KaiserTales

A better weekend I can’t imagine

Obviously we had a good time.  It was full of sun, fun, fresh food, drama, adventure, rain (lots of rain) and plenty of camaraderie and beautiful scenery.  We certainly hope to have many more weekends like this in the future!

It all started with our trying to plan a weekend with our great friends Marty and Deb on their Islander 37′ in the San Juans.  We tried and tried to coordinate our schedules, and were able to settle on late August after months and months of trying.  It was most definitely worth the wait.

The four of us started off the weekend by carpooling up to Anacortes with Marty and Deb’s kitten Lilly in tow.  It was a quick drive up and I think we were all excited to spend some time on the boat.  Marissa and I especially so, since Marty and Deb have spent pretty much all of their weekends exploring all that Northern Puget Sound has to offer.

We ended up spending the night on the boat in the Marina just off of downtown Anacortes and slept oh so well.  What is it with the gentle rocking of a boat that allows anyone to slip off into a deep slumber?

Marissa and I are always excited to spend time on the water.

Not even a puff of breeze was to be seen on the water, so we ended up motoring to our destination

Saturday was absolutely beautiful.  As soon as we made it to Spencer Spit on Lopez Island we tied off to a mooring buoy and settled in for a strenuous day of reading, eating, relaxing, drinking and napping.  It is a tough life.

Shortly after, we set a crab pot at Marty’s secret spot and headed back to the boat to nap.  We were all having sweet dreams of fresh crab and wine at sunset.

Is that a Bloody Mary?

The time flew by and we were back at the crab pot a few hours later where we pulled in a record haul!  >11 crabs were in the pot, with one female and one undersized male being returned to the sea.  Only being able to keep five, four lucky survivors were back on the bottom shortly thereafter.

You are limited to five crab per permit, which was more than enough for the four of us.

Does it get any fresher?

Those poor crabs never stood a chance!

Marissa ended up making an amazing homemade crab fettucine which may just have one best overall meal on the boat for the entire summer (so said our hosts .

It certainly looks like they are having a good time.

My favorite photo of the trip...

Needless to say, it was an amazing day.

Sunday promised to be a bit different.  Marty checked the forecast and NOAA was saying we should expect sustained breezes of >20 knots for the sail home on Sunday, which of course meant we were all a bit excited and nervous.  20 knots can do some serious damage to any sailboat.  We had plans for reefing the main, putting up the storm jib and securing everything down below in anticipation.  Needless to say nothing like that ever happened.

It did rain though…

Always, and I mean always bring foul weather gear when sailing in the Northwest (event in August).

And it didn’t let up till well after we had docked once again in Anacortes.  Though, while we were on our way back we did see some very hardy sailors.  VERY, VERY HARDY.

You have got to be kidding me!

We had creature comforts compared to these guys.  We had a heated cabin, cozy beds, lots of space and a bilge pump.  I am assuming that they didn’t have any of that.

We did experience one piece of high adventure on the open seas.  Remember the kitty?  Well poor Lilly fell off the boat and was screaching a terrible meoh for all the San Juans to hear as she swam frantically around the boat.  Thankfully, we were able to get her onboard before too long and dry her off.  Most likely the experience scared the heck out of that poor cat!  Though, I am sure she will be just fine.

Thanks again to Marty and Deb for allowing us to spend this great weekend with them on their amazing Islander 37.  It was a weekend we will remember for quite some time.

How does your schedule look for next weekend?  Do you two need crew again?  How about the weekend after that?

I did the Danskin! … despite a stomach virus

Alliterations aside, yesterday I competed in my third triathlon: The Danskin Women’s Triathlon.

Marissa and Asayo after the race

Three years ago, I was planning to sign up for the Danskin but missed the deadline. Instead, I did the Subaru Women’s Triathlon (and it was definitely more challenging than the Danskin would have been). Last year, Nate and I did the Chelanman Sprint Triathlon together. I had an infamous 17.5 minute transition while I waited for Nate to finish his swim so we could do the bike and the run together. But once he crawled out of the water (and believe me, he crawled), we kicked ass on the bike and the run, and we even crossed the finish line skipping and holding hands. Awwww…

This year, I was determined to do the Danskin, even if I didn’t really train. I’ve run regularly, I’ve been on some great long bike rides but I only got in the water for the first time last Tuesday. Amazingly enough, this was by far my easiest race. I was just out to enjoy myself, I was in no hurry and I didn’t freak myself out with an overbearing sense of competition. After all, isn’t this triathlon about women’s empowerment?

