A weekend of fun and story telling. The islands are a tough place to get to. Ferry ridership is up 50% and capacity is down 20%. Mechanical issues have sidelined one of the largest ferries and the backup isn't working either. Not a good combination. Fortunately I have the electric bike. With a case of wine sequestered in the saddle bags I went over to the island. Heavy pack with pc's and camera gear and said case of wine really loaded things up, so the plan was for mom to meet me on the Friday Harbor side.
Which she didn't. In her defense, I had planned on a later ferry. In my defense, I had texted her on the progress. Again in my defense, (it's my blog after all), she didn't check her texts. On top of that, I was asked to pick up some stuffing at the grocery story so she didn't have to drive all the way in. Sheesh!
It wasn't that bad -- the electric bike is a sturdy workhorse and aside from using a little more power than usual, I really didn't much notice the additional weight on the bike. Mom met me about 2/3rds the way to the house, took my stuff, then I continued the remaining way to the house. 36 minutes from Friday Harbor to the cabin. Not bad.
Friday was spent doing some light carpentry rebuilding a couple of shelves and before too long it was time for dinner. The Houby's kitchen hotwater tank had died so the party was at the house.
Dinner was fun with 3 generations of Houby's and Jens told a couple of stories from his days as a Marine pilot. He saw a book I was reading, Bien Dien Phu, and noted that he was in the Marine Corp the year that battle was taking place in Vietnam (1953/54) with the French on the losing side of their last big colonial battle. He was with a few French Midshipmen who were in no hurry to leave their stateside duties.
He also related one long flight delivering a plane. It was a beautiful day and they filed a VFR flight plan. He doubts they got above 100 feet the entire flight. He recalled a cowboy herding cattle waving his hat and also flying near Mt Rushmore. Quite near. They flew under the noses of the presidents.
Saturday was a lazy day. For some reason, I just didn't have a lot of energy. Island air? Long week? Whatever the reason, I took it easy. Finished the Dien Bien Phu book. Which is a chilling, but great read about a battle. A battle that led to 'North' and 'South' Vietnam. A battle that ended French colonialism in Southeast Asia. A battle that led to the US involvement in Vietnam. And a battle where the lesson on how to respect the challenges of fighting an indigenous army fighting on and for their home turf was learned. And subsequently forgotten.
Fixed a few of the lane lights and straightened the rather ghoulish cow skull the folks uncovered in the early 60's.
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| Mom's garden is doing quite well |
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| San Juan Channel in the evening |
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| Griffin is a temporary addition to the house |
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