Travel reports have become an interesting part of Waterlog. Even though we live in such a beautiful place, a good number of houseboaters love to travel. Doctor Jim (Weyand) and I are two such travelers. For our three-week trip this winter, we headed for South America, to a place about as far away from Seattle as you can go and still be in the Americas.
 |
|
Marilyn at Iguazu Falls. |
 |
|
Jim checks out fishmonger in Mendoza. |
 |
|
Red Tango Shoes1! |
 |
|
Buenos Aires Milonga |
 |
|
Doggy On Deck |
 |
|
Bok Choy grows in a pot. |
 |
|
Meyer Lemons in the winter. |
 |
|
Houseboat on Vietnam border town, Chou Duc. |
 |
|
Joyce post surgery with doctor and staff. |
 |
|
New Willow Cove dock. |
 |
|
Why wires need to go under dock! |
Argentina. It is a fourteen-hour flight to Buenos Aires where we spent most of a week. Later we flew to Iguazu to see the famous falls, again. Yes, 23 years ago we were in South America and spent six months in Ecuador, Chile, Brazil and Argentina. So here we were visiting some of the same places in Argentina. Why? Several reasons. It is a beautiful and varied country. And the people are handsome, enthusiastic, and passionate about their Argentina. There is a strong connection, especially in Buenos Aires to Europe. Many Italians settled throughout the country, and their influence is seen, tasted and felt in their appearance, cooking and communication styles. During our travels, we had a chance to eat at great restaurants; spend a day on a winery tour outside Mendoza; and learned about the history of the pampas and the gaucho on a working hacienda not far from Buenos Aires. In the northwest province of Salta, we drove on a mountainous road to visit a small village with Inca ruins; and…danced the tango with the locals in Buenos Aires. For me, Argentina is a close as you can get to heaven.
So…let's see what your neighbours have been doing.
Mallard Cove Melissa & Tim Ahlers announced Baby Greta Kate Ahlers was born on 3/10/10. She weighed in at 9 lbs 1 oz and was 20 inches long. Mom says, "she is a happy & healthy baby!" Congratulations!
The Lake Union Tiff McNamara of 2031 Fairview Ave. E. reports that Nicole Halabisky and Ethan Lowry welcomed their son Luke Mackenzie Lowry to the world on March 7th at 6:32 am. Baby and Mom are doing great and Paia is crazy about her new baby brother. Dick & Kelly Patterson welcomed their first grandchild, Peter Atticus Johnson on February 17th. LeAnne Quinn & Bob Farra were married recently and are moving back to the dock this summer. Ryan Kadletz & Sarah Congalton are getting married in New York City on April 29th. Bernie Pickman has returned home after a hospital stay for chemo/radiation. She is in high spirits and all smiles. Sandi McQuirk-Linus & Mike Linus explored Palm Springs while their houseboat had a little unscheduled maintenance due to water damage. They report that the trip was very fun, especially the Joshua Tree State Park and the houseboat was ship shape when they returned. Rosie the black dock cat has her own Facebook page.
The Log Foundation Jann McFarland sent news about the big houseboat move on 2017 (see Recycling to the Max). Log Foundation got other new neighbors this past year when Jason Fitschen & Robin Clewley bought a houseboat on 2019 and Margaret Allen & Rick Weller purchased one on 2025. Jessica Stone moved to 2025 recently as a renter and among other accomplishments is an author. Her book, entitled Doggy on Deck: Life at Sea with a Salty Dog, is about sailing with her dog and is full of helpful ideas about taking your pets on long sailing or other boating trips. If you are interested in purchasing a copy - it is great reading either as a "how to" book or just for fun - it is carried at Captain's Nautical Supplies on 15th Ave W -- south of the Ballard Bridge -- and Armchair Sailor on Westlake Ave North and at www.doggyondeck.com A portion of each sale goes to the N.O.A.H. animal rescue shelter in Stanwood. Jann & Sid McFarland have been enjoying broccoli and bok choy from their winter garden pots and the Meyer lemon tree is loaded with full size lemons. Also, with spring in the air, the snap peas are up about 8 inches. Rob Widmeyer, President of The Log Foundation, (2017 dock) has sent a letter of intent to the City in an effort to urge them to purchase property adjacent to Terry Pettus Park to expand the much used street-end park at the foot of E Newton. It would double the park's access to Lake Union shoreline. The original park was constructed in the mid 1970s and has had some repairs since then, but needs renovation. The Log Foundation is adjacent to the park and would adopt it and help with maintenance -- which some members are currently doing. Jamie Thurner & Mark Sanderson sadly discovered recently that the beaver had taken another big section out of their potted willow tree. The last time it happened was during the day and there were witnesses to the "crime", but this time, the beaver struck when no one was around to catch "the perp". They thought they had wired the tree up far enough on the trunk, but the wily beaver climbed up on top of another pot to get access to the bare part of the tree. As previously reported the tree was formed when Mark gave Jamie a bouquet with willow shoots in it and so they twisted the stems and it grew into a set of trees with the trunks entwined. Very romantic except for the darn beaver!
