Patience Is A Virtue

It's been some windy stormy days here in Bellingham over the past week or so. A lot of the final preparations before departing require some better weather but I'm still managing to keep plenty busy. Waxing, sanding, varnishing, buffing, sanding, wiping, sanding, varnishing, waxing, buffing, sanding...... The sun is supposed to come out later this week so we can finish up that sanding business and man will it look and feel great when it's done.

A week from today and we'll have pushed off from the dock and started the long awaited journey north. Our day of departure is May 10th where we'll be heading to Vancouver for our first evening out of Bellingham. Oh am I excited just writing about it. Not only will it be nice to have a bit of a change in scenery but I'm hoping the sand paper and varnishes will be left at the storage here in Bellingham. I know there'll be plenty more cleaning and polishing going on this summer but this 'bright work' has been on the to-do list for the past month. I'm looking for some sense of accomplishment with getting it wrapped up.

Patience has come to mind many times as I rotate my right hand clockwise for a few minutes and then switch to the left. Sometimes saying 'wax on, wax off' but mostly just rocking out to my Ipod and sanding with the grain. When Kjersti and I concocted this plan to spend the summer in Alaska it was the second week or so of January. We've had mile markers on the way such as celebrating life at Mt Baker, cruising in our 'home' through Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, working on the Alaskan Song together and reuniting for a final 'good bye for now' with each one requiring me to be patient for it's arrival. Now I find myself patiently waiting for the day we leave Bellingham, the day the sanding is done, the day I get to see Kjersti, the day I see a humpback whale breach off the bow, the day I see a brown bear lurking along the beach.

Don't get me wrong though, I think about more than just being patient for the next day but I'll spare you all of those details. I'm pretty lucky to be having the experience I'm having and the days that seem tough are the days that will make those days I'm patiently awaiting much more wonderful.

Be patient and I'll have something I'm more excited to write about and some sweet pictures in the weeks to come. For now here are a few pictures from our trip to Port Angeles where we hauled out the Alaskan Song and some other pictures from around the marina here in Bellingham.

Looking toward Orcas Island and Lummi Island from the aft deck of the Alaskan Song.

Port Angeles, WA. This is where we moored for the evening before being hauled out for some bottom painting and more.

Sighting the Olympic Mountains as we cruise through the San Juan Islands toward Port Angeles.

Mt Baker in our wake.


Just in case. From Wikipedia; Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast.

I wanted also to add that I heard from Kjersti who had reached Ketchikan, AK. I bet she's excited as she gets closer and closer to being home again home again....