorite ports in San Juan's, Friday Harbor. The last time we were here, three years ago, it was winter but as I remember not much colder than it was today. We arrived here just before the Labor Day weekend and we find a much busier harbor with only a few…
Smooth sailing today on the Sound and LaConner Pass. Returning to Cap Sante Marina for one night before we head over to the San Juan Islands. As we were approaching our slip we happened to see Herb and Willie on Willie's Tug, (above-left) we already feel like we know them because we've been corresponding with them on the Tug Nuts forum. They are also new owners of an R27 with a gorgeous yellow hull. Just after we tied up to the dock, we helped Jo into her slip next to us. She had just come from the Gulf Islands today, we…
Port Madison is a very well-protected anchorage, it felt more like being on a little lake. We are finding that the Ranger is not only easy to handle while docking but dropping the hook was almost effortless.
Puget Sound is the second-largest estuary in the country. It was formed around 15,000 years ago by a massive glacier moving south across the area. This glacier was over 3,412 feet thick. As it moved south, it shaped the land like a giant bulldozer, carving out the basins that make up Puget Sound. Over fresh waters of 10,000 rivers and streams of the Seattle area flow into the Puget Sound creating the estuarine habitat that's so valuable for wildlife in the sound. Our first stop is Gig Harbor, a very unique boating destination. We'll be attending the PNW MTOA Rendezvous…
We saw the pictures, talked with the Ranger Tugs personnel, took tours at boat shows, and visited owner's forums, however, there isn’t anything like meeting the folks that make it all happen. In our case, I’m referring to everyone at the Ranger Tugs assembly facility in Kent, Washington where our Ranger Tug R27 was built. After our orientation day, we spent the next day at the plant loading and provisioning our boat for our initial solo launch, at Port Defiance, later that day. While at the Kent facility, Andrew (above) continued to educate us on the inner workings of our…
Can't think of a better location than Gig Harbor, Washington for the PNW MTOA group of boaters to come together to laugh, share and learn. We never felt the "odd man out" (being from out of state) with this group of boaters, we got a big, warm welcome, right away, from everyone we met and the group is just small enough that it really was possible to spend time with almost everyone to hear boating stories and/or tips. We had so much fun, we think we'll have to come back in two years. Bill Stults hosted the rendezvous and worked…
