Day 20 - We love Fayette
My morning routine has some consistencies. As soon as the sun wakes me, I get up and plug in the solar for the day. Then I usually go back to bed as the sun comes up around 4am. This morning the Coast Guard boat was still anchored nearby when I did my chore, but when I awoke at 7am they were gone.
Captain and I decided to just pull anchor and head the 7nm down to Fayette. It would be about an hour and Kona could potty there.
Pulling up the anchor on such a calm morning I could see a clean rode coming the entire time. We could see the anchor dug in really well in the clear waters and I had fun watching Captain pull her up with the engines and watching it pop out. The weather has finally turned really nice and I sat outside with my computer and typed my log underway. First time for that!
As we passed snake island again, we could not only see the swarms of seagulls but hear and smell the masses. It was really quite gross! We marveled at Bald Eagles perched high on the escarpment and watched them gracefully soar high above us.
Soon enough we were safely at the dock in Fayette. One power boat (the folks who beat us to the title of first dinghy to dinner at the Dock) was leaving and there was one sailboat at the marina when we arrived. Being only 8am in the morning we took our time getting the boat settled and walking Kona before we walked up the hill to check in. We knew from online reservations the entire marina was empty for the next few days, and we were not concerned. We acted like our kids and started plugging in everything we could think of. This is the first dock we have been to in almost 3 weeks. If I were to review our logs, I do believe this is the longest we have ever gone off the grid. The solar made it the whole time. However, it is always nice to top everything off when you have it! I took advantage of the dock water as well and hosed down the deck as the mayflies gave us a little swarm as we came in the harbor. Thankfully they are pretty much done and we aren’t seeing them in masses anymore! We cleaned up the inside and made some breakfast.
Fayette did a lot of construction last year making the historic buildings more secure and adding more exhibits. After we were all checked in, Captain and I walked to the old foundry to marvel at it and then over to see how they fixed up the old hotel. While Captain was inside checking out the exhibit on the two-story privy a nice park ranger came up and said he was giving a free tour. Seeing how it looked like we might be his only chance to give a tour, and wanting to learn something new, we joined in. He gave a nice little tour about the history and we learned a few more things. Young kid, we were one of his first tours ever. He did a great job!
This year I printed the QR code for this webpage and hung it on Ciara’s safety lines. That way when we aren’t there people can get her name, year, and make. All the info. If they look harder, they will find my blog, but mostly it is for the specs. It was a fun social experiment to see, from afar, everyone using it! As we returned back to Ciara with handfuls of people scattered around the park, I said quietly to myself “this is my favorite part.” Captain overheard me and without hesitation he said “mine too.” We both just smiled and squeezed each other’s hands. Amazed that we both have such identical thoughts. There are times, with a boat like Ciara, where you can feel the eyes of the public watch you. It is a strange feeling, but also a source of pride.
After the tour Captain really wanted to drive his scooters (mine is still broke) the nine road miles back to Garden to get some really nice steaks from the Shell Gas station. Even though he treated me to a very nice meal out two nights ago, this time he wanted to cook me a nice meal. He also wanted support the local grocery store. Kona and I spent our time playing ball in the water and Frisbee. We made new friends of course!
When Captain returned, we went for another walk along the old middle-class neighborhood. I had been feeling so blah yesterday and now I felt the opposite. Today was full of chores, hikes and all my favorite things. Perhaps I need to remember that as much as I crave to be lazy, it is never really what I want.
Captain then made us the most amazing filet mignon we have ever had. The cut was incredibly tender and we hardly needed our knives. I did the dishes and just as we were trying to figure out how to spend our evening, I just happened to stick my head up in the pilot house to see Susie and Dr. Mark walking down by the old company store! We hadn’t heard from anyone all day so we figured it had fallen though!
I quickly cut some WI cheese and opened a bottle of wine. We hosted them in the cockpit for a bit and gave them a tour down below. I played Taps a 9 with them aboard before they bid us a good night with hopes of seeing them and more tomorrow.
Kona got her last walk/run. She is for sure a lot happier here. I absolutely love Fayette. The scenery here is by far my favorite. The protection is the best. Having an entire ghost town to yourself at night is truly an experience! We brought in any loose stuff from outside as it is going to blow hard tonight, closed the hatches and called it a night.
