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August 17, 2007

ONCE AGAIN, IT'S ALMOST FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

For the second week in a row, I'm posting this a day early. We'll be out of town until Friday afternoon, so here you go...

As mentioned in my journal last week, we left for Seattle in the motorhome with the Captain Bell in tow around 12:30 on Thursday. It was a long trip, as the motorhome was pulling for all its worth trying to get us over the hills, but we finally pulled into the Center for Wooden Boats around 7:30 that evening. We would have been there sooner, but we decided to miss the Seattle rush hour traffic and stopped at a rest area for a couple of hours while I fixed dinner. The traffic in Seattle is bad enough without having a 50' combination of motorhome and boat to haul.

It was sleepless in Seattle for me. I was trying to get used to sleeping in a different bed and getting used to the sounds of the city noise. Lake Union is right on the northern edge of downtown Seattle. The I-5 freeway was above us on one side of the lake and seaplanes landing on Lake Union every few minutes. I swear we were also over the flight path of the SeaTac airport! One doesn't realize how quiet our little space is at home until you try to endure the big city life.

Friday, Dave launched the boat, which was clear across the lake and it took him about a half an hour to steam over to the dock where the meet was being held. I helped stuff the registration packets and then handed them out when people arrived. I was on the dock most of the day doing that. That night we had a wonderful chowder feed on the 1920's steamship "Virginia V" which is has been completed refurbished.

Another sleepless night came. This time it was listening to some group who get together once a month to sing sailor chants. It seems the area we were given for our RV's was right next to the space where they sing. I was finally lulled to sleep with "Yea, ho - blow the man down" but was rudely awakened around 10:30 when the ordeal was over and they started tearing down the folding chairs and tables. It took me a couple more hours to settle down from that when at 6:30 in the morning a brigade of helicopters flew over. Doesn't anyone sleep in???

Saturday after breakfast, we had a parade of steamboats. There were about 30 steamboats that had come for the meet and everyone steamed around in a circle and blew their whistles. We started to have problems with our boat and had to limp back to the dock before it was all over. So we spent the rest of the day at the dock but I got a chance to go out in a different boat and that was a lot of fun. Our dear friend, Sherri DeBoer who lives on Bainbridge Island, came over to the meet and took us to lunch. She lost her hubby a few years ago and she had sold their steamboat to another member of the club. She hadn't seen the boat for quite a while and was finally ready to visit it again. It was a tearful moment for her and I am sure brought back many memories. The new owner has been ill and is seriously thinking of selling the boat again so Sherri wants to buy it back for her son. It is one of those things that she regretted doing and now she has an opportunity to redeem herself.

It was a catered dinner on the deck of the Center for Wooden Boats on Saturday night and, since I had a nice long nap earlier in the afternoon, I was beginning to feel human again. It was so much fun to visit with everyone once more and the evening was topped off with a fireworks display. The fireworks display was actually across the lake at a wedding reception and we just happened to take advantage of it.

On Sunday it was a real hassle trying to orchestrate getting the steamboat towed back to the launch site and then getting someone to haul it out of the water. It is kind of hard to use the motorhome for that. We not only had to negotiate a tow, but also borrow a truck and driver. But we got it all worked out and everything got done. We left Seattle around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday and made it home by 7:30. It felt good to be back in our own bed again and the peace and quiet of our village life.

The rest of the week has been busy getting the laundry caught up, mowing the lawn and getting plants watered. The birds were glad to see me too as all of their feeders were empty. We also spotted the brown pelicans this week, it seems like they are late this year.

We left on Thursday for the big city, as I had to get my teeth cleaned and hair cut. We will also use the time to pick up a few things at Costco. We are planning on spending the night with Lara's family in West Linn and get some bonding in with our two youngest granddaughters, Jadyn and Jaysa whom we haven't seen for quit a while. I hope they remember us!