The clarity of this photo is somewhat compromised by the sun glare and salt spray on the camera lens but...you get the idea!

Unfortunately, in spite of the crew’s best efforts, we didn’t encounter any Orcas on this trip but did manage to spot the occasional porpoise, dolphin, seal, American bald eagle and Steller Sea Lions…

The survival suits, hat and gloves are supplied by the boat operator and, although they tend to be a bit warm while standing on the dock, when racing across the water with cold salt spray coming over the bow and soaking every exposed inch of your body you are mighty glad you’re wearing them...

I traded the boat & breakfast for a romantic bed & breakfast complete with our own private hot tub and fireplace…

In lieu of the absence of whales on this trip, we were offered any future whale watching trip at 80% off and we did try to take advantage of their generous offer the next day but there weren’t enough other passengers to make the trip worthwhile for the company.  They have our names on file though and we WILL be back.

We concluded the birthday portion of Zookie’s Birthiversary Month with a few of our fellow wayfarers back at the B&B replete with a champagne toast…

And it even had Wi-Fi so my Bride wouldn’t miss out on even a single moment of the Words with Friends game she was playing with “our” ex-wife…

August.  It is at this time of year that I embark upon my annual crusade of assembling all the necessary components of what has become known as the “Zookie’s Birthiversary Month,” a celebration of her birthday on the 14th and our anniversary on the 18th.   I had actually foreseen the potential of these two important dates so close together presenting me with future problems as we were planning our wedding and tried, unsuccessfully, to convince her that being married on her birthday would be a very romantic event.  She had somehow gotten the idea that getting married on a Saturday was preferable to a delightful Tuesday afternoon nuptial.  I always believed that it was my future brother-in-law’s refusal to miss even a single day of work to attend his only sister’s wedding  which was the root cause of my future bride’s stubbornness on this point.  It was some years later that he confirmed the rumor then circulating that he was within 21 years of receiving a $25 cash award dependant on a 30-year perfect attendance record as a “greeter” at Wal-Mart.  

With each passing year it becomes a wee bit more difficult to come up with something more stellar than the previous extravaganzas and this predicament has been further complicated by our habitual travel throughout the summer months and occasionally ending up in places during August that are either somewhat remote or downright desolate.  This year, however, we found ourselves in the Seattle area and I was able to tweak a previous year’s celebration with a couple of new twists.

A few years back we visited San Juan Island, stayed aboard a boat & breakfast, went whale watching on a 50 foot boat and had dinner with my brother-in-law’s ex-wife who, by the way, is not nearly as grumpy as he.

This year we once again took the ferry to San Juan Island…

Dinner ended with a couple of McMillan’s signature Fluffy Ducks, a concoction of vodka, rum, orange juice and fresh cream topped off with whipped cream and a cherry…

Not quite! Remember that scene from Jaws when the Great White jumps right into the boat and proceeds to eat the captain??  Well he ain’t got far to jump to get into this boat!!  This low to the water Zodiac puts you nose to nose with whales, seals and any other marine life you may encounter and at 35mph across the cold waters of Puget Sound, you do have to dress a bit more warmly than you do on the “champagne cruise”…

Did I think of everything, or what!!

We went on to have an excellent dinner with the brother-in-law’s ex-wife and all around great gal, Joan, at McMillan’s in Roche Harbor…

This moving ceremony involves lowering the flags of the U.S., Canada and Britain to the National Anthem of each country as its flag is retired for the day.

And finally, the coup de grace: whale watching aboard a huge luxurious vessel…

The departure from the ferry brought back visions of all the tourists departing the ferry for Amity Island in the movie, Jaws…

Joan declined a Fluffy Duck of her own and opted to simply have a few “sips” of ours.  It was 6 Ducks later before either my Bride or I had any idea how they tasted.  Joan, on the other hand, wanted to go skinny dipping in the marina!

As dusk approached, we enjoyed watching the sunset flag lowering ceremony on the dock which was carried off by several young employees with military precision and decorum…

  Birthaversary 2012 - Part 1                                           August 28, 2012

Happy Birthday, Zookie!!!!

Okay, I’m getting kinda wordy here and the anniversary portion of this adventure has all the indices of being even longer so I’m gonna end this segment before I bore even the most tenacious of you folks into swearing off reading altogether.  See y’all in a few days.  Hugs, C&K