Before the big feast we drove into Port Townsend for a walk. We found high winds, high tides and wild waves.

By the time we got home things had settled down.

This morning I realized that these two photos really capture 2011 for us.  It’s been a rough year.  Death of family members.  Illness.  Personal struggles.  Friends and family dealing with tough challenges.

2011 is almost over and we’re relieved to have made it through.  We miss those that we’ve lost, but we try to honor their memory.  We’re grateful for those that are still with us and vow to never take that for granted.   A hard-won lesson of 2011 is that we need to enjoy the journey and not focus so much on the destination.

We’re a little scraped and bruised but we’re looking toward that rainbow, knowing that everything will all work out for the best.

I took a quick fifteen second video with my cell phone.

Water and sail boats . . . .

Snow and deer . . .

Riding the ferry . . .

But one thing that didn’t really sink in until we got here was that we’d need to deal with the Hood Canal Bridge.  The Hood Canal Bridge is between us and Trader Joe’s.  It’s between our house and and the ferry to Seattle.  It’s between me and mall.  The mall!!

It’s not that a bridge itself presents an issue.  The problem is that when ships go through Hood Canal   . . .

The bridge opens up and traffic . . . .

. . . comes to a complete and utter stop!

The good thing is though that people here are used to it.  In this case I called my hair dresser, and explained what happened.  In about twenty minutes the ships . . .

. . . had made it through to the other side of the bridge and the Hood Canal Bridge was once again open for vehicles.

And it turns out that we weren’t the only ones! While we didn’t see her, we learned later that the governor also attended the event.

First the Man of the House made some potting soil.

And then we planted the horseradish in pots.  This isn’t a good way to raise horseradish, but since we rent it’ll do for now.  When we buy a house then we’ll replant them.

“Ride on! Rough-shod if need be, smooth-shod if that will do, but ride on! Ride on over all obstacles, and win the race!” ~ David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Yesterday the Seattle Yacht Club had race from Seattle around Protection Island near Port Townsend.  These are some of the participants as sen from Fort Warden.