Thanksgiving, Thawing Out and Drying Up

We had a quiet and pleasant Thanksgiving Day at the Morales household. 

Sandra presented us with the healthiest TD dinner that I've ever enjoyed: nicely baked turkey, cranberry sauce, light stuffing, sweet potato, the greenest green beans that I've ever seen, accompanied by white wine .  Even after my two helpings I was able to avoid that oh why did I eat so much glutton's remorse.

The snow in this area has melted and road conditions are back to normal.  I took the accompanying photo through the kitchen window.  Note the outdoor thermometer at the bottom left.

On Friday afternoon (2 days ago) Arnold drove us to Port Townsend where we visited Mark at Shoreline Marine Diesel, which was officially closed for the day.  It was good to see Mark again and it gave me an opportunity to thank him in person for his great service to me in defining and overseeing the engine repowering effort in La Paz.  He agreed that it was one of his more unusual projects.

I passed over to Mark the incorrect buzzer harness cable that had been sent with the new engine as well as the alternator that I had brought from La Paz.  We all agreed that a faulty on-board voltage regulator is the prime suspect, and Mark will put the alternator on a test bed in the coming week.  Later, when the shop is formally open I will obtain from Seth the replacement buzzer harness and the new Volvo single-lever throttle and gear control.  Mark told me that the throttle and gear cables will be identical (Morse 33?), which will make life easier for me.

Mark suggested that I might want to photograph 6 or 7 boats that came to grief during the recent snowfall.  My understanding is that they were caught at anchor when strong winds came somewhat unusually from the north.  I recall hearing several times that Pt. Townsend Bay does not have very good holding ground (due to weed, I think).  I hope to take some photos of these boats in the coming week.

I had brought to Port Townsend a large mailing envelope containing almost everything required for my US passport renewal application: a filled-out application form, a $170 money order ($110 standard fee plus $60 fee for expedited processing) which I had purchased at the Kingston post office, my current passport (which expires in March 2011), and a copy of my confirmed travel itinerary from Alaska Airlines where I highlighted the fact that I was flying to Mexico on 5 Jan 2011. 

I asked Mark if he knew where I could have some passport photographs taken, and he pointed me to a photography shop just past the ferry landing.  We found the shop with no problem, I had the photos taken, and as I was paying I asked about the opening hours of the main post office at the top of the hill.  The lady pointed out that there was a post office agency about three doors up from her shop.  How convenient.  Before long the package was on its way by certified mail - literally on its way since it was ready just in time for the transfer of mail from the agency to probably the main post office for sorting. 

The normal processing time for passport renewals is 6 weeks.  I have asked for expedited processing which should reduce that time to as little as 2 weeks, and I hope to receive the new passport before the Christmas holidays.

Yesterday I went solo with Arnold's RX7 on a short excursion to fuel up the car and do some grocery shopping.   Now that the road conditions have improved and my upper respiratory system is finally starting to dry up after the worst cold in years I expect to hit the road in the coming week with visits mainly to Port Townsend.