Sunday, September 28, 2014

Embrace Fall

The longer I live, the more I notice how much my mood is affected by the daylight. With the equinox passed, I've been strategizing how to avoid spending all of my free time baking, roasting, and simmering soup or curled up on the couch reading a book or napping. While I feel that a little bit of nesting is healthy and cozy, I have a tendency to go overboard.

Last year, my mom discovered the Lightphoria and promptly gave one to me (the original plan was to give it as a Christmas present, but it arrived in November with a note, "it's too good to wait!"). Whether it is the placebo effect or not, last year I noticed a boost in energy and wished I'd had one as the season turned. I'm giving it a workout again, pulling it out for 15 minutes or so on mornings when I wake up in the darkness - right now during the week, as I regularly rise at 5:30, but soon I'll need it weekends too.

In past seasons, I've been inspired by Rosemary, one of my library blogging friends (find her blog here) who has made a number of to-do lists for each season. I've decided to follow her lead and create my own ways to embrace fall.
  • Drink a seasonal cafe drink
  • Kick leaves
  • Bake a pie
  • Dry apples (using a borrowed dehydrator that has been sitting unused in the closet since last Thanksgiving)
  • Buy apple cider at the Farmer's Market
  • Bake pumpkin scones
  • Bake apple pie biscuits
  • Try two new soup recipes
  • Knit a poncho
  • Have a harvest party (which may double as my birthday party)
What's on your autumn list? Do you have any soups to recommend?

P.S. I'll be continuing my vacation series, with the intent of posting twice a week until I'm finished. One post with my current musings and the other a vacation recap.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Ganges Harbor - Day 7

We set off from Mill Bay at around 11 a.m., after one of the best breakfast sandwiches I've ever had at Rusticana. My sausage sandwich was piled high with veggies - spinach, sprouts, tomato and cucumbers. The produce provisions that last best on the boat are root vegetables, as the moisture tends to make anything with significant water content either soggy or moldy, so it was especially refreshing.

We finally arrived at Ganges Harbor on Saltspring Island at around 4. Almost 20 nautical miles of distance combined with poor current and variable winds slowed us down, though we did enjoy the journey, sailing near to a campground, watching the sweltering campers.

After docking at a rickety dock at the Ganges Marina and then moving the boat to a deeper, slightly less rickety location (the tide was set to be fairly low the next day and no one wanted Rock Lobster grounded), we set off for the Farmer's Market. It always surprises me how far behind the growing season is once you journey north - strawberries had been long gone in Seattle, but just ripening in the Gulf Islands. The Saturday Market is the largest in the Gulf Islands, but the Tuesday one that we went to is much smaller and more intimate. Someday I'll check out the Saturday one, rather than just reading about it. Made a quick gelato stop after the market before heading back to the marina to wander the docks and eat plums.

After a tricky time deciding on a restaurant (Yelp coverage is much spottier in the small towns of B.C.) and then a long wait once we finally made our choice, we had our most memorable meal of the trip at Tree House Cafe, a building from the 1920s built around a tree. Tuesday is open mic night and there was an eclectic assortment of musicians, including a Woodstock-era hippie named Palu Rainbow, who will sing about whatever topics you give him - like watermelon and rainbows "I am uniquely qualified to sing about these topics as my name has rainbow in it....First chakra - red, second chakra - orange" all the way down to "Seventh chakra - violet. One favorite was a woman playing keyboard and singing in French with a cornet accompaniment. I also had to love the cover artist singing "Closing Time" and dedicating Cat Stevens' "Wild World" to the folks at the yoga retreat, who had been celibate and were about to re-enter our wild world.

We ate in the inside portion, which was still very open. I had the lemon oregano barbecued chicken souvlaki, which came with basmati rice, potatoes, rainbow carrots zucchini, peppers, naan and tzatziki, while Trent had the lam burger, with a chutney that was to die for and a flavorful spinach salad (whose sprouts had migrated to my plate apparently unassisted). We each had a couple of B.C. beers, before splitting a polar bear hot chocolate (mint schnapps and Kahlua) for dessert.

We went back to the boat full and happy.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

I Am Inspired

And now a break from my vacation posts...

Even though I've called this blog Bicycling Librarian, I rarely blog about either librarianship or bicycling (though I occasionally mention my Brompton or my favorite books. But after last week's mountain-top experience, I can't help but share a bit of my excitement.

