a weekend at sea (well... sound)
Aug. 28th, 2006 04:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivendellroseI'm back! And only a little bit the worse for wear for all of my adventures!
The whole adventure started Saturday morning, when I ran around doing errands so efficiently that by one o'clock I was pretty much ready to go, complete with face-wash cloths to accomodate the new no-liquid airline guidelines, and a new-to-me North Face coat-shell, since none of my other coats are the outdoor type. Hung out with the kitty, ate lunch, and nearly finished my latest Ursula LeGuin book, then zipped onto the bus to Lake Union. Got to Kenmore Air on the lake about an hour and fifteen minutes early, checked in, and had my backpack weighed. They didn't even look inside, nor did they ask if I had any liquids. Yup, that's right - I could've brought my usual face-wash, lotions, sunscreen... the whole deal. Ah well. Went to a Starbucks and bought a cold drink for while I waited.
The flight up to Roche Harbor was amazing. Seriously, I recommend this seaplane deal to anybody in the area who isn't petrified of flying, it's soooo fun. The take-off point is right next to the Center for Wooden Boats (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
maymargaret, if Lady Washington had still been there I would have gotten the absolute most amazing pictures! As it was, I got a nice one of the steamboat Virginia), and the take-off itself is like being on a speed-boat that just crashes along and then suddenly decides that it'd actually rather not hit the water again after clearing. We zoomed down the length of the lake, then veered left just as we neared the UW end of the bridge - I missed a fabulous shot of GasWorks Park because I got distracted taking a picture of the UW campus. I also got a few good shots of Greenlake (I swear, if we'd been coming in the other side I probably could've found the school we live across from), and a shot directly down on my office in Ballard. Then out over Shilshole Marina and Golden Gardens, and into Puget Sound and the lower San Juans. I tried to get some shots of Whidbey, but we were on the west side, the wrong side for anything that I know.
The best part was circling in for a landing at Friday Harbor (big spiral.... little spiral... crash! onto the water!) and then taking off from it again to hop over to Roche (same thing in reverse!).
Got in to Roche at about 5:30 or so, then hung around with Dad and Loretta, then wandered around the harbor for a bit (nice gardens and all, yes, but better than that they have a little cemetary up in a forest, and supposedly there's a big white marble mausoleum up there someplace, although I ended up wimping out on that 'cause I couldn't tell how much further the trail went and, to be honest, a really quiet, slightly dusty pine forest at sunset with creeeepy little white picket fences around 19th century gravestones... was kind of creeping me out), then went back to the boat 'til 8:40, when we had dinner at the veeeeeery nice restaurant on the hill. I had hazelnut-crusted halibut with smoked-gouda sauce and fresh tomatoes. And a very nice glass of Riesling wine. Wow.
Sunday morning we motored out in search of whales, and actually found them. You are all witness to the culmination of nearly twenty years of effort on my part - I have seen wild orcas. Not horribly close, but they were there, and they were beautiful. If the seaplane flight alone made the trip worthwhile, the whales pretty much had me in heaven, even if I got horribly seasick (argh!) from bobbing around waiting and watching.
We spent the night at Fort Flagler, and that's where the "table" part of my story comes in. If you've been on a sailboat large enough to have a dining area but small enough that the dining area is also the second bed, you know that those tables are a total bitch to put up and down. I was helping my (currently gimpy by way of cyatic nerve cluster) stepmom to set up the table, and I didn't realize exactly how the table-leg was going to fold out. It unfolded, and the top part crunched my right pointer finger. Smash. As usual, the last words I heard before injuring myself were my dad saying "be careful with that." Yup. Never fails. And then, of course, I looked at it... and promptly got dizzy and had to go sit outside for a while because not only was the damned thing already bruising up really well, but the nail was bleeding and split. Throbbed so. very. badly. After we bandaged it up I had a glass of port, some ibuprofen... and then later some more port when it really started going. Ow. It feels a lot better today, but I'm not looking forward to changing the bandage. That'll mean looking at it again. :P
Third day (today) I woke up about 6:30 (thanks to my newfound inability to sleep through other people banging around - I used to be able to sleep through anything!), stayed in 'bed' til almost 8 drinking coffee, eating oatmeal, and writing. Then moved to the deck and wrote. And looked at porpoises. Chatted with the family. And wrote more. Seriously, I haven't written this much in long-hand since I was in highschool, I don't think. Nothing too thrilling ("What kind of story are you writing?" Dad asks. "Uh, just silly stuff," say I. I don't feel like explaining fanfiction to my dad), although I did get a good bit of an original piece worked out on Saturday... intensely autobiographical, though, so I don't know if I'll ever be able to do anything with it. Unless I get famous for something else. Anyway. Got in to Shilshole Marina at 1:20pm, left about 1:45, walked to the bus-stop at the locks and got into the office about 2:15. Not bad!
