The Western Flyer is a boat loosely associated with the author John Steinbeck, as in "John Steinbeck Slept Here". Dragged off the bottom the ocean, it was put in Port Townsend for "restoration" and eventual display in California. I've written about this a lot, so do the search thing. The barnacles got blown off by a new owner who paid $1 million for it, and who plans on putting $2 million into it's restoration. Then, he moved it into a pole...
May sales of retail cannabis In Washington hit $41 million in May, up around 20% from April's sales of $35 million. The last week of May was particularly high. Reasons for this huge jump might be the beginning of the tourist season, an increased supply spurred by the effort to license more growers last fall, and dropping retail prices. We are seeing a flood of product hitting the market from the indoor growers, most of which are packaging...
One of the rules for legal pot is that it can't be exported out of state. That's one of the rules of the Non-Enforcement Agreement with the Feds. To accomplish that the states have implemented seed-to-sale systems to prove that every gram grown in the state, ends up being sold in the state. Or destroyed. Oregon has an interesting situation: It currently produces enough cannabis to supply Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and itself, and still have...
I went South today and ended up in Shelton, a place I drive through every year, but never stop. Shelton is an Olympic Peninsula timber town, whose mill just closed down last week. I'm always surprised when I come across an actual operating lumber mill in Washington; very few are left. Cannabis is a fast-growing industry in Mason County where Shelton is, and might take a bit of the sting out of the mill closure. It's the festival season, so I...
The mayor of Seattle says that all of the medical marijuana establishments in the city are illegal, therefore he proposes that half be licensed by the city, and the other half destroyed. Only career politicians are capable of this logic, and are willing to say it. No one knows how many such places exist, and there are no standards expressed for how to decide who gets a license and who gets destroyed. People discussing this issue use the term...
Four stores were cited for selling to minors, the first LCB sting operation. This is an amazing development in Washington, because it was unexpected. Obviously the LCB had some information about where to look for violators. But they sent out alert letters to all retailers that they would be conducting the sting. Even with the warning 4 places out of 22 blew it. That's an astounding percentage. Employees involved have been fired and are subject...
Today I met my new doctor, which went very well and was a relief after what it took to get there. It started a couple of months ago when I signed up for medicare, then had to pick another insurance company because, well, that's how we do it in the US. That company needed to have a presence in Texas (my domicile) and on the Peninsula where I spend time. Got that squared away and then ended up in the emergency room in Nevada, still covered by...
35 years ago today the mountain erupted. Then, Rachel was 4 and Kate was an infant. I mention this because when we saw the eruption (from Seattle!) we had no idea what was in store for us. Going through this was scary. Every May 18 I think about the mountain. As interesting as it was, I never want to be there again. Volcanoes are terribly hard to predict. I always recommend new visitors to WA to go to the visitor center. A fascinating story.
The big parade marks the kickoff of the rhododendron festival in Port Townsend, which is the official start of the tourist season. Now the highways will be considerably busier on weekends, and I'll be thinking twice before going into town. Other than that, it will be fairly routine for me this week.
I bought my bike for $25 here in the SKP park, 5 years ago, and then trashed it up a bit. It's purpose was to serve for my first Burning Man, then I figured the playa dust and alkali would eat it up and I'd toss it. It survived my first BM, so I dragged it around in the back of my truck, subject to whatever weather I was in. And three more Burning Mans. Each year things got a bit looser; the crank and the axles mainly. This year at Burning Man I...
Things have been good, but very routine. Weather-wise it might be some light rain, or some splendid sun. It's quiet in Port Townsend, but tourist season starts next week. The boatyard was remarkably slow this season, and is now dwindling away. Not sure why so few boats were in winter layup this year. I'm making it a point to try out eating places in the region. The Peninsula has very few outstanding eating places, some excellent choices, and the...
Before I left in August I prepped the boat for a winter in the trees where it's parked. Everything I did was a complete failure; I managed to achieve the complete opposite of what I wanted. So I've got a big clean-up job. Tree detritus, mainly, but even after just one winter the famous PNW "green stuff" is growing on it. PNW green stuff is a mold, or a lichen, or an algae, that encourages moss. Green stuff loves boats, structures, vehicles, and...