Day 353 & 354 On the move.

Thursday, we took off from Matia Island back the Sucia for one last day.  We'd had to leave Sucia the previous day since we'd used up our three day limit the state parks puts on you.  Matia is a great little island to explore.  We had to motor back to Sucia since there was no wind again.  We tied up close to where we had left from the day before.  I motored ashore and signed us up for one last day.

This morning, we took off for Bellingham for a rushed re-provisioning.  We've been out for two weeks and a few of our mainstays were beginning to run low.  We left Sucia at 0800 hours and arrived in Bellingham at 1140 hours.  Winds were pretty much against us plus with all we had to get done, there was just no way to sail across.  We had planned to rent a car to hit the local big box stores.  We needed the car to be back by the time they closed and that limited how long and how much we could get done.  Enterprise car rental to the rescue.  The picked us up at the dock and got us all set up.  We were out of their office by 1300 hours.  

First, lunch at Red Robin.  We've been through Bellingham several times when we were buying Zephyr so we pretty much knew the area.  We also printed up maps with all the locations of the stores we needed to visit--Costco, Petsmart, Walmart, Haggens, West Marine and a few others.  Just about all of them are on Guide Meridian Avenue.  It made the trip a bunch easier.  Up and down one street and we were pretty much done.  We were back at Zephyr by 1700 and I was off for the rental office to be there by 1800--when they close.  I only made a few wrong turns--going the wrong way on only TWO one way streets!!! OOPS!!!  I stopped real quick as I saw lots of cars coming right at me.  The street the place is on becomes a two way street much farther up the road.  No harm, No foul.

When I got the the office, it was packed.  Must have been 20 people waiting for or dropping off cars.  Since I was going to need a ride back to the marina, I just sat down in the back and waited.  They finally finished up with everyone about 1845 hours.  Only 45 minutes after they were supposed to be closed.

By the way, our location here in Bellingham--at the Squalicum Marina is 48 45.431N  122 30.289W for all the Google Earth fans.  We're tucked in right below the restaurant that we had lunch at the day we left for Denver after buying Zephyr.  It's also the restaurant where I broke my glasses.  I was cleaning them and the frames just up and broke in my hands.  We were lucky enough to find a eyeglass store that could put the lens in an old set of frames to get me home.  Tracy was leaving the day before I was, so I really needed my eyes to get me around and I'm about as blind as they come with out my glasses.  I had Lasik surgery a week after I got back to Denver.

Once I arrived back at the marina, Tracy was up doing our laundry.  It's even cheaper here than down South.  A buck a load.   She'd had quite a time getting everything we'd bought into the freezer and the refrigerator.  Both are now packed solid.  

When we had checked in, the marina folks had given us the codes to get into showers and laundry rooms.  Unfortunately, they gave us the wrong numbers!!  We had to wait till someone else came along and get the right numbers from them.  They'd written the codes down so we don't really know what went wrong.  Oh well, we finally got the laundry done.  Two weeks is about as long as we can go if we use all our cold weather clothes.  After that, we have to start layering to keep the chill out.  This is the first marina we have been in (over night) since we left Port Townsend two weeks ago.  It was a bit strange being around all the people again.  We've gotten used to being alone or at least seeing maybe two other people in an average day out here.

While Tracy was in the laundry room, I was outside socializing with people from the Bellingham Yacht Club which have their "Club House" right above the marina.  They complimented us on our boat.  I then set out telling them about our last year on board and what we have done making Zephyr a better boat and where not to go to have any work on their boats done.  I was encouraged to write a story of the 48 North magazine.  It's one of the local sailing magazines that gets out to just about every boater in the Northwest USA.  Who knows, maybe I will.

Well, tomorrow, back to see Bill And Susan at Birch Bay.  It will be good to see them again.  A great couple.  Then, on to Canada and the North.

Have a great weekend everyone.