Texada Island, BC - 187 miles from home

So close, yet still not there.... : ) Tomorrow will be our last full day in Canada, then we're off to Friday Harbor and Port Madison, Washington. So many thoughts, ideas, feelings - and I'm not going to even bother writing them down. I'm just stoked to be home. Ish. Above are a few photos from the past two weeks, one is a freaky rainbow spot we sighted outside of Foggy Bay, another is of a Ketchikan sunset, and the other is a Spirit Bear, a recessively-gene'd black bear that I have waited years to finally see (even if it is at a distance). So yay!

Chevrolet Campaign - Or Knot?

Phew. That, accompanied by deep breaths and sighs will be just a few of the sounds I'm going to be making on the 19th of this month, when I step off the Safari Spirit and onto Seattle soil for the first time in nearly five and a half months. Five and a half months. Where did it all go? I sailed in Glacier Bay for nearly two weeks with my buddy Christian, spent a few hours with my lady on the 3rd of July, and I did a photo shoot of a preggo (but not for long!) friend of mine. Other than that, day in, and day out, since the 1st of May, I've been checking oil, tying up the skiff, launching kayaks, fixing stuff that breaks, washing down the anchor chain, drying clothes in the engineroom, moving the Spirit from point A to B, and all of the other untold bits that make up life as a "Mate/Engineer" for American Safari Cruises.

Ahead: AutoCad2010 and Major's Biology, Retaking some classes to renue and upgrade my captain's license, seaching for a boat of my own, taking some Photoshop classes, scootin' out to New York and California for the holidays, working a bit on a few of our boats, smoking a cigar in my camry, drinking a glass of Johnie Walker Red Label on the rocks, eating Panda express (orange chicken with friend rice and firecracker pork), Cheetos Puffs, Alaskan Amber, Pyrimid Apricot, under $8 wines, GoodWill hunting, drive-in movies, people watching at the mall, jeans and a gray sweatshirt, skiing and snow, a job or internship in: (photography, boat building, electrical work, construction, digital imaging, metal/welding , and others), and ultimately relaxing.

So once again life's portal has opened, and I'm ready to jump back into the world that I haven't been able to touch for nearly half a year. YEEEHHAA!

Currenlty we're dockside in Petersburg, AK, and will be fueling tomorrow (our $16,000 top-off makes you Suburban drivers feel pretty lucky, aye?) for our trip south. We have 7 guests this week, but I can't guarantee that they'll all make it to Seattle..... : )

Wish us fair weather - the open ocean forecast has seas at 26 feet.

Cheers,

Danny

Trip #14, August 29th, 2009

OMG,

This trip has been IN-FREAKING-CREDIBLE! The wildlife has been ridiculous, the weather: SUNNY! and the guests, fun as heck. I couldn't imagine a better way to end the season. Yesterday, I actually had to take a layer OFF it was so warm, as opposed to the past few weeks where my jacket's weight has been primarily due to water... Anywho, more text to come, but for now, here are a few pictures of the critters we've been seeing!

Cheers,

Danny