Wednesday, May 27

We'd been warned that it takes about three days for seasickness to abate, and as long as we're counting days of ocean sailing, not just days on the boat, that seems to be about right. We're all feeling much better now. We managed to keep a sense of humor about it -- the barf jokes were flying like crazy. If you can laugh while you've got your head in a bucket, you know things haven't gotten too terrible. We're all very, very happy to be past that stage, though.

Anyway, we anchored at Neah Bay on Saturday night. Remember that fishing derby I mentioned happening there over the weekend? Know what that means? Lots and lots of dead fish. Those dead fish draw sea lions and walruses and birds, and they all stink like crazy. It was sort of equal parts cool and disgusting. It was a quiet place to spend the night, and we could have done worse than waking to the chorus of dozens of sea lions piled on top of each other and seeing eagles perched everywhere.

Since then, we've seen a few dolphins and billions of jellyfish. The jellyfish wash up onto the boat with the waves. The water drains off, but the jellyfish stick to the deck. They're only about the size of a silver dollar, and they have handy little wings that you can use to pick them up and throw them back where they belong. Yesterday, I saw a bird. He was big and ugly, but I said hello anyway, and I'm pretty sure we're friends now.

We left Sunday morning and headed out into the ocean. Where the waters of the strait met the waters of the ocean, it was a swirly whirly mess. The winds weren't behaving nicely, either, so we had to go way west of our intended route and then come back east, which felt like a frustrating waste of time. We're back on track now.

It's cold. We knew it would be cold for a few days, but we didn't know it would be this cold. We're all wearing all of the clothes we brought, and for a while, we couldn't all be on deck at the same time because we didn't have enough clothes for everyone. We don't have a thermometer on the boat, but I'd estimate it to be about -432º. I'm not sure why the ocean hasn't frozen over. I've decided that it's going to be sunny and warm in two more days. I'm basing that on pure, desperate, blind hope.

The menu for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday:
breakfast: rice
lunch: nothing
supper: rice

Today's menu:
breakfast: berry muffins
lunch: baked potatoes with salsa
supper: chicken tagine, spinach and mushrooms

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Kayte: ramen burritos? I'm intrigued.

Sara A.: Thanks for the tip about ginger pills. I don't know if they're helping, but I'm afraid to stop taking them.

Martha: Eggs are fabulous, and we love your illustrations.

Robbie: I've been daydreaming about a Bloody Mary. I'll be coming in to see you very soon after we're back in town.