Christening the Baby…

April 2007

Well, after a long winter in Seattle, we are finally on our way.  Things started to really happen the week of our christening party-funny how when it absolutely positively has to be done, it is.  The Power of Intention I guess, or Ade’s steely eyed gaze at those who have promised to get ‘er done.  The christening weekend was fantastic, so many dear friends and family made the long journey to get a look at this new “baby” that had taken us over, body and mind.  She seemed to pass muster, some felt she was soooo big, while others look at us and think, you are going to spend five years together in this tiny space and start making bets as to how long the marriage will last.  Even Kei liked her, and as you recall from our last voyage, he is not our boat child.  To us, she is huge - she is the biggest boat we’ve ever owned and we have found a place for everything - in fact, we’ve already lost things…more on that later. 

Anyway, we started the weekend with a feast at a Buca di Beppo, which is a hoot.  We gathered around the “Pope’s Table” and a few  tables surrounding it and started ordering…its organized chaos, truly like a big noisy Italian family with people up and down, plates being carried to other tables, etc.  Just the way I like it, I am certain that in a previous life I was an Italian farmers wife, with vines growing, home made brew and a large family…I can just see ordering everyone around, “sit, eat,”  barefoot, hair in a scarf, large chest (that’d be different) and in my imagination I still had teeth. 
The christening party was at the Seattle Yacht Club.  The day started out bright and we thought we’d miss the predicted rain, (which is the standard Seattle forecast) but just as the first guests arrived the skies opened up.  So all 32 of us huddled inside, drank champagne and started nibbling - and just as we were deciding to christen her under umbrellas, the clouds parted and we had glorious sunshine.  We quickly cracked the bottle on the bow, cast off, and were off on a tour of Lake Union and Washington.  It’s a fun place to sightsee; there is the Sleepless in Seattle houseboat, Bill Gates House, floating bridges, etc.  We were an hour late for dinner, but the gracious staff was patient with us and we were able to have a nice dinner and great conversations.  How could this not be the voyage of a lifetime with such hearty wishes for our well being.  Again, we thank you all for coming and for the calls and messages of Bon Voyage.  We wish we could take you all with us.