Seattle, CatchCon, and All Kinds of Shenanigans...How Appropriate! Part 5

The end of the Convention included a rescue demonstration by the USCG.

The chopper was close enough that we could all feel the spray from the water.

The swimmer jumped into the water to retrieve the proxy survivor.

Here is some video of the demo...be amazed by horrific videography! *Note to self, don't turn the camera vertically. Still, it's pretty amazing to see this up close...I'm just glad it was only a demo. You could feel the spray from the water and the sound...just wow.

At the end of the rescue, the clouds parted slightly and a shaft of sunlight descended on the chopper as it flew off...something about that just seemed appropriate. Thanks to the Coast Guard for an awesome demo and for all they do for those in peril on the sea.

There has been a lot going on and I've been slow in posting...next post will be the last Seattle post then onto the insanity that has been life on the home front.

Seattle, CatchCon, and All Kinds of Shenanigans..How Appropriate! Part 4

Michelle, Sally, Me, Carrie, Lynn, Mystic, Lenny, and Rebecca on deck.

Saturday was CatchCon. I didn't really know what to expect...but I didn't really care, all I was looking for was good times with friends. Anything else was just a bonus.

The Northwestern and Wizard stayed where we left them.

Me and Mike Fourtner...who, hilariously, was like "Oh, I know your group! I keep up with things!"

Bettina sporting her "Dutch Harbor Gear" hat that she won in a verizon texting contest. She had the fastest thumbs in the west that day. (I too scored a hat, though my means were more like "can I have a hat?")

(Sorry for the craptastic quality of this picture.) Velvet brought her own hat. Thanks to it, she ended up on a lot of Discovery videos. lol!


Apparently, at some point, I was on the Northwestern...also apparently, at some point, I became a giant. The guys were nice...Matt shot me with a marshmallow gun that Anne had given him...little did he know, there was more than one gun. hehehe.

Becks, Carrie, Sally, Myself, and Michelle showing the NW our best sides.
I've always liked that painting in the galley...and you can see on the table, there, the marshmallow gun in question (which I shall refer to as 'the revenge-er' lol!). The bag? Well, that's full of ammo...delicious, delicious ammo.

Mystic and Lynn showing off in red...Wizard red!

Travis...he likes to talk...a lot. LOL! Good thing he's fun to listen to. Seriously, he was great at working the deck, telling all about various Bering Sea shenanigans, and what have you.

*Translation*: "Hey you hillbillies, be careful on the boats, OK? If you catch your toe and break your fool neck, don't come to sue us!"Carrie, Russ, and myself. It was nice to finally meet him.


There were various games going on...this one was obviously, "crab sort." Had I known the winner received and XBox, I would have tried a little harder!


Jeff Conroy about to introduce the Captains for the synposium .


Andy, John , and Phil listening to Jeff.


Phil and Sig during the question and answer portion.


Keith and Andy chattin' it up .At some point, Lynn, saw either my or Bettina's hat. With childlike wonder he exclaimed "I...I want a hat!" Mystic, having adopted him (see earlier post) took the boy to the texting table where he was given his coveted hat! In Mystic's words "You're on the show baby, I think we can get you a hat." -best.

Next post, there were some survival suit drills and an awesome coast guard demo that I can't wait to share!

Seattle, CatchCon, and All Kinds of Shenanigans...How Appropriate! Part 3

Thanks to Mystic for this pic since I didn't get one with my cam. (Official pic of the Wizard Mixer)

I've gotten slightly behind in my posting. Surgery (my dad's), going out of town again (me), more work than I can shake a stick at, and a busted knee (sadly, me again) have slowed me down a little...but more on all that later!

We now return to your regularly scheduled shenanigans already in progress.

Capt. Keith and his lovely wife Florence were heading up the shindig.

Monte was in a great mood and ready to party!

Trav was also there in typical fashion. (Every once in a while you can actually catch him not being goofy in a picture...this was not one of those whiles.)

Lynn, bless your heart, you're probably tired of us calling you adorable, but you are. So there.

Lenny was having a great time and it was a pleasure to get to know him.

Moi was there too, hanging out and having a great time! Here he is with Carrie.

What do you do at a Wizard mixer? You mix with the Wizard crew of course! Lynn, the lovely Mystic, and Trav are hanging out and having a good time. They all called each other before hand to make sure they wore matching attire. ;)

Lenny's having a great time chatting with Rebecca.

Trav and Monte get goofy with the always effervescent Lucy!

Keith making some announcements and introductions, everyone was absolutely cracking up. It was quite a nite of stories, laughter, and future events.

Me with Florence. She's just an incredible person and so sweet!

Trav gets down to the business of giving the people what they want. haha! All of the boys signed autographs and posters for all who wanted them.

Becky, Helen, and Storm chatting it up.

Mystic decided that she was going to claim Lynn and adopt him. lol!

Carrie, Trav, and Sally explain the night through interpretive dance!

Velvet, Lenny, Karen, and Monte enjoying a chat and a drink.

And thus, the Wizard Mixer ended. It was a great time. Everyone really appreciated all the trouble and expense that went into it to pull it off. The Hyatt was lovely and everyone was spectacular. Later that night, several of us took out to the town to see what late night Seattle had to offer. The answer is lots. haah! OK, next time, Catchcon!

Seattle, CatchCon, and All Kinds of Shenanigans...How Appropriate! Part 2

We tied up in Seattle at the Convention center (by we tied up, I mean the guys did work while Mystic, Carrie, and I goofed around taking pictures and leaving notes for the guys all over the place.)

Lenny and Monte on deck in between working on something or other.

and right beside us is the ol' Northwestern.

It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day with clear skies and blue waters.

The police were out patrolling...and I just thought this was a cool picture.

There were disco people on the boat as soon as we got there. The started filming the boats, the guys and turned out to be really cool people. This is Jeff and he's awesome!

At this point, Mystic and Carrie had eaten very little so we grabbed some nosh for them and headed to Pike Place. I love Pike Place. It's always full of action, people, and unusual sites.

One of thes unusual sites greeted us the second we walked in the place. This guy is a Monk Fish...and he is ugly. Very, very, very ugly.

These are Salmon and they are delicious, very, very delicious. Not only that, but they're TROLL caught!
Here are some crab, what kind? I have no idea. They too, are very, very delicious.

The flowers are stunningly beautiful. There are just rows and rows of them. Glorious...but not very, very delicious.

I can't get over the prices of them though. $5...$5! This would cost at least $15-20 at home. Easy.

...As I review my life, and think back on the things I should have done, the things I should have been, the things I wish I'd known. I will carry this regret with me always...I should have bought those long johns. Seriously, those things are wicked hilarious. Next time I'm up that way, I'm snagging a pair of those.

I am fascinated by glass. These were beautiful. A whole tables worth.

The Troll Street Troll! Hey...do you suppose he Salmon fishes? ;)

Bats in the cave? Bullets in the gun? Gold in the Mine?


I managed to escape the grasp of the Troll St. Troll and the tales of interest will be told again soon. Next time, Wizard Mixer and more!