Today we moseyed up to Government Street just before noon to check out the parade that was on the day's agenda. The parade ran from City Hall to what they now call the Legislative Building – what we've always known as the Parliament Building. The street wasn't restricted at all, and traffic of all sorts, from Ferraris to horse drawn carriages, were plying their way past. We wondered if there really was going to be a parade, but a crowd was gathering all along the street. Eventually we heard and saw a police car coming from the Old Town area. It was a 1941 Buick all dressed out in Victoria's police colors of that day, or so I assume. Following that came a procession of about 80 pieces of firefighting equipment, led by a couple of man drawn carriages. The horse drawn equipment was next, and both the equipment and the horses were just beautiful. We learned the variety of horse, but I've already forgotten that – but I can report that they were dapple gray.
I can't describe every fire truck that went by, but there were many varieties, shapes and sizes, from Model T's to the Cadillac from the Friday Harbor Fire Department. There was an outstanding steam powered horse drawn pumper, and it will be in operation tomorrow, so we'll go check that out.
This evening we had Trav and Barb over here for dinner, and we invited our neighbors, John and Vicky from the sailboat rafted to us, to join us for dessert later in the evening. They were planning on going out to dinner with about 14 other firefighters, and the timing was going to work out well for them. As it turned out, their reservations either fell through, or weren't made, and they couldn't get seating for that many people anywhere in town. They ended up dining on their boat with a friend of theirs, another fire fighter from Friday Harbor. Their friend was quickly added to the dessert invitation list, and they came over around 8 o'clock. We turned our helm seat around to create a large conversation area up on the bridge, and Erin served her special rum soaked fruit dessert. Peaches, pears and mangos were marinated in a mixture of rum, brown sugar and butter, and then seared in a frying pan. The mixture is then poured over the fruit and it's served in individual dishes. It was wonderful and enjoyed by all.
Their friend's name was Terry, and besides being another Friday Harbor resident and volunteer fire fighter, was also a long time holder of a 100 Ton Master Merchant Marine captain's license, the same ticket for which I am now qualified once I send in all the paperwork. He had many stories of working as an instructor, delivery captain or skipper on OPB's – Other People's Boats. John and Vicky retired from life in California several years ago, came to Friday Harbor and built their home there. In his former work life, he was a chemical engineer. In retirement, he has turned his photography interests into an avocation that is now a business on the island.
While we up on the bridge, some military ceremonies were taking place over in front of the Parliament Building, with several hundred sailors and a military band marching around with the colors from all the provinces. We're not sure what was involved, but we clearly heard the 100 gun rifle salute and the cannon fire.
The conversation at one point touched on the fact that both Trav and Erin loved the licorice flavor. Vicky headed back to their boat and reappeared with a bottle of Sambuca di Amore, a licorice flavored liqueur. It's pretty potent stuff, definitely a sipping liqueur. I have to report that even I think it's pretty good. At the end of the evening, Vicky gave the bottle to Erin, saying that they had plenty more. We will be savoring it the rest of the trip.
Another Friday Harbor fire fighter came by on the dock, and we invited him to join us. He was younger than the rest, and the conversation turned immediately to his inaugural fire. He was driving his kids to school when his pager, the fire alert, went off. He went to the fire station, told his kids to stay there, and hopped on the fire truck. They arrived at a fully engulfed apartment fire, and he was one of a two man team that went inside with a hose. They had the fire out in minutes, but Vicky had to go retrieve his kids from the firehouse.
The evening continued with stories from both the fire fighting aspect as well as boating stories from Captain Terry. We all had a great time and made some new acquaintances.
Tomorrow we plan on taking a look at some of the demos, including the 1922 Cadillac fire truck, which has its original engine, an aluminum block V8, in pristine condition. We're told it's a museum quality piece, so we're looking forward to a close inspection.
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