August 2 Port Townsend

On Aug 2^nd, we spent the day checking out the downtown area of Port Townsend. We toured the “Northwest Maritime Centre” and the “Jefferson Court Museum.” This museum was fabulous as it gave us a great insight into the history to present time of Port Townsend.

Unfortunately, we also witnessed a terrible boat fire. No one was hurt but it is always sad to see someone’s dream sail boat burn and sink. A propane tank was left beside the stove and caused the explosion.

Mae is pictured here in a boat that she can sail without getting lost ...without steering crooked ...without navigating into rocks etc. We wonder if Marty would feel safer with her on this boat?

In the afternoon, Mae went out shopping for some gifts. She went to a lots of shops, looking for something that was unique to Port Townsend. There were many shops selling things made in Poland, China, Thailand, Turkey etc. but she really wanted something local. She came across a gem of a store called "Gallery 9" which is an Artists' co-op. She found a great birthday present for Marty.

Pictured above is an artist named Sandra Smith-Poling who painted a picture of the "Battle of the Tallships." In May 2010, the ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftan participated in a mock battle. Sandra created a painting from one of the photos she had taken of the battle. The sale of 250 prints had just gotten onto the shelves. The first print was given to her grandmother. The second one did not print so well. The third print became Marty's thoughtful and wonderful birthday present. This print was autographed and will be hung in our nautical themed library at home.

In the evening, we went over to Karen and Jim’s beautiful home for a wonderful home cooked dinner. Karen and Jim surprised Marty with a “Happy Birthday" cake. Karen was worried about burning the house down with all the candles she had on the cake.

Since last year, Karen has been singing and writing a song about their experiences along our B.C. coast. We had the pleasure of listening to her updated version, which included their travels along the Western coast of Vancouver Island. Thank you Karen and Jim for sharing your beautiful song of your B.C. adventures.