Temps are breaking records in some areas and we’ve had a few nice sunny days as Spring officially approaches.

Views from the north end of the harbor:

The weather was pleasant enough for us to take a couple of paddles, and our bike ride to and from Eastsound yesterday was lovely.

As usual, we lunched at the Madrona Cafe. They were out of mussels but the delicious Bloody Mary’s made up for that.

View down the sound:

On the way back we stopped at Orcas Island Winery for a quick tasting on their sun-soaked patio. For future reference, we like their Semillon and Malbec.

On another note, yesterday a boater (Nordic Tug) berated another (Ocean Alexander) for running engines while at the dock. Nordic dude said it bothered him a lot and he was ill. OA people are on a week-long training program for their new boat and have undergone extensive maneuvers over the past couple of days. Not sure how I feel about this situation. Training is necessary but I understand Nordic dude’s sensitivity to fuel exhaust. It happened to us once when a boat docked in front of us had to charge their battery. Very unpleasant.

On yet another note, on our cruise from Sidney to Deer Harbor, Nick noticed a WSF (Tillikum) where there should be none. This ferry was circling Spieden Island. Our super friendly and helpful customs agent, calling from Friday Harbor, suggested this was routine training.

We are off to figure out how to pay…more about that later…and then to Lopez!