Enter Jura - Shetland Sheepdog #6!

October 3rd we took four ferries, drove about 150 miles round trip and wound up coming home with a new addition to the family: Jura, an 11 month old Shetland Sheepdog.  

Jura is a Scottish isle and the name of a very good Scottish whiskey....with a like coloring!

He weighs in at 17.5 pounds and is very small compared to all the Shelties we have had in our life.  He may be small, but he’s packed with extra energy....always on the go, loves to RUN, chase, soaring over things in his path, yet, when he gets where he’s going....not so sure about being there.  Light weight, easy to pick up, cute (especially when sleeping)...but as it turns out, a pup that has been shown for most of his short life...and part of a kennel...we are fairly sure was shorted on the life experience end of things.  So.  Yes, it seems a BIG project.  

We are doing our best to help him with remedial ...everything...with the help of Suzanne at Lucky Fido Dog Training in Friday Harbor.  Little did we know how helpful this would be once we were on the road for the winter in our RV.  Yikes!

On the list of “firsts” for Jura:  

....running free on 6 acres and lots of communing with the grass....

....picnic dinners at South Beach....and campfires at home.....

.....many hikes around San Juan Island....here’s the mausoleum at Roche Harbor....

......and the trails out at Jakles Lagoon....even in the rain...

....and then, the long trip by RV....with a stop in Southern California to rest up before...life in Baja, Mexico for a few months...on a beach...with many chasing temptations ...waves, birds, people walking, running, riding by, vendors selling stuff, ....so much happening...that needs monitoring....

He’s made a lot of progress (as of December) in that he can sit, go down, touch and wait. (Well...wait a little bit). He is learning to really retrieve a tennis ball (if he can keep it away from Sparky).  It’s a good thing we have a lot of time to devote to this boy, and, no, we didn’t plan it that way.  Why not, you say?  In matters of the heart...you don’t always plan realistically!  

December 2018 - Carlsbad, CA

Tunes in the Dunes 2018🎶!

Touchdown Friday Harbor is on a Sunday afternoon....and Take Off for Tunes in the Dunes on the Oregon Coast is Wednesday!  How can this happen?  And yet....it does!

We drive to Olympia and spend the night with Debi and Scott Cossu.  After a wonderful dinner and a good sleep, we are off Thursday morning for Lincoln City, Oregon.

Debi is nice and cozy in the back seat with all the ukuleles, sleeping bags and luggage.  

We spend one night at a beach hotel in order to be in town for the ukulele concert on Thursday.  First a little dinner with a Friday Harbor friend, Steve.

The famous (?) seafood joint,”Mo’s” is our dinner choice.  Fabulous view!

This year we help out doing a shuttle service from the car park to the river edge.  Once we get over to Camp Westwind, we find our Coyote Beach buddies, Dale and Lisa!  Oh, yes, and Myrna on the right...who we consistently meet up with at ukulele events around the world.

Introductions are out on the lodge porch....in the sunshine! 

The instructors introduce themselves and give a little promo about their classes.

Here’s Andy Andrews....

Heidi and Daniel are here this year.

Almost time for dinner....!

“Thank you for this food, this glorious food...for the minerals, and the vegetables and the animals...that make it possible!”

I love this grace, rising into the air with 100 voices all together!

Yep....dinners and breakfast like this...and pack your own yummy lunch...snacks several times a day...and y s, desserts.  Once again, fabulous...organic, sustainable, locally grown incredible meals!

This is a weekend full of excellent music, great classes....(how to choose?)...new friends and old....

Here is our little abode for 40 winks every night...

Saturday night is always the group performances and...this year Steve and Nan played and sang together on “stage” too!  This is something we never considered a few years ago....and it was really fun!

Here’s Dale’s group performance.  Rock stars!

A little practice on the beach...

Too soon, a goodbye to old friends...Aloha, Pam!

Aloha and Mahalo tent shelter, Camp Westwind, coastal beach and dunes, yummy food, amazing instruction...and the chance to make music together once again.  Tunes 2018 comes to a close....with 2019 waiting with possibility. See you next September!

