We left LaConner early this morning around 9am. I know, that's not super early, but by the time we left we'd both showered and cooked breakfast and made coffee and topped off our water tank, so considering all of that, it was early!
On our way through the lower part of the Swinomish Channel we saw many, many geese flying in cool formation overhead:
And then just out from Maple Grove Beach on the northwest tip of Camano Island, our sonar was picking up SO MANY FISH! For about 10 minutes we had solid lines of fish showing up at about 75 ft, like this:
Wouldn't it be cool if it just showed you the orcas, like this, just once?
We got into Langley (on Whidbey Island) at around 12:30pm, washed off the boat, paid for two nights, and headed up into town for some food and some wandering. We had lunch (and delicious espresso drinks) at Useless Bay Coffee Company. Look at Kevin's latte art:
We shared a jalapeno burger and some fish tacos and both plates were excellent! After lunch we stopped at Callahan's Firehouse to watch some glass blowing. Next we stopped into The Star Store and picked up a few things: a nice pair of wool fingerless gloves for Kevin, a pretty sweater for me, a new tea towel for the galley, and a proper captain's hat for whoever happens to be manning the helm. Score!
Next we stopped in at the Ott & Murphy Winery Tasting Room for a little wine tasting (with a view!):
We shared one tasting and brought 4 bottles back to put in Airship's wine cellar: a viognier, a syrah, and two bottles of their red blend called L'Entente (syrah, petite syrah, mourvedre, and viognier).
Here's a quick snap of the (full!) wine cellar:
Now we're just chillin at the boat (watching Deadliest Catch, heh). It's rainy and a bit windy outside and we plan to stay put and wait out what is supposed to be a windy day tomorrow.
Tomorrow we'll go back up into town and explore some more, and probably hit Kalakala for lunch. When we passed by today it looked like they had a couple of ramen specials that sounded perfect for a gray rainy Sunday.
Gray marina at Langley:
Tonight we're going to use some of the pulled pork we made and froze at home last week in some Cubano sandwiches. (Kevin brined the meat for 4 hours, smoked it for 4 hours, cooked it in the sous vide for 60 hours, then finished it on a hot grill to get a good bark on the outside. I made a Carolina vinegar sauce for it — apple cider vinegar, red chili flakes, sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, and pepper.) It came out so good and works wonderfully on a Cubano.
Oh yeah, I forgot to post these shots from yesterday. This is as we were about to enter the Swinomish Channel, between Anacortes and LaConner:
Here's a map of today's route (about 30 nautical miles):
No whales today, but we did see a few seals and some porpoises. They're out here though…we'll see some this trip…I just know it. 🙂
Hello to the voyagers! Heading South with a final destination in mind? I wish I could be out there, but a stomach bug has laid low my first mate. Been following your latest blog entries, but your boat isn’t showing up on my AIS app. Forgot to turn it on, or maybe a malfunction? Sort of a “where’s Airship” puzzle, until I get your latest blog entry. Journey onward!
Hi Kevin! We’ll be heading to the Seattle Boat Show this weekend/next week, and then, not sure yet. We should be on AIS (just checked and it’s working for us). Sorry ’bout your stomach bug! Feel better soon!
Laura, your AIS track just showed up, beginning in the Port Orchard waterway just outside of the Poulsbo channel. Going to Blake Island? Nice spot on a day like today. The little marina is quite snug, or grab a mooring ball on the West side for maximum sun. The port of Seattle job action work slowdown means the container ships have resorted to anchoring around Blake Island awaiting their turn to be offloaded. You do have some choices for potential destinations: Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Olympia, etc. before you hit up the Seattle boat show.