Monthly Archives: July 2009

Sitting in a Postcard

27 Monday Jul 2009

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On Saturday morning, Rich and I loaded up our bikes, fortified our stomachs with Egg McMuffins and iced McCafe’s then drove to Anacortes to catch a ferry to Shaw Island, the smallest of the four San Juan Islands served by the Washington State Ferries. It’s also home to less than 200 year-round residents.

The ferry going to Shaw, however, is very large, because it also stops at Orcas, Lopez, and San Juan Islands (Friday Harbor). There were dozens of bicyclists with thin-wheeled bikes, biking shorts, snappy jersey’s, and biking shoes who got on the ferry in Anacortes. I was concerned that Shaw island would be swarming with serious bicyclist, but almost everyone got off at either Orcas or Lopez. Commerand nests

While waiting to leave Anacortes, we watched the cormorants from the windows of the ferry. There were at least a dozen nests in nocks of the tall ferry slip. On a couple of nests, we could see the eggs. Other nests were buzzing with activity with baby birds peaking out their heads. the picture on the right shows several cormorants on top of the slip. Below were several of the many nests built in slip with as many as four nests per girder.

We rode on the M/V Yakima, a 382 foot ship that can hold up to 2,500 passengers and 144 vehicles, including large trucks and RVs. The calm water enabled the ferry to zoom from island-to-island at 15 to 17 knots. Ferry

Here’s what the ferry looks like from the lower car deck where we tied up our bikes. Above the car decks are two levels of seating.

The first place the ferry stopped was Lopez Island, which has a population of 2,000 people and offers many activities from bicycling to kayaking, gallery hopping, wine tasting, clamming and crabbing, and relaxing at the island’s many inns and cabins.

One of the most challenging days Rich and I had sailing last September was catching a mooring ball off Spencer Spit on Lopez Island. Because of the wind and mooring balls with chains that were stuck, it took us close to an hour to tie up the boat.

Most of the ferry emptied out at Orcas Island (below). Leaving OrcasRich and I have very warm memories of Orcas having attended a wedding there four years ago. The day before the wedding, we signed the paper to purchase our Mount Vernon house! At the time, our lives were filled with uncertainties as to whether we’d be able to move back to the Pacific Northwest (including moving six cats), find jobs, and afford a house close to Seattle. I longed for the day when we could take our bikes on the ferry and ride around the islands.

The ride from Orcas to Shaw took a few minutes. The quaint ferry landing was lined with planter boxes, filled with flowers of every imaginable color and shape. Next to the landing were the only commercial establishments on the island: A post office, grocery store/art gallery, and an antique shop that’s only open on weekends, during the summer!

The rest of the island consists of homes, farms, a community center, library/historical society, two-room school house (the original one-room plus a computer lab) that’s on the U.S. National Register of Historical Places, and several orders of nuns, including the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist who used to run the store and bless the passengers on the ferries. Net boat

While Rich and I intended to bike around the island, we seemed to spend more time enjoying the sites, including wandering through the library and historical society, where Rich posed in front of a reef net boat.

Native Americans and later fishermen in the San Juan Island would erect large fishing nets in the pathways of migratory salmon. They would stand on high platforms on their reef net boats and watch as the salmon leaped into the nets.

Across from the library was the two-room school house. Instead of staying on the paved road, we decided to cut across the island on a gravel road, which passed by a pasture of Scottish Highland cattle. I was able to pet several of the calves, but decided to get back on my bike after the “fully endowed” bull butted one of his giant horns on the low wooden fence.

I went on the American Highland Cattle Association Web site and just learned that the herd we saw belong to Mother Theresa Critchley of Our Lady of the Rock, O.S.B.! No wonder why the cattle were was placid and willing to be pet!

Access to the beach was easier on the other side. We visited a rocky beach then rode for a few minutes to a beach with large rocks with oyster shells stuck to the rocks. We found a fallen tree trunk to sit on and enjoyed our lunch of seedy crackers and pungent cheeses, green apple slices, carrots, and Gatorade.

We next biked on the beach at the 64-acre Shaw Island County Park. We might not have sexy road bikes, but we certainly have more fun on mountain bikes that let us easily ride on gravel, sand, and rocky paths!

Tired from our adventure and not wanting to wait for the 3:40 ferry, we head back to the ferry dock where we perused the many announcements on the community bulletin board, wandered through the antique store, then plopped down on a wooden loveseat to nibble on Ben & Jerry ice cream bars and look out on the bay.

Rich exclaimed, “It’s like sitting in a postcard.” Waiting for ferry

FIT Brings Insight

26 Sunday Jul 2009

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Two Thursdays ago, I brought my FIT to Kirkland Honda to have routine maintenance done on the car. Rich met me there to take me home.

He also decided to check out the cars. Wanting to trade in my old Honda CRV for a more fuel efficient car (and one that hadn’t weathered in the Texas sun for 4.5 years), he was intrigued by the Insight. His interest turned into a desire when he learned that the sales tax was waved on all cars sold in Washington through August 1st. The problem was finding a car in light blue, dark blue or red.

