Sunday August 27th – On the way back south from every summer boat trip we have made it a tradition to spend a few nights in Seattle for some school clothes shopping.

We had a nice cruise south from Port Townsand to Seattle’s Bell Harbor where we arrived to a boat occupying the slip we were assigned. After getting situated in a different slip we left the boat for the big city. We spent the next couple days having nice dinners out at all our favorite places and lots of shopping for the kids.

Tuesday August 29th – Our last day in Seattle I devised a plan for a dinghy adventure. Julie thought I was a little nuts but the plan went like this. All 4 of us would take the dinghy out of Bell Harbor, into Elliot Bay and head north to the entrance of the locks. The locks lead you from Puget Sound to Lake Union. I thought it would be fun to take our little 13′ dinghy through the locks and I wanted to go to Fisheries Supply and have lunch somewhere on the lake.

We took off cruising like a little speck in the open Elliot Bay then stopped at the Elliot Bay Marina to top off the fuel tank. Cruising around West Point things got a little rough. We continued on, but it made me a little worried about our return where we would be headed into the waves rather than going with them. As we headed into Shilshole Bay a huge salmon jumped right in front of us. We stopped for a while and fished but no bites.

We kept on to the locks, but the trek took quite a bit longer than expected and we still had quite a way to go after getting through the locks. After waiting for about an hour for the locks to open our direction, we piled in with all the boats towering above our little dinghy. Up we went to the lake level then the gates opened flowing us into the fresh water.

The canal getting to Lake Union and the lake itself is a no wake zone. So, we had to slowly motor along all the while the passengers were getting more and more restless and cranky. Hot sun, no food, and the trip taking about 3 times longer than expected didn’t help. We were not prepared. I had severely underestimated the time it would take, and Julie was now giving me the evil eye knowing that as far as we had come we still had to go back. “Isn’t this fun” I said, “look at all the boats”. The heat was getting to them, no response.

We finally made it to Chandlers Crab House where we revived ourselves with some food and beer for the adults. All Ava wanted to do is see the crab boats from Deadliest Catch, so we got back in the hot sun and at 4 knots made it to Fisherman’s Terminal. None of the boats were back from Alaska yet so another detour just caused more heat stroke. Although we did our good deed for the day by rescuing a lady’s umbrella that had blown in the water and floating away. She was very grateful and invited us to see her old Tollycraft houseboat that was all done up mid-century modern style.

After another long wait at the locks we made it back out to the Puget Sound to find calmer seas and a nice trip back to Bell Harbor. All together it was a 7-hour tour and I didn’t even make to Fisheries Supply! No one talked much, we were all exhausted from the sun. It wasn’t all that fun at the time, but it was an adventure that crated fun memories! Julie and I had a nice dinner alone that night at Etta’s.

Saturday August 26th – Today we are crossing the Strait of Juan De Fuca and making our way south to Port Townsand. Port Townsand doesn’t have a customs dock so a few days ago we requested that the local customs agent meet us at our slip at Point Hudson marina and clear us there. He had to get special authorization and request overtime because it a Saturday, lucky for us he got the go ahead.

Todd and Tami were right behind us so at least he would have two boats to clear. I called the agent on the phone just before our arrival. Just as we pulled into the marina Ava yelled out “I lost a tooth!”. If you want Ava to lose a tooth, just clear customs. This is the second time its happened. Last time I was on the radio with the customs agent when we heard the excited screaming.

After the easiest border crossing of our boating career we lowered the dinghy for a run around Point Hudson to Fort Warden park. We said our good byes to Todd and Tami as they continued on to Tacoma in time for school events starting soon. We had a great summer trip with them and their family!

Fort Warden has a nice sandy beach that we played and relaxed on for a couple hours then Julie and I abandoned the kids on the boat and went to town for a beer. The whole family had dinner at Doc’s Marina Grill that evening while we talked about all our adventures the last few weeks.

Thursday August 24th – Skylar and I started a little business where we designed and manufactured what we call the Killer Crab Knife. It’s a tool used to kill a crab just before you cook it. Our company is Scout Trading Co. check out our website. Roche Harbor has a little store that sells fishing supplies, so Skylar and I introduced ourselves to the manager. She was nice enough to buy 6 of our knives and put them for sale in the store. It was super fun getting the sale and such a great experience for Skylar.

Today we are headed back to Canada to visit Victoria. From Roche you need a fairly good weather window to make the trek across Haro Strait and out through the Juan De Fuca Strait before arriving in Victoria harbor on the south end of Vancouver Island. Today that window was short. Wind in the morning, a brief calm mid-day then wind in the late afternoon. I don’t really like forecasts like that because things change too quickly but we took the opportunity. The weather was a bit unsettled but nothing we couldn’t handle.

We cleared customs about 1pm then made our way to Ships Point for our slip. Todd and Tami right behind us we both got settled in right next to each other. We all went shopping in town and Todd bought 2 deck chairs that we all carried back to the boat from about a mile away. Nice thing was that when we got tired we had a place to sit! Dinner at Pegliacci’s that night, always a fun experience.

Friday August 25th – Julie and I took a long walk in the morning then packed the calories back on with lunch and beer at Irish Times. Tea at David Tea, then more calories at Dutch Bakery (we happened to meet the owners out boating). Todd’s parents Bruce & Gloria joined us on their boat and brought Todd’s sister Emily and her husband Tim with them.

Skylar and Zach signed up for a spot at the art fair to try selling crab knives. They were excited at the prospect of lots of sales, but it turned out that all the attendees were off a cruise ship. Not quite the demographic you want when trying to sell a crab killing tool. Needless to say, they didn’t sell a single one but not for a lack of trying. They were persistent, talking to everyone as they walked by trying to get their attention. Super proud of their effort but sometimes things don’t work out.

All the adults went to nice dinner at El Terrazzo then back to the boats for the evening. About 12am I heard a noise on the back of our boat. Stumbling out of bed I made my way out of the stateroom to see what was going on. We had left a bunch of extra crab knives and other items on the back of our boat in a bin. To my surprise this guy was on our boat going through the bin. I charged to the back of the boat and I think scared him as much as he scared me. He jumped, then slowly walked to the head of the dock like nothing had happened.

This is the second time we have had a problem with thieves in Victoria. Last year Todd got his dinghy stolen right from the dock.