Last week, I attended the ALSC Institute in Oakland. Offered every other year, I first became aware of it two years ago, when it was held in Indianapolis. Sadly, I had a scheduling conflict, but vowed to be on the look-out for the next occurrence. And what do you know, when they announced the locations, I learned it was in one of my favorite cities, where I could visit both of my siblings.

My brother was expecting house guests from Latvia, so I reserved space at the Marriott, located conveniently across the street from where my sister works. What could be better?! I was fully anticipating an educational conference, combined with some family fun and busy-ness. What I wasn't prepared for was how awesome it actually would be.

I attended sessions with titles such as:

  • Inspired Collaborations: Early Childhood Partnerships
  • Making Advocacy Awesome: A Workshop for the Everyday Advocate -- You!
  • Summer Lunch at the Library
  • Removing Barriers to Early Literacy: Increasing Access to Books for Young Children
  • Be a Winner: Inspired Youth Grant Writing

I furiously took notes and will pursue bringing some of the ideas back to my own library.

I laughed and got teary-eyed (but mostly laughed) with authors Steve Sheinkin, Rita Williams-Garcia, Pam Muñoz Ryan ("if you succeed at everything, you're setting the bar too low"), Tim Federle, Gene Luen Yang (who posited quite credibly that Superman was really Asian-American), Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), Jennifer Holms, Mac Barnett and Andrea Davis Pinkney.

I connected with former colleagues, from both my current and former library system, who have moved on to California and Maine.

I even won a key to Fairyland which opened in 1950 and inspired Walt Disney in his own amusement parks.

I return with a renewed commitment to excellence and innovation in children's services and will strongly advocate that others in my system be supported in attending the 2016 ALSC Institute in Charlotte.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Mill Bay - Day Six

I woke at 7:30 and rowed to shore for a much-needed facilities visit (we try never to use the port-a-potty on the boat so that we never have to clean it). After a breakfast of homemade granola with walnuts and dried cranberries, we set off at 9 for a new port, Mill Bay, on Vancouver Island.

On the way to Portland Island, our engine had been slightly damaged when I steered through the wake of a large vessel. Nothing too serious (broken impeller, causing the usually robust stream of water emanating from the engine to slow to a trickle), but anchoring was more traumatic than at Spencer Spit because the engine kept dying out at slow speeds. In the morning, the water stream still looked a bit anemic, but flowed enough to get us to our destination.

While the forecast called for 15-25 knots of wind, we got nothing. Still a pleasant journey though as we read The Long Way and drank orange tea, making us feel oh-so-civilized. Shortly before docking, we snacked on smoked salmon, dill chevre and crackers to sate our hunger until lunch.

The marina at Mill Bay is new (after a fire a few years back) and well cared for and Trent was able to make repairs - luckily he had brought a spare impeller along for just such an eventuality. I got a bee in my bonnet about our now sweaty clothes, after days of hot (for the Northwest) weather and exercise, and decided for the first time ever on a sailing vacation to actually use the laundry soap we carted along with us. We draped the clothes on Rock Lobster (Trent rigged a makeshift clothes line from an extra line we had aboard) and reveled in the fresh scent. Next year, we'll try to remember to bring along some clothespins as well.

Attached to the marina is Bridgeman's Bistro, where we shared oyster tacos, shrimp gyoza and a Caesar salad. Of course, we each had a local beer as well - a summery one for me and a porter for Trent.

After our late lunch, we explored the little shopping center, where we made the requisite stop at the library before stopping at Rusticana for milkshakes (I couldn't resist the blackberry - yum!) and Boggle.

A quick stop for provisions for a Thai shrimp and peanut noodle dinner before a nap break for Trent and an hour and a half sketch break for me, where I had the sobering realization that our journey was over half over. Fortunately, plenty of adventure (and delicious food) still awaited us.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Portland Island - Day Five

After a day of civilization, with businesses and spas, we went back to nature at Portland Island, formerly known as Princess Margaret Island, to anchor at Princess Bay. We rowed to shore to circumnavigate the island by foot, following a trail alternately wooded and exposed grassland.

The Island has an interesting history. It was given to Princess Margaret in honor of her visit to Victoria in the 50s. She returned it to the people nine years later to serve as a park. Earlier, it was purchased with visions of a grand hotel and still earlier, Hawaiian immigrants sought to make it their new home. There are still remnants of the past - apple trees from an old orchard and rose bushes gone wild.

