We left for our vacation on Monday, Aug. 10th...we pulled out of our driveway at 6:05am...we were litterly sitting in the Antacortes Ferry line at 11:30am...the 11:45 Ferry was 45 minutes late, so we had time to go to the bathroom, and grab the hard boiled eggs out of the ice chest and have a snack... we finally got loaded on the very late Ferry at 1:30pm...we finally got the oppertunity to eat so we had a bowl of Chowder on the Ferry. Damn that was the best Chowder ever!!! or maybe I was just plain hungry...I mean I had drove straight thru from Kennewick to Anticortes with NO stops except in Anticortes to put fuel in the car, and then it was straight to the Ferry dock as we wanted to make the ferry. While we were eating our Chowder a kid about 13 years old was with his church group and they were out on the Ferry deck splashing in the puddles of water from the rain, and he picked up his foot to splash and his untied shoe went flying up in the air and over board it went! that was so damn funny! everyone was laughing (from the youngest kid to the oldest adult) can you amagine having to call home and tell your parents you just lost one of your skater shoes over board!)

We drove off the Ferry on Orcas Island around 2:30pm, got to camp, and it was raining, so I started unloading our car while Neil helped Bryan put up tarps and to drain off the water that had already pooled up.

Tuesday we went to the ferry dock and walked onto the ferry to Friday Harbor. we walked around town, ate lunch at the Crab Pot and even did a little shopping. walked back on the ferry and then back to camp.

Wednesday we put the boat in the water, and went to set out Shrimp and Crab pots...this is the first time we have Shrimped so we were not sure what to expect. well we put our first Shrimp pot in and Amy was driving the boat as the guys were getting the rest of the pots ready, as we were standing there watching the bouy and flag on the pot, it kept going down and down, before we knew it, the flag was barley showing, Bryan is telling Amy to go back, and she turns the boat around and panic's as she has NO idea what and why she needs to do this...we go back and we look and look and NO bouy or flag is to be found...we all are like the world has come to an end as the shrimp pots and gear cost us $100 each. our hearts where litterly in the bottom of the Sound with that shrimp pot!!!

So off we go to the other side of the Island to put in our Crab pots in a deep hole. we put in our crab pots and then it was time to put in our other shrimp pot. Everyone is not feeling good about this, and the guys decide that they will put it in the water, but tie a safety line to it. So they do this, lower the pot, throw the bouy in and the flag, and we sit there watching this bouy and flag and affraid to move, for if we pull away we just know it is going to sink to the bottom and be lost forever! We sit and we sit, finally Bryan says "you think it's safe" we all agree, so he carefully takes the safety line off and we sit and watch some more....after we feel it's safe, Bryan and Neil decided to go back to the very first pot that we lost and see if maybe we can find it. Yeah right! so back we go, and Bryan still has the marking of it in his GPS system and tells us that we should almost be on top of it. Everyone is looking, I finally spot a red something or other off in the distance and tell them, they tell me that we are not looking for something red, we are looking for another color (hell if I remember what it is now) But Bryan decides to stir towards it, and behold it's a red flag! so he is now on top of this flag and chasing it down, and the damn flag is moving as fast as we are...Neil is trying to hook the flag and rope and Bryan is driving right along side of it, and they both can not belevie what they are seeing, they are like what the heck has ahold of this damn thing and they can't catch it! Finally Neil hooks it and the boat goes in reverse and then nuteral....the current was so strong that it litterly took the bouy and flag down under...we got 3 shrimp out of that pot and we decided that we would go back to the other side of the island and put it with the other pots...wow what an adventure we had with that shrimp pot!

We managed to het about 5 lbs of shrimp tails and lots and lots of crab. We crabbed Wed. Thursday, and Friday morning! We pulled the boat out on Friday after they picked up the pots...pulled camp and headed back to the Main Land.... Neil and I drove from Anticorted to Port Ochard on Friday, took us 4 hours....bumper to bumper traffic and slower then a snale.

On Saturday we took Neil's brother and his girl friend out to breakfast then went shopping and then onto our visit with Becky. where we had a great time...she cooked us great meals, and we watched movies, tv, and talked...we had lots of laughs and great conversations. We talked more about when she comes home, and what she wants, this way we know what to expect...

Becky has decided that at this time in her life, that she does NOT want any contact with her Brother, she feels that he just isn't a good inflence in her life. She wants to be able to spend a lot of time with her family and loved ones, and with those who have stuck by her through the worst part of her life.

Becky only has 7 years left, and she is on the right track, and is looking forwards to being a person that can help others in the community. We will be there for her, and help her in any way we can.

Neil and I got home safe and sound. That is more then I can say for the kids. The brakes went out on the boat trailer and they had to spend the night in a motel in Ellenburg on Friday...Bryan was able to get all the parts on Saturday and get the boat home. But now he needs to find a new boat trailer before we take the boat out of town again...spendy there! now it's time to get back to the same old grind and do all of the dirty laundry.