I was "away from my desk" as they say, over the weekend, celebrating my Uncle Bill's 100th birthday. We filled a big room with friends and relatives, and all sang sea shanties, with a group hired to lead us in doing that. Bill sang along, knowing many of them by heart.
Bill lived a life at sea in the merchant marine and later returned to matters maritime after retiring as a mining engineer. He morphed into an historian, as I've recounted elsewhere, researching submarine R&D and production in the Pacific Northwest in the pre WW1 chapter.
I took Sydney the dog on this trip. Elise arranged for her to have an annual vet appointment with her original vet. Syd used to live with Elise and family. Her husband Les and his brother Stafford were there, working on their boat, out of the water and on its trailer on the farm. We're talking a pretty big boat here.
I came home via the Edmonds-Kingston ferry, Hwy 104 to Center Road, to the unincorporated township of Quilcene, where I got to visit with old friends. The ferry is always a blast. I could have taken Sydney to an upper deck but she's usually a happy napper in the back seat. Maybe next time.
XREF:
Go By Train
TG 2016
Lost in Oregon
Lightfoots Visit
Touring the Silicon Forest
Remembering a Person
