Back home to a new car

I arrived home to find that Phil was in the midst of completing purchase of a new (used) car. Here he is, proud owner of his new toy. He found it on Craigslist, had it checked out by a local carshop he has used, and they said it was a good car. It's a 2003 Honda CRX, with 76,000 miles on it, light brown, with brown and tan interior. An automatic, so we have something to drive if someone has a foot or leg incapacitated. This will replace our Subaru, so it will be our road car. Now his next task is to clean up the Subaru so he can sell it.

Last night in Rome

My last night in Rome I stayed at the apartment of JR Rivera, Joahnna's brother, who is teaching at an international school there. He was the reason for the trip, so it's fitting that he was the last one to host me. We walked into the center of Rome to have a very nice dinner at one his favorite restaurants, You can see JR seated at one of the outside tables tucked along the alleyway nest to the restaurant. A lovely evening and a lovely way to end a very nice trip.

Thank you JR and Joahnna (and my traveling companions Doug Yost and Joey and Millet Rivera)!

Morning walk in Florence

We had an overcast this morning for my walk, but there were still some lovely reflections on the Arno river. My last morning here.

Closeup of Michelangelo tomb

Here is a closeup photo of Michelangelo's bust and the painting above it, on his tomb.

the tomb of Michelangelo

Here is the tomb of Michelangelo, inside the Basilica of Santa Croce. I admired all of the tombs of the famous people, but especially liked the way the painting on Michelangelo's tomb lit it up.

I have one last morning to wander around in Florence, then am back to Rome for the night before catching my plane on Wednesday. I will be staying overnight at JR's apartment (that's Joahnna's brother) so have a chance for one last good Italian meal before I go.

St Croce Basilica--burial place of the famous

Today I walked around inside the St. Croce cathedral, pictured here. This was the place the city fathers chose to bury Florence's most famous citizens, including Galileo, Michelangelo, Dante, Machiavelli and the composer Rossini.

The old city wall

Just around the corner from us is also a section of the old city wall. It is just up the street from the coffee shop.

A day in Sienna

Today we took the bus from Florence to the smaller town of Sienna, out in the countryside of Tuscany. Here we got to see the hilly landscape for which Tuscany is famous. AND we got to the push Luc's stroller up and down the steep hills of Sienna.

We especially enjoyed the large central piazza, which in Sienna is an unusual shape, a bit like a large wedge that is broad across the bottom side. It is on a slopped hill, with the slope all filled in with brick, so people like to sit on it and it is loaded with coffee shops on the high side. At the bottom of the slope sits the beautiful civic hall, which is pictured here, with its tower.

Tomorrow we have decided to cool our heels in Florence. No museums--just kicking around the town and enjoying it.

View of the Duomo dome

Here is a closeup of the beautiful top of the Duomo dome, showing the people who have climbed up that structure. We decided tackling one of those sets of steps was quite enough.

416 steps

Today I climbed the bell tower (campanile, in Italian) next to the Duomo (the main cathedral) in Florence. That means climbing 416 narrow, winding steps. fortunately there are two platform levels on the way up so you can rest w bit before carrying on. Your reward is a wonderful view over all of Florence and also a great view of the people who chose to climb up to the dome of the cathedral instead of the campanile. Here's a view of the dome and a bit of Florence in the background.

Magnificent Doors

One of the sights we all enjoy as we walk around the Italian cities we have visited is the large, wonderfully detailed doors in the old buildings. Many of them are nearly two stories tall, decorated with old brass studs and large, sturdy locks, like this one on the Bargello Museum in Florence. This is one of our favorite doors so far.

Moving Luc about

Here is part of our daily routine getting Luc up and down the stairs we encounter every day. One person on each side of the stroller and up (or down) we go.

The Pitti Palace

Today it rained--a perfect day to spend inside the several museums at the Pitti Palace. This is the quite large palace built by a wealthy landowner Luccz Pitti, and then purchased by the Medici family when they decided they needed more room. Later in the day it stopped raining long enough for us to go through part of the Boboli Gardens that are part of the palace. Today's picture is looking down on the palace from the garden with the city of Florence in the background.

We went through the private apartment rooms of the palace, which are magnificent rooms and also contain an extensive collection of paintings. We also enjoyed the costume collection, which showed the connections between clothing of different eras over the last 120 years, for instance
comparing versions of empire style dresses from the late 1800's, early 1900's, 1950's and late 1900's or the same spread of dresses that feature very lightweight materials.

