Poulsbo Getaway

We just returned from two wonderful days with Alley, Mihai and Rylie. Our cruise took us to Poulsbo where we stayed at the marina in Liberty Bay. On the way there, and back, Mihai tried his hand at salmon fishing but was not successful (except for the crab he reeled in!). We really need to get downriggers on the boat so that has been added to our list of winter "projects". We still had a lot of fun just wandering around the shops in Poulsbo, eating ice cream at a wonderful shop called Mora's, and just being together. Because we were there on a Monday and Tuesday, the guest moorage was nearly empty so it was a nice, quiet place to stay.

On The Way Back Home



We began our trip back home on Thursday so that we could stop over in La Conner for the night. People had told us it was a great place to stay and we only got a quick look at the town and marina when we made our short stop on Monday. We did a little geocaching while we were here and then Bob contacted a long-time friend, Terry Low, and his wife, Jeanine, who live in Shelter Bay and we arranged to have dinner with them in town. We stopped at a pub-style restaurant just off the main road called Nell Thorn - a favorite of the locals. The food was great and we had a wonderful visit. The restuarant even serves goat burgers fresh from a local goat farm! Bob and I did not try them but Terry said they were very good.

We waited until this morning to walk through town and check out the local shops. There are a variety of shops, restaurants, high-end galleries, and museums. It is a quaint little town with lots of character.

Barkley was a huge hit with adults and children alike. Everytime we walked him people would stop to pet him and ask questions. He loves the extra attention he gets and has turned out to be a great boat dog.

There was a lot of fog this morning so we departed La Conner about 11:00 to give ourselves plenty of time to get home. After heading out, we soon had two boats fall in line behind us. They must have decided we had a lot of experience with fog and felt it was a good place to be. With our radar, electronics and Bob's experience we had no problems at all. It was a great chance to practice in less than desirable conditions since fog is a common occurence in the Pacific Northwest in the months of August and September.

After we got through the fog, Bob slowed and waited for the boat behind us to catch up. They were on their way to Port Orchard so headed off on their own. A fun little fact was discovering the husband and wife on the boat had seen us when we were in Bremerton for the Nordic Tug Rendezvous earlier this summer and had actually asked us for a tour. It is a very small world in the boating commuity and I expect it will become even smaller as we get to know other boaters at the different marinas we visit from year to year.

Roche Harbor - Day 3

Another beautiful day in Roche Harbor. We are so glad we decided to stay an extra day so that we could enjoy the many things there are to do. We went out on a three hour kayaking tour which was lots of fun. We ended up being the only ones at that time slot so we had lots of time to get to know our guide and were able to go a little further than a group would normally go in the three hours. I now understand why people enjoy kayaking so much. We were able to see animals and sea life up close and from a different viewpoint than ever before.

Along the way we saw a fox that looked like he had seen better days. I'm not sure what was wrong but he was not well. On the rocks under a cliff we saw several seals sunning themselves. An interesting fact we learned from our guide is that the seals turn white as they warm themselves and then when they turn over you can see the black that is not yet warm. She said she has seen distinct lines down their backs dividing the warm from the cold sides of their bodies.  We had a great time on the tour and have decided that we really need to get kayaks for our boat before next summer. Kayaking is the perfect way to really explore the places that we are cruising to. There are endless coves and shorelines to explore in the San Juans and this is a great way to do it.
This afternoon we relaxed on the boat and then did some more hiking to find two more geocaches. Just as we were preparing dinner we noticed a boat at the end of the dock that was decorated for a wedding. As we watched, a bride and her escort walked the length of the dock to the boat and then boarded for the ceremony. Just another fun thing to experience while out on our boat.

Roche Harbor - Day 2

So, we went out for a walk today and ended up calling the marina office to make a reservation for a third night! There is just too much to see, too much fun to be had and too much activity to take in all in two days. We did some geocaching while on a few of the many trails. We learned a lot of the history of this harbor and have tried to include some pictures to pique your curiosity. As I said yesterday, you have got to come here and see it for yourself.

Just above the marina is The Chapel, built in 1892 as a Methodist Church. A "circuit rider" minister performed regular services here and during the week it was used as a schoolhouse for the children of Company Employees. Later a new schoolhouse was built that is now one of the cottages that can be rented by visitors.

These cottages were once homes for the Company Employees. They can now be rented by visitors who come to Roche Harbor.

While we were out walking we came across the a sculpture park where concerts, food and art exhibits are held every Sunday from 5:00-8:00pm.

A really fun activity would be to rent a moped or Super-Coupe and explore the island.