His quest turned into a Henry Ford moment in that the Insight was available in "any color – so long as it’s black." 

Anxious to not pay the sales tax, Rich ended up calling every Honda dealership from Seattle to Bellingham. All were willing to sell him a car, but none had Insights  except in black, white, silver or black!

A few days later, Kirkland Honda called and said they found a red Insight. Rich gave them a deposit and waited to see if the car manifested. Insight

Less than a week later, Friday afternoon, the car was ready to pick up. It had been shipped from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

That evening, we took the car on its virgin drive to Mount Vernon… and along the way, it started to hail! Happily it was Washington and not golf-ball sized Texas hail. Rich is thrilled with the car. And I’m thrilled because it gets 49 mpg… and is RED like my FIT!

Odds and Ends

22 Wednesday Jul 2009

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It’s been weeks… months… of perfect weather in Seattle. Instead of warm days interspersed with rain, we’ve had nothing but sun. Happily, the hottest it got was in the low 90’s. Most days, it’s in the 70’s and 80’s.

Last weekend, we attended a picnic for residents and property owners of Fidalgo Bay Estates in Anacortes. We fit in the latter group, having purchased a 1.5 acre lot in 2003 with the hope of eventually building a house on it. At this point, we’ve carved out some crude paths, planted a few trees and lilacs, and installed the septic system. Plus, Rich serves on one of the homeowner boards… and he coordinates the twice-yearly clean-up event.

Rich asked that I make something to “impress,” yet be easy to prepare. Friday evening, I boiled a dozen eggs, cut in half, and mashed up the yolks with sweet mustard, chopped chive, mayonnaise, and Cajun seasoning. On Saturday, I piped in the yolks and garnished the eggs with herbs from our garden.

Also on Friday night, I pounded four chicken breasts then layered on wilted spinach, basil leaves, thinly sliced carrots, and red peppers. I rolled each breast into a roll, wrapped in foil, and boiled them for around 30 minutes. After being refrigerated overnight, I sliced the rolls in half-inch thick.

I put spring lettuce mix on a large platter, plunked the deviled eggs in the middle, surrounded by the sliced chicken rolls, and then garnished with multi-colored miniature tomatoes, and slices of carrots, cut to resemble flowers. The food definitely impressed and probably took around two hours to make!

On Sunday, we had thoroughly enjoyed sailing on Lake Washington with strong winds and clear skies.

For the past few weeks, Rich has been working on installing bucket lights in the kitchen of our Kirkland house. The large space in the ceiling where we had florescent tubes, it going to house two large skylights! This weekend, Rich is planning to cut the holes in the ceiling and install the skylights. It’s going to look amazing!

Next, we’re going to order a small peninsula for the kitchen, which will increase the work and storage space. My first project on the peninsula will be to make fresh pasta.

In early fall, Rich will start to remodel the middle bathroom. He already installed a new fan and light. Even though a bath is quite small, it’s going to be a major undertaking because we need to remove the wallpaper and either texture the walls (lots of work) or put a textured wallpaper on the wall and paint over it.

We also need to replace the vanity, toilet, lights, mirror, remove the ghastly oak trim… replace the glass doors over the bathtub, and redo the flooring. While a lot of work (and expense) a remodeled bathroom significantly enhances the value of a house.

Shrek-colored Trees

11 Saturday Jul 2009

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Our 1.5 acre lot in Anacortes has an unusual number of Madrone trees on it. The developer who sold us the lot said that a forest fire decades ago created an ideal situation for nurturing Madrone, which evidently will regenerate faster after a fire than Douglas-firs.Madrone tree

While I appreciated the grace of the trees and attractive reddish-orange bark, I wasn’t amour with them until last summer when I saw what happens when the bark peels away to reveal the lime green trunk beneath.

The article on Wikipedia says that the "exposed wood sometimes feels cool to the touch." Their peeled trunks not only feel cool, but are amazingly smooth.   

I took some pictures of one of the trees on our lots, which was starting to peel. I helped it along by peeling off a large section of the bark and exposing the Shrek wood beneath. 

The picture at the top is of another tree at the base of an rock face we’ll one day turn into a Madrone with barkMadrone withhout the barkwaterfall.

Three Baby Raccoons

11 Saturday Jul 2009

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With the longest day of the year just a few weeks ago, it’s been staying light until nearly 10 o’clock at night. That means Rachel the Racoon has been coming around when the sun is still shining to munch on dog food and daintily wash her front feet.

A week ago, we turned on the deck lights after dark and were thrilled to see Rachel with her three babies. One was more amused by the container of water than the food. It climbed into the container and played in the water for several minutes while its mother nibbled on food. Lunetta & the Raccoon

Her other two babies were frolicking on the deck, also uninterested in the food. I think the babies are still nursing.

Here’s Lunetta supervising Rachel as she eats.

Since Rich works from home, he leaves the french doors open for the cats to go in-and-out. Rachel has several times stuck her head inside when her food dish was empty.

