Farewell to Friends, Again...

 
On the Seabus ferry between Shearwater and Bella Bella.  The marina where our boat is docked is in Shearwater.   The airport from whence Bill & Nicki are departing is in Bella Bella.  Only 3 miles separate these two places.

Silliness abounds as Bill takes a selfie of us all while I am doing the same.

Still on the Seabus.

And our Seabus Driver, expertly navigating us from dock to dock.
The Seabus at the dock in Bella Bella.  There isn't really a protected marina here and the docks are quite open to the channel.   Hence most of the boats are over in Shearwater where there is quite a nice well-protected marina.

You tell it was a slow news day as the Seabus was our sole excitement for the day.

Wandering Bella Bella.   We went with Bill & Nicki this far, but we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.   They went to the airport; we went to the market.
Diesel and gasoline storage tanks at the Bella Bella dock.

And a garden greenhouse with vegetables for the locals and fresh eggs too.
The market.   We were in search of perishables.   We need to get a 10-day supply so we have enough between now and Port McNeill.

The Alaska State Ferry that runs regularly between Seattle and various Alaskan towns.

While we wait for the Seabus to take us back to Shearwater, we watched the fishing boats come and go.
Back aboard Blue Redd, groceries stored, it is now time for cleaning.

Hmmm, those aren't mine...   In their haste to leave, Bill forgot his book and glasses.   Fortunately, we have a similar prescription for our readers, and this looks like a good book!   I'll deliver it to him when we see them again in Seattle on 9/26.

On another note, I'm happy to report that the FB beverage fridge is working correctly.   Bill noticed it wasn't plugged in...   Doh!

Well, it is now freezing everything.   Guess how we found out???   Did you know that Diet Coke cans explode when frozen?
I washed the bow cushions and bench trying to get the salt and mildew out of them.   Then we washed the decks, cleaned the interior, took out yet more garbage, and did a million loads of laundry.

We also put the boat back together for just the two of us.  No more planned gusts for the remainder of our voyage.  But you never know...

We have a full-size washer and dryer aboard and they work really well.  The issue is that they consume water and require 220V power.   So, we prefer to do laundry when at the dock where water and power are plentiful. 
Dinner.   Caesar salad, and more of last night's meal, which I really liked.

No booze tonight and probably not for the next many nights - but that is not a promise!

With Nicki's stunningly awesome baked goods, I've added 5.5lbs which I now need to remove as I didn't bring the stretchy pants.  It only took 8 days to gain it; I'm hoping for only that long to lose it!
Another gorgeous sunset from Shearwater BC.

Here is a map of the routes we took and the places we visited with Bill & Nicki, Prince Rupert BC through Bella Bella BC as we migrate south for the winter.

Tomorrow, we depart about 1130 (11:30am) to catch the favorable tide and ride it 10 miles down Hunter Channel to our next stop at Hart Island.

We've not done this route on the outside of Campbell & Hunter Islands before, so we are looking forward to the adventure. The guidebooks state that this area is very rocky and poorly charted. Great.  Well, that should make for a grand adventure!

Safe and Adventurous Travels!   Good Night, My Friends.


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