For $5 fee you get a password for the Internet; now we check messages and fb. What a great thing communication is.
Ready now for the rest of our day, we head toward Pierre's Echo Bay, where we will hope they will have room for us to spend a couple of nights.
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| View from inside Kwatsi Bay, Glory Be Basin |
Herb calls out, "Dolphins! on the starboard! A whole pod!"
Surely he is mistaken. Dolphins on the Gulf (of Mexico) Coast are social and actually perform for the boats in the channels or bay. They will ride with us for several minutes. We see orcas in the PNW, but only a few dolphins and they are quite shy.
Are you sure, Herb?
Yes, sure. They dive under and come up many times -- quite a few of them -- and I get as many as five in at a time in one photo. The lead one breached three times, but my eye-camera-button coordination was not quick enough.
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| Starting to Breach |
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| Group turns around to swim in the other direction. |
What a thrill this is. And if that is not enough, here is a very interesting rock formation, another one of my delights.
The route today will take us down Tribune Channel and southwest into Hornett Passage, where we will be close enough to call Pierre's Echo Bay on VHF 66A. Smith Rock houses some sea gulls, at least until they see lunch in the water and dive in.
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| Smith Rock |
Tove (pronounced To-vah) answers our radio call to say she has plenty of room for us and OdySea, so we continue her way to Pierre's Echo Bay Marina.
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| Pierre's Echo Bay Marina |
Mike meets us at the dock to catch our lines and tie Willie's Tug in the designated finger. We are greeted by Echo, the resident dog, and he and Dr. Jake make friends quickly.
When we check in at the office, Tove makes a ledger sheet for us, and as we spend a couple of days here, she will add everything we purchase onto our tab. She encourages us to buy early if we want fresh produce -- even the frozen items -- as they will fly off the shelves. Deliveries come once a week.
She signs us up for dinner for both tonight and tomorrow night.
Happy Hour is at 5P in the dining room, with dinner following at 6. Tonight's dinner is halibut and chips, Mike's favorite. I take a photo of the large cooker, donated by Des Moines WA Yacht Club.
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| BBQ Grill |
Can you believe we are the first ones to arrive for Happy Hour? We do notice that others have come earlier to stake out their tables with place mats and dishes.
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| Herb, Mike and Chris |
Others are not far behind. Tove recognizes different ones in the group for various reasons. Pictured below are a couple from Tacoma who have been coming here in the summers for thirty years.
It is customary to bring a burgee from your Yacht Club to display.
I am drawn to the lady in the red dress, which is a poster from a Classic Boat Show.
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| View from the Dining Room |
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| Willie with Pierre |
To have dinner here at Pierre's Echo Bay is to have a party. Tove begins her welcome and announcements with a trick from her school teaching days: with her hands she does a clap, clap,...clap, clap, clap! On the second and third sets she is joined by the group and lots of laughter.
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| Tove |
Each couple who have been identified as having a birthday, anniversary or other special situation is recognized and invited to be first in line at the buffet.
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| 28th Anniversary - Shy Guy |
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| Pierre, Tove and Mike cook Halibut and Chips |
After dinner more stories are told, trips and adventures are shared and each one of us learns a little more about the wilderness.
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| And so then I said.... |
The travel guides notes water is not available here and we should have our tanks full when we arrive. Here is one of the reminders posted about. We do not drink the water!
and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
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