From 2420 Westlake Cooperative, Ann Bassetti sends a few tidbits. Maureen Pirog purchased on the dock last year, but only now has the pleasure of moving in. A professor at both Indiana University and University of Washington -- she plans to live part time at each place. Since Maureen has rented on our dock for several years, we all know each other. But it's great to have her now as an owner resident! Kathleen Kelley & Chuck Arnold instituted an occasional "Soup Kitchen" night at their house when she retired. They make the soups and we all show up -- how wonderful is that? In recent nights, others have also contributed soup and salad. Yay for the warmth of soup and community! Lesley Hazleton has been speaking all over the place about her new book, After the Prophet -- about the history of the Sunni and Shia split. It's a dramatic story, with sad reverberations continuing into the current US involvement in the Middle East. www.aftertheprophet.com Poor Jen Nilsen & Brent Estes were gimping around all winter. She popped her Achilles tendon while on a romantic outing at the beach. He hurt his knee picking her up to get her back to their cabin. Yikes! Luckily, after an operation (Brent), and a cast (Jen), and a bunch of months to heal, they are both back to normal. Some people cannot have too many sources of information. Eugene Nutt has been often espied reading both the New York and Seattle Times, with his laptop open at one side, and his iPhone in his hand! Wouldn't want to risk being out of touch.
On Portage Bay, Willow Cove Residents, Joyce & Dave Black, intrepid tourists, met with a health emergency all travelers fear. They had gone back to Southeast Asia in December to escape the winter blahs. And in early January were settling in at Chau Duc, a small town just inside the Vietnamese border. Dave reports, "this was where our 'trip' took a wrong turn. On the second day, my wife Joyce fell while walking out of a store and injured her hip. A couple of locals helped her back to the hotel… Later that evening, Joyce was getting worse and it became clear that we needed to get to a hospital. An x-ray at the local clinic confirmed, as Joyce suspected, that she'd broken her hip and needed surgery." Then followed a trip "through the jungle on an overnight ambulance ride to Ho Chi Minh City. After seven harrowing hours and two ferry rides later we finally arrive at sunrise at the Franco-Vietnamese hospital just south of old Saigon." When commenting on her surgery and recovery, Joyce said simply, "I saw a very different view of Saigon from what the average tourist sees." Joyce and Dave survived the surgery and are back at the houseboat. Read the details of the complete journey in Dave's journal on the FHA Website and see pictures of this latest adventure.
More news from Joyce: Willow Cove Association at 3100/3104 is getting a new facelift with new wood on the dock and finally moving overhead wires to conduit under the dock. It has been a long process but we are almost there, just waiting to take down the overhead wires and trim the poles to accommodate hanging plants. While it will be great to have the wires down the project has played havoc with our lovely garden and it will be a challenge to figure out how to hide all of the electrical boxes and repair the damage to the garden. Right now it looks like a bad sci-fi movie!!! We thank Seattle Electric for their hard work on the electrical project and Wally Schaefer from Schaefer Industries for the great job he did replacing the dock boards and rebuilding the bridge from land to the dock at the same time he was remodeling Martha & Cork Keck's houseboat on the end of our dock.
Last thoughts:
From Tui Tui, here's Robby Rudine's rumination on the demise of the original Red Robin, a Portage Bay neighborhood landmark just east of the University Bridge.
"The poets like Roethke used to get a snoot full over the saw dust floors here on Portage Bay. You see, Red Robin was one mile away from the UW campus and was the first dive south serving demon drink. It was also reputed to have had the best burgers in Seattle. And they were good. This Red Robin had a place in Tui Tui history too. Whenever the plumbing, or indeed flooring, of the original predecessor houseboat at the Tui Tui dock failed, this was the dive we all had to use the lavatory at. Many of you still remember the wet slogs to the Robin's head. Rather incredibly, after all these decades, Red Robin doesn't own its own site and could not come to terms with its landlord. So this bird is flying its nest.
“In 1988, Janet and I bought the Red Robin HQ building at 3123 Eastlake from the Japanese Irvine, California based corporation that had bought Red Robin, already then a chain, from Gerry Kingen. The building had sat vacant for some time and we were able to pick it up for a song. We called it Rynfyp City, Li Sun Province of Upland Tui Tui and soon peeled off T'ing Province and built Whaac All All on the site, while preserving some greenbelt that would have otherwise been lost.
“So I quaff a glass of Flat on Your Beak to a history that transcends the current corporate manifestation of this decamping harbinger of spring. The Lushootseed speaking First People named the coming moon for the song of the Robin. But this moon is frog croaking and this Robin too is croaking."
Good bye Red Robin from Robby Rudine, flat on his beak.