Superlative Day: Gone Fishing
I’ve had some great and memorable days in my life, and this is one of them. My good friend said “Hey, you want to go fishing Friday?” and I said “Yes!” I had to go get a one-day fishing license, and I could add crab for a mere 50 cents, so I did.
We met up at 6:30 a.m. and were on the water by 7 a.m. on one of the hottest day’s in Seattle’s summer. As we left the marina, we passed an Eagle. (We thought of you, AdventureMan!)
AdventureMan must have heard us talking about him, because as the sun rises, he calls from Kuwait, eating Felafel sandwiches and ice cream as we watch the sun rise:
And set the crab traps – this is what an empty crab trap looks like. We put turkey legs and old fish heads in the bait box to attract the crabs:
It is a gorgeous morning. As my friends dig out the fishing polls, I admire the mountains and the sparkles on the waters of Puget Sound:
My friend has baited my hook and hands the rod to me. I lower the weight to the bottom, pull it up just a little and – an immediate nibble:
He’s a good size and he’s a keeper. My friend grabs my camera to take my photo with my first fish of the day, I hold the fish up – and just as she is snapping the shot, the fish does a little flip right off the hook and back into the water!
It doesn’t matter – the fish are biting and we are hauling them in. Some are too small; we take them off the hooks and throw them back, telling them to have a good life, grow big and we will see them again, we hope!
After about an hour of superlative fishing, we go back to check the crab pots. They are HEAVY with crab!
You can’t keep any female crab, or any male under a certain size, so any crab you think you might want to keep, you have to measure. You get a HUGE fine if you are caught with undersize crab. As we bring in the crab and the fish, my friend notes them down on our licence records, which have to be sent in to the state at the end of the season, listing fish we have caught, crab we have caught, and how many we threw back.
We catch a couple rock crab – those you don’t have to measure, and you can keep. Most of what we catch is the sweet and delectable Dungeness Crab – my very favorite after Alaska King Crab.
We had just decided to quit for the day – it was getting really, really HOT for Seattle, like 90°F/33°C (and there is an advisory for hot weather, and air stagnation) and we have nearly our limit for crab, and a respectable amount of fish, and we are happy, happy fisherpeople! Just as I am about to raise my line, I get a big bite, and catch the last fish!
Here is our bucket, full of fish. The cooler is full of crab. What a great day to be alive.
Riverside BBQ in Seaside, OR
AdventureMan and I love eating out in Kuwait, and the only thing we really yearn for are: genuine Mexican food, Vietnamese food, and southern (USA) Barbecue. When we come to the US we make sure to sample those three main food groups. And we laugh at ourselves, because when we are in the US, we are always looking for a good Middle Eastern restaurant. 🙂
We all had a yearning for barbecue today, so we stopped by a little pink restaurant by the side of Highway 101 in Seaside that had two smokers outside. The smell was divine.
They had an extensive menu – beef, chicken and pork, and loads of sides – cornbread, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, cole slaw – just to name a few. Here were some of the platters:
This was the smoked chicken salad
The Meat Lover's Platter
The Rib dinner
The Rib platter for two with a side of potato salad
The counter where you order
The food was delicious. We ordered way too much – we had no idea how much food would come with each order. We boxed up the rest and brought it home to warm up later when we get hungry again, if ever.
Your Last Breath
You never know. These people are just like us, renting a vacation house up the road a village or two, right on the ocean. And while they are sleeping, a plane crashes into their vacation house. You never know when you might be taking your last breath.
4 Die After Plane Crashes Into Home
GEARHART, Ore. (Aug. 4) – A small plane crashed into a seaside house in heavy fog early Monday, killing two people aboard and two children in the vacation home it struck, authorities said.
A small plane flying through heavy fog clipped a tree and then slammed into a house in Gearhart, Ore., Monday. Authorities said two people aboard the plane and two children in the seaside vacation home were killed. Here, a deputy fire marshal stands outside what is left of the home.
A third child was unaccounted for after the crash, which apparently occurred soon after the plane took off from nearby Seaside in northwest Oregon.
The single-engine plane clipped a tree and then plowed into the house, followed by explosions. A second, vacant home nearby was heavily damaged.
The pilot and his only passenger were also killed. Their identities were not immediately released.
The four-seat Cessna was owned by Aviation Aventures in Seaside. The company had rented it to the pilot, city officials said.
The impact shook homes a half-mile away in this resort town.
You can read the entire article on AOL News.
