The Final Day

 October 1st - STUCK In Seattle

So we sprinted out of Friday Harbor during dinner last night, and raced through the darkness to arrive in Seattle around 10 pm.  Woke up and found ourselves in one of the more remote marinas.  Interesting, eh?  Didn't have time to do all the excursions in Friday Harbor, so we were forced to choose....couldn't fit in the day of scenic sailing.  But we wake up today not even close to walking distance from anything and we will be here ALL DAY.  A LOT of discussion about why we had to leave Friday Harbor with a whole day to spare and even if we couldn't have stayed there, why not leave in the morning so we'd at least have the multiple hours of sailing?  Just adds to the many curious and disappointing decisions the cruise line made.  BUT....we made the best of it.  At breakfast we were told they were OUT of oatmeal and OUT of sausage.....how is a cruise out of food?We walked the marina dock in the morning anwere back in time for lunch.  At lunch the choices were not as "interesting" as on previous days.  But I had a salad, which made my "Jenny Craig Girl," Sandra, happy :)  One thing that did look appealing on the menu was "Brownie a la mode."  But we we went to order it we were told, "Sorry, we're out of vanilla ice cream!"  HOW does that happen?  After lunch we played cards again.  A LOT of laughter and a lot of fun.  At dinner that night the three couples had chipped in to give our two wait girls - who'd been very good, oh so personable, and laughed alot with us - a card and some gratuity money.  Then during dinner itself, our new friends Jack & Karen Fish celebrated her birthday which is tomorrow.  It was a fun evening and a great way to end the trip.

Awoke the next morning for a final breakfast to be greeted by the fog on the hills.  Off to the airport before 8 am and made the long journey home.

September 30

 Last Port of Call

This morning we were on the move to Friday Harbor.  Once we arrived we didn't have any excursions in the morning so the six of us decided to walk into town and see what we could see.  It was typical of the Pacific Northwest towns we'd seen to this point and the girls went in and out of a few shops before we headed back to the ship in time for lunch.

We had been forced, because of the change of itinerary, to choose between our two previously selected excursions for our visit here....either the whale watching (for which the San Juan Islands are known for) for to take a "San Juan Islands Adventure" and see the island.  The consensus was to check out the island via the bus tour.  We made four stops over the next couple of hours.....we stopped at a lighthouse which obviously sat right on the water; we went to an alpaca farm; we went to the "English Camp" from the locally famous "Pig War" - an "international incident caused by the shooting, yes, you guessed it, of a pig.  As the story was told the American troops and English troops would stand guard against one another all day long, but once the sun set they would mingle and party together in town....for over ten years :)  And our last stop was at a quaint harbor, Roche Harbor.  Got some nice photos....

View out our door as we sail into Friday Harbor

We've arrived in Friday Harbor!

The lighthouse

The obligatory group photo

The farm stop

The English Camp

Roche Harbor

Today's selfie :)

Fall leaves frame a beautiful home overlooking Roche Harbor

Today turned out to be our final day in port.  The itinerary advertised to us specifically described one day as "scenic sailing."  As you can see below, on the original itinerary this was to be on Day 3 as we left Anacortes and sailed where we were today in Friday Harbor.  And as you read in the description noted as, "your cruise is as much about the journey as about each destination" this scenic sailing would be narrated by the program director.  But the time frame when we traveled from Anacortes (yesterday) to Friday Harbor today had been between 5:30 am and 8:30 am.  So it was the general consensus that the "scenic sailing" would come as we sailed all the way back to Seattle.  However, we awoke today to discover that the decision had been made to sail this long distance tonight.....we'd leave Friday Harbor while we were having dinner and arrive at 11:30 pm.  Obviously everyone would NOT be on the top deck enjoying the scenery.  This and several other issues came to a head this evening before playing bingo and were prompted by the announcement that regardless of what time your flight was, EVERYONE had to be off the ship by 8 am on Saturday morning.  To those with late afternoon flights, or early evening flights, the thought that they couldn't spend even a couple hours in the lounge - even if they had to be out of their rooms did not set well.  And of course that displeasure led to a discussion about how we as guests had given up/compromised our itinerary - largely so another ship could take our itinerary - and had been short-changed out of among other things the scenic sailing.....why couldn't the ship compromise and allow guests to stay in comfort on board for a few hours.  Not much was resolved other than we were told it was a corporate decision and that they'd contact them tomorrow morning and allow guests to air their concerns.

Change of Plans.....Off To Anacortes!

