Bellingham and family

On Lummi Island we stopped for the night in Inati Bay. A small, but well protected nook, we dropped the anchor and wandered up the dirt roads to seek a bit of the wild. Surprisingly the salmon berries were already ripe so we gorged.

Back at the bay we noticed right away that a second boat had also anchored and seemed to be right on top of us. Sure enough, they had picked a spot right on top of our anchor to set theirs. The red-neck captain boated over to say he thought he was a bit close, but didn't offer to move. So we were stuck with a view of his ugly stern which we called the Big Fart. And we wonder why powerboaters get a bad rap.
We soft-landed in Bellingham to hang out with Blain’s cousin Krista and her family. They’ve kept us busy ever since, and I might add well fed and a bit buzzed. We were whisked to the local Boundary Bay brewpub as soon as we tied up to the dock.
Dinners were wonderful with J (yes just J), Blair and Allison doing most of the heavy lifting. Homemade pasta with salmon, veggie burger BBQs, pizza feasts, and burrito night set our diets back about three months, but we certainly enjoyed the great food and fun hospitality.

Blain got to drive with Blair and his girlfriend Allison to Seattle to see sister Lyndsey at her apartment at UW. These kids are on fire, and it was great catching up with them.

We took out Krista and J for a spin in the boat on a windy rolly day. Midway through, Krista went to the head and returned a nice olive drab, but rallied for the evening once back on land. (Note to selves: hand out ginger candy and make everyone pee at the harbor before leaving...)

Blair, Allison, and their Alaska friend Kayla came out for a really nice day of sailing. We put the larger headsail up and really noticed the faster turn of speed. We managed to distance our photographer Krista in her kayak, so we must be going faster.

As we sailed away, we came across an empty skiff floating by and called it into the Coast Guard. Krista, who smartly carries a marine radio, got a bit of a motherly fright to hear, "Coast Guard, Coast Guard, Coast Guard, this is Oystercatcher. Over."

The harbor has low rates and free electricity and parking, so we brought the car up from Shilshole to leave with Krista.

Thank you guys fro everything. It was absoulutely wonderful hanging out with you all. It's now off to the San Juan Islands. Next major stop will be Friday Harbor where Krista promises to show us her whales...