More police officers killed in Seattle area...

There hasn't been a law enforcement officer killed in Seattle in almost 4 years.  Now, we've had 5 killed in less than a month.  And all 5 were targeted cop-killings.  No 'accidents' or 'self defense', no 'wrong place at the wrong time'.  These were all intentially to kill cops.  I feel so bad for the families of the 5 officers that have been killed.  But I also feel horrible for all the officers working in this area.  It's like someone has declared 'open hunting season' on cops.  Oh, this makes me so angry, and soooo sad.

good coverage at this link

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Police-officers-shot-78089882.html

Bojangles

Bo-dacious!

Bo-nafide Aussie

He's got the 'crazy eye' going!!!


Bo-hemian
(all that's missing are the puca shells and gold chains!)

Bojangles,... bein'have.

Our Quest...

This is our Quest.

Yep, that's what we named her. 

Sid took these photos on his recent trip down there. 

She looks HUGE to me!  I guess she IS about 8 feet longer than what I've been sailing on up here. And she's 17 feet longer than what Bob and I had.  Yikes,... it's a bit intimidating.

These next couple of photos are when they hauled her out of the water to do the 'survey'. 

(The survey is kinda like a boat's equivalent of a pap-smear - they raise her up to look at her bottom, check for,... uh, well, you get the idea.)

I'm already working on new lettering for her name. 

We will have the new name printed, (a vinyl decal), and we'll take it with us when we go down in early January.

Removing the "Kristina" and getting Quest in it's place will be one of our first priorities once we get there.

Geez, in two and a half months, I'm going to be ON this boat,

OUR boat - on the Atlantic Ocean! 

OMG!!!

I still can't believe it's coming true....

Help!

Do you have any great ideas for a boat name???   She's a 40' Island Packet sailboat.  She's got green canvas, and green trim on the sails, and a beige hull.  We'll be keeping her in the islands of the Bahamas and Caribbean,  no plans to bring her to the Pacific Northwest. 

The poll at right has a few names we've been kicking around.  Please vote, or give us another suggestion. Ask your friends and/or readers to come over and vote too.  We could really use some input here.

Thanks!

Oh my Gosh - my dream is coming true!!!

 A little background for those who may not already know it...

For many, many, years, I have dreamed of traveling to beautiful tropical places.  (I'm just not much of a winter person.)  But for over 20 years, I was married to someone who would not do anything even remotely adventurous. It got far worse as the years when by, and toward the end, he would just barely leave the house to cruise the aisles of the grocery store. (I am NOT exaggerating here.)

My sense of adventure was so stifled for so long, that when I left that situation, I made a vow to myself that I was going to try as many new things as I could. I was going to go out and see this big beautiful world,  I was GOING to travel.  I didn't exactly know how, but I was determined to make it happen. 

Fortunately, I was introduced to sailing, and loved it.  Sailing is an wonderful way to travel, because your boat is your accommodations and your transportation.  You don't have to spend money to fly from one place to another or pay for hotel rooms. It's all right there below your feet, and - so far anyway - the wind is still free for those who chose to use it.
 

Sailing is slow, but it is also quiet and unobtrusive, so you tend to see a lot more wildlife. And you're not polluting the air or using a bunch of fossil fuel when under sail.  I was fairly sure that sailing was my best shot at travel. I was no longer going to just cruise the aisles of the grocery store, I was ready to cruise the tropical isles!  My search began,... 

Last January, I found Sid.  An electrical contractor, who was also a sailing instructor, and a certified Captain through the Coast Guard. He was looking for a companion to sail with him in the tropics.  Hmmm,...   (You'd think what he and I were looking for would be easy to find, but it is NOT.  People are not comfortable with leaving their safe jobs and comfy houses to get into a small boat and go out on that big scary ocean.) But as luck would have it, and with a little help from match.com,... we found each other.

Now, 8 months later, our joint dreams are coming to fruition.

Yesterday, we made an offer on one of the boats Sid looked at during his boat hunting trip to Florida last week. (I say WE, because I am able to qualify for the "first time home buyers" credit, and this boat will qualify, so I will get to contribute that money to the purchase of this boat. Hooray for stimulating the economy!!!)  We made a 'low ball' bid, figuring better to start too low than too high. Well, today, the owners countered, with a figure slightly higher than our bid, but still about 5K lower than we were willing to go.  So, we accepted the offer - contingent on an acceptable sea trial and survey. (That means Sid has to go down and actually SAIL it, and then it's pulled out of the water, and a boat expert does a full bow to stern survey on it looking for problems.) 

 If we are happy with both the sea trial and the survey, we sign the papers and become the owners of this beautiful Island Packet 40!

  

She is a1994, 40 feet long, with 2 nice cabins and 2 heads, (bathrooms), so that we can have company come visit and they'll be comfortable during their stay! (It can sleep up to 7 people)

 

 The boat has lots of room up above in the cockpit  for sitting around having cocktails and enjoying the warm Caribbean sunshine, and plenty of room down below for comfortable seating while visiting and eating.

Again, if all goes well with the sale, and it should,... we will have to move her to the Bahamas within 90 days, to avoid paying 5K in state sales tax.  Let's see, that would put us in the Bahamas for Christmas. 
Oh, bummer...  

I found Cindy Ward!

My sister, Jodi, recently helped me locate my childhood best friend, Cindy Ward. Cindy and I were very best friends the summer before 1st grade when I met her playin' on the tree swing at Shirly's house, until we moved from Garden Valley at the end of 7th grade.  We've not seen each other since.

Well, as luck would have it, Cindy Ward-Suzumura is living in Seattle, about an hour and a half from Anacortes where I am now living!  I have thought about Cindy sooooo much over the years, I've wanted to find her for so long, so what a thrill to finally find her, and so close by!

She does not look 50!  She still looks just the same I swear!

I'm taking Sid to the airport in Seattle on Tuesday, (He going to FL to find us a boat!), so Cindy and I are meeting for dinner and drinks!  Two childhood best friends, meeting again after 37 years. 

Oh man do we have some catching up to do! 

Three childhood friends from Garden Valley - reunited through Facebook.

Cindy Ward-Suzumura,  Linda Pogue-Harrison,  Joy McBride-Streight

Hooray for FACEBOOK!

Linda Kay Harrison - Seamstress To The Bikers

My new gig –  Biker Patch Attacher!

She Attaches Patches While U Wait!