Ecola Beach
You take a winding road, up hill and down, with steep drops on the ocean side, to get to Indian Beach – but it is worth the effort. There is a great view, restrooms, and you can visit the tidal pools. I loved all the wet suits lined up to dry on the fence here. Families were brewing coffee, making sandwiches, surfers were out waiting for a good wave to come along, and it was a fabulous location:
Heavenly Sunset
This sunset sort of made me think about the heavens opening and the hand of God coming out – yep, sunsets in the Pacific Northwest are like that. 🙂
Combination of Events
Yesterday I visited our house. We have been seriously blessed with good renters, people who are good hearted, and take care of the house. We have a good property manager; when something needs to be done – a new roof, a new furnace, a new fence – he has people who can handle the job, and the job gets done well.
The house still has it’s original refrigerator from when it was built. I think it needs a new one – before an emergency happens and our renters lose their food. I measure, take stock of how the house is doing, and then . . . I have to go buy a refrigerator.
For me, this is stressful. A refrigerator is something that is supposed to last for a while. I go to Consumer Reports and I read about all the refrigerators. Here is what is interesting – the top rated model, in terms of keeping things cold or frozen, in terms of energy use, etc. has thirteen consumer reviews, and most of them are negative! Most needed repairs, and most of the repairs had to do with the ice maker and the cold water on the door thingie (to use the technical term)
So I visited three stores, looked at refrigerators. At two of the stores, you had three choices – white, stainless steel or black. I am not a black-appliance person, I am not a person who wants black in my kitchen. Neither, I discovered, am I a white-appliance person. And the stainless steel just makes me tired; it is a fad that is already passing. So what to do?
I went to the third store and there is more choice. I find the top rated model, which is on sale, and then ask the salesman if he has the same model WITHOUT the cold water and ice dispenser on the door, and he does! And it is on sale! And WITHOUT the fancy extras – it is exactly the same price as the ones WITH the fancy extras!
How funny is that?
I went ahead and ordered the one without all the water dispensers. It does have an ice cube maker, that is fine with me. Then, it took me longer to pay for it and arrange for delivery than it took me to research and decide which model to buy.
The salesman was very good, he knew his stuff. This wasn’t his fault. The problem is that I am an anomaly. My billing address is not the same as the address to which the refrigerator will be delivered. I have several different phone numbers, one of which is only active when I am in the USA, one of which rings in Kuwait, and I don’t want people calling in the middle of the night, oh, what to do?
I don’t exactly know what time is a good time for delivery for the renter; that is always handled by the property manager. I don’t have his phone number with me. GROAN!
When I finally get back to my Mother’s place, I am exhausted. A soft rain starts falling around 4 pm and from then on, I keep falling asleep. I am probably still jet lagging, yes, I know, it’s been a week but my body still has a time zone all its own.
I know it is too early to go to sleep so I make myself stay awake, I try to read, but at 9 pm, I totally give up. It’s the exhaustion, and it is the soothing sound of the steadily falling light rain. I keep my window open; I love the fresh air, and I love to hear the birds, and oh, the sound of rain! This morning, yes, 4 a.m. and I am wide awake. It is a GORGEOUS, sunny day, the clouds and rain have gone, and I had better start packing for the next leg of this journey while I have all this energy.
Phones, Computers and Blackberries
You can hear his loud voice all through the lounge.
“You have my blackberry!” he says when someone answers the phone. “I left it in the restaurant. How can I get it back?” (pause) “I’m in the lounge.”
Within minutes, two security men are in the lounge, checking his ID and handing over his blackberry.
“We had a difficult time trying to find you, sir,” says the polite, but firm, security guy, in a loud, carrying voice. “Let me make a suggestion that will make your life easier if you ever lose it again. In your contacts, put YOUR name first. You can put two spaces before your last name, and then your last name will be at the head of the list. That is the smartest way to make sure people can return your lost electronics.”
I look around. Half the people in the lounge are quickly inputting their names, with two spaces, into their phones, computers and personal data devices.
Al Shamal Travel
AdventureMan called his contact at Al Shamal Travel about an upcoming trip:
“Mr. Flan, I have our itinerary, is everything still on schedule?”
“Yes, Mr. AdventureMan, I just checked on it this morning. You are booked all the way through, all the flights are exactly as shown on your schedule. I booked your seats on all the legs and I think you will be very happy. Just show them your itinerary; the reservation number is on it.”
(Sigh of pure pleasure)
Real service, CUSTOMER service. So rare that when it happens, we notice it.
Early Dawn + Cold Spell
I happened to be up this morning pre-dawn:
So calm, so serene, and I just love that someone is out there fishing on the glassy waters. But it was WAAAYYY early, I went back to bed. . . no sunrise for me this morning.
WeatherUnderground shows a cold spell today:
But as you can see, it will head right back up there as the week progresses.
I am packing for another trip – one where we will be on a beach, but instructions on Virtual Traveller say “even the hottest summer day has cool nights, so bring a light jacket, long pants and shoes and socks.” I can’t wait!
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