Cruisin’ Through Covid

We, like virtually everyone, has had their life and plans turned upside down by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We read, listen and watch the daily news of the loss of life and economic disruption created by it. We then feel almost ashamed to complain about the relative inconveniences that we experience in our life as a result of it. For us, the biggest change is 2020-06-006ythe uncertainty of when or if we’ll be able to take our summer cruise along the Inside Passage. One can hardly fault the Canadians over their reticence to let Americans cross their borders as casually as we have in the past.

In the mean time, we go on short cruises from Olympia, at the southern end of Puget Sound, to the San Juan Islands near the border with Canada. Having Drake aboard we 2020-06-012xnow look for those destinations that offer easy beaches on which to land with some walks and fields in which Drake can play.

The last time we cruised that range was in 2012, the year in which our focus was preparing and selling our home in West Seattle. Since 2012, our normal cruising range range ran from Bainbridge Island to Glacier Bay, so we are feeling a bit constrained.

Cruisin’ Through Covid

We, like virtually everyone, has had their life and plans turned upside down by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We read, listen and watch the daily news of the loss of life and economic disruption created by it. We then feel almost ashamed to complain about the relative inconveniences that we experience in our life as a result of it. For us, the biggest change is 2020-06-006ythe uncertainty of when or if we’ll be able to take our summer cruise along the Inside Passage. One can hardly fault the Canadians over their reticence to let Americans cross their borders as casually as we have in the past.

In the mean time, we go on short cruises from Olympia, at the southern end of Puget Sound, to the San Juan Islands near the border with Canada. Having Drake aboard we 2020-06-012xnow look for those destinations that offer easy beaches on which to land with some walks and fields in which Drake can play.

The last time we cruised that range was in 2012, the year in which our focus was preparing and selling our home in West Seattle. Since 2012, our normal cruising range range ran from Bainbridge Island to Glacier Bay, so we are feeling a bit constrained.

Ideal Cove

After spending 10 days getting Idyll Time up and running for the season, it is time to push away from the docks. Working down our departure procedures, we double check each step. Being away for six months, we are a little rusty. As we ease out into Frederick Sound, we soon see the familiar Stellar […]

Family Lake Vacation

“The memories we make with our family is everything.” –Candace Cameron Bure


With all the Covid virus restrictions it’s nice we have a beautiful area in our own backyard to vacation in. Our PA kids were on vacation, so they rented a house on the lake. The house was only a few miles up the lake from the marina and had a nice little dock for Tiny Pearl. Graham was excited to drive the boat to the house…Cora had a chance later in the week to drive the boat. They really enjoy our boats and we love having them here.

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Essentials at Gigha

After 8 weeks at Gigha, and 63 days since we’d last provisioned, we’d consumed all our fresh fruit, were almost out of fresh vegetables and our deep stores were dwindling. So when Joe Teale at Ardminish Stores on Gigha contacted us to ask if we needed anything, we gratefully accepted his offer. Duncan and the…

Thundershirt Results

Since Dylan’s Thundershirt arrived, we haven’t had a single thunderstorm… until this afternoon.  Mom heard it coming so quickly put the shirt on Dylan before it arrived. So does it work?

It seems to help. Dylan is definitely calmer. He paced a bit and looked worried after the first thunderclap, and ran to snuggle with his mom. But then so did Dee Dee. Only Dora ignored the storm – she’s the bit of black sleeping behind Dee Dee.

It’s a great improvement. The storm wasn’t as extreme as past ones. We’ll need one more test with a real doozy of a storm. Overall, his mom is pleased. If Dylan is happy, everyone is happy.  Sweet boy.

The Crew is back aboard

We hope this finds everyone well. After a long delay due to the Corona Virus, we are now back aboard Idyll Time. Flying through the airports was much different this year. The Nashville airport was spooky with hardly a soul around. Surprisingly, our flight was almost 60% full. I think this was because the airlines […]

Gen Rear Main Oil Seal

Our generator showed a light misting of oil around the generator cooling fan a month back. At just under 7,000 hours, it’s a bit early to be leaking, but it’s not a huge issue since rear main oil seals don’t fail catastrophically nor even quickly. It just means that in the next year or so,…

Thirteen!

Today is dear, sweet Dylan’s 13th birthday. We celebrate with two traditions. First with Dylan’s award winning picture (honestly). It’s hard to believe that little puppy grew into our big old handsome boy. 

Second, the whole crew gets mini cupcakes following supper. Yummmmmm.

Thirteen is quite a landmark. We love you Dylan and are hoping for many more happy times. 

Back to The Pearl

“Not every lake dreams to be an ocean. Blessed are the ones who are happy with whom they are.” —Mehmet Murat ildan

Our trip east from Texas this year was our 41st trip since 2011. It was definitely the longest and the hardest…maybe because we’re getting older, but in reality I think it was the traffic. From the looks of our highways, our economy should be booming. We’ve never seen so many 18-wheelers on the freeways before. Between construction, accidents and having to be rerouted we lost four hours…making our 25 hour trip over 29. Our reward…spending three days with our PA family and filling up on love.
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