June 13-17
Hi All,
We did arrive in Sitka on Sunday 6/12 around 11am from John the Baptist anchorage, 23nm. First we fueled, 766 gallons, $5.46/gal incl tax, $5.16 before tax….oweeeeeeee!!! It was $4.49/gal on 4/6…yikes!!! Then it was to our slip, a passage beer, then off to the Bayview pub for a delicious cheeseburger in paradise. But, about 100 yards off the boat my left hip was killing me…WTH…haven’t done much walking since Skagway….and a week later it still hurts….arghhhhhh!!!!
Hmmmm…..as we age, it seems to take longer and longer to clean and make Mystic ready for us to be gone. Like maybe double the time. It took me 2 days just to wash Mystic as well as the dinghy…..normally, 1 day….arghhhhhh!!! But, she was pretty dirty, especially the dinghy!! It takes Kathy 2 days to catch up on emails and the news and then 2 days to vacuum, mop and clean inside…yikes!!!
We were successful to install a new Cummins start battery, a NorthStar Meridian 480 SMS, same as the 210FT Blue….just different vendors….go figure. So here is what is involved….order from Fisheries in Seattle while in Juneau in mid-May, call when arrive in Sitka on 6/13 and was told it is at the AML warehouse in Sitka…good, but it was supposed to be delivered to the Harbormaster’s office, ugh…..call Ehren for help, on Wednesday he picks me up at the marina, we drive to AML, I pay the bill, we drive back to marina, walk the entire marina and finally find a cart, haul the 150-lb battery from car to cart, haul to Mystic, Ehren does most of the work getting the old battery out of the engine room and new battery installed…whoa!!! John connects the cables and we start the engine….ODG….sweet as…starts in about 3-4 cranks….just like it should….LIG!!!!!
We did get in a couple more dinners since the galley was closed….Mean Queen and Menagerie!!
Friday, June 17: ODG….the joys of air travel: We fired our travel agent…that be John-boy….we booked a 7:00am flight….what were we thinking….I call Thursday morning to check on taxi availability and no one answered….yikes. Finally around noon, Toad’s Taxi answered….yes, they can pick us up at 5:30am Friday am….no worries the woman at night is very reliable!!! The alarm goes off at 4:30am….John-boy up and at it…..4:50am cranky Kathy joins the scramble….we leave Mystic at 5:15am, taxi there at 5:25am as we walk up the ramp….and we are standing in line at the baggage counter by 5:35am. But, wait, the airlines have scheduled 3 big ass flights close together…..6am, 6:30am, 7am….like 750 total people in a space for 250….can we say COVID time….we both donned masks for the entire trip home!!!
Oh, then just to aggravate us further….the gate in Seattle is occupied, we sat on the tarmac for an hour….many people were going to miss connections but we had a 2 hour layover so ok….do they not have another gate???? But, we get off….now we have not had anything to eat….just coffee and Bloody Mary’s….we have ~20 mins until the next flight boards….go up to a fast food counter…the lady says we are swamped, at least 1/2 hour….really, so for $25 we grab a salami cheese tray, 2 bags of chips and some water…yep, baby, livin the dream!!! Then to just put icing on the cake, we get to SFO, get our luggage, call Uber…it’s like 2.5 hours to go 62 miles (double the normal time) to get to our home….5, count them FIVE wrecks along the way….arghhhhhh!!!!!!
We get home, say hello to some neighbors….and then make arrangements to see Dave, Dana and granddaughters the next day….we both fall asleep on our couches with smiles on our faces!!!
The Plan: We are here for 2 weeks….catch up, insure house is ok, John-boys sees 4 docs, Kathy maybe 2….ear, eye, heart and the most important orthopedic…..The conversation will go…so John, how are you doing…well, doc, I’m going to help your retirement….right knee is shot, can’t do anything with right shoulder and now my left hip is killing me…and yep, the doc will be smiling and rubbing his hands….getting old just sucks!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
home in adult summer camp Trilogy!!!
PS: Finally we have decent internet…here are 2 galleries of pictures:
Gallery #1: 255 pictures, yep, pretty big, has two big male Brown bears fighting over an hour for a female, AND, drum roll…..a pretty good sequence of a large calving at the Margerie Glacier!!
Gallery #2: 222 pictures, some pretty good otter shots, and a gorgeous day at John Hopkins Glacier:
http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/glacier-bay-to-tenakee-inlet
