The Benefits of Being an Early Bird:

Some of you may doubt the benefits of early rising.

Being healthy, wealthy and wise sounds pretty good to me, 

But if you require more evidence, 

I present my case.  

 Peony petals, Lavender buds, honey and wonder smeared across the sky. 

 Mist rising from the water, 

reflecting previously mentioned colors.  

The company of other early birds, 

like this pair of Hooded Mergansers. 

Oh yeah.

I'm sure Franklin would agree.    

In other news...

Meet Luke, 

my new ukulele!  

Hmm...  More stringed instruments than people on a 27 foot boat....

Oh well.  

Hope you all are living your dreams and catching the occasional sunrise!  

Travel Guitar LTD., By Cody

Alright everybody its time for my once a year or so contribution to the blog!!! Try and contain yourselves, and don't all comment at once or the internet might explode.

I have been wanting an electric guitar for a while now.  Black Sabbath and Nirvana just don't sound right on a travel sized acoustic.  Its like trying to play classical music with a banjo, it can be done, but nobody thinks its cool.  Now living here on BI I have access to two great shops to work in: Beth's uncle Dave's shop and my boss Dave's shop.  I had everything I needed to make an electric that wouldn't take up too much space in the van/boat.  

Well take a look, I think it turned out pretty cool.

This is what it looked like when we bought it.

I Cut down the head 3+ inches and moved two tuning pegs.  Also doing a way with that health insurance looking logo.

I cut the body down quite a bit making it another 3 inches shorter and several pounds lighter.  I threw away the old pick guard and made a new one out of aluminum.

I moved the amp plug and the two knobs The body is made of maple, so the back and some of the sides are Shellaced and polished.  My boss Dave helped me with the buffing, something I had never done before.

I havn't finished the back cover yet, but it will be aluminum like the pick guard

I bought this super cool little HoneyTone amp.  It runs on a 9v battery, sounds great and gets loud enough to make Beth tell me to turn it down.

Side by Side of our two travel guitars

Modifying this guitar was pretty cool; because its electric you can pretty much do anything to the body and it won't have much affect on the sound.  Unlike an acoustic.   Special thanks to the Dave Allen family for letting me use their shop, and to my boss Dave for helping me buff the finish.

Also, a big thanks to Santa Claus for funding the project!  

Time flies!

Oh man.  It's been FAR too long.  

I'm a little embarassed to say that I still have Thanksgiving photos to post. 

Sheesh.  What a slacker.

We spent Thanksgiving with the Allens on the Oregon Coast. 

Great food, wonderful time with family, and the roaring ocean.

Does it get any better?

On the beach

(with my hubby)

(and my new boots!)

My Mom, Dad, Uncle Dave, and Aunt Cynthia. 

No one's having any fun.  Not at all.  

The cozy beach house!  

So, now that those are out of the way, I can get to photos from the current month!  

My Dad planned a trip to Whistler a few months ago, and invited a few of his friends.  A week before he planned to leave, his buddies bailed. 

 Suckers. 

 When Dad invited Cody and I to come, and we jumped on the offer. What a treat. 

Oh yeah. Hello, Whistler. 

This was Cody's first time riding Whistler. 

I think he liked it.  

maybe. 

The pro.  He burned out our legs with ease.  

It was a lovely ski trip, punctuated by fabulous meals, dips in the hot tub, 10 inches of fresh powder,

 and quality time spent with my two favorite men.    

We got home from Whistler, turned right back around, and headed to Vancouver with the rest of the family.  

Vancouver is a big and bustling city- The Los Angeles of Canada.

It was fun to spend a couple days in such an urbane setting.  

On our first evening in town, my parents surprised us with tickets to go see a play.  The local theatre on Granville Island was showing a production of "It's a Wonderful Life."  We had such a lovely time-  The play was fantastic; great acting and such a meaningful story.  I left with tears in my eyes. 

  

We met this dapper little fellow while out doing some Christmas shopping.  

(Squeal!)  

What city slickers!  

The lovely Allen ladies, laden with goodies after a day of shopping. 

Vancouver at Twilight.  

We stayed in the swank Club Intrawest rooms , which occupy the top three floors of the Sheraton Wall Center in downtown Vancouver.  The building is new, and is an oblong shape, kind of like a football.  The gently curving hallways and floor-to-ceiling windows provide an air of sophistication and glamour.  Not to mention a killer view of the city.  

