Coast Guard Cutter Maple

Alas, my brother isn't in town just to see us - he's really here to work. As a Commander in the Coast Guard, he's here to inspect one of the ships under his command. This ship has been undergoing maintenance at the Fairhaven Shipyard, just south of us, since February. It will set out tomorrow for it's home port in Sitka, AK. However, before it can leave, my brother came down to do an inspection and give it the all-clear.

From the day Henry knew Uncle Jay was coming to town, he's been so excited to get a tour of a Coast Guard ship. Today, the wish came true!

We went down to Fairhaven to meet Jay and I stopped at the first Coast Guard ships I saw. Hmmm.... are these ships going all the way back up to AK? No...

We were at the wrong ones! Those were just little pilot boats; their home port is Bellingham.

This is the big ship we got to tour! A 225-foot Buoy Tender, all the way from AK, carrying 50 crew members. The Coast Guard Cutter Maple.

Lieutenant Commander Dan Gray was a completely gracious host. It only occurred to me after we were gone what a big deal it was for him to spend time with us... seeing as they still had another 7 or so hours of work to do yet tonight, and they're leaving WA, headed for AK, after being here for almost 10 weeks, TOMORROW MORNING. He probably had a few other things on his mind.

Comfy Captain's chair.

We learned all sorts of stuff. That a map is really a chart. A kitchen is a galley. The left hand side is the port. You know... all that nautical stuff!

The bell was one of the highlights of the tour. Apparently, they have an electronic bell which they mostly ring just for bad weather, and the real bell is just for looks these days. That, and the enjoyment of small children.

And one of the really cool things about taking a tour on a Coast Guard ship with my brother? He's someone important. And when you're wearing his hard hat and it has senior officer markings on the back? Well, when you get off the ship, they blow some whistles just so everyone knows. "Important Guy Has Left The Ship." Even if it appears that the important guy has shrunk to the size of an 8 year old.

Then it was off to fish 'n chips at our favorite restaurant and swimming at the hotel pool. We had a great time!