busy little beavers are we

Since we have been back in the bay we have been busy from morning till well, lets call it 7 ish? haha!

Neil has been finishing up all of our wiring. We had some temporary hanging wires overhead that got re routed and put behind the walls. A few other misc. re routing and no more dangling wires. The lazzerettes now have straps for our storage bins so no longer will they shift on a heel. I think I have mentioned before that Neil's back is just giving him fits right now so he is not doing a lot of lifting or bending but he can do wiring and the kids are the go to for tight spots and being the gophers..."go for this, go for that."

Stewart hopped in the water yesturday with Neil's hooka and put a zinc on for us and did a light rub down. He is really getting the hang of it, although as with myself, will be more incined to hop in when the water is a little warmer. It was good practice and we are very proud of him for helping out the family like that.

Katie has been dad's little monkey wrench and official puppy sitter. This may not sound like much but with puppy's and projects going on, it can be a full time affair. She is also quite the cook! We are very fortunate people to have such great and helpful kids.

I have spent my days here, epoxy priming, sanding, painting the hull, the trim and now the topside. It is a slow going process but when it is done ....haha, it is never done! I swear it is a vicious circle only to be repeated at least every other month, but only the touch up. It has been a long awaited project that I have been looking forward to for over a year. All of our modifications are done, and it is nice to see the topside all one color again. Hey I know we will all miss the mixed blue primer, brown, epoxy, and I think ther was even some red in there...but now, I am sorry to say, she is all white!

Still so much to do. We have extended our stay a few more days as the weather as soon as we got here turned cold and windy!

This marina thankfully is a bit more sheltered than MBYH was, but still windy! I am thankful to the sun who has been faithful at making his appearance everyday helping me out!

I have to say that this marina is a lovely place to be. I think there are at least 3 or 4 other boats here that are doing the Baja HaHa this year as well. This is a sailor's marina meaning that the people here are sailors, rain or shine, wind or no wind, hard core...haha.

The attitude of this marina in the beggining was the whole reason why we took our first heavy old boat out of the slip with no engine, and no lessons just desire to sail. We got her out and "Ka Pow!" we were hooked. With the encouragement of a few when asked, "We have no engine, how do we get her out?" the reply was simply "she's a sailboat isn't she? Sail her out!" And we did!

Any other marina we have been to has not shared such great enthusiasm as this place. It is so refreshing to hear people walking by and commenting on how great she looks, how excited they are and how many others have made the journey; even some as far as doing the puddle jump. Not that I needed this bit of boost from others but it is surely a nice change from a lot of negative statements of how crazy we are....boats too smaill...that looks weird....blah blah blah!

So with our ego's boosted and everyone (the family)pitching in, we will do just fine. We hope to be done with everything by Friday. This includes storage and getting rid of the car. Soooooo with that, I am off again to spend another sunny day listening to my IPod and working the brushes! Dos Cerveza's Por Favor! Ha Ha! (no but really, dos!).

Life is never dull

We left Sunday late afternoon for our sail back into the bay for one more week of clean up, help to friends and last minute to do's before we head out for good....

As we were leaving the jaws of the harbor, our engine died. It was not in the mood to re start...but hey, we are a sailboat after all so at around 4 pm. we headed out and had light but steady winds. Away we went for what we hoped to be a gorgeous almost full moon sail into the bay.

Just before midnight, we were about 2o miles offshore, little to no wind. Full moon shining bright and me with my first case of sea sickness in a very long time...Katie was also taking turns with me on this..I know I hate to admit this, but oh my, it was pretty bad. I think it was a combination of being overly tired from the weeks events, followed by rough seas in the beginning, big square 12 footers and being below decks for too long.....

So we hove to for about 8 hours. We all got some rest out away from the shore, only to be awakened from time to time by a larger wave and a lerching of the boat. It was quite peaceful and the moon was so bright it looked like a spot light! As we were hove to you could realy feel the sea alive and breathing with its slight swells and flowy temperment. Nice and steady rise and fall, rythmic, patterned, like it was fully alive.

The next morning, after Neil took night watch, I took over the shift, tummy much better by then...I hated that I missed the first night outside...but it happens, what can you do?

The swells were nice and rolly, not too steep and the winds were fair. The sun was shining bright and I spent a good majority of time with the wind pilor set and Daisy and I were in the hammock just enjoying the sea and sun.

Afternoon...the wind dies down and we are slowly heading towards shore. Good thing we like to go out so far or else it would be a bit spooky. But we were never worried, just bummed.

I can see Pacifica and Daily City...no wind. Neil and the kids are up and we start the engine for a motor sail.

