4 December 2009: Saturday
These were my 2 favorite photos taken of me this cruising season. The tree hugging picture was taken on Martin Island, near Kalama, Wa. and the supine picture was taken on a wing dam structure near channel marker "72". Both were unusual "finds" along the river. I have never been hugged by a tree before and it was an unique experience. Also, as unique, was lying on old timbers that the river had attacked year after year. It was a great way to stretch my spine, as the angle of the timbers were quite extreme.
This cruising season has been a great one. I had lots of hours docked working on Shatoosh on many projects; redoing inside and outside wood, painting the cabins/head, installing LED lights in the cabins, going mobile with my Verizon packed mini netbook, and creating the chart plotter. I hauled out at the Warrenton Boatyard in Warrenton, OR and had the bottom painted and new zincs put on. This trip extended my cruising grounds toward the Graveyard of the Pacific(the Columbia River Bar) and gave me a taste of the ocean's pull at the mouth of the Columbia River. I met so many new, wonderful people and even had new folks join my fleet of crew. Speaking of the ocean's pull, the fall highlight cruise was on board the Lady Washington, Washington's State Official Tallship. Ann and I helped take the Lady from Port Townsend to Aberdeen to her home port. Getting to sail aboard a tallship was truly memorable and rounding Cape Flattery in the dark of night, heading down the coast with a galaxy of stars overhead was spectacular.
Blogging took on several new aspects:
1. With my mini HP I could slog and blog in real time which made each day joyous. Every evening I would curl up in my bunk or on the bench seat and blog to my heart's content.
2. More and more people were exposed to the blog through the Albineers and the Albin Yahoo Group websites. In addition to these linkages, the Lady Washington linked this site to their blog and gave me an incredible endorsement for my blog on the Lady Washington Sail from Port Townsend to Aberdeen, WA. People have run into me on the river, asking me if I was the person who writes the blog. People email me from all over the country now and to top it all off, I have readers in Sweden, and even India. Who would have thought? With so many encouraging comments by readers, I wouldn't think of not blogging now.
I am so grateful for being able to have such a wonderful Albin, lots of incredible friends, and lots of wonderful adventures. Thank you all for being in my life and making it such a joyous one. Even if we have only spent a few hours together on some remote dock, or shared an experience by email, or have crewed for me for years, please know that you all are very important people in my life. We are all brothers and sisters to each other, helping each other along the way, as we journey with our boats along the coastal river/ocean systems. The year 2009 has been a most joyous ride. I can't wait to see what adventures will take place in 2010.
