And now we are in London England. 

We have stopped by London to see the sights and catch up with my husband’s cousin. After London we are taking the train to France.

London is a wonderful city. Very old. Well kept. 

This European trip was our original retirement trip. We booked it long before our friends and family started suggesting “Now that you are retired, why don’t you travel with us to…” On this trip, aside from my husband’s family, our friend FL has joined from Boston. 

Misadventures in Sailing

My former boss and now friend asked me to help him reposition his sailboat. The boat was to be hauled out of the water at a marina that required it to pass through the Ballard locks.

We set out in the morning for some light sailing. It was a pleasant trip, even if the winds weren’t particularly strong.

By mid-afternoon, we decided to head in and tackle the locks.

It was the first time navigating a lock system for both of us. It was the end of a holiday weekend and there were dozens of other vessels trying to squeeze through. There were massive commercial fishing boats. There were tiny kayaks. On top of the crowd, opening and closing the lock gates created rapidly shifting currents. Sailboats aren't known for being graceful in tight quarters. You have to keep an eye on everything, act fast, and adjust your lines at a moment’s notice.

It didn’t go smoothly, but we made it through with only bruised egos. At one point, the swirling currents spun our boat completely around. Afterward, my friend joked that our maneuvering would probably end up on TikTok.

This is why I don’t want to own a boat.

We’ve had a few causual days. Errands, gym and long walks during the day. Dinner with various friends in the evening. 

Last night was Allen, Evan, + P&S. I don’t know P&S that well though they are close to Evan.

Tonight is dinner with Huff and baby O

Sunday is the big gay bear party at C6 amd QJ’s. Last I checked over one hundred people said they were attending. 

 

My father has a new kitten. Not that a feral kitten really belongs to anyone.

My father regularly feeds a feral cat. Back in July she appeared to be pregnant. Then she vanished for a day and returned thin. For weeks afterward we saw no signs of her kittens, so we assumed they were still born. Then recently my father saw this little furry dude climbing up a screen window with the mother watched from a few feet away. 

Tuesday evening I had dinner with C2 at Spuds Fish and Chips which is in a local beach. Soon the rain will return to Seattle, so we decided to enjoy it one last time. 

C2 is my connection to the more… wild side of our local gay community. He has a few friends who are into ’gear’ I didn’t know what that was. It’s how the muscle builders who take many injectables refer to their habit. 

And because we are all getting older, he caught me up on which gear-heads have passed away, which have cancer and who have other issues. 

First world problems and opportunities. 

My husband is off driving Mehl to the airport. Now I have a rare hour alone. I have a chance to reflect how our life has changing since retirement. 

One of the benefits of my past job was that I had hours of built in quiet time to sit, to reflect, to meditate, to write, to work. I enjoy that quiet and miss it. It's difficult to schedule while we are traveling or hosting guests.

And I do mean quiet time. Not downtime where I turn on the TV or scroll social media on my cell. Hearing voices bursts the quiet time bubble. I immediately fixates on that conversation instead of my chosen activity. I am looking for genuine quiet.

I need to gently discuss this with my husband. He is more of an extrovert than I and is excited by our future travels.

We are on our way home now. I greatly enjoyed Victoria. 

A pic from our morning stroll in China town…

Today we saw the BC Legislature, the Craigdarroch Castle and the Malahat Sky Walk. 

We also spent hours in our condo watching the gulls fly from roof to roof, the boats tooddle around and construction happen. The harbor in Victoria is endlessly busy and interesting. We pour some tea, watch the cruise ships dock and try to decipher how the gulls choose the most interesting place to be. 

This morning we toured the Butchart Gardens. They are 120 years old and becoming more gorgeous with every passing decade.

 

Did I mention how beautiful Victoria is?

Today we took the ferry up to Victoria. We are staying here through the weekend. I forgot how gorgeous Victoria is on fine summer days. 

Tuesday we did tourist things with Mehl. We visited the Museum of Flight in the morning where we walked on a Concord as well as Nixon’s Air Force One. 

Later in the day we dined at Marenki Sushi. There is much history at Marenki. It first opened in 1904. During WW2, its owners were incarcerated. The restaurant and building were ransacked. After the war, Marenki was rebuilt where it stands today. 

The sushi and tempura were delicious. 

Our friend Mehl is up from New Mexico. He greatly appreciates Seattle’s cooler summers.

Mehl’s health has constantly been on the decline and mend. It’s given him a dour look on life. Four years ago he had cancer. If his next test is good, he will get off chemo. Three years ago he broke a leg and a wrist. That mended over months. CHF started a few months ago. They don’t know why. It’s slowly reducing, but during the latest scan they found a tumor on his liver…

There but for the grace of God go I. 

Today we will explore Tacoma. Tomorrow we head up to Victoria. 

The Dahlia’s are still blooming like crazy. Judging from the number of unopened buds, we are half way through the season. 

My husband is down in Sacramento for a couple of days. His stepmother passed away a couple weeks ago. Her celebration of life is today (Saturday.) It looks like he’s having a good time catching up with his stepsister and her side of the family.

Wednesday we had lunch with Clem and Bates. Coincidentally, we both have the same make of vehicle. Our vehicles both needed maintenance. We scheduled our maintenances at the same time and then went off for lunch together.

They are doing well. Clem is about to do a backpacking tour of Thailand. It was very inexpensive, but it is also in Thailand in August. I’m glad I don’t have to travel bug like that. 

At home, we are getting into a routine for days when we have nothing planned. 

We still go to bed by 9 PM and wake up early. 

Morning is coffee and contemplation then maybe a small breakfast. One of us will feed and walk the dog. 

After that, we will do a little prep work for anything big coming up. Do we have to make calls pay bills?

After that is gym, or a long walk/hike. 

After that… whatever comes up. Right now that’s mostly house projects and reading. 

 Quiet day today. We have both started teaching ourselves / youtubing videos on how to fix various minor home problems that have been around for months. 

And we are home. I’m excited to be back in Seattle, to sleep in my own bead and shower in my own shower. We returned in time to see the garden in full bloom. Sometimes it’s the simple things.