ALOHA Nui!!!

Next Stop...Friday Harbor!

We are up and ready to leave the barge by 9:00 a.m.  Our flight out of Charles de Gaulle is not until 2:00 p.m.  But, it’s a couple of metro rides, and a longer train ride, and then check in and security lines...so...off we go.

Journal:  “This has been a very “expanding” trip..I’ve done things I never thought I’d do...ride a bike again, ride a bike in Europe, ride SO far each day...take a barge trip on a beautiful barge, cruise the River Seine, spend a week in Paris, visit Monet’s Garden...and then add ukulele music to the mix, meeting new people who have at least one thing as common denominator = UKULELE!  Now...to accomplish the trip home, which is so far...and sanely get back to our home, time zone, food, exercise habits, dog, family and friends.

Although I have designs on taking a taxi to the airport, at considerable expense and considerable ease, Steve thinks the metro and RER trains will be more memorable.  We sort out the ticket purchase the afternoon before with a trip to the train station and search out the correct ticket machine and train line.

This is a cozy photo of traveling on the metro to the next train to the airport.  Phil, Steve and the ukuleles...and our baggage = Nan is across the way.

Here's the more memorable part:  Unfortunately, there is no photo of Nan with her wheely luggage caught in the metro ticket gate.  Since Steve’s metro ticket didn’t work in the machine that opens the gate for people to walk through, I choose the machine and gate over one....and going slowly, I encourage him to follow me through on my ticket...but, alas, too slowly.  KAZAMM.  The gate closes hard on my suitcase and it is totally STUCK...can’t pull it through or push it back.  Guess there was a plan for people like me....trying to cheat the system.  Except we had valid tickets...just didn’t work.  Steve goes off to get “help.”  I stand there laughing....sort of...trying to come up with the words for “Help” in French...all I can come up with is Spanish.  Or, English.  Neither work. 

Finally a young French mother with a 4 year old sees me.  She shakes her head.  Although she has already used her monthly pass to go through another gate, she circles around, comes back and passes her ticket over the ticket reader and the gate flips open!  Kind, kind person.  At this point Steve is arriving back, without help, because he decided he wanted a photo first.  Ha ha ha.  Use your imagination.

Soon we are magically back at the busy busy airport.

San Juan Islands....here we come...

Well, I have a few ideas.....

Barge Day 7: Melun to Paris!!

Today our ride will be a short 30 km as we will board the barge again three hours before arriving at our Paris mooring.  There will be more traffic.  Today we ride along the banks of the Seine to the lock of Evry, where we will join The Fleur for the final sail into Paris.

First another great breakfast and pack up those lunches!

A familiar sight by now...all the bicycles ready to go.  Today our number of riders is down to 8.  Nan is still “in!”

We come across another orchard farmer...this time...  “Have some figs!!  PLEASE!”  We call the barge and Chef Steffi says, “YES please!”

At first we think this fruit is pears...but it has a strange skin...more fuzzy....funny faces trying to figure it out!

Soon ....YES, a stop for coffee...

We come across a street market and take a few minutes to look around.  Not cooking tonight...so....and no picnics to buy for...

Interesting items....sort of.

By 1:00 p.m. we arrive to meet up with The Fleur.  We MADE IT!  (More like I, made it...)

I never doubted Steve would make it.  He rocks!

Now to play and sing our way into Paris...what a lovely afternoon!

The landscape is bigger, the lock is bigger, the river is wider...

The last dinner aboard tonight, and it’s a four course amazing meal.  Especially the cheese course.  Who’s ever had a cheese course before?  Not me.

Captain Kreiss gives us a farewell speech and toast of Port wine.  Perfect with CHEESE!  Of course.  He says we were great guests...and now he tells us he rates groups by their water usage while aboard.  We are stars...in only using what most European groups use.  We are all familiar with drought.  That’s the thing!

It’s a long, long dinner.  We play away what’s left of the evening...in warm enough summer air, with the lights of Paris all around.

Gee whiz....tomorrow’s a travel day.