An unusually large number of bands we like were touring this summer, and we attended live concerts by Eddie Vedder, Willy Porter, Bush, Shinedown, Black Stone Cherry and, Jimmy Eat World, and The Offspring. We enjoyed them all, but most memorable was James’ August birthday celebration, where we met Bush and and watched them perform several songs right from the stage.

After spending the first part of the summer in the Seattle area, enjoying the waterfront and the warm, sunny weather we made several weekend trips to destinations including Cozumel, Niagara Falls, San Francisco, Chicago and Houston. And we made one major local hiking trip to Camp Muir at altitude 10,188 ft (3,075 m), the main base camp for Mt. Rainier ascents and the mountain’s highest point accessible without a climbing permit.

Below are highlights from June 2 through August 23, 2025. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a map with our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

6/2/2025

Starlink Mini Position: 47°36.99’N, -122°20.58’W Our new Starlilnk Mini just arrived. It’s barely the size of a pad of paper and easily fits in James’ backpack. The standard Starlink has better bandwidth, but the mini will be much more convenient to carry with us on trips.

6/6/2025

Dexafit Seattle Position: 47°37.17’N, -122°21.51’W Taking a VO2 max at Dexafit in Seattle to gauge our cardiovascular fitness. The good news is that James’ score has been steadily improving, but Jennifer’s has been falling. Read more …

Exotic Cars Position: 47°37.04’N, -122°20.56’W The frequently changing pair of exotic cars are parked in these two spaces in our apartment complex. A blue Ferrari has replaced the yellow one that was there before.

Cloudburst Position: 47°36.69’N, -122°20.71’W Enjoying delicious hazy IPAs at one of our favorite haunts, Cloudburst Brewing near Pike Place Market.

6/7/2025

Symphony Position: 47°36.64’N, -122°20.91’W Nordhavn 40 Symphony moored at our old home port, Bell Harbor Marina.

Norwegian Bliss Position: 47°36.65’N, -122°20.90’W Watching the Norwegian Bliss depart Pier 66 in Seattle from the patio of Anthony’s restaurant.

Amtrak Position: 47°36.89’N, -122°21.24’W An Amtrak train heading north along the tracks adjacent to Here Today brewery, where we stopped for a pint on our way home.

Growth & Reinvention Position: 47°36.77’N, -122°20.56’W The mural Growth & Reinvention, painted by Seattle-based artist Joe Nix for the second annual Belltown Mural Festival.

6/8/2025

Starlink Mini Position: 47°36.63’N, -122°19.95’W Testing out the Starlink mini in motion in the car. It maintained a connection surprisingly well given all the obstructions.

Stoup Brewing Position: 47°45.59’N, -122°15.05’W We stopped in for a drink at Stoup Brewing in Kenmore while out for a day trip to test our new Starlink mini in motion.

6/12/2025

L’Ecole Wine Dinner with Marty Clubb Position: 47°36.73’N, -122°20.77’W Marty Clubb, owner of L’Ecole Winery in Walla Walla, describing a vintage at a winemaker’s dinner at Aerlume restaurant in Seattle.

6/14/2025

SLU Farmer’s Market Position: 47°36.96’N, -122°20.41’W A stretch of 6th Ave is closed on summer Saturdays for the South Lake Union (SLU) Farmer’s Market.

No Kings Protest Position: 47°37.12’N, -122°20.60’W Over 70,000 people participated in a “No Kings” rally today, making it one of the largest demonstrations ever held in Seattle.

Cosmic Heartbeat Position: 47°36.96’N, -122°20.57’W The mural Cosmic Heartbeat, by local artist Aramis O. Hamer, at 5th and Bell in Seattle.

Seattle Mariners Position: 47°35.46’N, -122°19.99’W The ball just leaving Emerson Hancock’s hand during a Seattle Mariners 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians.

6/15/2025

Bell Harbor Rendezvous Position: 47°36.65’N, -122°20.93’W The 28th annual Bell Harbor Rendezvous showcases meticulously-maintained classic yachts.

6/16/2025

Kate Humphries Position: 47°37.06’N, -122°20.35’W Dinner at Wild Ginger in Seattle with our friend Kate Humphries, who was visiting the area from her home in Melbourne, Australia. We’ve not seen Kate since she Falmouth, UK, where she helped us get badly needed O-rings for our main engine on Boxing Day. Kate is an avid boater and wonderful company—we had a great time catching up.

6/17/2025

Dust Position: 47°36.99’N, -122°20.58’W Dust blowing into the water from a cargo ship moored in Elliott Bay.

6/18/2025

Club World Cup Position: 47°36.81’N, -122°20.23’W Team buses for the Brazilian soccer club Botafogo parked outside the Westin hotel in Seattle. As part of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Botagofo will be taking on the local local Seattle Sounders in six matches over two weeks. The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is similar to the FIFA World Cup, with with clubs instead of countries vying for the trophy.

Nitrox class Position: 47°42.38’N, -122°20.71’W Before our trip to Cozumel, we completed Nitrox certifications at our original dive school, Underwater Sports in Seattle. Back in the late 1980s, this is where we first bought all our dive gear and completed our PADI certifications, from Open Water to Rescue Diver, plus various advanced courses including Drysuit, Night and Deep dives. We probably hadn’t been in the store for over two decades and it was fun to be back after all those years. We’d never bothered to get Nitrox certifications in the past because during our trip around the world we were diving off Dirona with our own air compressor, and didn’t have the capability to produce mixed gases.