The above photo was taken from the dock where Cody and I caught the water bus over to Granville Island, to see the market.  The water bus is a cute little bathtub of a boat that crosses the small inlet of water that splits Vancouver.

Isn't it just darling?  

(And you can bet your christmas socks that Cody and I were scoping out the Marina too! Hmm..  Summer in Vancouver?)  

Christmas photos to come soon!  

I promise I won't let another two months go by!  

Hope you all are living your dreams!  

It's about time!

Hello and happy autumn to one and all!  The blog has been quiet this month....  But our lives here on Bainbridge have been rather busy.   I've got a job working at Bainbridge Bakers,  a bakery and cafe that is within strolling distance from our slip.  I make fancy espresso drinks and sell pastries.  You want a dopio macchiato, you say?  Or a double shot in the dark?  Or just a plain' ol' latte?  You come see me.

Autumn in all her glory on land, and on the sea.  

We've been having a fantastic fall season here in the Pacific Northwest!  

Cody has been working with Dave Sutter, the gentleman who sold us our boat, (who we've been calling Gesena, by the way.)  Recently, however, Dave, who has been restoring a sailboat, and doing minor roofing projects, has had a lull in work.  So, after a week of waiting, Cody called up Vertical Solutions, and is currently en route to a wall building job in Telluride, Colorado.  He'll be back in time for Turkey day.  (Well,  that's the plan.  He BETTER be back for turkey day.)     

Cody at the helm.  What a peaceful and beautiful pastime.  

We've been sailing the paint of little Gesena.  Every chance we get, we're hoisting our sails and exploring the Puget Sound around Bainbridge.  Winter is coming, and soon, so we're trying to snag every last minute of the warmish fall weather and winds before it all goes grey in a month or so.  

Our home row in the Marina.  Sometimes, when I'm walking the dock back to the boat after a run, all I want to do is jump into that placid water and float on my back down the rows of boats.  Doesn't it just look inviting?  (Okay, I know, not really.  But if you're all hot and sweaty, it looks pretty refreshing!) 

We take turns at the helm and adjusting the sails.  Hopefully, with enough practice, we'll get to the point where we can both single-hand her.  

Look at that lovely sail trim!  

The main sail and the jib in perfect harmony in our favorite point of sail- the close haul.  

Our back yard.

The Seattle skyline to the left, Blakely Rock to the right, and just on the right edge of the frame, in the background, you can see the silhouette of a ferry boat on it's way to Bremerton.  

Yarr. We be salty.

For those of you who haven't yet heard the news, Cody and I have purchased a little floating home!  She's an Ericson Sailboat, 27 feet long, and currently in slip D19 in the Winslow Wharf Marina, in Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island.  Right here. 

Come on aboard!  

The outside.  Cute little thing!  

Galley is sea speak for kitchen.  It's pretty basic, but comfortable!  We've got a real ice-box, and I'm not trying to sound quaint!  We keep our milk and cheese and such in a box, along with a big ol' block of ice.  A block usually lasts us about 5 days.   We've got a 2 burner hot plate for a stove, which plugs into the shore power here at the marina.  The sink is a foot pumper and only has cold water.  A little rustic, I suppose, but it suits us just fine!  

Now, we're looking forward, on the port side of the boat.  (Left side, for all you landlocked folks.)  The v berth is where we sleep, and it's shaped like a v!  Our feet go toward the bow, in the little narrow point of the v.  It's quite cozy!  We've also got a CD player, a space heater, and some cute hand-made curtains.  And at the top of the photo, you can just see the corner of the forward hatch, which lets in a lot of light, and fresh air when it's nice out.  The head (bathroom) is on the other side of that doorknob.  

We're still looking forward, but on the starboard side now.  The table folds out to a nice big size, but we usually just leave it folded.  I don't mind brushing elbows over eggs in the mornin'.  The kerosene lamp is functional, but it doesn't smell very good.  We usually just use the electric lights.  How modern!  

Yep.  That's about all there is to say about that.  

Looking aft, opposite the galley.  The quarter berth, which is actually about the size of a twin bed, is stuffed full of sails.  The boat came with eight different sails, which is a ton for a 27 foot boat.  We've got 2 mainsails, a spinnaker, a drifter, a 95% jib, a 130% jib, a 155% jib, and some others that I don't know the names of.  It seems like overkill, but it's actually great for us.  We've got sails for every possible weather condition, and can play around with different jibs while we learn to sail. 

