Shilshole to Fishermen's Terminal

My first thought waking up in the Shilshole Marina was "I overslept! It's 6:30 and we're not underway? what's wrong?"  

Since then we have fired up the boat 4-5 times. We fixed some things. We failed fix others, like the L speaker on the upper deck. 

We went to Fisherman's Terminal -- a cruise of about 2.5 miles that took about 2.5 hours! We went through the Ballard Locks with dozens of other boats, including this monster. 

But we made it through with only a few dock bumper scrapes and cuts, thanks to Captain Jim's expert piloting.  

We took an empty slip at the Terminal pier and prepared for a party to celebrate our safe arrival. 

A dozen friends and relatives showed up. The weather was perfect; the food was gourmet; the beer was cold and the lake was packed with boats!

We finally returned to the dock and dove into a rare delicacy -- abalone steaks and abalone chowder. 

Here I am cutting up the abalone:

In the meantime the Captain rested his thrown-out back. 

Imagine the stress of going through this madhouse. We needed a break; a diversion. 

We got one when the Captain leapt into the lake. 

I had to go in too. Funny, no one else joined us!

Dinner was eventually served along with three bottles of champagne.

The abalone was terrific - both the sautéed and chowder versions. Everything (a kilo of it!) was consumed. 

Some of my family, gathered on the deck for a photo. 

Jim went home to his house, and we moved up top and spent the night on the deck under a sleeping bag. I didn't notice  stars, cars, bugs or noise of any kind. I just slept until the sun came up and scorched us in our black cover. 

Stick around, there's a bit more to say ...