Many years ago when Sparky lived closer to the Washington coast, he enjoyed Salmon fishing in Puget Sound and from the little fishing town of Westport. This year for his “BIG” birthday, his son Andrew as vs. my son Andrew, ( that’s a story in itself!) gave him a Salmon Charter fishing trip from Westport Charters out of well….Westport and Grays Harbor. A day for the 2 of them to enjoy a sport they both love and spend some father-son time together. And of course, some competition. These two are very competitive! It’s a Giebel thing. Dan was really excited but at the same time more than a tad concerned about being seasick. He told me the only times he has ever been seasick was when he was on these Charters. Piloting his own boat was fine, but when someone else is doing the driving…..not so good. Stay tuned for more on that subject. Ha!
We all, Andrew and Molly, Dan and myself, decided to make a long weekend out of it and we eagerly set out at the end of July for this big event. The kids tent camped at Twin Harbors State Park while Sparky and I camped in the brand spanking new Westport Marina Cottages situated right on the harbor edge. The Jacuzzi tub was the deciding factor for moi. Gorgeous place and setting!
Westport is a fishing town. Period. Some tourism but fishing is king here and both Charters and Commercial fishing boats fill the Harbor. Home to some 2,000 hearty, hard working souls who work the boats and the canneries. I think it’s beautiful and both Sparky and I love it there. Once fishing season is over, the sidewalks get rolled up and folks settle in to plan for the next fishing season.
Tuna and crab boats off loaded at that pier.
This was Dan’s face when he REALLY understood that instead of going to work he was going Salmon fishing with Andrew.
And here’s where the fun began. The Charter was leaving the dock at 5:30 a.m., so father and son were going to meet up at 5 a.m. No problem. I’m always up early and Dan set his phone alarm for 4:15 a.m……. or so he thought. He would place a Scopalamine patch behind his ear as soon as he woke up to maximize the effects before setting out on the Pacific. At 5:15 am, the phone rang. It was Andrew wondering where we were. Uh oh…..Big uh oh! Sparky grabbed the Scope Patch and I grabbed his lunch and off we ran to the docks. Made it just in time for the 5:30 a.m. take off!
Here’s what 5:30 am looks like on a foggy Friday morning in Westport, Washington.
Gear loaded and off they go!
This is last we would see of Swifty until 4:30 pm. 11 hours!
Out of the Harbor, past the break wall and the jetties. Across the Bar and 20 miles out to sea.This is what all the Charter boats headed into! FOG!
Molly and I spent the day doing the tourist shops, eating ice cream and taking Freddy for a walk down the beach.
This would be Freddy! A fun loving 90 lb. yellow lab puppy who loved the beach but not the water. The weather had cleared up beautifully too.
About 3:30 pm, Molly and I headed back down to the docks and watched all the Charters come in. That’s right, ALL the Charters come in. Yep…ALL the Charters came in until finally at 4:30 pm, in comes Swifty. Notice how no one is looking excited?
Those are the cottages behind the boat. Did I tell you how nice they were?
Not even a little bit of excitement.
Hmmmm….heads down. Arms folded.
Now, about that seasick thing. Let’s just say that the Pacific ocean has enormous swells. It rolls and roils and Dan had a Scopalamine patch and Andrew did not. However, trooper that he is, on the rare occasion that Andrew appeared above deck, he is the one that brought home the bacon! Yep, Andrew caught the Chinook!
And as soon as they hit land, they both recovered and we went on to cook the freshest and most delicious Salmon I have ever eaten!
Gorgeous fillets!
Butter, lemon, onion and dill marinade. Cooked her on a cedar plank on the grill. Served with Hollandaise Sauce and we enjoyed our gift from the sea.
I wish I had more photos of the cooking process but honestly, we were too busy having fun to document us having fun!
It was a great weekend and hopefully we’ll do it again some day. In the meantime, the journey continues. Wherever your journey leads you this week, I hope you are busily and happily making memories to last a lifetime like this father and son did in Westport, Washington.
Thanks for stopping by today. Journey on!
Hugs and much love from me,
Karen, TJG
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