october at dock street
Date: October 29, 2016
Time Start: 11:50 a.m.
Time Finish: 4:25 p.m.
Cruise From: Swantown Marina, Olympia
Cruise To: Dock Street Marina, Tacoma
Engine Hours Start: 562
Engine Hours Finish: 567
Weather/sea conditions: Gray with showers in morning, then sunny and lower 60's, beautiful.
Two months have gone by since our last cruise, it is high time to get back on the water! We have just the excuse, a lunch in Tacoma tomorrow. Why not turn it into a three day trip?
The skies are just starting to clear after morning showers as we leave Swantown. The guest docks are empty on this late October day. A lone sailboat is leading the way for us. Just enough leaves remain on the trees to add a touch of fall to the shoreline vistas. It is turning into a pretty day, and so warm!
Time Start: 11:50 a.m.
Time Finish: 4:25 p.m.
Cruise From: Swantown Marina, Olympia
Cruise To: Dock Street Marina, Tacoma
Engine Hours Start: 562
Engine Hours Finish: 567
Weather/sea conditions: Gray with showers in morning, then sunny and lower 60's, beautiful.
Two months have gone by since our last cruise, it is high time to get back on the water! We have just the excuse, a lunch in Tacoma tomorrow. Why not turn it into a three day trip?
The skies are just starting to clear after morning showers as we leave Swantown. The guest docks are empty on this late October day. A lone sailboat is leading the way for us. Just enough leaves remain on the trees to add a touch of fall to the shoreline vistas. It is turning into a pretty day, and so warm!
The skies are amazing today, with layers of clouds lit by the sun. With the bimini top removed, the sun warms our cockpit and makes it a cozy spot to soak up some rays as we cruise.
Eagle Island lives up to its name, Dan spots at least two birds perched in the trees. We are happy to see that our favorite mooring buoy is back. It was missing the last time we were here.
What an incredible day! Just look at the sky and the sun in the Narrows! Is it really the end of October? (Vertical Photo, please click to see.)
Point Defiance is dressed in late fall color, the maples a golden bronze.
Mt. Rainier peeks through the cloud layers as we enter the Foss Waterway. Tacoma's Stadium High School looks like it would be a perfect spot for Halloween, sitting on the hillside like a haunted castle. All it needs are witches and bats flying over it, and maybe a shadowy moon.
NORTH STAR is moored next to a Nordic Tug 26 at Dock Street Marina. We are the only guest boats in this section of the marina. The late afternoon sun is lighting up the marina.
It's time to stretch our legs. Students from Bellarmine High in Tacoma are starting to gather in the scenic outdoor spaces surrounding the Glass Museum (Dock Street Marina is right in front of the museum). They are all dressed up for their homecoming dance tonight. Parents have tagged along to take photos, and we have a great time watching them.
Our walk takes us along the Foss Waterway. The Commencement, a vessel named for Tacoma's Commencement Bay, catches our eye, as do the hedges of colorful rose hips and an unusual dog sign.
We continue our stroll through the U.W. Tacoma campus, taking in the fall colors and colorful brick buildings. (Vertical photo alert!)
NORTH STAR is looking good in the late light of day, too.
It is a short walk to Elemental, a fun spot next to the U.W. Tacoma campus for pizza and a salad. Tonight, the restaurant is filled with teens from Bellarmine, all dressed in their homecoming best and having a terrific time.
The evening is warm, and we enjoy the colors of the city all lit up. Chihuly's art on the Bridge of Glass is especially spectacular at night.
The evening is warm, and we enjoy the colors of the city all lit up. Chihuly's art on the Bridge of Glass is especially spectacular at night.
Date: October 30, 2016
Dock Street Marina, Tacoma, layover day
Weather: Cool, gray morning, then rain, low 50's.
Morning is steely gray, a cool 40 degrees when we first get up. The Sunday paper has been delivered to our cockpit and the docks swept clean by the marina staff. We get really great service here at Dock Street!
Today would have been my father's 98th birthday. My brother and sister and their spouses join us at the Fish Peddler restaurant for lunch. It has become sort of a tradition for family to gather on this day. We all order seafood items, and the lunch is great. The chowder is a real hit, and we order extra to take back to the boat with us for our Sunday supper.
With rain falling, everyone opts for a visit to the nearby Museum of Glass. We start off in the hot shop, where two glass blowing activities are taking place. One group is making glass pumpkins, and the other group is creating a piece of art from the kids design program. They have a drawing done by a young girl, and are turning it into a three dimensional glass work. Her creation combines the features of a narwhal and of an anemone and is called Miss Narwemeny. Quite cute! Two copies will be made today, one for the museum and one for the girl.
Dock Street Marina, Tacoma, layover day
Weather: Cool, gray morning, then rain, low 50's.