On our journey we visited a rocky beach with a make-shift wooden swing for two and another for solo swinging. We tested both of course. The highlight was Arbitus Point, with several campsites and a stunning view, including numerous B.C. ferries and some large marine mammal (whale?). At one point, the trail seemed to end completely - fortunately, right next to a crowded group campsite.

After a hilly six-or-so mile hike (and me in very impractical sandals), we dinghied back to Rock Lobster for a dinner of dal, rice and flatbread, played some Bananagrams and chose our next destination before bed. The evening was beautiful with countless stars and bioluminescence emanating from the bay. Sleep was a bit rough, as each time a ferry went past, the boat rocked for a good five minutes or so.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Pender Island - Day Four

We pushed off our mooring buoy at Stuart at 9 for a short motor to Bedwell Harbor on Pender Island, our first stop in Canada, which meant a stop at the customs dock. Going through customs on the boat is a relatively painless procedure. Other than the initial docking, only the skipper can disembark, so I stayed aboard while Trent walked up the ramp to the office. Though there is an officer inside, all business is conducted over the phone. Fortunately, we had learned our lesson in past years and this time did not have any forbidden fruit. The first time we visited, we realized en route that apples were verboten, so each of us had a four apple lunch, thinking that we would otherwise be turned away. We later learned that they have a disposal bin specifically for apples at the top of the ramp.

Excited by our early arrival, we radioed over to Poet's Cove Marina, which is attached to a spa/resort to verify that they had space for us. Yes, there was a slip, but it was only 10:30 and check-out was at 11 with official check-in at 1. If the other boat vacated early, the dock was ours, but they wouldn't kick the other boat out during that two hour grey period. We tied up at the breakwater dock (which is not connected to land) and dinghied in for a coffee/chai break and Boggle at the resort's coffee shop. We could see the mast of the other boat from the picture window of the cafe and repeatedly peered out hopefully. No luck - we were unable to check in even a minute early.

We had only muffins in the morning, thinking we'd have brunch or an early lunch in the afternoon on a bike ride over the island. With the bikes, we were no longer trapped at the resort, which has an overpriced restaurant attached. Trent found a promising looking restaurant on Yelp - the Hope Bay Cafe, which ended lunch service at 3 and then closed until dinner began at 5. It was about an hour bike ride away and we left at about 1:50. Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem, but with only a couple of muffins in the five hours I'd been awake and plenty of hills (I got off my bike twice to walk, which is atypical for me), I bonked, slowing to a snail's pace. We arrived at the restaurant at 2:53, but the kitchen was already closed.

What to do? Go to the Fall Fair, which we'd passed by on the journey, or to another area of town? Too far (or so we thought - later we learned that we'd taken a roundabout way to our destination), so we made the earliest dinner reservation we could (5:30), ate ice cream, examined the boats at the nearby dock and drank local beer and ate roasted nuts (the only food besides dessert they were serving) on the patio and read aloud The Long Way, a memoir by an intense sailor who was on the verge of winning a solo-round-the-world sailing race, when he decided to skip the finish line and keep sailing.

Finally, finally it was 5:30 and dinnertime. We were not disappointed in our dining choice. We split a small plate of lamb meatballs with a yogurt drizzle and tomato-based sauce. Trent chose the Dungeness Crab gnocchi with a butternut romesco, while I had the penne with prawns in a cilantro pesto sauce. I was glad that island living is so casual - most diners were in shorts and t-shirts, so we didn't stand out too much in our sweaty clothes.

The ride home seemed far easier, lacking the sense of desperation I'd felt earlier. On the way to Hope Bay, we had passed an Anglican church with a sign reading "the Anglican Church welcomes you." "Does that mean they'll feed us?," I despaired. Later, the smell of blackberries wafted to me and I considered abandoning the bike to pick berries, but I kept on, knowing that would mean missing our 3 p.m. deadline.

The way home was just as hilly and beautiful (and this time, I could appreciate the beauty). We crossed a one lane bridge over the Pender Canal that is off-limits to Rock Lobster (too short and not a drawbridge). We passed The Enchanted Forest and though the sun was beginning to set, we wandered the interpretive trails a bit before returning to Poet's Cove.

