Ketchikan, Day 3

The rain is different in Ketchikan. I say different, not because it rained most all the day, but the drops themselves seem different. They are larger, often spread far apart, but certainly bigger than in the lower 48. They bounce off the pavement with a gregarious splash. They hit you hard. You feel as if sleet is starting to fall, or perhaps freezing rain. But no-- it’s just rain, Ketchikan style.

It did not rain all day today, in fact, as we walked to breakfast the sun made an appearance. It lasted just long enough for me to make a panorama photo of part the Bar Harbor marina. Breakfast was at Dave’s Red Anchor café. Very local vibe, very good. Walk in and sit yourself down if there is an open table. The décor, as you can see from the photos, is home grown and whimsical. The people are a great, although you have to appreciate the straight forward, no nonsense interaction. It’s friendly, but to the point. You quickly understand Sarah Palin’s demeanor.

Dave's Red Anchor

The “Greaters” as you enter Dave's

Barnacle Buck watches over us a we enjoy breakfast. Take a close look at his antlers.

Today was a day devoted to waiting for a break in the winds and the waves. The good news is the waves are down to 11 feet from 20-something yesterday. Given that we were still feeling less than energetic, the weather delay came at good time. We finished putting everything away on the boat. I detailed the galley and organized all the food in the two refrigerators and the freezer. On this trip I should not have to shout out to Karen…”Do you know where the XXX is?” As I stowed it, we are only at the mercy of my memory when it come to locating the components for dinner.

I followed the instructions included with Debbie’s Green Storage bags to the letter: first cleaning then drying all the fresh vegetables before placing them in these bags that promise longer life to our rare and precious cargo. Acquiring and keeping fresh veggies is the biggest negative of this type of wilderness cruising. I certainly don’t expect them to last all five weeks, but if I can get two weeks I will be happy. After that, frozen veggies will be on the menu.

We’re three days into our trip, and I think Karen has finished six books in her electronic library. The advertisements claim the Nook can hold 1500 books. Let’s hope that’s not just marketing hype.

In the afternoon, I got all the electronics up and running. I convinced the Bluetooth GPS to talk to the laptop. The satellite phone made contact and registered itself on the Iridium network. Everything else that takes a battery and blinks or flashes with technological delight is now fired up and running. We’ll see how long that lasts. Even Karen’s newest love, her Nook, is performing as advertised. To her, it seems magical that she can order a book from the Nook and seemingly, like magic, it downloads itself and appears ready for her to devour.

I have more pictures of Karen in the rain, on the docks, as we provision for our trips

Dinner was at the Oceanview Restaurant, same as last night, but pizza was our choice rather than Mexican. It’s a popular place that serves almost anything you can imagine from the aforementioned Mexican to pasta, burgers, and who knows what. Oceanview is open seven days a week from 11 am to 11 pm, so it’s easy to see why it’s a favorite with the locals.

The Bar Harbor marina is big and a commercial dock. They squeeze in transient boats when slips open as the fisherman go out to sea. It’s only two days until Crab and some fishing seasons open, so the marina is busy with preparation. Pressure washers rumble, lines and nets are attended to, and engines are exercised in anticipation of going to work.

Bar Harbor Docks

So tomorrow we’ve planned an 8 am departure with a stop at Meyers Chuck that will either become our final destination or simply a lunch stop, depending on our mood. We were there in 2006, but our memories of it are not particularly sharp, so we look forward to revisiting it and forming new memories.