Long story short - I'm home, I have a bum finger, and I understand now why Captain Jack sways wherever he goes... I can't seem to get used to steady land anymore! I still feel like the world is tossing on the waves. Wooo. Can't wait to get home, see the monster-kitty, and visit with the housemates. XD
The whole adventure started Saturday morning, when I ran around doing errands so efficiently that by one o'clock I was pretty much ready to go, complete with face-wash cloths to accomodate the new no-liquid airline guidelines, and a new-to-me North Face coat-shell, since none of my other coats are the outdoor type. Hung out with the kitty, ate lunch, and nearly finished my latest Ursula LeGuin book, then zipped onto the bus to Lake Union. Got to Kenmore Air on the lake about an hour and fifteen minutes early, checked in, and had my backpack weighed. They didn't even look inside, nor did they ask if I had any liquids. Yup, that's right - I could've brought my usual face-wash, lotions, sunscreen... the whole deal. Ah well. Went to a Starbucks and bought a cold drink for while I waited.
The flight up to Roche Harbor was amazing. Seriously, I recommend this seaplane deal to anybody in the area who isn't petrified of flying, it's soooo fun. The take-off point is right next to the Center for Wooden Boats (
maymargaret, if Lady Washington had still been there I would have gotten the absolute most amazing pictures! As it was, I got a nice one of the steamboat Virginia), and the take-off itself is like being on a speed-boat that just crashes along and then suddenly decides that it'd actually rather not hit the water again after clearing. We zoomed down the length of the lake, then veered left just as we neared the UW end of the bridge - I missed a fabulous shot of GasWorks Park because I got distracted taking a picture of the UW campus. I also got a few good shots of Greenlake (I swear, if we'd been coming in the other side I probably could've found the school we live across from), and a shot directly down on my office in Ballard. Then out over Shilshole Marina and Golden Gardens, and into Puget Sound and the lower San Juans. I tried to get some shots of Whidbey, but we were on the west side, the wrong side for anything that I know. The best part was circling in for a landing at Friday Harbor (big spiral.... little spiral... crash! onto the water!) and then taking off from it again to hop over to Roche (same thing in reverse!).
Got in to Roche at about 5:30 or so, then hung around with Dad and Loretta, then wandered around the harbor for a bit (nice gardens and all, yes, but better than that they have a little cemetary up in a forest, and supposedly there's a big white marble mausoleum up there someplace, although I ended up wimping out on that 'cause I couldn't tell how much further the trail went and, to be honest, a really quiet, slightly dusty pine forest at sunset with creeeepy little white picket fences around 19th century gravestones... was kind of creeping me out), then went back to the boat 'til 8:40, when we had dinner at the veeeeeery nice restaurant on the hill. I had hazelnut-crusted halibut with smoked-gouda sauce and fresh tomatoes. And a very nice glass of Riesling wine. Wow.
Sunday morning we motored out in search of whales, and actually found them. You are all witness to the culmination of nearly twenty years of effort on my part - I have seen wild orcas. Not horribly close, but they were there, and they were beautiful. If the seaplane flight alone made the trip worthwhile, the whales pretty much had me in heaven, even if I got horribly seasick (argh!) from bobbing around waiting and watching.
We spent the night at Fort Flagler, and that's where the "table" part of my story comes in. If you've been on a sailboat large enough to have a dining area but small enough that the dining area is also the second bed, you know that those tables are a total bitch to put up and down. I was helping my (currently gimpy by way of cyatic nerve cluster) stepmom to set up the table, and I didn't realize exactly how the table-leg was going to fold out. It unfolded, and the top part crunched my right pointer finger. Smash. As usual, the last words I heard before injuring myself were my dad saying "be careful with that." Yup. Never fails. And then, of course, I looked at it... and promptly got dizzy and had to go sit outside for a while because not only was the damned thing already bruising up really well, but the nail was bleeding and split. Throbbed so. very. badly. After we bandaged it up I had a glass of port, some ibuprofen... and then later some more port when it really started going. Ow. It feels a lot better today, but I'm not looking forward to changing the bandage. That'll mean looking at it again. :P
Third day (today) I woke up about 6:30 (thanks to my newfound inability to sleep through other people banging around - I used to be able to sleep through anything!), stayed in 'bed' til almost 8 drinking coffee, eating oatmeal, and writing. Then moved to the deck and wrote. And looked at porpoises. Chatted with the family. And wrote more. Seriously, I haven't written this much in long-hand since I was in highschool, I don't think. Nothing too thrilling ("What kind of story are you writing?" Dad asks. "Uh, just silly stuff," say I. I don't feel like explaining fanfiction to my dad), although I did get a good bit of an original piece worked out on Saturday... intensely autobiographical, though, so I don't know if I'll ever be able to do anything with it. Unless I get famous for something else. Anyway. Got in to Shilshole Marina at 1:20pm, left about 1:45, walked to the bus-stop at the locks and got into the office about 2:15. Not bad!