Barge of Fire

05 Sunday Jul 2009

Posted by in Hobbies

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In years past, Rich spent weeks tending to the logistics of setting up, overseeing, and cleaning up what was once the largest fireworks show west of the Mississippi, the Fort Vancouver 4th of July Show. Happily, the organizers and sponsors didn’t have enough money to host the show this year.

Originally, Rich and I were going to take a sailboat out on Lake Washington and watch the many shows in the area; however, he was asked by Western Display to oversee the Renton fireworks show. Rich hesitantly agreed.

The show is just over twenty minutes in length with a manageable 220 shells on a barge opposite a large park in Renton, which is at the South end of Lake Washington. Around 20,000 people in the park, boats, and the surrounding area were expected to see the show.

Even better, Rich felt the show could be set up with just five people: Rich, myself, Chris (Rich’s son), Shawnie (Chris’ wife), and John (Chris’ friend from college) who lives near Everett and works at Boeing.

On Friday evening, Chris and Shawnie drove up from Camas, Washington and spent the night at our house. Saturday morning, we packed up the cars, grabbed some cinnamon rolls I’d baked the day before, and headed to Kenmore, which is at the very Northern tip of Lake Washington and around 7 miles from our house. The barge was opposite Kenmore Air so we were able to see seaplanes take off and land throughout the day. Mortars

We got a good start loading up and wiring the shells (right).  Towards noon, Chris and Shawnie dashed down to the VA hospital in Seattle to visit Shawnie’s dad who is recovering from an accident.

Rich, John and I nibbled on some food from TacoTime then finished the wiring, including the task, I enjoy the most… wiring the boxes. Most of the fireworks you see in a professional show are various sized shells fired from mortars. For the Renton show, we had 4- and 5-inch shells.

The rest of the show consists of boxes of fireworks (bottom). Inside the boxes are rows of heavy cardboard tubes filled with explosive powder. When a box goes off, the rows of tubes ignite, one-after-the-other, creating an explosion of color and sound. The explosives in the boxes don’t go as high as shells, but the effect is magical!

I was glad when Chris and Shawnie returned to help Rich lay-out the cables because it was getting quite Boxes of fireworkshot and I was running out of steam. Plus, the barge and tugboat pushing it were going to leave within the hour. Before leaving, we made sure we had everything we needed for the long ride down Lake Washington, including subway sandwiches and bags of Cheetos, Doritos, and SunChips.

Lake Washington is the second largest lake in Washington with a surface area of 21,600 acres and 22 miles in length from Kenmore to Renton. On the west side is Seattle; Kirkland and Bellevue are on the east.

The trip from Kenmore to Renton took around 2.5 hours, which was surprisingly fast considering the tug boat pushing the barge wasn’t very big. Along the way, we passed gorgeous houses and mansions including Bill Gate’s house, which from the water is easy to miss because it blends into the landscape and looks like a peaceful lodge in the Adirondacks. 

To keep a barge in one place – a necessity for a fireworks show – a tugboat captain has to constantly watch a GPS and adjust the Heading down the lakelocation of the barge accordingly. The barge we were on, however, has two huge steel posts or spuds that can be lowered to hold the barge in place. You can see one of the spuds in the far right hand side of the picture below. By dropping the spuds, the tugboat captain was able to turn off the engine of the tug and also enjoy the show. Joining the captain was a deckhand and his family along with two other families who brought numerous ice chests, blankets, and sleeping bags.

Throughout the day, the Renton fire marshall came aboard the barge and conferred with Rich about the show and safety procedures. Once we left Kenmore, however, the marshall had to hitch a ride with the Seattle Harbor Patrol to get to the barge. It must have been an exciting ride because the police boat has three 250 horsepower engines that enable them to rapidly speed across the water. Here’s a picture of Rich chatting with the marshall prior to the show. Rich talking to the fire marshall

At 9:45, we collapsed the canopy we’d set up, folded up our lawn chairs, donned our life vests and other safety equipment, and got ready for the show.

Surrounding the barge were motor and sailboats, kayaks, canoes, and jetskiis. From the hills, around the lake, we could see fireworks bursts from homes and parks. Every direction, there were sparkling lights from houses, boats, and fireworks. 

At exactly 10:02 the show started with a bang. For twenty-two minutes, fireworks explode over my head. And because I was so close to the mortars and boxes, I could feel every burst as it lit and whooshed into the air.

As soon as it was safe to walk on the deck, we used flashlights to look in the mortars and make sure all of the shells went off. The tugboat captain turned on a generator that powered a huge light on the barge so we could stack the boxes, and pick up the wires, tin foil, fuse boxes, cables, and riff-raff from the spent fireworks. The "men" took apart the wooden containers and disassembled the firing control panel. It took about an hour to clean-up.

For the rest of the trip, we sat on the deck, bundled in fleece jackets, listening to the sounds of the water and watching dozens of boats zoom to their destinations as the fourth of July lapsed into the fifth. We got back to Renton around 1:30 a.m., quickly unloaded our personal items, drove home, took a quick shower and climbed between the covers.