Bok Choy

"I'm bored," says Korrina as she lounges on deck of the 38 foot sloop afloat in Elliott Bay. We've enjoyed a bar-b-cue with table clothes and flowers on the tables, balloons, magician, hoola-hoop dancer, door prizes, free sun-screen and wrapped chewables, and a boat ride organized by Beams and Dreams, a not-for-profit organization started by 13 and 15 year-old brothers helping cancer survivors. I knew our family needed to be matched with a skipper stout of heart. We got Justin, an unflappable young man who welcomed us aboard and headed out from the break wall into open water.
We toured the Seattle piers, cruised by the waterside of the Aquarium, minisculed ourselves beside the Norwegian Star tour boat, watched the containers loaded for ocean travel. The skyline of Seattle never looked so good.
Korrina got bored after her balloons took off from her grasp with her necklace attacked to the ribbons. If only I had the presence of mind to sing to her........" In a moments time the pirates could attack, in a moment, your brother could poke and whack, in a moment a sea gull could poop in your eye, in a moment, a cloud could fall from the sky, in a moment the snarks could bite your toe, in a moment the wind could tie your hair in a bow.... so enjoy this moments of quiet." I didn't sing but decided to make conversation with Justin. I was talking to him about our cab ride in to the marina. He asked where we live. When he heard the Pete Gross House Justin explained that he moors Bok Choy in Lake Union. Did we want to go through the Ballard locks with him? Believe it! The day changed on that dime. We were no longer sight seeing. The kids got to steer. We stopped to pull Justin's crab pots. 15 crabs in one pot and at least 10 in the other! Justin was incredulous but it seemed no surprise to me. He had set down his nets on the side of hospitality and generosity. Other boaters reported a terrible crabbing week with a haul of one or two. Joshua, Korrina, Kayla and Shammond learned to hold and measure crabs, throw back the females, feel the shells for soft and throw back, store the keepers. Kathy LeClair took pictures. The "I'm bored" was never heard of again. Locking through was a life-time adventure for the kids and ecstatic for me recalling my 2,348-mile Mississippi River Challenge during which I paddled into and rode through every lock in an 18-foot canoe for the Guinness World Record. The kids worked the sloop's bow and stern ropes to attach Bok Choy to the sailboat to port side in the large lock. A harbor seal cavorted at our bow in the current. Kayla regaled us with Habor Seal habits like eating squid, fish and clams since she learned these facts and more in Hutch School during her Harbor Seal project. The lock opened. The bridges parted and lifted. It was past 7:00 p.m. when we motored into Lake Union and moored. Joshua and Shammond helped carry the crabs from the dock to the parking lot. Justin owned a van. We all fit in.