Summer can’t arrive quickly enough

The sad news this morning was all about the container ship Dali and the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which got us thinking about container ships we’ve passed and the times we went under that same bridge, which got us thinking about getting back aboard Tumbleweed.  Actually that’s only partially true; we’ve been thinking about getting back aboard Tumbleweed ever since we left her on UHL Frontier what seems like years ago but really was just December 12.  We did start thinking about a quick update, however, so that’s this.

First off, in what only can be described as a Christmas Miracle, UHL Frontier did manage to get a Panama Canal slot.  We know this because the Panama Canal Authority has some borderline worthless low-res webcams in the locks.  The best of the bunch was the one at the Miraflores Locks.

Our plan had been to meet the ship in Victoria.  However, our plan was foiled because (1) British Columbia is cold and miserable in January and (2) we greatly dislike being cold and miserable.  So instead, we stayed in sunny Scottsdale while Captain Paul—who inexplicably has chosen to live in Vancouver during the winter and thus by definition doesn’t mind being cold and miserable—took care of the unloading.  He didn’t even mind the dead bow thruster battery, and made it to Blaine Harbor in Washington just fine.

Tumbleweed currently sits in Blaine, where our new best friend Dave is upgrading her by, among other things, adding a diesel heater.  Because we don’t like being cold and miserable.  We’re heading up in a couple of weeks to move her over to her new home at Pleasant Harbor.  Yup, we’re now yacht club members, although we don’t intend to spend much time there.

One last thing.  Anyone following us from the early days will recall we started out with two cute little black dogs.  We lost Benny shortly before he completed his Loop.

Oscar made it around the Loop, around the Down East Circle, and all the way up to Montreal, but that’s where we said goodbye to him.

Perhaps not surprisingly, it turns out there are more cute little black rescue dogs who need homes.  So here’s Sammy, the latest addition to the family.  The odds are pretty good he’ll show up in the blog from time to time.  We hope he likes boats.