It’s not often that you, as a civilian, get to call the Coast Guard and tell them that their ship is the one in trouble. Kris and I were hanging out onboard KJ, having dinner & enjoying the sunset while Brock worked. Then the alarms started going off on Wahoo. (Yes, that’s really the name of the boat ~ I thought it was merely an exuberant choice on the Coasties part. Turns out it’s an aggressive fish, Acanthocybium solandri, which makes a bit more sense…but I digress)

We sat for a while, looking, contemplating. There was clearly cooling water of some sort coming off the starboard side, which made me think a genny was running. No one around at all. WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP. Yeah, that was going to get annoying after a very short time.

Nothing was evidently on fire. We seriously considered going onboard and looking to see if it was something obvious. But then there was that whole FEDERAL ship thing. Not being fans of prison, we reconsidered. Well, I called Brock and *he* advised me to reconsider. Good man, he is.

Eventually, we decided to call USCG Sector Seattle and inform them. It was loud & clearly no one was coming.

You should’ve seen the guy come running. Ten minutes later or so, he was at full clip down the dock, cell phone to his ear. Must’ve been all of 18 years old. (Kris thought 12, but we’ll give him benefit of the doubt, seeing as we’re older now). Onboard, problem solved quickly, additional phone calls and a very serious look on the young man’s face. I’m thinking he wasn’t supposed to be away from the ship?

As he disembarked, I called over to him, explaining that we hoped we hadn’t got him in trouble or anything. He sheepishly looked up and said, “Yeah, I got yelled at. And I’ll get yelled at again tomorrow. But thank you for calling.” Poor kid! I did feel bad, I admit.

But federal prison for tampering with a Coast Guard vessel just wasn’t an appealing way to spend my holiday.

Well, on the inland waters of Puget Sound anyway.

Yes, we are headed out for some time in the San Juans with my entire family from mom’s side. That means a couple of Okie’s (can I call you that? It’s not an insult, right?), two from Louisiana, my folks, and my 88 y/o grandmother. Should be crazy, fun times! Especially with Grandma sleeping in the extra bunk in the master stateroom with Brock and me. Here’s hoping she doesn’t snore!!

Taking you along, as always. ‘Cause where would I be without my favorite readers?