WHIDBEY ISLAND STOP OVER

PAIRADICE at anchor Roche Harbor

Tuesday, August 16th (day 140) Oak Harbor Marina, Whidbey Island, WA

Tom and Kay decided to check out Oak Harbor with us, do some provisioning at the Navy Exchange, take a couple road trips with our rental car and do some needed repairs to the boats. We were up and at 'em early. The guys plotted the course and tide times for slack tide to go through Deception Pass. We hoisted anchors at 10:15, destination Oak Harbor Marina. We arrived uneventfully, secured side tie on the end of the G guest dock. Tom and Kay on F dock with the picnic tables. We would be there 3 weeks, Tom and Kay stayed for five days. 

Mount Baker

Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island

Deception Pass Bridge between Anacortes and Whidbey Island, WA
This is an area where you want to look at timing for the slack tide.
When you time your passage correctly you and get a sweet push.

While in Oak Harbor, there were a number of things to be accomplished. We placed our order for a warranty repair / replace for our new Norcold refrigerator which malfunctioned in July, when visiting the Broughton's. Next up was the aft head. We use a sea water flush rather than fresh water.  John was sure the constant leak was from the macerator pump. That meant a trip to Fisheries Marine Supply, Marine Sanitation and Sure Marine... all in Seattle.  Oh, damn the bad luck! I can't speak for Kay, but I had had enough of marine supply outfits and bargained up a 4 hour liberty pass at Seattle's EMP Park where The Space Needle and Chilhuly Garden and Glass Exhibit is located. With only 4 hours we limited our time to a wonderful lunch at the Collection Cafe, Chilhuly Glass and ride the antique elevator to the observation deck on the the Space Needle. That means we only saw 3 of 423 things to do in Seattle... First we enjoyed the Collection Cafe..... The artist Dale Chihuly is the visionary of this eye popping eatery. The cafe is adorned with his collections. He starting collecting when he was 7 years old. "I love to find the beauty in everyday objects." Dale Chihuly.

With this post... you will want to click on a photo to enlarge to full screen. You will not see the captions in that format. Hope you enjoy.

40's radio collection

We selected a table that housed these vintage leaded toy soldiers (1940). Dale Chihuly's 1st collection. 

After lunch, we went into the Chilhuly Glass Exhibit.

These displays are in the ceiling.

We voyaged through all the various rooms full of amazing displays.

Fantasy sensations.....

In the chandelier corridor. 

 

My friend, Kay gives some perspective to the magnitude of the displays.

In the garden...

Inside the glass house, looking up.... you can see the famous Space Needle.

Wandering through the gardens........

This glass actually looks like you can see it growing...

...this view deserves to be posted twice...

....interesting how the colors....

.....and textures are displayed...

The pieces are placed everywhere!

We rode the elevator to the observation deck.

The nostalgia of the Space Needle was very interesting.

Lake Union, downtown Seattle. from the observation deck within the Space Needle.

We didn't get a chance to go through the EMP, Entertainment and Music Project.

These bowls in the gift shop were for sale at $5K - $10K each!
 

The guys picked us up at the designated time.... Seattle traffic is the worst! And with John in the drivers seat, it was quite the roller coaster ride, getting back to Whidbey Island. 

Oak Harbor Marina

Friday, August 19th, (day 143) 

Rebuild aft head.... need I say more? The thing about assisting with repairs...no photo opts!

Saturday, August 20th (day 145) Day trip to Coupeville, Whidbey Island

Fort Casey

"Disappearing guns" used in WWII.

A lighthouse lense on display in the Admiralty museum.

Stairway up and down.

View of the Pacific from the lighthouse observation deck.

View of the Coupeville Wharf from the water.

The museum at the Wharf.

Humpback Whale

Dali Porpoise, commonly referred to as the "White sided" dolphin.

The sea lion looks very fierce.

Old cannery on the boardwalk.

This wheel is on the main street and moves quarter turns every 15 minutes.
The carvings are a variety of whales.

Main Street Coupeville.

We dined on Penn Cove mussels at world famous Toby's.

This window is famous with all the military veterans that served.
It is covered with squadron stickers from Vietnam through the Gulf wars.

Detail of the stickers.

Tom and John toasting to another successful something....

Full moon at Oak Harbor marina.
Tom and Kay on ASD headed home the next day (Monday August 22nd

Among the chores we accomplished that week:  Meet with Chris, the Norcold refrigerator repairman. It was determined that replacing the thermostat, under warranty, would fix the long standing problem. While we waited, we thoroughly cleaned, organized and fueled the boat for our 2 weeks of cruising. It took a week to get the part and it was replaced on Saturday just before our guest arrived on Sunday. Sadly, by Sunday afternoon it was clear the new part did  NOT solve the problem. We provisioned for our final San Juan cruise with our friend Sheri, utilizing our back up fridge in the cockpit.  

Saturday, August 27th (day 151) (living aboard 185 days)

These cute guys welcomed us at the fuel dock and
entertained us while we waited our turn at a very busy fuel dock.
...And it takes quite a few minutes to pump 525 gallons of fuel.

Art on Main Street, historic downtown Oak Harbor

John is growing increasingly tired of all the snapshots...

... but that didn't prevent us from enjoying a fine meal ashore, at Fraser's Gourmet Hideaway.

Next up... We visit Bill and Wendy at their cabin at Shawnigan Lake and Sidney, B.C.