Misc.

Just got back from an excellent movie - Julie and Julia. We don't go to the movies much anymore. Most seem pretty moronic, with weak acting and unbelievable plots. I had high expectations of this movie because Merril Streep was the leading character - and was not disappointed. She nailed Julia Childs' character precisely. Highly recommended. We saw the movie at the Rose Theater, which is a small, renovated old-time theater. A live person actually steps in front of the screen and gives an introduction to it. Standard procedure for the Rose.

This posting is kind of a collection of pictures taken during this trip, which weren't included for one reason or other. Also some favorites. I like the one below, which reminds me of the old Victorian architecture which is so prevalent in Pt. Townsend. Taken from a pier extending into Puget Sound:

The singing Fat Lady is the mascot of Water Front Pizza, our favorite hangout. I'm now a member of their Slice Club, and get a free piece of pizza after buying ten. A major disappointment of the trip was losing my first Slice Club card when it had ten stamps on it. I think it fell out of my pocket when I was retrieving crab traps.

This is a Pig Mobile, spotted while in Seattle. I think they were selling hot dogs.

Speaking of pigs, here's some pics from the recent county fair:

When I spotted the Swine sign I first thought that the local politicians were appearing at the fair with their children.

Turns out it was just a proud mother pig showing-off her babies.

Below is a particularly good shot of Captain John at the helm of his crab trawler.

Before embarking on a voyage, the good captain prays briefly to Neptune for a bountiful catch and safe voyage.

We're only allowed to keep male crabs of a certain size. Below, marked by the "V" is the male type of bottom shell. Towards the end of the season, only one in five crabs are males.

Females have a larger bottom shell as seen below. They get fat and sassy eating most of the bait in the traps. When pulled aboard, they just curl-up and wait to be returned to the water to raid more traps. Nice life.

One of Mimi's favorite activities was playing bridge with the ladies. Here they are beginning a new game.

Mimi also joined a Yoga group. This is her "Touchdown" pose.

We are always on the lookout for new fine dining experiences. It's hard to get a decent hamburger, due to the ban on fast food joints near town. Outside of town we discovered Fat Smitty's. Their special Smitty Burger is guaranteed to precipitate a coronary attack. We limit ourselves to a plain burger, which is just fine.

Inside Fat Smitty's, the walls and ceiling are covered with dollar bills - tacked there by various customers.

This is real money, and I estimated several thousand dollars having been tacked-up. Wonder what their insurance company says about that.

Hasta Luego...