June 18 Saturday Port Townsend to Shilshole Bay Marina, Seattle
We need to set aside seven hours in order to arrive at our home port at 1700 hours. We’re up early and I cook a bacon and egg breakfast for Howard and Connor. And with the aid of two family deck hands (a luxury I’ve not had in a long time) we get underway.
It’s a dynamic homecoming welcome. I’m still unaccustomed to sighting land or both sides of my position. In the five hours of motoring south down Puget Sound we encountered brilliant sun, overcast and low visibility, rain showers with a bit of lightning, no wind and light winds, and ferry and ship traffic. It is Seattle’s way of welcoming me (or warning me) home.
We pull into our assigned Shillshole slip exactly at 1700 hours. There is no brass band, no press, and no red carpet… just a perfect docking (which always is its own reward). Diana meets us at the dock with a smile, a balloon, and a bottle of champagne. We are “home”.
The “grand adventure” is a grand success, and it calls for a champagne toast. And I decompress and celebrate simultaneously. I’ll have time to reflect on what it all means in subsequent weeks, but for now I’ll leave you with exactly how I feel:
The moment is its own pure reward; expect nothing more
GrandAdventuresAboardRaven'sDance 
Howard:
As we say in shul (the synagogue): Mazel Tov !
Translated, Mazel Tov means . . . “A good day is its own reward”! Imagine that: Jews the world over use this expression to congratulate themselves and others, so it’s most appropriate here for you and RD.
Welcome Home !
*Bernie* *Captain Bernie Weiss* *Atlantic Yacht Delivery LLC* 51 Regent Court
Stamford, CT 06907
CaptainBernieWeiss@Gmail.com
203.969.5936
On Sun, Jun 19, 2016 at 7:01 PM, GrandAdventuresAboardRavensDance wrote:
> Captain Howard posted: “June 18 Saturday Port Townsend to Shilshole Bay > Marina, Seattle We need to set aside seven hours in order to arrive at our > home port at 1700 hours. We’re up early and I cook a bacon and egg > breakfast for Howard and Connor. And with the aid of two fam” >
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howard, i feel a great relief right now. YOU are home safe. And I am celebrating so big for you and the gifts of life. I would so love to do the same adventure some day. YOU had the courage and wisdom to take on these gifts and let em soar into your life. I’m proud of you, and so happy for you! And just between you and me, it’s going to be fun to see what you do next. You have an amazing history of creating new life and new chapters for yourself. Here’s to your next one. Steve
P.S. I can’t wait for you to visit colorado. Please keep your hiking legs in shape.
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Welcome home Howie. You did good. Carlee
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Well done you guys.
I have no fond memories of that slog north from times past…
You’ve now created some…
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