We have arrived in Florence

As you can see from today's picture of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, we have arrived in the city of the Medicis. We had an interesting train trip from Rome to Florence, mostly because we are moving a small mountain of baggage along with the five adults and one baby who are traveling together. but we made it, and I even had time this afternoon to visit the Uffizi museum. I am really enjoying the Florentine skyline, with towers and church spires around every corner. I had forgotten what a visual treat this city is. I look forward to the next week here.

Guess where I was today

The Sistine Chapel is a "must do" experience, even if you have done it before. so today I wandered with my companion, Doug Yost (Joahnnas friend) through the many halls and rooms, statues and paintings that you go through before coming to the Sistine Chapel, with the wonderfully restored Michelangelo paintings. I'm sorry my camera didn't do a better job of capturing some of the paintings I was admiring, but at least it managed to pick up this famous centerpiece of the chapel.

In the afternoon we went to a special exhibit featuring Filippo Lippi, son of the more famous Fra Lippi, and contemporary of Botticelli, who is much better known. It was an interesting comparison of the work of the two men. Afterwards we visited the Spanish steps, inhabited by several hundred people sitting on them. There are LOTS of other tourists here--can you imagine that we don't have Rome all to ourselves?

That's pretty much the last of Rome for me. Tomorrow we go to Florence to spend a week there. Then I return to Rome for one night before flying home.

Birthday dinner pasta course

Here is a picture of the pasta course of my birthday dinner. A very beautiful presentation.

An Italian Birthday to Remember

We asked at the hotel desk for a nice restaurant to go to for my birthday. They sent us to one named "L'eccellenza" and it lived up to it's name. The restaurant specializes in seafood, and we signed on for the full experience evening where the staff selects the dishes that will come. Settle down for a 2 1/2 hour dinner!

First up was a glass of celebratory Prosecco. They also brought in a bouquet of flowers for me (the hotel concierge told them it was my birthday). Then we began to make our way through our four course meal. The appetizer course included large shavings of pecorino cheese, fresh cooked whole anchovies in a light sauce (I ate them, Phil--no oily, fishy taste at all), salmon in a light lemon sauce and absolutely delicious mussels. Round one!

Next came the pasta course, fettucine with shrimp. That was enough for a complete meal for me at that point. I ate all my shrimp and left most of the pasta.

Course three was filleted turbot that was very delicious served with roasted artichokes. That was followed by a fruit tart that served as my birthday cake, brought out with a candle. And alongside came an large bowl of fresh fruit.

The final step was limoncello, a lemon flavored apertif (Shana will be envious--she loves it).
It was a lovely evening, with wonderful service. It is amazing how thoughtful touches like a bouquet of flowers from people who don't even know you can make you feel (and of course I had family and friends along too). As we left they also brought a rose for Joahnna.

Thank you Guy and Joahnna (and Luc) for a very special evening.

Luc, the touring star

Here you have a scene that happens several times every day. Strangers stop to admire Luc, leaning over to smile at him, chuck him under the chin, pinch his cheeks or grasp his chubby legs or arms. He rewards them with a big smile. They'll stay for several minutes, asking how old he is and whether he's a boy or girl. Then reluctantly they go on their way. He is truly the star of this trip.

return to Rome

I think the last time I was in Rome was the summer after my junior year in college, which I had spent in Stuttgart Germany. I hitchhiked with a girlfriend around Italy, and Rome was part of our journey. That has been a couple of years and my memories of Rome have faded to just a few places: the coliseum, the Sistine Chapel, the Spanish steps and the Trevi Fountain (better remembered as the backdrop for "Three Coins in the Fountain"). So here I am at the Trevi Fountain again. sorry I am not able to edit my photos on my iPad to lighten up the shadows on my face but at least you have a nice view of the fountain. It was tough getting a picture at all because there are so many people jockeying to do the same thing. As you aim your camera you are constantly getting someone's arm, backpack or camera in your picture.

We have had a lovely day walking slowly around Rome. It always amazes me how many buildings are tucked in cheek to jowl in large, old European cities. and in Rome sometimes one century is built on top of the other, very evident in the ruins we saw.

Tonight we will go out to a restaurant recommended by the concierge at our hotel as one that locals go to, not tourists, to celebrate my 71st birthday. What a nice place to celebrate it!

