Charm with Doug & Marcy: Charm in Olympia, Washington

The Dockwise ship arrived in Nanaimo a couple of days later than we expected. No problem.
We were enjoying the city and the hospitality of Jim and BJ Harker. The Harkers (Waitea) drove all the way down to the Victoria airport to give us a ride to Nanaimo. And we had dinner at their beautiful home on Vancouver Island along with John and Barbara (Naida), and Steve and Kathy (Lily). Both Naida and Lily also made the Dockwise trip from LaPaz.
We drove the boat off Dockwise with no mishaps. And then we docked Charm at the guest dock at Nanaimo Port in order to put on the jib and staysail and do some rerigging as well as adding back the canvas/window parts of the dodger. Dockwise managed to snap one of the Dutchman lines and the line for courtesy flags. Compared to what damage might have happened had we bashed up the coast, this was very minor. There was a market nearby so after provisioning, we began the trip south.
Our first stop was Thetis Island Marina. We had been here before, maybe 8 or 9 years ago. These docks have no water and trash disposal costs extra. It's a little island. We rode the mini ferry over to Chemainus, the town of 42 murals. Trinkets started at about $75. We found Canada to be very expensive.
Next stop, Maple Bay. During our tour of stops in Canada, the beloved Canucks hockey team was in the midst of a run for the Stanley Cup. Everyone was excited. Fortunately, Vancouver won all the home games against Boston, so no one came down to the docks and torched our boat. {:-).
Next stop was Sidney Spit and a chance to use the anchor. It was a windy night, but our anchor is big and holds very well. So we had one more good night's sleep before reentering the US. We crossed Haro Strait with all kinds of currents and swirling waters running. Navigating in the Northwest is far more of a challenge than in Mexico. Huge tides, strong currents, rocks, giant ferries moving at 20+ knots, and other ships make moving around a more intense experience. We had done it before, but it has been a few years and one forgets!!
We arrived at our first US port of entry, Friday Harbor. After checking in with customs and the marina, we walked up to the little and very attractive town bathed in sunlight. Bakeries, coffee shops, chandleries, bars and restaurants. All right!! We stayed two days and mapped out the rest of the trip to Olympia.
We wound our way through the San Juans, passed Anacortes and started down the very shallow and narrow Swinomish Channel. LaConner was our stop and we were met at the docks by two teens working at the marina welcoming boaters and answering questions. This is a very cool town. We found a stained glass work of nautical art that now hangs in that clear glass window along the door of our home in Lacey. Our next stop was to be Langley on Whidbey Island. However a trawler beat us there by a half mile and took the last good dock space so we continued on to Kingston. Kingston marina is very well run and maintained. They even have an electric car to loan you to go to the store. Friend Bill Noonan who lives on Bainbridge Island came by for a visit and brought a bottle of very special bubbly to celebrate our homecoming. We walked up to a restaurant and caught up on all the latest with each other. His wife Cynthia was visiting her mother in Canada. We were sorry to miss seeing her.
The next morning we met Jim and Sherry Noeldner for breakfast. They live nearby in Hansville. This is really fun. How great is it to have friends wherever you go?
Next stop, Bell Harbor Marina, downtown Seattle waterfront. It is pretty neat to be able to stay downtown
Seattle, walking distance to the Pike Place Market for $55 a night. And, son Quinn happens to be working in the Seattle area for the week and is able to join us at the boat in the evening. We thought we were hosting, but he brought a nice bottle of wine and took us out to a very chic Thai restaurant for dinner. Since Quinn lives in Dallas, we don't get to see enough of him, so this was a real treat.
One more stop before Olympia. Gig Harbor near the Tacoma Narrows. This has to be the most scenic boat harbor in Puget Sound. Sister Patti lives here and had the time to come down and meet us at the boat.
We had been lucky enough to get a space at the public dock. So we talked and laughed and walked over to the Tides Tavern and Restaurant for dinner. We sat out on the big deck overlooking the harbor and watched some boat racing in a very quiet wind.
Last leg: Gig Harbor to Olympia. This is about a 4 1/2 hour run starting with the Narrows. Currents here can run 6 or 7 knots, so it is necessary to go through at slack. Turns out slack was at 7:58 a.m., so we left the dock at 7 and had a smooth ride under the two big suspension bridges and on into South Sound. We motored past McNeil, the prison island and on into Olympia. Since Oly is at the bottom of Puget Sound, it has large tides. They can be 15 foot highs and -2 foot lows. We enter on a flood and don't worry too much about the super shallow areas approaching Swantown Marina.
Tom and Diane Dozal, Jubilee friends and neighbors had driven our Cherokee down to the marina and left it parked for us so we would have a ride home.
Now Charm is getting a deep cleaning and teak oil and lots of accumulated stuff is being moved back to the house. Thanks to all our friends and family for making our voyage from Canada to Olympia such a pleasurable trip.