Almost ten weeks ago we left Port Townsend on this leg of our great adventures full of anticipation ….bright eyed and bushy tailed. And we are still adjusting to the area. We never quite know what to expect.

We expected to see eagles and have been richly rewarded and miss them when we go for a day without seeing one. At least we hear their “chitter” —the best way we have come to describe their communications with each other — and know they are near. But no whales and no bears…only a pile of bear scat when picking cherries.

We expected berries but not all of the fabulous cherries! And salmon berries and huckleberries and thimble berries! And raspberries! We love to forage and snack for days on our haul. Yummy.

Today we have anchored in Burial Cove. Sounds eerie, right? Well, we had two potential anchorages in mind as we left Port Harvey this afternoon but unfortunately the smaller more intimate Matilpi Cove was already occupied by two boats as we came by. So we anchored in Burial Cove willing to be respectful of the potential spirits residing there. If only the guy on shore with the chainsaw and hammer had been as like-minded! Not sure how Bob napped through it but he did!

The other surprises have been the “marinas and resorts”. I put them in quotes on purpose. We actually like to anchor out most of the time but a nice “marina” with a shower and laundry is hard to pass.

The “resort/marina we were at last night, Port Harvey, was described as “rustic but welcoming”. We give them a lot of credit given that the two story building that housed the store, showers, laundry and pub was built on a floating dock that caught fire and collapsed into the water since last season. This year there is a large, welcoming tent with a generator run pizza oven. The proprietor and his dog could not have been more helpful as we docked. The pizza was pretty good, the happy hour enjoyable. Heck we even joined their yacht club to help support the rebuilding efforts. How could we pass it up…it was a one time fee for a lifetime membership! We are hoping it has reciprocal privileges up the road!

Compare this “Yacht Club” to our stop at Blind Channel Resort that had showers, laundry, a store with a fair selection of groceries, a well-stocked liquor store (always a plus) and a full serve 4-5 star restaurant! Oh, and tons of huckleberries and thimble berries on their paths. A nice family run operation for over four generations. Great docks, fuel, water….what you think of when you say “resort”.

But one of our favorites, and the one that held us the longest ( four nights!) was Shoal Bay with mandatory rafting and a pub. Truthfully there was never a need to raft up as just enough room was available on the docks for those that wanted it. At Shoal Bay you are not allowed to “check in”. As Marcos, the proprietor quickly informed us, “You come to Shoal Bay to check out. Relax!” And how could you resist…especially watching the dogs frolicking along the shore and the purple martens flittering around the dock posts. Lovely, relaxing, just missing the on-tap beer that was always just a day away. Maybe the fresh vegetable garden that you are allowed to harvest herbs and berries from distracted us. Or maybe the great hikes up the hill. Or the fun conversations at “the pub” and on the dock.

But we realize in all of these places, minus the bears and whales, we are meeting delightful people. Our story is very different than everyone that we meet but they are they sage veteran cruisers in these waters. We have lots to learn and we can entertain them a bit by confirming that we came up from San Francisco….via New Zealand. At every stop we get great new bits of information to enhance our travels. We may not have quite figured it all out but we sure are enjoying getting there….wherever there is!

Happy 4th of July, Fellow Americans!