Not-so-sunny SOCAL

Hanging out in overcast yet warm San Diego for a few days and I'm loving getting to talk to the little ones!  Frank has been a SUPER hubby, sending me pictures and little stories from home.  He works so dang hard and still makes time to help me feel connected--LOVE YOU, BABE!

The weekend pics included the kids on the beach and ABE behind them as I departed, the kids meeting Spongebob Squarepants at an Aquasox baseball game, and one of our boat with a "blue star flag" (showing that a family member is deployed) flying high from the yardarm.  Sadly I'm unable to post them from here...I think the guys running the LAN are just a little too conservative with our bandwidth!  Maybe Frank will post some from time to time, but regardless, they really do keep me going.

Talked to the kids last night and it sounds like they are doing great, so really the only one struggling is me!  Figures!

The day has come

Yesterday was our last day together as a family for a very long time.  I went to work very briefly, then to a peaceful breakfast with Frank.  Then we picked up the kids from school and had a nice day playing at the park, snoozing, driving around in the dinghy...all the stuff I love doing with them.  I actually really loved giving them baths last night, too.  I cried as I put them to bed, and was comforted by Katreina telling me to dry my eyes.  She is sweet and sensitive, and while I worry about her being sad, I know she is also usually the stronger one between the two of us and that she will be fine. 

This morning we were all up very early to drop me off at the ship.  Trent was moody (as he usually is early in the morning) and Katreina was tired, but we made it.  They gave me nice, big hugs and kisses.  Katreina was sobbing, I think because she saw that I was, but I asked her to smile for me and she did!  The sun was hitting her face and her eyes were super sparkly green with the tears.  I will totally miss that beautiful face and Trent's sweet, goofy smile!

Now it's time to get to work.  :(

Date night!

After a great weekend of crabbing in Honeymoon Bay (10!!!), we got a super special treat--a babysitter!  Yes, a guy that is trained to blow stuff up for a living, the EOD officer I work with, took on the true challenge of babysitting Trent and Katreina while Frank and I headed out for dinner in Seattle.  It was fun and as we hit El Gaucho, a favorite from our dating days, it brought back lots of memories.  Oh, and the food was awesome!  Tuna tartare, filet Oscar (that's filet mignon with crab and bernaise), and burnt cream, and of course some great cocktails!  But alas, I missed the kids before we even made it to the dessert.  It was great to get back and see them and hear all about their fun night. 

Thanks to Eric for making it all possible!

Our Independence Celebration!

What a great weekend thus far!  We spent Thursday night on the south side of our beloved Hope Island where we snagged 3 dungees and a red rock on our way to an early morning slack at Deception Pass.  It was a beautiful morning!

Deception Pass, westbound

The kids enjoyed a fun snack to get in the mood for the 4th.

A peaceful day of motoring took us along Cypress and Orcas Islands and up to Sucia Island.  We found an anchorage away from the "crowds" in Echo Bay.  It's really amazing how many moorings are there, and how much other good anchorage is available.  Right away I saw folks hiking along a trail overlooking our spot...very nice!

 Echo Bay, Sucia Island

 Frank relaxing in the sun

We pretty much spent Friday afternoon kayaking, hiking a little, and checking out the beaches.  Saturday morning we kayaked to Ewing Cove (totally cool little spot), then spent the afternoon playing around at the beach.  The kids loved splashing around, even though the water was freezing!  We rounded out the afternoon with a paddle through the anchorages, checking out boats and hailing some folks Frank was acquainted with through Cruisers Forum.  We weren't able to get them, but after dinner while we were checking out the amazing bald eagles and dancing in the cockpit (ok, just Katreina and I there!), the couple came up to our boat for a little tour.  They had hiked something like 7 hours and were pretty hungry, so I think our gift of 2 beautiful, cooked Dungees made them pretty happy!

Sunday morning we did one last paddle before heading towards Deception Pass for the 3:30 slack.  It was a rough day, 2-4 seas, variable winds then gusty 20+ kts, a big swell off the quarter.  The kids were lucky to sleep through most of that.  We anchored briefly in Bowman Bay awaiting the slack, then slid through for what might be the last time.  That was a little sad...not sure if we'll make it back up here after deployment. 

The wind kicked up and a small craft advisory was issued as we headed for Oak Harbor.  Not always fun heading to a new place with 20-25kts blowing!  We did manage to set the hook upwind of most of the other boats at anchorage and it held well, with gusts just about up to 30kts.  We also got a front-row seat to the Oak Harbor fireworks display, though it was wicked cold outside!  This came with some entertaining boating, too, as many small boats were out to see the show and not everyone was real savvy with an anchor!

 I've never had to bundle this much for 4th fireworks!

The fireworks, both pro and amateur, were really good and the kids really liked them.  Partly because of the crazy wind that was forecast to blow until 1am and partly because of the crazies out on the water, Frank stood watch on deck for a few hours after we all went to bed.  He came down shortly after and told me about this big powerboat that we saw set its anchor about a dozen times coming within about 7ft of our stern as they left.  As he's still snoozing I don't have all the good stories from after that, but I can report that the anchor held!

Happy 4th, everyone!  Enjoy that freedom!

Nice start to a long weekend

We kicked off our trip this afternoon with 2 nice dungeness crab and are now anchored off Hope Island. Wonderful night...