 September 29

We discovered late in the afternoon that instead of Friday Harbor / The San Juan Islands (and our much anticipated Whale Watching Tour) we'd be heading to Anacortes due to the weather.  But the one of the highlights of the cruise came earlier in the day when we met Jack and Karen Fish.  Turns our they both went to Miami (Ohio) like Mary Pat and I, and then when asked about what he'd done for a living he said he'd been upper level management at GE in Erie - where Kim lived for several years, and her twin sister Karrie's husband had been in upper management.  Turns out they were great friends and Jack was Randy's boss!  Small world.  So they joined us for dinner and then after dinner we played cards.  We'd taught everyone a card game which is called "Boo-Ray" and is similar to euchre, but it also involves minor gambling of nickles and dimes.  Most of the time the pot may at most reach a couple dollars.  But tonight - amidst hours of laughter - it reached nearly $15 and I had a great hand.  I was SURE I'd win, so I told everyone...."Listen, I'm not bluffing - do not play this hand, you WILL have to pay.  You'd be best to just let me have the pot."  But instead both Kim and Jack played.  Kim was able to get out, but while I scooped up the pot Jack was left to match the pot :)  Great fun.

This morning we awoke in Anacortes and it was in the upper 40s and rainy.  Our morning excursion was a walk through the historic 9-block section of downtown (where our great friends David & Heather Enyart had lived until a couple years ago).  We first had a 30 minute historical background presentation in the lounge then set out on the walk.  The rain stopped and the skies were "clearing" but the wind was blustery.  For Kim and I, we loved the cooler temps.

Dungeness Crab ready to be shipped out

The historical society got canning labels (Anacortes had been the world leading salmon canning city) and blew them up, then put them on the town's trash cans.

Our guide offered us an option to extend the tour through a couple of blocks of unique homes and see the memorial park built to honor the WW I veterans.  What was most interesting about the park was that the rock walls were hand made with rocks picked up by volunteers....and there were a lot, A LOT of rocks!

After a wonderful lunch we boarded the busses for a second excursion.  The afternoon saw us being taken by bus (about thirty minutes) to a museum which represented the entire county.  There were three wings to show what is significant about the history and culture of the entire area.  One full wing was devoted to a gentleman who taught the accordion and had an accordion band.  One full wing.  We were able to carefully examine everything in the entire museum in less than 20 minutes.

The second stop was at a small seafood production and sales shop where we were given a free salmon slider.....we were there about twenty minutes....

The cost for the afternoon's excursion was $45 per person.  I think you'd agree it was "a bit overpriced."  But most disappointing was that we were SUPPOSED to go to Deception Pass today.  This is THE most highly visited tourist attraction in the Pacific Northwest with over 1 million visitors a year.  We'd signed up for a jet boat excursion, but because the larger sister ship took our itinerary at the last minute this excursion was no longer available to us.  More disappointing was that we were less than six miles from this iconic site and no option was provided by the ship to get us there in any shape or fashion.....highly disappointing.

Secondly, and maybe by this time tomorrow I'll be proven wrong, but there were three things that most appealed to the six of us about this itinerary (in addition, obviously to (a) traveling again and (b) more importantly traveling TOGETHER again)....they were, (1) Deception Pass, (2) the whale watching and (3) the scenic view with program director narration that was advertised online.  Because our itinerary has changed not once but twice, the part of the cruise that is the most scenic and advertised as such will be tomorrow when we leave at 5:30 am and arrive around 8:30 am.  Not exactly as promised.

Paulsbo, WA

 September 28:  Welcome To Poulsbo!

We left Port Townsend about 8 am and sailed until about 1 pm when we reached Poulsbo.

We had a walking tour to learn the history of this Pacific Northwestern seaport which was very interesting.  And of course, we had to stop at the bakery.  It was another great day on our adventure through the Puget Sound.

Who's that piloting the Hyak?  Oh yeah.....

......Captain Mark and First Mate Kim!

Happy Birthday Kim!

 September 27 - Day 2 of the Cruise:  Kim’s Birthday

We left Port Angeles at 6:00 am and for us on the third deck we could hardly hear the boat take off; but for our pals on the 2^nd deck it was very obvious the motors were revving up and we were leaving the dock.  We sailed until about 9:30 am – and while at sea we had a beautiful sunrise.  It was crisp out on the top deck when we reached Port Townsend and we left the ship a little after ten in the morning for our lone excursion of the day, about a 90 minute walking tour of the historic downtown area.

Our tour guide, Amy took us all around the historic part of Townsend and told us very interesting stories about the town and the people that built the town in the late 1800s.  One of the most interesting tales was about a gentleman who was a two-time mayor of Townsend.  His son was visiting and he walked him to the pier to say good-bye as he left.  The housekeeper heard him return and go into his study.  About an hour later she heard the dog bark in the study, went upstairs and he wasn’t in there.  On his desk were his wallet, watch, hat & coat (it was winter).  But he wasn’t there, and was never seen again.  To this day no one knows what happened to him!

Following the tour the six of us walked up the many stairs and the incline to reach the “Victorian section” of town which had a lot of really cool old homes.  AND we found deer just sitting in the back yard of one home.  We concluded our walk at the post office which is huge and eye-catching.  It was built this way purposefully and posed on the cliff as you sail into the harbor so that arriving people would know that this was a city that was special.  Kim and I had our photo op there.

Today was Kim’s birthday, and her twin sister Karrie.  Was a good way to celebrate her special day.  Also below is a photo of our ship docked on the wharf, and what it looks like when we are in the dining room – not a bad view, eh?