An unusual week.

My week started out normal enough. I went out for a beer with John “Mad Dog” Morrow (who is nothing at all like his moniker BTW) on Tuesday night, at the Diamond Knot Brewpub in Mukilteo, right by the ferry dock. (that begins a sort of nautical theme for the week!)

Wednesday evening I met my sister, her husband, and my nephew, along with my parents, (here in town for a few days,) at Chinooks at Fisherman’s Terminal on Salmon Bay near the Ballard Bridge.

It was fun to see them, and after dinner we went to their home in the North Beach area of Ballard. Ballard was our home from 1987 through 1999 and I have a lot of fond memories of the place. However it has changed a lot, with urban sprawl overrunning the place. It was a quiet neighborhood when we lived there, and now it seems to be getting overbuilt and gentrified. No longer home to small industry (usually relating to fishing or boats) it is being overrun with apartments, condos & coffeehouses. For example the little grocery store where we used to shop is now a HUGE condo complex.

After I left my sister’s home I drove by my old house, then stopped at my favorite little park on Sunset Hill, overlooking Shilshole Bay. It was just as I remembered it: Quiet, contemplative, and one of the best (unknown!) views in Seattle:

Hard to see in the darkness, but trust me, it is amazing.

The next morning I left work early and hopped aboard a ferry going cross-sound to Bainbridge Island. From there I drove across Agate Pass, through the Kitsap, and over the Hood Canal bridge to the south end of Discovery Bay near Port Townsend.

At Discovery Bay I went to the home of Doug & Vicki Breithaupt, which is an old schoolhouse (where Doug attended in 1st grade.) I was there to attend a celebration of Vicki’s life, as she passed away on April 21st after a long struggle with breast cancer.

The turnout was amazing, with well over one hundred people attending. Thankfully given the nature of their home, we could all fit inside:

The ceremony itself was very nice, with Doug presenting images of Vicki through her life and their marriage, followed by memorials provided by friends and family. Following this, three of their four children provided us with some music:

Afterwards we all enjoyed a potluck meal. Doug & Vicki have participated in, and organized many vintage car rallies here in the Pacific Northwest and it seemed that at least a quarter of the attendees were car people. Doug works for a non-profit that is involved in higher education scholarships and they announced that two scholarship funds were being set up; one in Vicki’s memory, to be awarded to students usually overlooked in traditional scholarship programs. The scholarship will seek out achieving students who might not qualify for traditional awards based on financial need or high-GPA. The other fund will specifically help the four Breithaupt children.

After the celebration ended I headed to Port Townsend to catch a ferry home, via Whidbey Island and Deception Pass. After a short wait, I boarded a very small ferry, the MV Steilacoom II. It seems to be far too small a vessel to be plying the waters at the mouth of Puget Sound, which is open to the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the north and northwest. If any waters are going to get rough on any route the WSF runs it is this one. This evening however the weather was truly spectacular.

Mid-Sound, as we crossed the main shipping channel a VERY large Ro-Ro (car carrier) appeared on our starboard bow, traveling northward at high speed. It is always impressive to see such a large vessel at speed. The Steilacoom’s skipper had to slow, and give way to the behemoth, even making a sharp turn as we crossed the wake in order to take it bow-on.

The large car carrier is the Swedish ship M/S Elektra, out of Stockholm sailing for Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines. The photos do not adequately show how truly immense this ship is (228 meters/750 feet long) A bit of googling revealed that she’s recently been elongated and can cary 7194 cars. I watched her cross our bow, and sail off into the sunset.

Here’s a brief digicam movie from the Steilacoom II’s stern. A 360° view around, starting from NE, counterclockwise around:

You can see the Elektra there near the sun. Sorry about the bad sound and shakey-cam at the start.

The drive up Whidbey to Deception Pass, then south through Skagit county was wonderful. The sun setting behind me the whole time, as twilight is beginning to last longer and longer here at the higher latitudes. I’m blessed to live in such a beautiful place.