Bike Ride from Baltimore to Seattle -- Friday, August 11, 2017

Gas Works Park on Lake Union, Seattle, is our direction for the afternoon walk, and we are surprised to see a message on the sidewalk, "We are the Cure!"     Immediately it makes me think of the fund raisers benefiting cancer research.  Walking farther past this message is one that reads, "Ride strong!"   As we reach Gas Works Park, we see booths for 25, 50 or 100.  It is not clear to me whether that means a rider could sign up to do 25 miles, etc., or laps.  A lap around the lake is 6.2 miles.  Do the math.

We later are overtaken by bikers as we walk across the Fremont bridge, so we know that some of them rode into town, as well.  They had numbered tags on their shirts and logos of "Obliteride." What a great take off on Wasilla AK's husky race called Iditarod.   So they aim to obliterate cancer.

Continuing our walk around the lake, we meet Adriana, who says she spells her name with one 'n.' We ask if she is part of the race, but she says no, that her father died from cancer and she just began wanting to run.  She is in Seattle to visit her son, but lives in Chile, where her grandmother, Adrianna, is not responding well to cancer treatment.  She again tells us how to spell the name -- the grandmother's name has two 'n's.'  We have a delightful visit.

Our loop around the lake brings us to the south end, where we come upon a group having lunch. Their spokesman tells us they rode their bicycles from Baltimore to Seattle.  Names of survivors, or those who have succumbed to cancer, are written in the stripes of their shirts.  

4K on the spokesman's shirt refers to the 4,000 miles they rode.

What dedication!



Willie of Willie's Tug,
   and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
   Friday, August 11, 2017

Making Willie's Tug Shine Again! -- Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Willie's Tug is due for a good bath and Manuel of Selene Yachts Northwest, Lake Union, Seattle, is just the man to do it. However, he says he needs her to leave her end of the dock slip and cruise on up near the office, where better access will be.   We laugh about whether this is an upgrade to the high dollar area.  

Manuel says the polishing and waxing will take 'a while,' so we should chill out and enjoy the area.  It is a doable walk into the city of Fremont for lunch, so off we go. Timing gets us to the Fremont bridge just as it begins to open for tall boats. At first I think it is for the tugboat now passing under the Aroura Street bridge, but realize later it was a sailboat with a very tall mast.  No photo of it.

Traffic stops for the bridge to open.

Returning to Selene at Lake Union, we take Manuel's suggestion to chill out, but as hot as the temperature is today, it is hard to find a cool spot.  Inside the cabin would be unbearable (windows have to be closed for his work), the cockpit is in the sun;  and besides that, when he needs to work on the bow, he adjusts the lines to bring it in, and let the stern out, so that we cannot step off the swim platform to the dock.

We love watching the progress Manuel makes, as Willie's Tug takes on a new look.  We say, "Looking good, Manuel."  He replies, "Starting to shine...."

So what to do?  Where to wait?  The coolest place we see is the the fly bridge of  a new 50ft. Selene.  So up we go!   There is a nice breeze up here, plus the view is great.  Later we show Brian, broker of the Selenes, the photo below, and he jokes that he could make that viewing place permanent for us.

Willie of Willie's Tug,
   and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
   Tuesday, August 8, 2017

The RULES! -- Saturday, August 5, 2017

Queen Anne's Revenge, a tour boat offering cruises aboard the Pirate Ship glides by Willie's Tug's slip at the end of the dock at Selene Yachts NW, Lake Union WA, and we are amused at the decor of a skeleton dangling from her mast.  

Our last day of moorage in this slip, we enjoy all the boats and personal watercraft that go by, even this one speeding and giving us quite a bounce.

Uh, oh.  The dark lines in the water beyond are the fast boat's wake, and I hope when it finally reaches us, it doesn't rock the baby on the SUP.  He has a toy airplane in his hand, and I can imagine his mother telling him to hold onto it.  If this is not cute, I don't know what is!!!

Seems like I am not the only one who notices the speed of the boat.  'No wake' here means 7 knots. It's the RULES!

At two bells, the moon is still high in the sky, and all is well.

Willie of Willie's Tug,
   and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
   Saturday, August 5, 2017

US Navy's Blue Angels -- Thursday, August 3, 2017

The sun rises quickly this morning to display an eerie, although beautiful scene in the sky, trailing down onto the waters of Lake Union.  Lingering smoke from the BC fires contributes to the haze and causes an interesting silhouette of long boat rowers as they go past my window.  A quiet swish, swish are the sounds we hear. 

Friend Vicki has alerted us to news that the US Navy's Blue Angels will practice around noon or early afternoon for the weekend Seafest, and that we may see some flyovers from our location.  We get excited and hope to see them.  In the meantime Duke's Chowder House Waterfront Restaurant on the lake is our destination for lunch.  

The temperature is rising and it is hot -- hot!  Our path leads us by some water spouts where children play and cool off.  I am soooo tempted to walk a little closer to get some spray.  Ahead I see a young boy and a baby enjoying the water.

The cute baby is giggling as she tries to catch the water in her hands. Dad gives me permission for the photo.

The boy thinks it would be fun to cap off the water with his sand pail.

Duke's restaurant is air conditioned!  Yay! Yay! First a bowl of their awesome chowder, then a wonderfully delicious Rockin' Rockfish taco.  

No sooner do we finish lunch and walk outside, than we hear the thunderous sound of the Blue Angels.  We see them going away from us, but by standing around for a few minutes, they fly over again -- I'm sure just for my camera.

Willie of Willie's Tug,
   and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
   Thursday, August 3, 2017

Duck! Dodge!!! -- Tuesday, August 1, 2017

If its Tuesday, it's sailboat races on Lake Union, Seattle, and smoke from the unfortunate fires in British Columbia can be noticed among the trees on the hill above the lake.  With Willie's Tug's lucky mooring site at the end of the dock, Herb and I have the best seats in the house to watch the activities.  Start time is 7P, so other water enthusiasts have plenty of time to play this afternoon. The race, named Duck Doger, is billed as a fun race.  Whimsical rules are that the boats must not cause a duck to change its course! And no boats hitting one another!!

Even the racers practice a little to warm up.   Circe is delightful, and below we take a closer look at her enchantress of Greek mythology.  Note her 'evil' smile.

More sailboats than I can count.

Malibu parades by our viewing station.

The gun sounds and the race is on!  Shogun is near our camera.

I'm not sure about this boat that anchors; possibly an official of the race.

Watch how they turn.

They are all beautiful and graceful, and I just love the colors.

We laugh out loud the first time we see this paddlewheel boat.  A real paddlewheel is at the stern, with cyclists peddling along the side.  So Herb is amused by the fact that the owner charges people to ride the boat and provide free power.  What a business model.  I think she is heading down toward the finish line for a look at the winner.

Kittiwake hosts Romans and the goddess Venus.

Spectators watch from the sidelines.  Even the electric boats.

A sailing SUP.

Winners and losers all line up on either side of the anchored boat at the end of the race for socializing.  The center boat anchors and all others raft to her.
It is a big anchor!

The race is a success, as no one hit another boat, and no ducks change course, but stay out of the way of the fun-loving sailors, only cruising by Willie's Tug to say Hello.

Herb says he has the best seat in the house.  Front row, almost center!

Willie of Willie's Tug,
   and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
   Tuesday, August 1, 2017