Back at the marina, kids ran excitedly around the docks with nets in hand trying to catch shrimp. One group offered to sell some puny specimens to Trent, who responded that, unfortunately, we'd already eaten dinner.

One of the benefits of staying at a marina at a resort is the use of the hot tub, a benefit that we took advantage of, soaking our poor tired muscles before admiring the stars and retiring for the evening.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Stuart Island - Day Three

We awoke to a low tide with only 5 or so feet of water under the boat, which allowed me to wave at a large Dungeness crab as I pulled out the anchor. No stop at shore for us to use the facilities - we were on our way, to an as yet undecided location - either Stuart Island (still in the San Juans) or Bedwell Harbor on Pender, one of the Gulf Islands. Ultimately, the desire to put off going through customs, as well as a longing for an easy day had us stop short at Stuart.

Stuart is a private island with no ferry service. There is a 85-acre State Park with space for camping and mooring. We've stayed a few times before, always at Reid Harbor, though this time we stayed at Prevost Harbor to have a shorter trip to Canada. I was delighted to pass Seal Rock on our way in with the eponymous creatures lolling about in the sun.

After a picnic lunch, we hiked a short distance to the school library, which to my librarian's eyes could desperately use some weeding of mildewed volumes as well as some donations of new books. Visitors are welcome to "check out" books and return them before leaving the island. Some of the other visitors were squealing over the selection of TinTin books though, so I suppose there are some gems there.

The sun beat down mercilessly, so we rested in the shade of the stand selling t-shirts on the honor system from a treasure chest and gulped down paper cups of water from the adjacent container, left by some anonymous benefactors. Trent nodded off a bit, so I thought I'd take advantage of his grogginess and challenge him to a game of Bananagrams.

Afterwards, we returned to the boat for a dinner of albacore curry and rice. Rice is always a bit of a challenge on the alcohol stove, as the flame is not quite as controllable as the gas stove at home and this time I used the camping pan, which is thin and burns things easily. A small bite of rice was singed, but nothing too terrible. I had to make the curry and rice sequentially, as only one burner had fuel. I was careful to rinse everything with sea water before washing in the sink to avoid imparting a fishy smell for the remainder of the journey.

Trent was so exhausted, he fell asleep at 8 in our v-berth. Usually we leave the cushions for that part of the boat at home, but this time we took one out of the two along for napping purposes. We'll definitely repeat that next year. I read until 10 or so before falling asleep as well. I seem to sleep either much more or much less than my normal 7-8 hours on our sailing vacations.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Spencer Spit - Sailing Adventure day two

Day two of our sailing adventure started at a much more reasonable hour, as we needed to catch the Deception Pass current at slack to avoid being tossed into the rocks. We woke naturally at 9 or so and headed to Calico Cupboard for breakfast. The last time we were there, Trent ordered the Cinnamon Roll French Toast and he repeated the order this time, little knowing that these would be the only cinnamon rolls of the journey (after returning home, I looked over my first mate's log and counted six cinnamon rolls consumed last year between the two of us). I ordered the migas and wished that I'd repeated my order of steel cut oatmeal from our last visit.

After breakfast, I made a quick stop at the drugstore to pick up a toothbrush. Somehow on the sleepy morning of the first day, I neglected to put a toothbrush in my travel toothbrush holder and I did not relish the thought of a week and a half with fuzzy teeth. The cashier comforted me with a story of a woman who had left her entire suitcase at home who had tried to purchase socks and underwear there. When the cashier suggested a trip to Target instead, she responded that she didn't want to leave La Conner.

We left at about 11:40 and actively slowed Rock Lobster down when we realized that we would arrive at Deception Pass before the slack tide scheduled for 2:15ish. Quite a rush actually going through the pass that I've seen so often from above. The rest of the journey was uneventful and we arrived at Spencer Spit at around 5 p.m. We anchored near a number of other boats and enjoyed the view of the boats at the other side of the spit.

I have a love/hate relationship with anchoring. When the wind is light and the ground is right, I enjoy dropping the anchor and releasing the line as Trent maneuvers the boat. The gentle motion of the boat "on the hook" is relaxing at night. When the weather is rougher, panic and yelling often ensue, as well as restless nights, where the anchor alarm reports the boat is dragging (whether or not it actually is). This trip the anchoring process itself was painless, though at night I felt like every time I rolled over the boat rocked for five minutes.