Long story short - I'm home, I have a bum finger, and I understand now why Captain Jack sways wherever he goes... I can't seem to get used to steady land anymore! I still feel like the world is tossing on the waves. Wooo. Can't wait to get home, see the monster-kitty, and visit with the housemates. XD
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-08-28 11:51 pm (UTC)I mean, glad you had a good time on your trip. ^_^
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Date: 2006-08-28 11:57 pm (UTC)And thanks! Is Tuesday and/or Wednesday evening good for you for the sci-fi marathoning? Nicole said she was free either of those nights.
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Date: 2006-08-29 12:46 am (UTC)Yeah, both are free for me. Just gimme a time to expect you guys.
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Date: 2006-08-29 01:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-29 04:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-29 04:17 am (UTC)Oh, and will this be tomorrow or Wednesday?
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Date: 2006-08-29 05:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-29 06:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-29 05:33 pm (UTC)See you this evening!
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Date: 2006-08-28 11:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-28 11:59 pm (UTC)I'm so very into this idea. XD
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Date: 2006-08-29 12:10 am (UTC)Oh, I bought myself an Old English grammar, too. It looks decent, but some of the pronunciation guidelines only make sense if you have an English accent, so I'd love some help with interpretation!
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Date: 2006-08-29 01:24 am (UTC)Awesome! One of the ones I got has very good explanations of the sounds, and both Kendra and I can read IPA, so we should be okay. Now we just have to find a time to meet!
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Date: 2006-08-29 02:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-29 12:38 am (UTC)and you finally saw the whales, YAY!
I find it so weird that you have decided to get sea-sick at this point in your life. You never did when you were young.
Maybe you can talk Kendra or Terra into changing your bandage,
where is Cora when you need her?
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Date: 2006-08-29 01:22 am (UTC)And Terra will freak out more than I would if I have her change it. I should be okay. At least it won't be bleeding anymore. :P
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Date: 2006-08-29 01:31 am (UTC)Did you hurt your whole finger, or just the tip?
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Date: 2006-08-29 12:58 am (UTC)By the way, since you saw it most recently: It is Khazad-dum that the Shadows come from in B5, right? Or am I just getting confused?
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Date: 2006-08-29 01:20 am (UTC)Z'ha'dum. Khazad-dum is the place where Gandalf fell.
...As opposed to where Sheridan fell. Oh, JMS and his wacky Tolkien allusions..........
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Date: 2006-08-29 02:35 am (UTC)Ahh, okay. I wasn't sure. My brothers are watching 'Fellowship' and it got to that line of Saruman's about finding Shadow and Fire in the deeps of Khazad-dum, and I was like, "Hey... waitaminute..."
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Date: 2006-08-29 05:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-29 05:31 am (UTC)I really should keep my mouth shut on shows I'm still trying to absorb.
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Date: 2006-08-29 06:09 pm (UTC)elvesVorlons leaving the galaxy and being all, "It's your playground now, kiddos, have fun."It doesn't help that the first thing I thought when I saw Marcus was something along the lines of "Aragorn whut?"
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Date: 2006-08-29 08:59 pm (UTC)The Aragorn = Marcus thing, of course, did. I mean, honestly... how could anybody who knows half a thing about Aragorn miss it?
...Aside from his ending of course. Poor Marcus.
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Date: 2006-08-29 11:01 pm (UTC)Poor Marcus indeed. (I had a patient come in yesterday who looked disturbingly like Claudia Christian. I had a hard time not going O_O at her.)
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Date: 2006-08-29 11:16 pm (UTC)............Oh, bloody buggering hell. "Third age of mankind" indeed. It's right there in the fecking opening!
(O_o I so would have become a blithering idiot if someone like that came in here.)
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Date: 2006-08-29 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-29 04:08 am (UTC)