Synnova

Synnova

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Life Onboard As We Transition to Idaho

This has been a year of adventure for us. We purchased a new home in Meridian, ID about 2 miles from Robyn, Gavin and the kids. We visited them in March 2017 and discovered that Meridian would be a great place for retirement. The weather is better with four distinct seasons, much less traffic, lower cost of living and a more conservative environment. We started looking for a home and found one we loved in September 2017. We made multiple trips back and forth to Idaho to move our belongings as we emptied out our Lake Goodwin house to sell. The house sold and closed on April 3, 2018. Bob plans to work until Labor Day and I will continue my chaplaincy work until then. Since we were "homeless" in the Pacific Northwest until September we decided to stay on our boat for the six months until we move.

Our stay on Synnova has been fine. It started out a little rough when we moved on in March (to keep the house show-ready). The weather was very cold, rainy and windy so we were very happy when we moved into spring and began to have some nice weather. We are using the guest stateroom as a walk-in closet and a lot of our office files, dog food and miscellaneous items are stored in the pilot house. The galley table has become my office but leaves just enough room for us to eat.







Barkley is loving being on the boat because he gets so many walks! I have started walking about 10,000 steps per day so that is giving Barkley lots of long walks. He has now decided that he needs another walk every hour or so but we usually drag it out to 2-3 hours if we can. He completely ignores the ducks and birds but when he sees a bunny rabbit - watch out! He takes off like a rocket and if the leash isn't held onto tightly, he would be gone. He loves to check everything out and often tries to visit with the people we pass. He especially enjoys it when he sees children at the park. This summer the foot ferry was running to Jetty Island and daycare groups were constantly going back and forth. He got a lot of attention from all those waiting for the ferry.



Our last night on the boat before moving to Idaho was September 3rd after returning from the Labor Day Cruise. The six months on the boat worked out really well and we enjoyed it during the summertime. I wouldn't want to do it year round because of the cold and rain getting from the boat to the car. The boat stayed nice and warm with the heaters but getting tot he boat was another story!

Monday, September 3, 2018

Labor Day Cruise to Port Ludlow

This weekend was our annual cruise to Port Ludlow with the Edmonds Yacht Club. We come here every year but it never gets old. They have a great facility for our club to use and it has traditionally been a great family cruise. We left on Thursday to get there and get settled before the other boaters arrived. Rylie enjoys helping Grandpa run the boat but later she was pretty tired and fell asleep playing with her tablet.



We bring Rylie each year and Jack and Moon have brought Blake the last couple of years. Rylie always looks forward to seeing him and they have a great time together.



A favorite activity for the kids is to use a net to try to catch fish off the dock. Rylie had lots of fun and it keeps her entertained when we are visiting with other boaters.Of course, Barkley is also a great help although he looks a little worn out in this picture!



Saturday was a day full of activities. Connie Huff does a great job organizing crafts for the kids and adults. Rylie was eager to make a boat that could be floated in a pond so tried her hand at the hot glue gun and designing her boat.





Last year Rylie began learning to drive the dinghy so she was very eager to get back at it again this year. She does a great job! When she and grandpa took the dinghy out into the bay he had her open up the throttle. She was laughing so hard and had so much fun. I think they both did!



The community also had a small craft show out on the lawn of the hotel that we wandered over to see. Rylie loved the puppy she found at one of the booths.



The EYC members took their usual dinghy tour around the area but we decided not to take part this time. Instead, we took our dinghy separately and let Rylie drive it. We got some pictures of everyone else.



The theme of the cruise was Gilligan's Island so there were some great decorations as well as wonderful costumes!




On Sunday Rylie and Blake played with other kids and had a lot of fun with the Jenga blocks and Cornhole game. Somehow, combining everything to create something new was more fun than playing by the rules of the games - and so much more creative!




Today was another craft day but this time the adults were included. Connie provided lots of rope and glue guns so they could make coasters or decorative knots. Rylie turned her coaster into a cup by adding additional rows on top. Even Bob got into the project and learned to make Turk's Head knots into coasters.






Two couples had their boats christened this weekend. It is always a fun time to hear the story behind their getting their boat, choosing a name and watching them break the champagne bottle over the bow. The greenery on the bow symbolizes a safe return to shore.



Sunday ended with another great evening of food from our very own club member chefs and lots of laughter. Games this weekend included writing a song (and performing it) to the tune of the Gilligan's Island theme song, a golf game on Saturday, and a blind dinghy race. There were awards for adults and children alike.




Monday morning we departed for the Everett Marina. This will be our last cruise this year as we head off to Meridian, ID to our new home. We have slowly moved everything over there but on Wednesday we will officially be living there. Our plan is to return to do our boating and visit friends and family using Synnova as our "apartment" while here.

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Summer Cruise Day 14 - Home Again!

We woke up at 4:00am so we could get an early start back to Everett. The currents were going to work against us but the Strait of Juan de Fuca was like glass. We headed out and were blessed with a beautiful sunrise.






Saturday, July 14, 2018

Summer Cruise Day 13 - Victoria

This morning Bob and I got up at 7:00 to beat the heat and went for our run. We found a wonderful path that runs along the waterfront and is very level so it worked well for us. We enjoyed the quiet and lovely scenery before all the tourists were out and about.


At 10:45 the water taxis performed their "world famous" taxi ballet. It was fun to watch them do their maneuvers to music and to see all the people lined up to watch.




After the show we went with Jack, Moon, Al and Sue to wander the streets and look in the shops. Several of us found clothing items at the Tilly and clothing stores.  There are a lot of street performers in the tourist area but our favorite was a group of kids and their teacher who were part of a "Summer Fiddler Camp". These kids were great! We enjoyed watching them perform and put money in their donation box. The kids were having so much fun being the center of attention and some just couldn't stop smiling!


When we got back to the boat we had a small lunch and then spent the afternoon on the boats and visiting. Victoria is a beautiful city with all the old businesses and is very picturesque.




Our day ended with dinner at Pagliacci's restaurant. They didn't take resevations and are very popular so we went for an early dinner at 4:00. The food was fantastic and we all left feeling really good about our dinner choice. It was a wonderful chance to be together for our last night before we head back home.