I Have an Idea

Sunday August 27th – On the way back south from every summer boat trip we have made it a tradition to spend a few nights in Seattle for some school clothes shopping.

We had a nice cruise south from Port Townsand to Seattle’s Bell Harbor where we arrived to a boat occupying the slip we were assigned. After getting situated in a different slip we left the boat for the big city. We spent the next couple days having nice dinners out at all our favorite places and lots of shopping for the kids.

Tuesday August 29th – Our last day in Seattle I devised a plan for a dinghy adventure. Julie thought I was a little nuts but the plan went like this. All 4 of us would take the dinghy out of Bell Harbor, into Elliot Bay and head north to the entrance of the locks. The locks lead you from Puget Sound to Lake Union. I thought it would be fun to take our little 13′ dinghy through the locks and I wanted to go to Fisheries Supply and have lunch somewhere on the lake.

We took off cruising like a little speck in the open Elliot Bay then stopped at the Elliot Bay Marina to top off the fuel tank. Cruising around West Point things got a little rough. We continued on, but it made me a little worried about our return where we would be headed into the waves rather than going with them. As we headed into Shilshole Bay a huge salmon jumped right in front of us. We stopped for a while and fished but no bites.

We kept on to the locks, but the trek took quite a bit longer than expected and we still had quite a way to go after getting through the locks. After waiting for about an hour for the locks to open our direction, we piled in with all the boats towering above our little dinghy. Up we went to the lake level then the gates opened flowing us into the fresh water.

The canal getting to Lake Union and the lake itself is a no wake zone. So, we had to slowly motor along all the while the passengers were getting more and more restless and cranky. Hot sun, no food, and the trip taking about 3 times longer than expected didn’t help. We were not prepared. I had severely underestimated the time it would take, and Julie was now giving me the evil eye knowing that as far as we had come we still had to go back. “Isn’t this fun” I said, “look at all the boats”. The heat was getting to them, no response.

We finally made it to Chandlers Crab House where we revived ourselves with some food and beer for the adults. All Ava wanted to do is see the crab boats from Deadliest Catch, so we got back in the hot sun and at 4 knots made it to Fisherman’s Terminal. None of the boats were back from Alaska yet so another detour just caused more heat stroke. Although we did our good deed for the day by rescuing a lady’s umbrella that had blown in the water and floating away. She was very grateful and invited us to see her old Tollycraft houseboat that was all done up mid-century modern style.

After another long wait at the locks we made it back out to the Puget Sound to find calmer seas and a nice trip back to Bell Harbor. All together it was a 7-hour tour and I didn’t even make to Fisheries Supply! No one talked much, we were all exhausted from the sun. It wasn’t all that fun at the time, but it was an adventure that crated fun memories! Julie and I had a nice dinner alone that night at Etta’s.