A little rain must fall...

There have been a few comments that this looks like more fun than we should be having in these tough economic times. We can assure you that it's not all roses, as we had an awful time of it the other day when it rained for a few minutes.

We recovered with some serious Yatzee tournaments (Megan scored 4 Yatzees in one game), but it seems there was one real casualty on our return trip to Stuart Island: Sugar got stung by something on her nose, which turned into a rash, which turned into a scab that she had a heck of a time keeping her paws off of.

We fixed her fiddling with a modified paint bucket. Poor thing looks like a monstrous surprise in your movie theater popcorn. Sugar is cool with the bucket because it always seems to have treats in it. She's taking it easy and healing fine.


After a quick visit to the rocks off Yellow Island where we left a little bottom paint (hey, that red buoy isn't on our old charts), we headed up to Blind Bay to wait out a storm that never arrived. We did catch an incredible sunset and a horizon to horizon double rainbow though, which was cool.


After that, it was off to the big city lights of Friday Harbor to see The Hangover. One of the best films we've seen in awhile. We're still laughing about it a week later.

Has this ever happened to you?

The Holmbergs stopped in at Friday Harbor on the ferry heading back from Canada. We had a great time with our Hommies as always.


Those Holmbergs can bowl! Who knew the best pizza in town would be at the bowling alley. Ray and Paul made a new friend in Popeye the one-eyed seal that hangs out waiting for frozen herring. Evidently Popeye is a she, and pregnant with her second pup in as many years. Who knew? The guys are also pretty good shrimpers with the huge solstice tides we've been having.

Then we were off for one last jaunt through the islands before our lives take yet another dramatic turn (wait for it... wait for it...)

We headed out to Jones Island, which had been packed with boats the first time we passed. We just had to see what the fuss was all about. Not a huge deal in the guides, but one of our favorite stops. Great hiking and fantastic views. Otters swimming in the eelgrass a stones throw from the boat, fawns leaping through the brush above, and clear water all around. Jones Island is a winner if you can avoid the weekend crowds!

We had a spectacular downwind sail through President's Channel on our way back to Sucia for one last visit.

We opted for Echo Bay this time as it has the best protection from a strong Westerly wind which arrived right on schedule that night. Our anchor held well, as did everyone else, which was a good thing since there were about 30-40 boats in there with us.

The tides and weather looked right for a quick trip back to Anacortes where Megan is jumping ship! The big news is that Megan is heading back to the employed world. Our last cruise ended when Nick got an offer he couldn't refuse, and this time Megan is being sucked back in.

Autonomy is an incredible company whose stock continues to rise at an alarming pace. They make software systems that derive meaning from the growing amount of data out there. She is Customer Liaison Support Manager, working with the rock star she worked with in the tech heydays before our last cruise.

Megan heads back down to Sausalito this week to put our household back together, while Nick continues sailing for a few weeks before packing the boat to ship south at the end of July. Sugar is going to take up the slack and keep Either Way looking pretty.