Sailing to Des Moines

As advertised, I will tell you (briefly) about my most recent sailing outing. Nate (my roommate) and I decided to do a quick overnight to a nearby destination. Given that the winds were forecast to be from the south, and the tides also favored a southerly course, our decision was easy. Des Moines was our destination, about 18 miles south of the home port of Shilshole.
The sailing there and back was rather ordinary, with no marine life sightings aside from a few jumping fish. There were moderate winds on the way down that gave way to no wind later in the afternoon, and so we motored the last half of it. The way back was the reverse -- no wind to start, followed by very good wind as we approached the docks. Fortunately, we got back a little earlier than expected and had some time to play around in it. It's truly amazing how fast the boat goes when the wind blows, as compared to when you have to struggle to move. And of course, when you could go any direction you want to maximize the wind, it's always a lot more fun.

I didn't know what to expect out of Des Moines. It really doesn't have much of a reputation as far as I knew, and it didn't let me down. It had a very nondescript downtown, about three by four blocks, scattered with places to get your nails done, Chinese restaurants, and condos/apartments. We chose to go to Red Robin for burgers, where Nate had his first drink in over a year, a beer (he doesn't care much for alcohol). Shortly thereafter, he had his second drink -- a crappy margarita at a dated Mexican restaurant. We were trying to kill time before going to see a movie (The Queen). The Des Moines Theater is a one-show kind of venue, with an actual stage at the front of it. As an added bonus, some teenage kid got up before the movie started to announce that the movie was about to start, that he had seen it already, and thought "it was great" (Nate and I agreed he was fibbing). The movie wasn't half-bad, and best of all, it was brief.

Mainly, I just wanted to show a few post-Lasik pictures of me, and explain that those dorky sunglasses I am wearing were to protect my sensitive eyes from any sun, wind, or reflections in the water. They worked admirably, even though they are decidedly unfashionable.