July 27th through August 3rd Urban Excursions

July 27^th through August 3^rd Urban Excursions

To catch favorable currents, we leave our Sequim Bay buoy around 0715 and tie up about 4 hours later in Port Townsend in hopes of using the pump out.  All of Puget Sound is a no discharge zone so pump outs are important.  They are, in a lot of instances, provided by funds from recreational fees and funding from state, federal and some private monies.  The frustration has sometimes been that they either don’t work or the docks are so full of boats you cannot get to them.  In this case the dock was free but the pump out had issues, there was a slice in the hose which led to, well, let’s just say it was not fun for Aiden to try his first hand at using the pump out.  We reported the issue and anchored out for the evening.

Catching the morning currents in a typical dense fog we motored out into Admiralty Inlet for an approximately 40 mile run to Blake Island.  Our PA blasted our fog horn regularly and we tracked a lot of other bogies on AIS and radar.  We upgraded our VHF radio a couple years back since you could either have the fog PA OR the AIS.  We now have both and it makes for less tense travels through frequent fog.

Tillicum Village Blake Island

The 7-hour run was uneventful and we tied up to one of the Blake Island State Park buoys, with a nice night time cityscape of Seattle and the Space Needle.  It was so nice when I hooked the buoy and the ring actually came up towards out boat, unlike the “frozen” chains on the Sequim Bay buoys.  Aiden deftly tied the bowline to the ring and we retired to the cockpit for a relaxing evening.

We chose to come to Blake Island this time to take in the Tillicum Village experience.  Blake Island, once fully owned by the Trimble family, is now entirely a State Park with the exception of Tillicum Village.  Tillicum Village, while not an actual native American village is a nicely done venue constructed for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.  The longhouse is a combination of styles according to the guide and normally is the location for a live performance of native dances and storytelling.  In the age of COVID they do still provide a meal and short guided walks and cultural presentations.   

Longhouse Fishbake Pit

Our guide started by explaining the method they were using to cook salmon for our meal, fire roasted on cedar sticks.  It was delicious!  

After a meal of clams in broth, fire roasted salmon, juniper encrusted chicken, rice and a blackberry cobbler finish, our guide gave us a nice run down on all of the ceremonial paraphernalia on display in the longhouse.  He described how each group of masks is used in the dances and told us much of the stories that we would have heard in a live performance as he worked his way through the longhouse displays.  The venue strives to provide an experience that gives you a glimpse into the Coastal Salish tribal history as well as some of the other tribes from British Columbia and up into Alaska. 

Fire Roasted Salmon

We also did a short nature hike which included a stop at the Trimble family homesite.  The dreams of the Trimble’s for the island died when Mrs. Trimble tragically drowned.  Mr. Trimble left the island, never to return; the home, lovingly constructed by Mr. Trimble and gardens created and tended by Mrs. Trimble, have burned to the ground and been overgrown. 

Of the two experiences, the nature hike and the native heritage talks Aiden said he more fully enjoyed learning about the native culture and seeing all of the tribal regalia.  He polished off most of his salmon as well but let me have his cobbler!  Yum!

Nice lunch topped off with a slice of lemon!

Trimble House History

Guide's depiction of traditional dance and story telling

Side note, the pump out at the park was not in service.

Continuing our urban excursion, we moved on down the Sound to Tacoma, the goal, a reciprocal at the Tacoma Yacht Club.  We first tied up to the pump out dock, only to find out that the hose was too short to reach to the only spot on the extensive dock that was not taken up by either derelict, long term (chained to the dock) boats or small boats tied up for an overnight after a day of fishing.  We left that dock and tied up at the Tacoma Yacht Club with a friendly, helpful gate keeper helping us tie up and explaining their reciprocal process.  Unfortunately, the only spot left on their guest moorage was close to the bank and after a careful reading of the depth and the tide charts for the next two days, we pulled the dock lines and went back to the Pt. Defiance Park dock and tied up.  Aiden is definitely getting some good practice at tying to a dock in varying conditions!

Pt. Defiance Pump Out frustration

Carl and I did an “out and about” walking into Pt. Ruston in search of a good dark beer.  We found one at the Stack 571 Whiskey Bar and washed down a mighty fine burger with a nice porter.  Pt. Ruston has done a great revitalization at the site of the old aluminum mill and there are now a series of shops and lodging opportunities.  We returned to the boat with a “to go” burger and fries for Aiden.  He said he realized that next time he would like to go with us on our “out and about.”  

Early the next morning we were able to “walk” ExTerra around a 90-degree corner and pull her up to the pump out space THANKFULLY!  And this pump out Works!  I might recommend a longer hose or fewer derelict boats but for now we are pumped out and tidy once again.