Luc gets to be flexible too

Luc got his turn to be flexible too, as he needed to be changed while we were walking through the grounds next to the Zisa Palace in Palermo. It was raining there today so the challenge was to find a flat surface that was dry. This little alcove did it!

Be flexible and go with the flow!

Today's plan was to rent a car and drive ourselves to the mountain town of Erice and then the ruins at Segesta, then dropping the car off at the airport in time to catch our afternoon 3:20 flight to Rome.

Guy and I walked down to the car rental agency recommended by our B&B host, and after waiting while the agent interrupted his processing of our request to take care of another customer and then to resolve a dispute another customer was having with another agent, he finally took us to look at the car. Way too small to hold the significant amount of luggage that is traveling with Guy and Joahnna, plus all of us. We had managed to get it all in a taxi from the airport, but that was the largest car they had available. By that time, it was too late to try again at another agency, since our travel time was tight to begin with.

Soooo, change of plans. Instead we got to see the Palatine Chapel in the Royal palace in Palermo. And this is what today's picture shows. It is an overwhelming place, so filled with mosaics and gold that, as Joahnna said, you feel like you are drowning in syrup. It is very beautiful and difficult for any picture to do it justice. We were all glad that we got to see it.

The next challenge to our flexibility came when Joahnna checked on our Rome hotel reservations and discovered that they weren't expecting us until tomorrow night. They could only come up with one room, when we were expecting three: one for Guy and Joahnna, one for me and one for her friend Doug. They also said they couldn't put extra beds in the room, and we couldnt find a reasonably priced hotel nearby, so Joahnna and Doug volunteered to sleep on the floor, so we could all stay in one room. Hmmmm. I wasn't even sure the hotel would let all four of us stay in the room, even if we wanted to.

The final blow was that we were unable to find a taxi at the airport that could hold all of us and our luggage. Actually, there was a queue of taxis and there was one sitting second in the queue that probably could have accommodated us. But the drivers insisted that we try to fit into the first in line--and the larger taxi left. Then when it was obvious that we would not all fit, we ended up having to take two taxis. I was more than a bit miffed at their unwillingness to help us and having to pay for an extra taxi.

Then guess what? The hotel came through with two extra beds in the room, so we are living dormitory style for the night, but no one is on the floor. So all has ended well. Who knows, we may all be lonely tomorrow night in our separate rooms!

Such are the adventures of traveling! It helps to stay loose if you can.

Exploring Cefalu

Today's adventure was figuring out how to get to the seaside town of Cefalu by train. Cefalu is to the east of Palermo, on the northern coast of Sicily, about a third of the way from the western tip. It's always an adventure in a new country to figure out how each system works--in this case, how to buy the ticket, how to figure out the boards that tell you what track the train will be on, and how to make sure you are on the right train. fortunately for us, our train initiated in Palermo and left on time, so that was pretty easy.

It's a little under an hour to ride to Cefalu, which has a dramatic setting due to the high rock that is right behind the town, and which was the site of the original buildings that were built there in the 5th century. Cefalu is popular with tourists and it's major attraction is the Duomo (cathedral), which is today's picture. You can see a little bit of the rock to the right of the church. Built in the early 1100's, like the cathedral in Monrerale that we visited yesterday, it is a mix of Norman architecture and Byzantine style interior. It has fewer mosaics than Monreale, but they are quite similar in style.

we enjoyed wandering through the narrow streets of this hilly town. Our major challenge was the afternoon thundershowers that arrived just as had been predicted. October is the month when Sicily gets most of its rain, and it got some today. We are also supposed to get some tomorrow.

Our return train was very delayed and we ended up getting on an express train that had sleeping compartments, after a group of Italians argued for some time with the conductor that they could certainly afford to fill their many empty compartments with people anxious to get to Palermo. Express trains cost more than the "ordinary" train we had paid for, so the initial response was "no" but after about 10 minutes, they relented and let us all on. Good for those insistent Italians!

Now we are hoping to time our trip out to dinner in between showers so that we don't get too wet. I ended up sacrificing my raincoat to cover Lucs stroller so he wouldn't get wet. fortunately it is warm, so it really doesnt hurt for you to get a little wet.

Tomorrow we are renting a car to do a little drive out into the country before getting on our plane in the afternoon to return to Rome. We have had a very nice time here. Guy and Joahnna say it's been really nice to have fewer tourists than in either Rome or Venice.

