TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

Tregoning is enjoying a well deserved rest at Red Frog Marina near Bocas Del Toro while we are romping around in the Pacific Northwest of the USA.  The day before we left, we met Anna and Ian from Gecko for a trip to the beach at Red Frog.  We enjoyed body surfing in the clear waves and luxuriated in the warmth and sunshine, knowing that conditions over the next few weeks would be far from tropical.

The water taxi that was expected to take us from Red Frog to the Bocas on the morning of Tuesday (Dec 8) was late and then had motor problems so we started to get a bit anxious about missing our flight to Panama City.  Luckily another taxi that had arrived to drop someone off at Red Frog was able to rescue us.  We enjoyed an afternoon exploring parts of Panama City and we were carried around the city by Benito, a very helpful taxi driver who had been recommended to us by fellow cruisers at Red Frog. 

Our flights to Miami and Dallas were uneventful but we had a very short lay-over before our flight to Seattle.  We breathlessly arrived at the departure gate after running from the terminal’s train just as they were giving our seats to some stand-by passengers. They may have been disappointed to see us but we were very thankful to make the last connection of a long day.  We arrived in Seattle on the first of three days that saw record low temperatures for those dates (down to 17F, -8C) but it was sunny and clear so we had some glorious views of Mount Rainer and the mountains on the Olympic Peninsula.

We spent our first two nights in a hotel in Seattle and after picking up three large suitcases from Goodwill (a charity store to which people donate items) we proceeded to fill them with Christmas gifts for the family and stuff for the boat.  We had a long shopping list of things that were difficult to get in Panama and we have generally been successful in finding everything on the list.  On Friday we drove south to Olympia to stay for eight nights with (brother-in-law) Michael and Jan.  We had a splendid time there including wine-tasting, cutting down a Christmas tree at the end of a horse-drawn trolley ride, decorating the tree while the snow was falling outside (it melted the next day), getting our H1N1 ‘flu shots (at a supermarket), more shopping, picking up Randall’s sister, Martha, who had flown in from San Jose, and sending Christmas cards and e-cards.  We spent a lot of time talking about our cruising experiences and equipment, and visited Michael and Jan’s boat Touch Rain, which they are equipping in preparation for a year of cruising to start this summer…or maybe the following one…we know how flexible plans need to be.

 On Sunday (Dec 20) we drove from Seattle to Spokane where we are staying in a hotel for a week while visiting various friends and relatives.  There was snow on the ground at the pass over the Cascade Mountains but the road was clear.  It was too foggy to enjoy the views as we drove into Spokane, where it was drizzling and the only snow was in muddy piles by the roads.  However, everything seemed brighter that evening when we met Heather and the grandchildren, Kaeden (6) and Atleigh (5) at the Spokane airport.  It had been 21 months since we last saw them so the children have grown so tall and seem much more grown-up.  Today we saw (sister-in-law) Yvonne and Jay and two of their three daughters and we look forward to the arrival of Shevaun, Matt and the dogs (Roxy and Indy) tomorrow.  We will see more friends and relations as the week progresses. It may be drizzly rather than snowy here but as the family gathers…it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!