Our first guest!

Today we wrapped up a visit from Frank's sister, Fawn. This wasn't just any visit either--it was an over-nighter and the first visit from any family! I consider this the check-in on us for Frank's entire family. She arrived Saturday and stayed 2 nights with us, sleeping on the convertible table/sette in salon. I was actually surprised at how easily I managed to get the bed set up Saturday night. The grand tour of the house took all of 3 minutes, and she seemed to think it was pretty cool. Then I showed her our closet in the master. That brought out a series of "WOW"s and even today we were joking that she still hadn't gotten over how small it is!

Thankfully it was a wonderful weekend for a visit. She got to enjoy sitting on the bow, sipping wine, and watching the sun set over the Olympic Mts. Sunday we went to Kate's on Colby Ave for breakfast--FANTASTIC--before heading out to Index to show her the cabin (and clear the landslide off our walkway there!). Frank had to work hard to clear the sidewalk, but we managed to show Fawn and the kids the property, drive through Index, gauk at Sunset Falls, grab lunch at Mt. Index Cafe, and of course, hit Espresso Chalet for a pick-me-up before heading back to the boat. We capped off the evening with dinner and a kayak tour of the marina.

Today we wisked the kids off to daycare and got underway before 8am. First stop was the pump-out station so that we could calibrate our holding tank indicator and show off the less glamourous side of living on a boat. Then we were off! The wind picked up and we were able to kill the motor for a little circuit of Hat Island. Frank spotted a whale, but Fawn and I only heard it. Some seals, a sea lion, and some bald eagles rounded out the perfect morning sail, and we docked beautifully! Good thing, too--our "neighbor" was there so we would have felt pretty bad using his boat as a bumper!

After another wonderful meal at Kate's, Fawn was off to Bremerton for a week of work. It was a great visit and we're so glad we got to share so much of the wonderful PACNORWEST with her in just a short amount of time.

The other tidbits? Our heat didn't work the entire time so we were using a space heater. We ran out of fresh water this morning while underway. I somehow broke a pelican clasp on the lifeline right after we got underway. And the real kicker? While filling up the water after we got back I put the deck fill keys in my pocket only to have them fall out and immediately sink somewhere beneath the boat while I cried out, "Frank, Frank, Frank! Oh no, Frannnnnk!" On the plus side, the lifeline is fixed, the heat was fixed after a quick call to the guys at Sure Marine, and I think I've found a replacement for the deck fill keys. Talk about a GREAT weekend!