And no, we're not experienced sailors or anything.  We're learning as we go!  The guy who sold us the boat, Dave,  is a great guy and an accomplished sailor.  He took us out last weekend in some heavy conditions that would have been too much for us to handle by ourselves.  We both learned a ton. I think he'll prove to be a great teacher and endless source of sailing information.  And Cody works for him- working on another boat and other carpentry projects...  

Cody has been tirelessly working on the boat.  He's so excited to be on the water, and just wants our little lady to shine.  I helped him sand the teak handrails that had gone grey.  We've also rebedded the traveller, the pulpit, and forward stanchions.  Cody's been up to his elbows in wires, trying to get some of the instruments working...  Not a lot of success yet, but we're still working on it.  

Ooh, shiny.  Freshly oiled handrails.   

Our neighbors.  They're mostly a quiet bunch.  

(Don't the maroon ones look like Animal from the muppets?)

We've seen otters hunting in the marina,  and blue herons stand on the ends of the docks like lookouts.  It's a beautiful place to live, the Marina.  

The best part of owning a sailboat!  We've been trying to get out every chance we get!   

The spectacular Mt. Ranier.

(which is actually taller than any peak in Wyoming.  It's 14,411 feet begin at sea level.  just sayin'.)  

Ta ta for now!  

I'm off to live the dream!  

Squamish in the Summer

Squamish.  The land of enchanted forests, waterfalls, giant granite boulders and endless cracked faces...

The sea to sky country.  

Part of the magic of Squamish, in my humble opinion, is that you can't climb there all year long.  There is a small window of fine weather, where the rock is dry and the skies are blue (mostly) in July and August.  (Maybe September, if you're lucky.)  So, we like to climb there when we can.    

This year, we brought some friends along.  Chris Jones flew in from Salt Lake City to join us, and Tim Long flew all the way from Denver, to Spokane, to Reno, to Timbuktu, and finally to Seattle to come along.   They played our travel guitar in the backseat the whole way there.  Over the Hills and Far Away by Led Zepplin is now permanently stuck in my head.   But it's better than Smells like Teen Spirit!  (which Cody is learning!)  

The climbing in Squamish is fantastic, and you can practice just about any kind of climbing there.  The Smoke Bluffs have single pitch traditional climbing- which is what I'm doing here.   A sweet .11a finger crack, near the Neat and Cool area.  

Climbing isn't the only thing in season this time of year in Squamish.  We had fresh blackberries with our oatmeal every morning.  Tim talked us into a 10 kilo bag of oatmeal during our first stop in the grocery store.  10 kilos is a LOT of oatmeal.  But the four of us managed to get through it somehow.  I think Tim  was eating at least 3 or 4 cups of the stuff every day-  to prove that we could finish it in 11 days!    

Here's Tim crushing the crux pitch on the Squamish Buttress.  We started at the base of the Stawamus Chief and finished at the very top!  It took all day, but it's nice to get some air under your feet every now and then.   Most of the pitches were moderate, but this final pitch was a real challenge for all of us at  thin 5.10b.  

On the hike down from the top of the Chief, we stopped to cool off in the creek.  After a day of jamming toes into cracks and standing sideways on ankles, the cold, clear water was bliss.  Almost as good as the burgers we treated ourselves to for dinner that night.  

Now, the base of the Chief, ( the granite monolith of Squamish) is surrounded with boulders- chunks of rock that have been discarded from the main feature over the course of it's formation.  The boulders are another main attraction to Squamish.  They lie in a dense forest, so on hot days, they're shady and cool, and if it starts to drizzle, they're protected by the canopy for a little while.  Here, Tim works on Worm World Cave (V9).  

Chris Jones on his first V10, Salad Shooter. 

Cody sending the classic Viper (V5).  Viper, like all Squamish classic boulder problems, is an arete- a mostly featureless corner feature.  Viper is vertical, but there's Baba Hari Dass (V7) that is slightly more angled, and Easy in an Easy Chair (V4) that's horizantal.  So, if you plan on going bouldering in Squamish, bring your sloper mitts, and some pinch strength!!

The psyche level near the end of the trip.   Chris and Tim loved Canada's selection of Ruffles, in exotic flavors like All Seasoned, Dill Pickle, Ketchup, and Bacon and Sour Cream.  

It was a great trip, eh?