The engine runs for all of 30 minutes and..dies.

We let her cool down..we realize that we had some plastic stuck on it from weeks ago..lost a lid and it has adhered to the exhaust and is smothering the carburetor. We open up the lazzeretes in hopes to let her breathe. This helps for a little while, but still keeps dying.

We are within 7 miles of the gate. The sun is hot. The wind is less than 3 knots. Not enough to get out the Genaker. We bob. We wait for tide to turn. Pray for wind and enjoy the glorious day while we think of things to get more air to the engine.

We have never trusted the engine...probably because we started in boats without engines and have only used them in emergencies, never to rely on them. This one is old. It has had leaks in the exhaust off and on. It is too old to get parts for..we knew this...again, we are a sailboat and didn't stress about it

At this point we were over 24 hours from Half Moon Bay going into the bay. We have slowly made progress towards the gate. We are approaching it slowly and the tide has changed. Stewart has been fishing for a while as Katie plays with Daisy and the pups on the foredeck out about 4 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge.

The waves are starting to build after being so calm for the entire afternoon. Still not enough wind to get anywhere. We brainstorm...we need air flow...have a leak..even when it is cleaned up and there is nothing around the engine, there is still not enough air...

A thought.

We have the generator.

We have a shop vac.

Turn on the generator, reverse the air to "out" and aim it at the carb.

Genious!

Engine runs, we are limping in under the gate in no time. We shut her down until we hit Aquatic Park entrance. Still no wind. We make it into the park.

Anchor safely at night fall. We are all thankful, tired, happy, excited, relieved and a bit bummed that we lost a paddle for the skiff along the way.

No worries though! A beautiful night. Bright moon, warm hot night.....totally unusual for the bay....we sleep like babies.

The next day we have enough wind to make it into the slip just in time for a few days of warm weather.

Today I took advantage of that and got some long awaited epoxy prime on the dodger and all the other repair spots that needed it.

Allready she looks awsome and I can't wait to see her all shiny again. A few days here, alot to do, and we are soooooo stoked to be off soon...very soon in fact!

Our friends that just got married are in tow and just made it into the bay themselves tonight. We hope to meet up with them amongst other friends as a bit of a last minute farewell. I will miss everyone, for sure, but also hope that others will follow suit and well.....What are ya waitin for? hehe!

So wish us luck with all our little projects and such...it has been a great start....not lacking in excitement to say the least....

Oh and Neil has almost fixed the leak on the engine...fingers crossed for a few more miles on her before she croaks!

Awwww Weddings...

Ok so I Cried a bit....you know what, I finally understand why people cry at weddings. It is because they remember their own and how much emotions were going through them at the time and they become an emotional wreck...teary, and full of happy loving smiles.....enter Tiffin stage right!......(Make Up!)....haha!

It wasn't what I thought it would be for a "Hippee Wedding". The Bride was Gorgeous..(not that she wasn't already..."Crystal you are SooooooOOOO Beautiful!!"...and the Groom was very classy... I was very flattered to be part of it all! Although I was expecting some flamboyant fabrics and way more tye dyed fabrics...black dresses and tattoos seemed to overtake the dress de' zure....(spelling???)...

It was a very sweet and simple wedding with a lot of love surrounding them. I feel very fortunate to be a part of their special day and it was not at all as I had thought it would be.

Neil and I are seriously thinking of renewing our vows later...down south and the question I pose is this : can you have a renewal ceremony when it is not your anniversary date? I say,,,why not??

This one, being a bit non traditional, was not about honor, cherish, death...it was more like blessings, love, respect, cherish, enjoy, relish, grow, on and on...I liked it! In fact I really loved it. They looked into each others eyes and really really meant the words they said...Her ring looked like a wave and his was not completely symetrical gold ring..They should last a long time to come!

So to Neil I asked....will you? and He said..."Ya Baby!"


Tomorrow we hope to head back into the bay and make it there before midnight. If not thats ok, it should be a lot of moon and hopefully not a lot of fog...a night spent in Aquatic Park and than off to Marina where it all started a "hand full" of years ago...

Tonight..rest, fun, remembering, laughing, and warm fuzziness in our chests. Life is definately an adventure...and some days are more memorable than others!

Wedding Tomorrow

**above is the view overlooking the wedding site**(beautiful!!)

We didn't quite make it to Jim and Kara's on Wednesday but we were glad to get there yesturday with puppy's in tow. After an afternoon with Joyce and Barry we headed over to Jack London Square to meet up with them. I have to admit going from a roaring windy marina like MBYH in Pt. Richmond to Jack London Square in Oakland it was a night and day difference. I can definately see why they moved their sweet boat over there. It was warm and sunny and well, lovely.

