Happy 234th, America!!!

Even though it wasn't as warm as we were hoping, we enjoyed a great holiday weekend.  Lots of pictures this week.

Our weekend started with a splash as Sun Break was launched on Thursday.  We are very happy and excited that all went as planned.

Finishing touches were done on the bottom paint prior to launch. 

Up she goes on the lift.

Making the way to the water.

Matt on board and ready to start the engine.

Touch down!

She over-nighted in Port Townsend so the rigger could make final tuning adjustments.  On Friday, we headed out for the seven hour voyage to Poulsbo.  The weather was beautiful when we started.

We saw about 15 of these sea planes,

....and for obvious reasons we steered clear of the shipping channel.

Matt flew the burgees while Carol stood watch.

Home-grown veggies and homemade hummus made for a great lunch.

...We're getting closer as we approach Point No Point.

Agate Pass separates Bainbridge Island from the Kitsap Peninsula and more specifically, from Poulsbo. After Agate Pass, only 40 minutes to go!

This guy decided to overtake Sun Break while heading into Agate Pass.  It was a little nerve-wracking if you ask Carol, but all went well and friendly waves were exchanged between crews.

The weather took a turn for the worse as we approached Poulsbo.  Guess we should get used to wearing foul-weather gear around here.

Sun Break is  safe and sound in her new slip, just in time for the Poulsbo fireworks on Saturday.

Poulsbo is known for its fireworks display.  The show is done on the 3rd of July (not sure why) and people come from far and wide to see it. 

We went to a party at the Poulsbo Yacht Club to start things off.

Yankee Doodle Baylee

After dinner, club members had a boat parade through the harbor.

Look closely and you can see Mt. Rainier is in the background.

This was the lead boat.  It was really cute.

Oops!  It seems that the Poulsbo Police weren't too keen on the blue light on the top of their little boat.  Oh well.  At least they didn't get stopped until the end of the parade.

The fireworks were held later.  We discovered it's hard to take pictures of fireworks.  We were happy for the one that we got (see beginning of this post).

They are serious about their fireworks around here.  This is one of many stands that sell fireworks near our house.  We had to take 2 pictures of it to get it all in.  They were doing quite a business Saturday and Sunday.

On Sunday, we went to Bainbridge Island for the 4th of July parade.  This is the second year we have gone and it was a lot of fun. 

They say around here, that as for the weather, summer starts on July 5th.  We say... bring it on!!

Have a great week!

Port Townsend

So we spent the greater part of the weekend in Port Townsend getting the boat ready for launch later in the week.  Progress is being made and we are very excited about the prospects for getting her in the water and bringing her to Poulsbo.  While it was kind of a "working weekend,"  we enjoy Port Townsend for its fun, beauty, and eclectic charm. 

We start our days in Port Townsend with a trip to the Pane d'Amore Bakery.  It doesn't get any better than this.  Yum!

On Saturday, we visited the farmer's market in town and stocked up for the week.

Driving around town, we see many of the Victorian buildings for which Port Townsend is known.

We often see deer like this roaming right through the yards of the homes in Port Townsend.

There is a cute downtown shopping area.

And gorgeous flower gardens throughout the town.

There are also some pretty nice water views,

historical sites,

and the Wooden Boat Foundation, which sponsors a festival each year drawing dozens of beautiful wooden boats to the waterfront.

We have noticed that Port Townsendites seem to have a unique fashion sense all unto themselves.  Hmmm, fashion-forward or aging hippie?  You decide.  Either way, this is Port Townsend!!

Back at the boatyard, we got some bums to paint the bottom of the boat.  

 

OK, so they were not really bums.  That's just the name of the business.  Anyway, didn't they do a nice job?

We got her new name on, too.  Matt did a great job on that.

Name change, hull-waxing, a couple of minor equipment repairs, and only 3 trips to West Marine! We are looking forward to watching fireworks next weekend.  Have a happy 4th!!

Yippee!!!

She's here! On Thursday, our new-to-us boat arrived via truck from San Francisco, California. She weathered the long drive beautifully (thanks to the fabulous trucker, Sal Piazza, seen above, tending to his load) and is now up on the blocks in Port Townsend, Washington awaiting re-rigging and a bottom paint. Her previous name was Aboutime, which, indeed, was our sentiment after waiting 6 weeks for her arrival following the purchase. However, we will be changing her name (and have already done so with her Coast Guard registration) to Sun Break. We chose that name because, well, we liked it, and also as a nod to the frequent use of the term in the weather forecasts here in the Pacific Northwest. If you've spent any time here, you know what sun breaks are and also how much you come to appreciate them!  Sun Break is a 2002 Beneteau 331 previously home ported in Richmond and Santa Barbara, California. 

It was fun to see her lifted off the truck.

Baylee used Sun Break's shade to her advantage.

First lunch on board, even if it's not in the water yet!

Hopefully, the boat will be put back together and readied for her first cruise in short order - and without too many trips to West Marine (we hope)!

Have a great week!

Heat Wave

The temperature reached into the 70's on Saturday.  Finally!!! Yes, we know, compared to other parts of the nation, the Pacific Northwest is a little slow to come around to summer-like weather.  And yes, around here, 70-something degrees IS summer-like.  Ninety degree days are pretty rare. 

So that you understand why we were so happy, this was the weather in the middle of the week.

And this was the weather on Saturday.

So we got on our bikes and set out on a ride to Indianola and Suquamish. Both are on Madison Bay and are part of the Suquamish Indian Reservation.  The ride turned out to be longer than we had planned--22 miles!  And it was way more hilly than expected. 

In Suquamish, we stopped and visited the gravesite of Chief Sealth,  the tribal chief for whom Seattle is named.

The payoff in Indianola was this view of Mt. Rainier, not often seen throughout the year due to all of the rain.   

Oh yeah, and there was this much-needed payoff at the end of the ride.

The new boat is due here this week.  Just in time for summer!

Have a great week!

National Doughnut Day

We knew just where to head in order to celebrate National Doughnut Day on Friday.  Sluys' Bakery in Poulsbo, an institution among the locals and a must-go-to for the tourists, is known for its large, decadent doughnuts as well as a store full of other baked goods. We'd never tried any of their doughnuts but decided to splurge this weekend. 

Here are a few pics.  This is only a fraction of all they offer, but you'll get the idea.

It was hard to choose, but this is what we ended up selecting.  We shared the large chocolate one.  It lasted us all weekend.  The smaller one was for Baylee.  And yes, they were good.  Really good.

Also this weekend, Matt spent some time putting together the new fire pit that he bought on Saturday.

After sunset, we held the inaugural fire. 

We should get some marshmallows for toasting next time.

Have a great week!