After a celebratory Dark & Stormy, we rowed to shore, avoiding the marshy refuge which is off limits to visitors. Typically when we visit a State Park in the San Juans, there is no car access, so this spot on Lopez Island felt much more crowded with a Boy Scout Troop on a kayaking trip and two women in the bathroom using the electrical outlets to charge cell phones. We may just have to cajole some friends to meet us there next year for car/boat camping.

Dinner was one of my favorite boating dinners - grilled shrimp marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, mint and oregano with flatbread and a golden beet salad from our CSA box. Cooking on the boat is a fun challenge. We have a propane grill and an alcohol stove with two burners, though this time we only filled one of them with fuel. The cabin is not quite large enough for me to stand upright without hitting my head, so I stand by the open hatch as I chop veggies or peel shrimp. Provisioning requires some craftiness, as every year I am reminded that root vegetables survive better than leafy greens and the produce really does better in an insulated bag than in our cooler equipped with a block of dry ice and a bag of ice cubes. The after dinner clean-up is also rustic. We have a cold water sink where we can pump water from a tank, which leads to great water conservation. For all of that, some of the best home-cooked dinners we had in the month of August were on the boat.

An early bedtime at 10 to prepare for day 3 - Stuart Island.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Going Where the Wind Takes You

In my last post, I mentioned that my proposed itinerary may be modified due to wind or current and was it ever! Take a look:

Day 1 - Port Townsend (proposed); La Conner (actual)
Day 2 - Victoria (p); Spencer Spit on Lopez Island (a)
Day 3 - Sidney (p); Stuart Island (a)
Day 4 - Cowichan Bay (p); Poet's Cove/Bedwell Harbor on Pender Island (a)
Day 5 - Ladysmith (p); Princess Cove at Portland Island (a)
Day 6 - Telegraph Harbor (p); Maple Bay (a)
Day 7 - Ganges on Saltspring Island (p and a)
Day 8 - Poet's Cove (p); Tsehum Harbor near Sidney (a)
Day 9 - Friday Harbor on San Juan Island (p); Roche Harbor on San Juan Island (a)
Day 10 - Port Townsend (p and a)
Day 11 - Home/Shilshole (p); Port Townsend (a)
Day 12 - Home/Shilshole (a)

Overall, it was a wonderful trip and I'm having a bit of trouble finding my land legs and adjusting to normal life. Just to savor the time a little more and avoid an unreasonably long blog posting, I'll be writing multiple posts to cover some of the highlights.

Day 1
With winds forecast to be strong in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Trent suggested that it would be more prudent to take the inside route. Remembering past years where other sailboats sunk in the Strait just days after our passage, I took his warning seriously. Turns out, we would have been fine either way, but heading to La Conner allowed us to sleep in until 4 a.m.

The wind was fickle, but for the most part between 10 and 20 coming from the south, which allowed us to arrive by 3 p.m., flying our rainbow spinnaker before switching to the genoa as we changed course. Motoring the Swinomish Channel is still a novel and risky business, as dredging occurs infrequently and at one point the depth sounder read 2' (Trent slowed the engine and maneuvered us into a deeper part of the channel). Unfortunately, it looked like a larger boat that was following in our path ran aground there.

Soaking up the sun on Rock Lobster (after a well-deserved nap) while moored at the marina, I marveled at all of the boats promenading past. While most marinas are tucked away from marine traffic, La Conner allows you to see all of the action.

We pulled out our folding bikes to ride into town for dinner, though it is close enough that we didn't really need them. We ended up eating a transcendent meal at The Oyster and Thistle, which more than made up for my disappointment at the change in itinerary. We sat in an absinthe green room facing the water we had so recently emerged from, with La Vie en Rose and the Girl from Ipanema playing in the background. Trent and I shared a small plate of Pernod mussels which we devoured with two baskets of bread. Trent ordered the pan-fried oyster fettuccine, while I chose the Dungeness crab ravioli with a creamy saffron sauce. We each had a glass of Muscadet (a dry white the same variety as Trent's family makes in France) and finished up with a Grand Marnier souffle, fresh from the oven and so divine I had to close my eyes several times to savor each bite.

Bellies content, we rode back to the boat on our tiny matching bicycles to try to get a good night's sleep to be fresh for Day 2.