Visit to Monreale cathedral

Today's picture is of the cloister next to the stunning cathedral at Monreale, a small mountain city near Palermo. We took the bus and were proud that we found our way both there and back. The cathedral itself is pretty plain on the outside, but inside it's walls are filled with beautiful mosaics depicting all of the major stories of the bible. My favorite was a series of four pictures depicting Noahs ark and the flood. Unfortunately I couldn't get a picture of it because the sun was in e wrong place.

The cloister had these lovely columns each decorated with tiles in different patterns. All in all, a very nice day.

Touring in Palermo

We have all arrived. That means I connected with Guy, Joahnna and Luc, plus Joahnna's friend Doug, in Rome. We all caught the flight to Palermo, Sicily yesterday and found our way to our very nice B&B, which is in the middle of the city. After a nice evening dinner, we all fell into bed.

I slept very well, with the help of a half of a sleeping pill. Took an early morning walk around Palermo to get my bearings. Then we spent several hours waiting for the baby and family to be ready to go. Finally got our tour group under way about noon. I'm making corrections to my expectations as we go, finding you just can't tackle very much with a little baby in tow who expects to be nursed every two hours.

The height of our day (other than the afternoon gelato) was going through the Regional Gallery of Sicily, housed in the Palazzo Abatellis). It contains mostly early Renaissance paintings from the 1500 and 1600's, including a number of works from churches that are very imaginatively displayed. You end up enjoying the building, the displays and the paintings. Today's picture is of two mothers, each with their baby, from that gallery.

We ended the day at a very nice restaurant--one of the several recommended by Mary
Taylor Simeti, author of "Persephones Island."

We are off tomorrow to see the cathedral and mosaics at Monreale, if we can get the baby crew up and away in time.

Luc visits Seattle - Sept. 2011

Last weekend Luc (and his parents) came to Seattle to visit, so Grandpa Phil could see his grandson for the first time, and great grandpa Alton could do the same. And of course, I got to catch up on some grandma time. Guy caught a picture of me playing with Luc, we took a picture of Luc in a new striped outfit given to him by our friends Valerie and Charles Reynolds, and we got a nice picture of Luc with my dad.

Joahnna has fun with Luc

Joahnna is the professional photographer, so she took some shots to share with me. In one, Luc wears the Seattle Pike's Street market shirt I sent him. In another, she caught Guy holding him at a kite festival in Berkeley--I love the colors in this one. And in another, she got "arty" and posed Luc on a stool. Fun colors!

Becoming a Grandma

I was reminded this morning that I hadn't posted any pictures of my new (and FIRST) grandchild on my blog. So here goes.

Lucian Townsend Hutchison was born in Santa Clara on July 8, 2011, weighing in at a healthy 8 and 3/4 lbs. I was able to go down and spend the "first week at home" with Joahnna, Guy and Luc, keeping the food coming while they dealt with trying to get nursing going, changing lots of diapers, very little sleep, and learning to read Luc's signals.

Here are a couple of pictures from that week. Just one week old, Luc likes to be wrapped tightly in his blanket. Guy holds him in one of the rare moments when he isn't wetting his diapers and clothing or wanting to nurse.

Tamarisk comes out of the water for the winter

I just retrieved my camera from the boat, so here is the season ending picture of Tamarisk being hauled from the water to be tucked away in dry storage for the winter. Now we move on tour our winter sports--traveling, eating, visiting friends (by car).

A fine scallop dinner

Here's our entree from the Doe Bay Cafe. Phil and I both had a gazpacho soup for an appetizer, made from fresh heirloom tomatoes. We shared this scallop entree, and enjoyed a very rich bittersweet chocolate mousse for dessert. We DID eat our hearts out!

Today we are back in Anacortes, cleaning up the boat and getting ready for our haul out this afternoon. Thanks to Starbucks for providing the morning internet (and breakfast).

Dinner at Doe Bay

Wednesday evening we enjoyed a very good dinner at the Doe Bay Cafe. The Cafe is part of a small resort that has a counter culture history. Years ago we came to Doe Bay when they were known for a "clothing optional" hot tub. The two guys on board participated, while the two women chose not to. e didn't check this time to see if that hot tub is still there. The restaurant serves vegetarian and seafood options, and the cooking is excellent.

