A warm western update

After arriving last week, the first order of business was a fishing trip in Ilwaco, WA, at the mouth of the Columbia river. As Ricardo and I drove down we encountered schizophrenic weather. We’d have torrential rains for a short while, and then it would be clear and sunny 5 minutes later. The weather continued switching personalities during our entire drive there.

Due to the inclement weather and resulting 11-14 foot waves, we weren’t able to go into the ocean fishing and had to instead fish in the mouth of the river. We caught three decent silver salmon but we were both disappointed by not being able to fish in the ocean. We could see the breakers crashing just out past the mouth where we were fishing but they were too much for any of the chartered fishing craft to deal with.

We also fished from Ricardo’s boat in Mukilteo for two days, catching two minnows (about 10″) and one decent (9 lbs) silver. On Sunday, I visited with Ryan Merrick and we went out sailing on his father’s boat. It’s been a long time since I’ve just sat around and waited for the wind to blow. It’s quite tranquil and eventually the wind did pick up, affording us a fine bit of sailing.

I continue to be amazed how fleeting time can be. I had aspirations of visiting Rich (brother-in-law) and Mitzi & Bill (mother and step-father in-law) but I can’t imagine where that could fit into the next two days. Being mobility challenged does not help. The clerk that took my drivers license when selling me my fishing license didn’t give it back. I failed to notice until we got back to Mukilteo. It’s being mailed to me but in the mean time, I have to impose on others to get around.

As usual, it’s sunny and warm in Seattle.