Friday Harbor, WA

(Christine and Sonny playing 'Fate'. Fate is a computer adventure game where the hero has a pet that accompanies him or her through the levels of a dungeon. The pet can start out as either a cat or, a dog - a Jack Russell Terrier! Sonny seems very interested in that other dog.)

Well, we've been here a week and a half. It hasn't rained once. Was the rain just a Bellingham thing?

We left Bellingham on Monday morning early into dense, drizzly fog. By the time we were in the middle of Bellingham Bay, you couldn't see the shore in any direction. Very cold and wet. It's times like these that you really appreciate all those electronic gizmos: radar, gps, etc. We rounded Eliza Island on the south shore past Eliza Rock. Could just make out the outline of houses on the bluffs. Made course between Vendovi Island and Viti Rocks with the point of Sinclair Island as our next waypoint. The fog had begun to lift a little and by the time we eased between Towhead Island and Cypress Island it had lifted enough that you could see all the way across Rosario Straits to the Peavine Pass.

Christine went below and let the sibs out of their crate. One of them (probably Deja) had thrown up but, both were ready for a little exercise. Christine threw the tennis balls and they chased each other around the cabin (not Christine, just the sibs), completely ignoring the engine noise. There was no further seasickness either.

Altogether, we had a nice, calm 6-hour passage and arrived here in Friday Harbor to find the visitor's dock mostly empty.

Our plan was to settle in here at the dock for the rest of the winter. We'd enroll the sibs in obedience school, take long walks and just relax. That was our plan. Doesn't look like that's going to happen. RANT ON: Friday Harbor has initiated a rule that liveaboard boats (and only liveaboard boats) must have completed a Coast Guard Auxiliary inspection. This is the Aux's voluntary inspection. You know, the one you get the decal for. The decal that does nothing. Won't keep the CG from stopping and inspecting you. Won't get you a break on your insurance. Nothing. All those white plastic weekend toys sitting at the dock rotting away don't require a 'voluntary' inspection. Those of us that spend every day and night aboard ensuring our boats are secure and in good working order do. I see this as a bullying tactic. The harbor board's way of letting me know who's boss. Well, I got news for them. On my boat, I'm boss (as long as Christine lets me). I get to decide who comes aboard.

Customs and Border Protection have a lawful requirement to inspect my boat. The Coast Guard also. Either of them want to come aboard, I'll even offer them a cup of tea. The harbor board doesn't. So, as soon as our outboard gets here, we'll move out to the channel and dinghy back and forth to the town. Probably better that way anyway. We'll save money and the sibs can have free rein to run around the decks.

RANT OFF: So, we're here (uninspected) at the visitors dock and paying the visitors rate rather than the lower 'monthly' rate waiting for our outboard to be shipped down from Juneau.

Semi-Rant On: I called FedEx on Saturday to arrange for pickup in Juneau and delivery to us here in Friday Harbor. This is after going on line to the FedEx.com website and creating a profile and a shippers account. Monday being a holiday (MLK Day) they promised that someone would be there Tuesday morning. No one came all day Tuesday. I called to confirm and request pickup Wednesday. Again, our son-in-law rescheduled his day and waited for FedEx to show up. Again, no one showed. Apparently, FedEx is taking its business model from the Cable Guy: keep the customer waiting for days, when they call to complain, blame the customer for missing the call, etc... I called FedEx Wednesday evening and canceled the shipment then, I called UPS. UPS agreed to have someone go by today (Thursday) to pickup our box with the outboard. We'll see...  Semi-Rant Off

We made an appointment for Deja with the local veterinarian. She's going to be 'fixed' on the 28th. Isn't that a funny saying: 'fixed'? It's not like there's something broken. Her parts are working as designed - are they ever! We got the sibs on Friday the 2nd of January. By Sunday the 4th, Deja was exhibiting strong dominance behaviors over Sonny. By Tuesday the 6th, she was flowing steadily. We knew she hadn't been spayed, the previous owners estimated 2-months before she'd come into season again. I'm thinking that the stress of moving to a new family, home that moves, exercise schedule caused her time to arrive early. We'll all be very, very, very glad when she's no longer 'natural'. On the other hand, they are coming right along with their training. We've almost got walking alongside us without trying to drag our arms out of their sockets down (only the very occasional lunge at a bird). We're stopping at every corner and waiting and have begun with 'sit' and 'stay'. The biggest problem right now is socialization. Both sibs are very protective of us. They tend to growl when someone comes too close uninvited or too quickly. A little of that is okay with me. I want them to protect us and let us know if someone is onboard the boat in the middle of the night. Growling or lunging at strangers while we walk down the sidewalk is Not ok. We're going to have to work on that distinction. I think Deja's delicate condition contributes to some of her crabbiness.

Yesterday we were able to get online with a good strong wifi signal. While cruising the web, we checked out the Geocaching site for possible caches here in Friday Harbor. We found two within easy walking distance of the boat so, we went out in the afternoon and found both of them. Not a bad excuse for a pleasant walk around the area. The dogs even give us a good excuse for diving off into the bushes to get the caches. We bought some travelbugs to leave in a cache but I put them in the box with the outboard and, of course, they haven't gotten here yet. If you want to know more about Geocaching, go to the Geocaching website at: http://www.geocaching.com/

David, Christine and the Sibs (Sonny and Deja)
SV Raven, Juneau AK

Currently lying: At the dock, Friday Harbor Wa