In this picture you see the view from the outside deck of the cafe, and if you look closely, you will see Tamarisk anchored in the bay. There was no wind and the anchorage was quiet except for a few swells in the morning from passing traffic out in the Strait. We would visit again if the weather permitted.

Yummy cinnamon rolls

Last post for today. These are the delicious cinnamon rolls we get at Holly B's. They come warm from the oven, and the bakery provides a large crock of butter to slather on top. Hard to get much more degenerate! With tonight's dinner to look forward to, it will be quite a degenerative day!

Lopez Island Holly B's Breakfast

Here we are at one of our favorite stops in the islands--Holly B's Bakery on Lopez. We walked into the village this morning and enjoyed our freshly baked cinnamon rolls while sitting in the sun.

Today we move to a place we haven't anchored before--Doe Bay on the south east side of Orcas Island. They are reputed to have a very nice restaurant. The anchorage is a bit exposed but weather is supposed to be calm so we should be fine.

Back to the U.S.A.

Yesterday we crossed the border back into the United States, doing it by phone thanks to our Nexus cards. What a convenience not to have to go into a customs dock!

We stayed last night at the Lopez Islander Resort dock, where we managed to grab the reciprocal slip for the Lopez Island Yacht club, so moorage is free. We spent a very nice evening with friends Fritz Levy and Nancy Taylor at their cabin. Thats the same cabin we used for a week last year when our engine broke and we couldn't leave when we planned. This year fortunately there have been no emergencies. I'm crossing my fingers that it stays that way for two more days.

Dwarfed!

We spent last night in Ganges Harbor, tied to Bob and Judy Morrows new (to them) 58 foot power boat. Tamarisk never looked so small! We had a lovely steak dinner on board their boat, the West Bay. Bob is the one who grows his own Chianina beef cattle, and from whom Guy and I bought a half cow three years ago. Thats a lot of beef. We a still working our way through ours.

They are off to Desolation Sound this morning, while Phil and I will stay another night in
Ganges. Then we plan to move to the opposite side of Saltspring Island, to a small bay on
Vancouver Island called Genoa Bay. It has a very nice restaurant and we have reservations there for Sunday dinner. On Monday we will visit Cowichan Bay and explore that down (on
Vancouver Island) and Tuesday we head back to the US, to Fisherman Bay where we hope to rendezvous with our friends Nancy Taylor and Fritz Levy.

We have moved up our return to Seattle by a couple days. We will be hauled out on Friday the 9th and back in Seattle on Saturday the 10th. When you turn the Tamarisk to the south and start her home, she's like a horse heading back to the barn!

A couple of stormy days at Parker

We stayed two nights at the dock of our friends, the Berrys, on Parker Island. this is a picture of the flags they put up when they are in residence, on a spit of land below their cabin. We helped them move some of their dinghies up off the boat ramp, as they're getting ready to return to Seattle.

We spent the first night having dinner with the Berrys. The second night we went over the nearby Wise Islands to join our friends Anne Kilkenny and John Naveaux for dinner, along with five of their Wise Island neighbors. People who choose small islands for their cabins are a pretty interesting lot. We had a very nice evening.

The wind blew about 10-15 knots out of the south the day we arrived. The next day it switched to the north, but died down in the evening as we returned from Wise Island. Then in the middle of the night it kicked up to blow about 20-25 knots, making for a quite noisy and uncomfortable night at the dock. Ah well, we can always sleep another night!

Schooner Cove

After a nice evening in Comox, with a great dinner at Martine's Bistro, where we have been before, we motored 41 miles today to Schooner Cove, a nice little marina about 10 miles north of Nanaimo. This is a picture of Schooner Cove, looking across to the mainland of British
Columbia.

Sturt Bay on Sunday

Last night we overnighted at Mink Island, a privately owned island, though we didn't know that. A friend had suggested we could anchor there and we thought it was a Seattle Yacht Club outstation. Turns out that Phil knows a friend of one of the owners of the island, who was anchored another far from us in his lovely Oyster 53 sailboat. We rowed over to say hello and learned about the island.

This morning we had planned to anchor in the Copeland Islands, but the secure anchorages were occupied so we continued on to Sturt Bay at the north end of Texada Island. This picture shows us at the Texada Island Boating Club dock, with the opening of the bay looking over towards the mainland.

Tomorrow we cross the Strait of Georgia to stay in Comox.

