You can't buy sunshine

I can't describe the degree to which simply having an affordable grocery store nearby seems like the height of luxury to me right now, but the one thing I am really left craving is something I can't find on the shelf (Florida oranges notwithstanding): the sunshine we were supposed to get today.

Apparently it's been delayed until tomorrow. I'll believe it when I see it.

We're in Friday Harbor now, tied up at the marina after a brisk sail down from Orcas Island on Wednesday. The weather, then and since, has been uniformly crappy. We reefed down before hauling in the anchor in Deer Harbor (fortunately, the anchorage proved sound, despite the southeastern exposure... in 25 knot gusts we didn't budge and in the cabin barely felt anything) and still managed to bury the rail tacking down through San Juan Channel. It only took us an hour, even going upwind. As Mandy said, that's probably why people come to sail here in the islands in the first place: all the destinations are close together. An hour of that is fun; all day, which is what it would have been up north in the Strait of Georgia, would have been demanding and tiring.

We are spending a total of five nights here, which is also quite luxurious. They are on fall rates now, though, and we were able to take advantage of our reciprocal moorage agreement with the San Juan Island Yacht Club, so it is affordable. So we're pumped out (sewage, that is, for the uninitiated... an empty holding tank makes Mandy happy!), powered up, and fully Internetized. And, I may have mentioned, there's a lovely market just up the street. It's practically like being back home at Shilshole. Better, even, when you realize that the nearest grocery store there is in Ballard.

The Huskies are on a bye this week, unfortunately, but Sunday I also plan to take advantage of the sports bar situation to watch the Seahawks self-destruct against San Diego. I haven't managed to catch a complete game yet this season.

We're also keeping a close eye on the weather. Our friend Maxx gets here on Tuesday, and if everything cooperates, we'll cross the strait that day. It was looking very promising in yesterday's forecast; today, they are predicting another system will be rolling in that day, but the forecast winds are still light (though from the worst possible direction) so it is still looking doable. It may be a long day, but probably not foggy or excessively rough.

We are both anxious to get back to town. We found out this week that our renters do not plan to extend their lease for another year, so we need to get to work lining up new tenants, and taking a look at the house to see what will need to be cleaned or repaired in between. The early response to our first hastily posted ad has been great, but we're not there right now to actually show the place, so that's a real disadvantage. Since Maxx is coming up anyway to help with the sailing, I'm considering putting Mandy on a ferry early or something so she could be around to deal with things, but it may not be worthwhile to gain only a few days. At any rate, we got plenty of notice, so we have a couple of months to get it rented, hopefully without losing more than a month of income.

Anyway, I suppose it is nice that there are compelling reasons for us to enjoy getting back to Seattle, because otherwise, I'm all ready to set up camp for the winter here in Friday Harbor. It's shameful what a simple little grocery store will tempt me into.