Morning is steely gray, a cool 40 degrees when we first get up. The Sunday paper has been delivered to our cockpit and the docks swept clean by the marina staff. We get really great service here at Dock Street!
Today would have been my father's 98th birthday. My brother and sister and their spouses join us at the Fish Peddler restaurant for lunch. It has become sort of a tradition for family to gather on this day. We all order seafood items, and the lunch is great. The chowder is a real hit, and we order extra to take back to the boat with us for our Sunday supper.
With rain falling, everyone opts for a visit to the nearby Museum of Glass. We start off in the hot shop, where two glass blowing activities are taking place. One group is making glass pumpkins, and the other group is creating a piece of art from the kids design program. They have a drawing done by a young girl, and are turning it into a three dimensional glass work. Her creation combines the features of a narwhal and of an anemone and is called Miss Narwemeny. Quite cute! Two copies will be made today, one for the museum and one for the girl.
We all enjoy the displays in the galleries. Dan and I are drawn to the pieces relating to the sea. Carolyn and Richard pose in front of the blue glass igloo, and Larry and Kathy are enjoying the exhibits.
A gallery contains displays where the public can vote for their favorite, and Carolyn immediately knows which one she likes! Who wouldn't love these whimsical geese with their blue webbed feet.
A hallway is filled with pieces kids have designed, and they are so creative and fun. What a thrill for kids to see their simple drawings turn into works of art.
It's been great fun visiting with our family! Looking forward to next time . . . Tacoma is a good half way point for all of us to meet.
The day ends wet, we are tucked into NORTH STAR, ready to enjoy our chowder from the Fish Peddler and watch a movie.
Date: October 31, 2016
Time Start: 10 a.m.
Time Finish: 3:30 p.m.
Cruise From: Dock Street Marina, Tacoma
Cruise To: Swantown Marina, Olympia
Engine Hours Start: 567
Engine Hours Finish: 572
Weather/sea conditions: Gray, wet, windy, patches of blue & sun - mixed up weather! Sloppy water at times.
Happy stormy Halloween! It poured last night, and the winds and rains are still with us this morning. The Foss Waterway is flowing like a river as stormwater runoff from the city of Tacoma is diverted into it. We prepare a hot breakfast and then prepare to leave Dock Street, wanting to be home to greet trick or treaters at our door tonight.
By the time we leave, the rain has stopped. We make a fuel stop at Foss Harbor Marina where we get a ten cent per gallon discount with our BoatUS membership. Scenery along the waterway is gray, making any bright colors like red and yellow pop out. The Urban Waters building is a part of Dan's life, he was on the advisory committee during its conception, construction, and first years of operation.
Time Start: 10 a.m.
Time Finish: 3:30 p.m.
Cruise From: Dock Street Marina, Tacoma
Cruise To: Swantown Marina, Olympia
Engine Hours Start: 567
Engine Hours Finish: 572
Weather/sea conditions: Gray, wet, windy, patches of blue & sun - mixed up weather! Sloppy water at times.
Happy stormy Halloween! It poured last night, and the winds and rains are still with us this morning. The Foss Waterway is flowing like a river as stormwater runoff from the city of Tacoma is diverted into it. We prepare a hot breakfast and then prepare to leave Dock Street, wanting to be home to greet trick or treaters at our door tonight.
By the time we leave, the rain has stopped. We make a fuel stop at Foss Harbor Marina where we get a ten cent per gallon discount with our BoatUS membership. Scenery along the waterway is gray, making any bright colors like red and yellow pop out. The Urban Waters building is a part of Dan's life, he was on the advisory committee during its conception, construction, and first years of operation.
We get glimpses of sunshine as we round Point Defiance and head into the Narrows. Dark clouds lie ahead. We move slowly as we are going against the current today.
And then we get wet, and it is not from the clouds. From the Narrows to McNeil Island we are in some sloppy water. It splashes up the sides of NORTH STAR, over the bow, drenches the windshield and side windows. Whitecaps are on the water surrounding us, and we are going against them.
We're surprised to see the Anderson Island ferry on the horizon between Fox and McNeil Islands. We can tell it is empty and must be out for some testing or training. Then, off of McNeil as we near Eagle Island, several vessels with geoduck divers are at anchor. A state fish and game vessel is also there to monitor their activities.
Several seals are on the shore of Eagle Island, more are swimming in the water as we approach. An eagle is on the beach with the seals and then flies off to the trees. We love that we almost always see wildlife on this tiny islet.
We see more geoduck harvesters along Anderson Island. An Army Corps of Engineers snag boat passes us and pretty much leads us home to Olympia, as it, too, is headed for the docks of Swantown. It is an uneventful but enjoyable cruise home.
Amazingly, it hasn't rained all the way from Dock Street to Olympia. And then, just as we approach Swantown, the skies open up. It is going to be a wet Halloween night. BOO!
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