Black Lake at Roscoe Bay

One of the attractions of Roscoe Bay is the lake that connects to the bay through a small stream. it is a short walk from the end of the bay to the freshwater lake, where one can swim or perhaps bathe, as I am doing here. It was a hot day and the cool water was very refreshing.

Tucked away in Roscoe Bay

Here we are in Roscoe Bay, along with a few other boats. Tamarisk is the boat all the way to the left in this picture (note a piece of my oar in the foreground which I didn't notice as I took the picture from my dinghy). Roscoe Bay is a small bay with a narrow entrance that dries at zero tide. One must pick carefully the time you go in and out. fortunately we had tides that allowed us to get in with about 5 feet of water to spare in mid afternoon last Thursday and Friday, so we decided to stay for two nights, leaving Saturday. Beautiful mountains on the
Vancouver mainland can be seen through the opening gap.

Pacific Yellowfin price correction

I just got onto the Pacific Yellowfin website (www.pacificyellowfincharters.com) if you are curious. the actual price for one week is $65,000 for from 1-8 people. check your bank account for some spare change and make haste!

Taku Resort and Marina

Here you see the docks at the Taku Resort and Marina, in Heriot Bay. Tamarisk is on the right side of the docks. In the background you can also see the Pacific Yellowfin, a 114' boat that takes charters out in the summer. She was anchored in Shoal Bay while we were there, and today we managed to get a tour of her. She is a WWII army utility boat built in 1943 that was sold for surplus and refitted first as a live aboard and then more recently as a charter boat. We had heard that the engine room was impressive, and it certainly was. Two very large Atlas Imperial direct reversing engines (this note from Phil). We spent about an hour getting a great tour from the retired tugboat engineer who keeps the boat going for it's owners. And that is a significant chore, I can tell you! If you have $10,000 to $20,000 lying around doing nothing, you can go aboard for a week. Any takers?

Dinner at Heriot Bay Inn

Phil and I enjoyed a delicious dinner on the deck of the Heriot Bay Inn, an old inn that has recently been restored. Our dinner of scallops served over saffron rice with a Pernod sauce was superb. Yum! The inn is just a 10 minute walk from the marina where we tied for the night. fortunately the inn is also sheltered from the 20-25 knot wind we had yesterday, into the early evening, so eating on the deck was quite comfortable.

A misty evening in Chameleon Harbour

The last two nights we spent at anchor in Chameleon Harbour. Last evening there was a lovely mist just off the water, making a nice picture of Tamarisk.

We are now making our back south and wanted to position ourselves to go through the narrows in the middle of the day. We had originally planned to go to Campbell River but with a forecast for 20-25 knot winds blowing up the route we planned to take, we took a different route and managed to stay out of the wind until the very end of our journey.

We are now tied up at the Taku resort in Heriot Bay. There is a good restaurant nearby, plus a good grocery store with licquor, so we have been able to resupply ourselves for the next week. if the wind permits us to get off the dock here tomorrow, we will start puttering around some different anchorages in Desolation Sound.

Mark and his pizza oven

Mark MacDonald is the guy who owns the Shoal Bay lodge. he built this outdoor wood fired pizza oven, and this is what we use to make those delicious pizzas. His new wife, Cynthia, provided the decorations.

pizza party at Shoal Bay

I am catching up on pictures, having been away from the net for a couple days. Three days ago we were at Shoal Bay where they did their potluck pizza party on Saturday night. They provide the dough and some tomato sauce and boaters bring whatever they find that might go on a pizza. we have some unusual ones, with fresh shrimp and fresh salmon on them. The atmosphere is great and the pizzas are good!

Alert Bay

Alert Bay is a community centered on First Nations people (the Canadian term for Native Americans). It is also center for a fishing community Here we are at the marina dock in Alert Bay, nestled among the fishing fleet. if you look carefully you will see Tamarisk tied to a fishing boat (that incidentally didn't look like it had moved in quite a while).

Alert Bay was a nice stop, where we visited the local Cultural center which has a lot of Indian masks and artifacts. somewhat astonishingly, the museum had done a trade with a museum from Dresden, Germany, so in the midst of all the Indian gear were some stunning pieces of Dresden china, along with helmets and swords. A bit disconcerting but apparently the Dresden museum wanted to have some of the Indian artifacts, so they decided on a trade for the summer.

We have now moved to Shoal Bay, doing another successful transit on Johnstone Strait, with a stopover in Port Neville. we are headed south again.