So far the highlight of our day, however, was a visit to the well-known Mausoleum. John S. McMillen built it as a memorial for his family and incorporated tangible things to represent all he believed in - Masonry, the Bible and the Sigma Chi fraternity. He also included his own view of family by creating a stone table with 6 chairs for each family member. Each chair contains the ashes of a family member. The columns were built to be exact replicas of those in King Solomon's temple. The unfinished column represents the idea that man dies before his work is completed. The mausoleum was begun in 1930 and was built to the point it is today by 1936. At that time, the cost was approximately $30,000. The Mausoleum is a fascinating structure to behold and well worth the walk to get there.

This evening we had dinner at the Madrona Bar and Grill that overlooks the marina. The food was great and reasonable. Fine dining is offered upstairs in the McMillen but I was told dinner begins at around $30 - two great options depending on what you are looking for.
We ended the evening with a walk through the woods looking for three more geocaches. The GPS led us to old lime quarries that were interesting to see and we also saw three deer in a clearing. Of course, I didn't have my camera with me!
On a humorous note, I couldn't resist taking a picture of the pump-out boat that works the marina. Very applicable name, I must say!

Off to Roche Harbor

We managed to find five days in a row with no commitments so decided to get away by ourselves and spend some time back in the San Juans. Since we did not have guests with us this time, we brought our trusty crew member, Barkley, with us. He has adapted well to the boat and makes himself at home.

As we were running along Camano Island we saw two replicas of old sailing ships that were very cool.

We had intended to get an early start this morning so that we could hit slack tide at Deception Pass around 11:30. Unfortunately, we were a little behind schedule so rather than go through the pass with a current of 6-1/2 knots, we decided to try a new route that took us up the Swinomish Channel past La Conner. The channel is very shallow - about 6' in places during the day's low tide but it was a beautiful trip and it was fun to see new scenery.

We made a quick stop in La Conner so that Barkley could have a break and take care of business. It was the perfect place - we pulled in alongside the guest dock, walked Barkley, then went on our way - all in a matter of 5-10 minutes.

We were in awe as we pulled in to Roche Harbor which is located on San Juan Island itself. We had heard it was the most popular place in the San Juans but we had no idea what that meant. The harbor was filled with beautiful mega-yachts, thousands of people, hotels, gift shops, and so much character. Roche Harbor was a lime mining town in the late 1800s and you can still see remnants of the industry around the harbor. Hotel DeHaro was surrounded by lush flower gardens and a firebrick path. The popular restaurant at the marina was originally the grand main residence of the mining company. We are planning to stay here two nights so will do our exploring tomorrow. This is definitely a must-see when visiting the San Juans.

Deception Pass

One of the things that a boater needs to be aware of when going through Deception Pass to the San Juans is what the tides are doing.  There are very strong currents and whirlpools so going through at slack tide when in a trawler or other slower moving boat is very important. Today slack tide was at 10:38am and we arrived right on schedule. Along with us were other boaters who also planned their run through the pass at that time. We had no problem at all.  Prior to arriving at the pass, we were going with the current and making 12.7 knots while running at only 1200 rpm. Normally, that would result in going about 6 knots. Needless to say, our fuel consumption was great today.

Sucia Island - Day 2

Today we decided that we needed to explore some more trails on Sucia. We took the dinghy over to Fossil Cove and explored some more trails. They have a great dock with a special area for dinghies so it made it very easy to come here and access different trails.

This trip to Sucia gave us a chance to see many eagles.  As we walked along one of the trails, Bob and Jerry were startled by an eagle taking flight only 10 feet from them. They are an amazing site to behold and we did not tire of trying to get some good pictures of them. Even in great photos, there is nothing like being there and seeing them looking so regal and majestic. We decided they truly are the perfect national symbol for our country.

We had a great time enjoying the island but had a couple of humorous incidents that kept us laughing every time we thought of them. Holly had brought a bag of frozen Rhodes bread to cook for dinner. The bags contain 3 loaves and are to be thawed individually in their pans before baking. Because the cooler was not cold enough to keep them frozen, the loaves all thawed, blended together and then started to ooze out of the bag. In spite of a major "oops", the bread tasted great once we figured out how to salvage it.

The other incident fortunately did not get caught on camera. As we were leaving the dinghy, I mentioned that the davit system for the dinghy made it really easy to get out of. As soon as I stepped out of the dinghy I tripped and nearly fell to the floor of the cockpit.  It wouldn't have been so hilarious to everyone else if I hadn't just commented on how easy it was!

Following dinner we took advantage of the time left to go on one last trail. This one took us one mile around Shallow Bay and along Lawson Bluff.