I saw TONS of tee-shirts with the saying, “The accomplishment is not that I finished, but that I started in the first place.” And darn if that wasn’t true for me yesterday. Sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning, I picked up a stomach virus. At first, I thought it might be food poisoning, cuz NOTHING wanted to stay in my system. But with two days of constant cramping and yesterday’s post-triathlon fever, we figured it couldn’t be food poisoning.

I'm smiling but my stomach kinda hurts

I was a bit queasy the morning of the race, and I visited the Honey Bucket more than usual. But once things got underway, the adrenaline took over and I was fine.

I finished in the dead middle of my class, which is about where I expected I’d be. And I’m not too sore today, except for my tummy which is still cramping. So yay! I did it! And it was fun!

Not to be taken too seriously

So the question remains: Do I want to do more?  For now, I will continue to do a sprint a year. Maybe I’ll graduate to an Olympic distance pretty soon, but I’m not as gung-ho as some of my family and friends

Whirlwind weekend

I’m still exhausted from the previous week’s activities. And then we topped it with a jam-packed busy weekend, covering a lot of miles and seeing family and friends all over the place.

Friday afternoon was spent saying goodbye to Hazel until Labor Day. Sigh. We already miss our niece.

But we got back to Seattle in time to have a nice dinner with my family in honor of my sis, who’s just returned to Seattle from a four-year teaching adventure in Japan. I can only imagine the shock she’s going through, being back in the states for the first time since our wedding. Saturday was also spent with Bethany and my mom, the Ng girls all having lunch together at our house.

I went to an M’s game on Saturday night with an old pal. She’s six months pregnant, so there’s been a HUGE upswing in babies in my life in the past week. What’s up with that?

And then, on Sunday … I got eaten alive by swarms of angry mosquitoes. Ugh. In Texas earlier this summer, I’d be outside for five minutes and walk back inside itching my legs in at least five different places. Those damn bugs love me. Sunday night at the Lakewood Gardens was no different.

We were there for the wedding of Matt Cassarino and Bonnie Castle, friends we’ve gotten to know through the tech scene. It was a gorgeous wedding with a gorgeous lake backdrop. The only problem is that it’s a freshwater lake surrounded by lush greenery, a veritable bug breeding ground!

Lakewood Gardens and Bonnie

Wedding Guests

I got bit on my legs, on my neck, on my wrist, and the clincher… on the inside of my left thigh! How the hell did it get up there?!?

I sit now, trying not to itch, but loving the fond memories of our full and fun whirlwind weekend.

Welcome to the world Hazel Gregg Barker!

It didn’t happen as planned, but she came and she’s beautiful!

Brand new Hazel

I absolutely love my new niece, and already it’s fun to watch her grow. As stated in an earlier post, my sis-in-law was scheduled to be induced last Thursday night. It didn’t happen. She got “bumped” in favor of some women in “real” labor… sheesh! But we decided to come to Portland anyway and spend the weekend with the expectant couple, sharing their last weekend as DINKS (double-income-no-kids).

We hung out in Portland, attempted to go to Fleutag, the Red Bull homemade flying machine festival, and succeeded in attending Mt. Saint Helens visitor’s center. And then, when we left back to Seattle, the baby came.

Hazel Gregg Barker was born on Monday, August 4 at 3:19 in the afternoon.

Baby and Mommy

Mom, Dad and baby are all doing well, now situated at home and inundated with family. Here’s links to some more photo’s and her blog (cuz she’s SO cute!)

Hazel’s dad is pretty crazy about putting up pictures and video on his blog. He’s in LOVE with his little girl! And it’s great to watch the two of them interact. Nate and I foresee an increase in our trips to Portland. In fact, the entire Kaiser clan is going to be spending a lot more time down here.

Welcome to the world, Hazel Gregg Barker. You sure are loved!