Autumn in Washington State (Sept. 25 - October 28, 2020)

Location:  Kingston, WA

At the end of the last blog we had arrived in Washington State after transiting the west coast of British Columbia. We're now in Kingston, WA where we plan to spend most of the winter.

Seabiscuit at the Port of Kingston transient dock

Friday, September 25, 2020 - Anacortes, WA to La Conner, WA (10 nm, 1.7 hours):  The wind picked up overnight and was blowing 25 - 30 knots when we got up this morning and it was raining.  We had our breakfast and coffee and checked into the Boater's Net.  The wind slacked off some and we got away from the dock at 10:30.  We made our way south down the Swinomish Channel and docked at the La Conner North Marina on the outside of the transient dock.  It finally quit raining mid-afternoon so we went for a walk along the waterfront.

Saturday and Sunday, September 26 - 27, 2020 - La Conner:  We spent the weekend washing the boat.  It was the first wash of the  year and everything was really dirty.  Saturday we scrubbed monkey island, the stack, the boat deck and the solar panels.  For supper we walked into town and ate at Santos Coyote, a very good Mexican restaurant.  Sunday we scrubbed the foredeck, the pilot house, the bridge deck, the house and the main deck.  The boat looked so much better when we were finished and it was nice to have a clean exterior.  

Monday, September 28, 2020 - La Conner to Langley, WA (27 nm, 3.8 hours):  We spent the morning doing chores, then had lunch on board.  We left the dock at noon and headed south down the Swinomish Channel.

The Rainbow Bridge crossing the Swinomish Channel south of La Conner 

Our destination of the day was Langley (Port of South Whidbey).  Two boats ahead of us called the port on the VHF radio and were told that the marina guest dock was full but that the anchorage area south of the port had good holding so we followed them into the anchorage area and dropped our hook.  We spent the afternoon reading on the stern and enjoying the nice, sunny weather.

Watching the sun getting ready to set from the Langley anchorage

Tuesday, September 29, 2020 - Langley to Port Townsend (30 nm, 4 hours):  Anchor up at 7:00 this morning so that we could catch the current flowing north up Admiralty Inlet.  We watched the sunrise.  With the exception of the Washington State Ferries doing their regular runs and a few small fishing boats, there wasn't much marine traffic.  We arrived at the Point Hudson Marina in Port Townsend at 10:30.  We stopped at the pump out station and then pulled into our slip.  We walked into town and had lunch at Siren's, overlooking the waterfront.  The marina was busy and we spent the afternoon doing chores and watching boats come and go.  We took a walk through downtown, had sushi for supper then went back to the marina to unlax for the evening.

The Jefferson Museum Building, Port Townsend, WA

Wednesday, September 30, 2020 - Port Townsend, WA:  Port Townsend is an interesting seaport town with a well preserved historic downtown area.  We walked along the waterfront and through the downtown area and enjoyed the beautiful sunny weather.  For supper we went to The Fountain Cafe, a small, quaint place with an interesting menu.  We both enjoyed our meals and agreed that it is one of the best restaurants we have been to in a long time.  After supper we wandered back to the marina for a relaxing evening.

Looking east over the breakwater from our slip at Point Hudson Marina.

Thursday, October 1, 2020 - Port Townsend to Kingston (25 nm, 3.7 hours):  The weather turned overnight and we woke up to thick fog this morning.  We left the marina at 10:00 in order to catch the current flowing south through the Port Townsend Canal.  Visibility was about 1/4 mile and we had our lights and radar on for the entire voyage.  We pulled into the Port of Kingston ~13:30 and tied up in our slip for the winter.  We spent the afternoon settling in.

Friday, October 2 - Wednesday, October 28, 2020 - Kingston, WA:  We have been spending our time in Kingston doing winter projects, maintenance and chores and exploring the neighborhood.  We'll let the pictures tell the stories.

Spiderwebs coated with fog/mist along the ramp to the transient dock  

Dave doing maintenance on the windlass

Flowers along a trail through the woods 

Map of the Kingston Parks and Trails. 
We have been walking every afternoon and have discovered some nice trails through the woods

The sandspit at the Arness Beach Park.  The marina and the ferry landing are in the background

Looking down at the ferry landing from the hill above North Beach Park.

Fungi and moss on a tree in the woods

Inspecting and cleaning the windlass motor.

Painting the port stateroom. 
The wall paper is removed and the first coat of primer in on the walls.

The freezer - it had been leaking water so we pulled it out to inspect it.  The gas return tubing was frosted over so we let off some gas, primed the rusted areas and cleaned and sealed the plywood underneath.

Squirrel eating a pine cone.

B relaxing in the beer garden at Downpour Brewing, Kingston

Pulling wire for the pilot house fuse box project.

B sitting in a Kingston Big Chair

Changing fuel filters on the main engine - They were long past due on hours but engine running fine.

Cleaning the auto-pilot controls

For our 22nd anniversary we went out to supper at Mossback, delicious and highly recommended.
This is the list of wine pairings that went with each dish.

Until next time...