Went out for the first trip of the season... Day started out kind of
cloudy. Launched at Mukilteo, WA. They haven't put the floating docks in
yet (still repairing storm damage from last October) so we had to beach
the boat while I parked the trailer. The old 1977 Evinrude started
without a hitch. Ran 18 miles to Foulweather Bluff to do some lingcod
fishing. No luck on the ling, but we caught a few flounder worth
keeping. Noontime, we broke out some sammitches and chips, and the sun
came out in full force. I remembered to bring sunblock, but forgot to
put it on. Boy is my face red. Saw several people crabbing, even
though the season doesn't open 'till June. Kind of ****es me off that
some people either ignore the rules or don't bother to check the
seasons. Did see a nuclear sub heading for Bangor, tons of seals, a pod
of porpoises, and a pair of bald eagles in a tree on Whidbey
island. Headed back around 4. Retrieving the boat was a pain, our ramp
is very exposed to the current, and the tide was in full flow with a 10 kt
wind adding to the fun. Stopped at a little local market for ice cream
(mmm, maple walnut) and espresso after we pulled the boat. They had a
huge tank full of fresh live shrimp at $6 a pound, so we bought some to go
with our flounder. Got home, filleted the flounder, spent a long time
cleaning the pound of shrimp, dipped the flounder in panko and pan
fried. Shrimp just got boiled in some creole seasoning. Went very well
with a nice Pinot Gris I had in the fridge... although our corkscrew seems
to be missing so I popped it open with a 3" drywall screw and a pair of
vice-grip pliers. How redneck is that?

The only un-fun part of the day was filling the tank back up at $2.15 a
gallon. (It can be had cheaper, but this station is on the way home, on
the right side of the road, and has a huge parking lot to jockey the
trailer around... and it's not an ethanol blend)

Dan

--
Microsoft Haiku #163

A crash reduces
Your expensive computer
To a simple stone.