6/19/2025

Eddie Vedder Position: 47°37.29’N, -122°20.91’W This evening we attended an “Evening with Eddie Vedder” at the Museum of Pop Culture. After an enlightening interview, Vedder put on a wonderful show. He is a talented and charismatic performer, and we felt privileged to watch him perform in such a small venue. More photos here.

6/21/2025

The Nest Position: 47°36.64’N, -122°20.48’W We stopped in for a drink with a fabulous view to Elliott Bay at The Nest rooftop bar in Seattle.

6/22/2025

Drysuit Position: 47°35.31’N, -122°22.79’W A diver entering the chilly Puget Sound waters in West Seattle, where we stopped off during a day trip. We frequently dove here in our own drysuits in the 1990s.

Great Notion Brewing Position: 47°32.86’N, -122°18.89’W A delicious brew at Great Notion Brewing near Boeing Field in Seattle.

Norwegian Encore Position: 47°36.65’N, -122°20.90’W An early dinner at Anthony’s Pier 66 to watch the Norwegian Encore depart for Alaska.

6/27/2025

Niagara Falls Position: 43°4.78’N, -79°4.91’W “Why are you going to Burlington?” the Niagara Falls Canada Customs officer asked, somewhat dubiously, after we stated our plan to spend the following night there before returning back home to Seattle. “The night life”, we joked, before giving the actual reason of attending a friend’s birthday party. Burlington, a small community of just under 200,000 people on the western-most extreme of the Greater Toronto Area, is known more for its transportation infrastructure than its night clubs. Read more …

7/5/2025

Cozumel Position: 20°27.81’N, -86°59.03’W The Great Mayan Reef is the second largest in the world, stretching 700 miles (1,126 km) along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. After diving the reef during a day-trip to Honduras as part of a Caribbean cruise, we returned a few months later to spend a long weekend diving in Cozumel. An island off the coast of Mexico near Cancun, Cozumel is renowned for its world-class diving, with excellent visibility, diverse sea life, and complex underwater topography. Read more …

7/11/2025

Maiz Molino Position: 47°37.03’N, -122°20.58’W Enjoying a Margarita at Maiz Molino, on the main floor of our apartment complex in Seattle.

7/12/2025

5mm Wetsuit Position: 47°36.99’N, -122°20.58’W Today we did an inventory of our scuba gear, trying on our various wetsuits to make sure they all still fit. Here Jennifer is wearing the 5mm that we purchased in New Zealand. It still fit well, but was really, really warm.

7/13/2025

Urban Family Brewing Position: 47°39.97’N, -122°22.26’W A tasty hazy IPA at Urban Family Brewing in Ballard on a sunny and warm summer afternoon.

7/19/2025

Hiking to Camp Muir with a CGM Position: 46°50.13’N, -121°43.94’W Camp Muir is the main base camp for Mt. Rainier ascents and, at altitude 10,188 ft (3,075 m), is the mountain’s highest point accessible without a climbing permit. Reaching the camp, named after famed naturalist John Muir, requires a 4.4-mile (7 km) trek with an altitude gain of 4,639-ft (1,413 m), much of it across the Muir Snowfield. We’d been wanting to make the hike for a while, but were a little nervous about taking it on as the climb is considered quite strenuous and we’ve read of several people who had “bonked” in the attempt. Read more …

Willy Porter Position: 47°37.63’N, -122°18.66’W An intimate performance from singer-song writer Willy Porter following a private event. Porter, who was recently inducted into the Wisconsin Area Music Industry Hall of Fame, is a talented acoustic guitarist with a soulful baritone. We’d not heard him play before, and enjoyed the show immensely.

8/1/2025

San Francisco Position: 37°47.44’N, -122°23.34’W After the great fire of 1906 destroyed 80% of San Francisco, the city rebuilt rapidly and in grand style. Banks, business and government buildings, many in the neo-classical architecture, were erected quickly, but built to last, and still stand over a century later. So rapid was the reconstruction that the city was able to celebrate its recovery a mere 11 years later by hosting the 1915 World’s Fair (Panama–Pacific International Exposition). We’ve spent a lot of time in the San Francisco Bay area over the decades, and even lived there for a few weeks before crossing the Pacific Ocean on our round-the-world trip in Dirona. But most of that time was in the southern Bay, in and around Silicon Valley. We’d spent relatively little time in San Francisco proper. When James had a business meeting one Friday in downtown San Francisco, we took the opportunity to explore the city the following weekend. Read more …

8/8/2025

Happy Birthday James Position: 47°36.99’N, -122°20.58’W Celebrating James’ birthday with a candle in his morning toast.

Bush Position: 47°37.28’N, -122°21.26’W The main event for James’ birthday was seeing Bush in concert, where we met the band and watched several songs actually on the stage. Read more …

8/16/2025

Black Stone Cherry Position: 41°54.80’N, -88°18.72’W Black Stone Cherry is not what you would call a complicated band, but we really like their music, and they are energetic and enthusiastic performers, particularly guitarist Ben Wells. After seeing a video of their signature “Devil’s Queen” at Royal Albert Hall in London, we wanted to duplicate that experience and finally did at the Arcada Theater in St. Charles, Illinois just outside Chicago. Read more …

8/23/2025

The Offspring Position: 30°9.67’N, -95°27.84’W Our next concert was The Offspring at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands just outside Houston. Read more …

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map. And a map of our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.