July 31, 2013 - Eleanor's birthday and heading HOME....

July 31, 2013 – Eleanor’s birthday …. And heading home

A birthday breakfast of coffee and eggs benedict on the back deck in the sunshine ….

 

 

After a few tests of damnautopilot, all seems to be functioning just fine, I’m happy to report.  All the tweeks and adjustments seemed to have worked !!

Traffic in and around Vancouver's harbor was BUSY … especially in light of the fact that tonite is FIREWORKS NITE!!  Lots of crazy boaters out there ….

... AND lots of freighters in the harbor.   We followed this baby in, under the Lions Gate bridge, with two more on our tail.

So .... here we are.... back in  Coal Harbor & just one slip away from where we left on this GRAND ADVENTURE, 5 weeks ago. 

We’ve been asked many times ... what was our favorite part.  It’s difficult to pick ONE … every place had its own beauty , uniqueness & challenges – especially for us, as relatively "new" boaters. 

We anchored probably 3/4 of the time, which we enjoyed – and got quite proficient at.  Being at anchor provided a relaxing solitude.  But it was also nice to have the provisioning and interest of the various marinas interspersed with all that quietness.

Although we enjoyed both the inside route and the west side of the island,  the  west side  provided more weather-related challenges and was certainly more RUGGED.  I loved the contrast between the the quiet calmness of the little bays & sounds, and the rugged, wave-crashing shorelines .  The west coast of the island is beyond STUNNING....

We were very happy to be home to see family, and we look forward to catching up with friends, all of  whom we missed very much ..... but neither of us were the least bit anxious to get off the boat.  Sea Level II  is "a very comfortable ride" , and a sturdy, trustworthy, dependable vessel.

We LOVED our adventure, the places we experienced, and the people we met ….. and we’re looking forward to our next adventure..... whatever that will be.