Here is my entry for Bead Fest 4 Chocolate & Cherries theme for my Etsy Bead Embroidery Guild. I call it Cherry Jubilee. This is my favorite pendant necklace that I've made. I hope you do too! I'll try to post the photo collage from all the entries. EBEG now has 42 members and is growing. Perhaps you'd like to join. If you have any questions, please let me know. I love to talk about EBEG! :-)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/113205080/bead-embroidery-cherry-jubilee-pendant

We made it to our home port, Cap Sante Boat Haven, and yesterday North Harbor Diesel pulled our boat from the water for winter storage. Now we have to unload everything and clean. This year I have mold to clean as our boat didn't really have a chance to dry out from all the rain we encountered. Then our boat goes into an enclosed boat house where it's heated to dry out the boat before they apply the shrink-wrapping to the boat and dingy. See you learned something today! :-) The above pic is the lighthouse at New Bella Bella. To view all of my photo's from my Alaskan voyage, go to my Facebook page under Travel 2012 - http://www.facebook.com/catherine.j.taylor1

We're back in the USA! Yay! We spent a couple of nights (Sea Otter Inlet & Phillips Inlet) off of Fitz Hugh Sound and waited for better weather. We were blessed with good weather which enabled us to cross Queen Charlotte Sound which is in the open sea. Then onward through Queen Charlotte Strait. After 7 hours of swells, I was happy to finally stop somewhere. We spent the first night anchored in Blunden Harbour which is on the east side of Queen Charlotte Stait. Then staying next in Growler Bay (W. Cracoft Island), then onward to Port Neville and trying to go around the maze of 50+ net fishermen boats netting for Coho salmon. We met some interesting missionary couples that cruise around the area. They lease the Hansen family land & homes in that area. The Hansen family had lived at Port Neville since 1891. I took some pics of their old grocery store that closed in 1960. The wonderful family history was the father, Oly at the post office, and his wife, Lilly, gave boaters in the area weather reports in Johnstone Strait via their radio. They passed away, and their daughter, Lorna, carried on the weather report tradition until NOAA provided the information. Lorna raised her daughter on the family land but eventually moved to Campbell River as the post office & grocery store closed, and she wasn't able to make a living and has leased her land. The morning we left there were 26 Hansen family members having a reunion with the missionaries. I really wanted to meet Lorna, and her family but felt the dock space for them was far more valuable to them so we moved on. The weather was still good so onward  through Discovery Passage to Gowlland Harbour (Quadra Island). We were nervous about going through Seymour Narrows rapids that can run to 16 knots, but we came through during flood and it wasn't so bad as the written literature. Then we spent a few days in Campbell River. It was the Canadian's Thanksgiving Holiday and the stores were closed. But we spent a few days cleaning the boat, doing laundry, and purchasing groceries. The last few days were just gorgeous, but we knew they wouldn't last. We crossed over to Lund, B.C. for a night. But the next day when we headed out, we heard gale storms in the forecast. They weren't kidding! We didn't have good shelter in that area so we ended up going into Selma Park (near city of Sechelt) where we still didn't have good shelter. Our boat was too big to fit behind their tiny breakwater & the float was full with local boats. So we ended up anchoring near the entrance so we could have more swing room. But when the gales hit, we were pounded with one storm after another. We spent 4 days there while the winds and rain blew! Thank God our anchor held or we would of been grounded on the beach! John ended up putting a stern anchor out too. We had gone this direction so we could go to Vancouver to meet Jacquie Champion, but the gale robbed us of those precious days. We spent the entire day on Tuesday cruising to USA waters with a storm right behind us. The day trip was fairly smooth except the last hour was breezy and bumpy. We're visiting our favorite island, Sucia Island, before heading into our home port, Cap Sante Boat Haven, in Anacortes. Then all the preparations will start with unloading, loading into RV, laundry, and cleaning every inch. Believe me, this life is not glamous! Perhaps the wealthy that can afford service staff help. But it's definitely not the case here so no envy please! Yes, I got to see dolphins chase our boat, whales, and grizzly bear's but that horrible storm we hit in Frederick Sound has frightened the daylights out of me!!

My Treasure of the Sea bead embroidery bib necklace is in an Etsy Treasury. Thank you Natalia! Take a look.
www.etsy.com/treasury/MTE3MjMzMjl8MjcyMDg4NzU5OQ/treasures-of-the-sea

http://www.etsy.com/listing/110043009/sherrie-ocherry-a-chocolate-and-cherry

Our Bead Fest #4 Chocolate & Cherries deadline is October 31st. However, I saw this entry and couldn't resist showing it to you. Click link above.

Sorry, I haven't blogged for quite awhile. We finished cruising the inside passage. After Haines, we went to Skagway and took the White Pass & Yukon Railway ride which was so much fun. Skagway had a four cruise ships in so there were many tourists. After Skagway, we cruised to Sitka and it was rain all day for a few days. Once the rain stopped, we went to town and shopped for some Christmas presents. Our taxi driver took us around town to show us the history of Sitka. Sitka used to be the capital and it was in Sitka that the USA purchased Alaska from the Russian's. Some wonderful history! We're presently are in Ketchikan, AK heading south to Anacortes, WA. Some of you may already know but a week ago Thursday, we got caught in a gale in Frederick Sound. Wind 92 (gusts over 100) and 35 foot waves. We had sea water going over the top of our flybridge and pouring in on top of us, the bilge alarms going off, the sea water fried my husband's HP computer, there were a few things torn-off the boat, sea water in the front stateroom, broken dishes, everything flown on the floor, and a capsized dingy. The waves were so strong that it was pushing us and the boat was going in circles. Luckily we finally got to Kake and two fishermen helped us tie-up. But shortly after they left, the wind actually got stronger. My hubby and I ended up getting sick at that point. The human body can only take so much. Our boat took a pounding but handled wonderfully considering the circumstances. John and a motor mechanic worked on the outboard motor for four days before it would start again. We've been through the ringer, but we're so happy to be alive! We were going to leave Ketchikan today but there's gale winds in Dixson Passage. That's an open ocean area we have to pass through to enter Canadian waters. Tomorrow afternoon the wind is supposed to decrease to 15 so we're going to try to get through then. If not, we won't be able to pass through until Thursday or Friday of next week as the winds pick back up to over 40 for three days. Say a prayer for us!  I don't care to cruise in rough waters ever again! :-)