Pt. Defiance dock next to the ferry

Then for our excursion.  We walked up into Pt. Defiance park since Aiden was definitely interested in going through the aquarium.  The zoo and aquarium have reopened and I must say, they have done a great job accommodating visitors while keeping crowds down and traffic flowing.  Not every exhibit was open but all were easy to see, people were patient, and every person except one, was wearing a mask.  The ticketing process was all on your phone, no money nor tickets changed hands, and that was true at the food venues as well.  We enjoyed a nice lunch and of course….Ice Cream, Aiden’s treat for us.

Pt. Defiance Zoo and Aquarium

Communing with the Gibbon

We will return to the Tacoma Yacht Club in the future if it works out.  The location is handy for a run through the Tacoma Narrows at slack.  The person who helped us was quite friendly and he too felt that hopefully next time there is room on the inside of the dock which would give us plenty of water under our keel.

Speaking of a run through the Narrows, we turned the motor on around 1030 and moseyed through the Narrows on the slack before the flood, destination Olympia Yacht Club for another reciprocal.

The Olympia Yacht Club sits at the far end of Budd Inlet so shallow water again yet just enough more depth to make us sleep easy at night.  Another very friendly reciprocal host, Robert met us at the dock after I called him to let him know I was not sure where the guest dock was.  We found it just as he made his way down.  He was able to get another guest to move up (rather than taking their spot out of the middle of two spots), he had them also move their very large dinghy to the side of their boat and then we were able to shoehorn ourselves in with folks on the dock to take our lines.  The capital building overlooks the moorage and the boardwalk stretches quite a distance along the inlet, a nice setting for a reciprocal.  

We did a mosey up to the Olympia Farmer’s market, well worth the time and we returned to the boat with fresh blue berries, beets and some yummy baked items.  The waterfront boardwalk from the marina to the market is dotted with a nice variety of statues, a local contest. We also stocked up on a few items at the Thriftway that is right next door to the yacht club. 

That the book in the statue had writing in it intrigued Aiden

On one of our return trips to the boat Carl said “Is that the same Bright Angel that we met down south?”  Sure enough, we ventured over to see Bob and Linda sitting in their cockpit much the same as we remember them from when we met them in 2011 when we sailed on someone else’s boat off the coast of Mexico. 

We chatted like it was yesterday, with the four of us remembering fondly coastal cruising off the coast of Mexico.  We think we met them in Tenacatita, they on their Mason 44 and we on an Ingrid 38 with Captain Blye.  They said we were the topic of many discussions amongst the cruisers as they all wondered how we survived our 6 weeks on Captain Bly’s boat.  We did abandon ship early, getting off in Barra.  Bob and Linda’s friend helped us find a hotel for ten days until our plane tickets home.  We enjoyed our time OFF the boat while staying in a simple hotel in Melaque that had an open-air shared kitchen and a patio view of the anchorage.  We too had fond memories of their help and support as we met them off and on during our 6-week cruising.  We visited with them briefly a couple of times while we were at OYC.  We both mentioned that it felt odd to not simply invite each other over for snacks and sun downers in the cockpit but given the age of COVID we opted for distanced chats on the dock.  What a nice surprise to reconnect with folks whom we truly enjoyed getting to know all those years ago.

Pack full of beet greens - Olympia Farmer's Market

Another evening venture uptown in search of…..yes, a burger and dark beer.  We opted for McMenamin’s Spar Café in the relatively close historic district of Olympia.  The burger was great, a new porter worth the walk, and a small pepperoni pizza for Aiden.  He topped it off with a black and tan brownie.  I will say that the ‘historic district’ is rather run down but the visit to the Spar Café was worth it.  In McMenamin fashion they purchased and lovingly renovated a local icon, allowing it to continue as a piece of local history.  Family owned for 60 years before the McMenamin brothers purchased it the Spar has served the local longshoremen, students and politicians for decades.  The mighty fine porter was brewed with the 3300-year-old water from the artesian well, in the basement of this fine establishment.  We love the care that the McMenamins take with their venues and this one was definitely up to their normal par.

McMenamin's Spar Cafe - Olympia

The next day Aiden and I schlepped the laundry up the hill to the laundromat, washed, dried, folded and found ice cream on the walk back.  After another brief visit with Bob and Linda we set sail for the McMicken Island anchorage our urban excursions over for now.  We have made it as far south as we had planned and now, we are officially turning towards home with a much slower schedule planned to work our way back home.

Enjoying the small park on the way back from the laundromat - Capitol building in the background