The puppy's had a good time running around there aft enclosed "porch" not quite sure of what their bounderies were. (now we need a bigger back yard...haha). It was good to catch up over beer and pizza.....**I got such a kick out of seeing Jim go and get the delivered pizza at Mach 10 on his segway, it was still piping hot...haha**

For all the happenings going on lately it was sure nice to catch up and talk about the upcoming events. This also put more fire in our pots to hurry up and just take off...speaking of which..**Lori, if you are reading this...I saw your "Camelot" heading down to Alameda...and she is Gorgeous!!...I will harass you on Facebook later over that one and can't wait to do the Baja HaHa with you too!**

Today Neil spent the day helping Barry get ready for some serious wiring for his solar panels and his wind generator...projects....but soon they will be done and we can all relax...

Joyce and I did the girley task of laundry..and well shopping. It was a lot of fun to just be silly, with tasks at hand and just hang out together.

Tomorrow I will have the pleasure of being a bridesmaid at my very first "Hippee Wedding." I am very curious to see the combination between "Hippee and Deep Sea Fisherman." It will be a very special union, and one that I am sure I will not forget for a long time to come...so everyone...."we wish you the very best, Aubrey and Crystal."

After the wedding we will get the boat ready to take her into the bay one last time. This time we will be returning to the marina in which we got started almost 5 years ago with our first boat. We will spend the next week getting our storage emptied, our boat loaded, our car sold, and our 2 puppys to their new homes...well maybe one more week after that...and than....well, than....we are done....no more attatchments for the most part...and what little will be left, well....wow! We will be free. It is a bit overwhelming so for now, I focus on the wedding tomorrow.

It will be a beach front wedding in front of the "Mavericks" waves followed by a real seafood fest and a good combination of different backgrounds coming together for a celebration of 2 souls. It will be like a Lennon Song......."People say I'm a dreamer.....but I'm not the only one....I hope some day they will join us.....and the world will live as one...." (Imagine). That song will be playing in my head tonight as I try to go to sleep.....it was a good song....hmmm hmmmm hmmmmmmmmm....

Sunshiny Days

Last weekend we were pleasantly surprised by the visitation of some of our friends here on anchorage. It is one thing to be on a shared dock with your boating buddies but when they make a trip just to say hello and see whats up, it is heart warming to say the least. We were happy to see our friend Ken from "Aquilla" whom I thoroughly enjoyed hearing his tales of crossing the ocean a few years ago. Ken got handed a puppy, instead of the usual beer, aboard and it was a short but lovely chat. "Thanks for stopping by Ken!"( not to worry we still have all the puppys!)

The next morning, Neil and I were "busted" for sleeping in. Our fun friends aboard "TallyWacket", Jim and Kara, got on their loud speaker from their "power yacht" and announced what sounded like "wake up!". Stewart jumped up and met them on the back deck while Neil and I got our butts up...hey sometimes we get to sleep in and not just the kids!!

It was a real shame to find out they had come down for a visit and dinner the night before not realizing we were anchored out. Bummer! We were definately surprised and felt very special that we have such loving friends. I am looking forward to getting together with them on Wednesday to catch up and hopefully twist their arms into joining us and Joyce and Barry "Jubilee II" for fun in the sun down south this winter!

After that yesturday was a mixed blessing day taking care of one of our last big business matters (for those of you who know the skinny...thank you for your thoughts and prayers..). All in all it was a good day, but unfortunately we may have to stay a wee little bit longer. Although now, we are going to spend our time doing a little more sailing. I want to go to the Farralons again one more time, and than down to Santa Cruz, Monterey and maybe a little further south this time. Who knows, we may just keep heading south and just take the train back for a few other little piddly things yet to finish. I must say we are definately ready for sunshine to say the least.

The puppys are doing so good. So is Momma (Daisy). They are little eating, sleeping and pooping machines. They are getting big and very playful. They are doing great with the paper training as well. The hard part now is deciding which ones to keep. Originally we wanted just a girl...but the boys...oh they are just so cute. All different personality's. The little boy whom I have nicknamed "Spot" follows me araound everywhere and whines when I leave the room...Oh my..what have we done!!! So we will have the laborous task of making the choices...can we survive with more that 2 dogs aboard a tiny sailboat with 2 kids? haha, don't think for a minute that all of us didn't say "sure we could" at some point...funny...but no, we can't do it, can we?? haha!

This week we will be helping out some friends get some more prep work done. Try to have storage down to nothing, get the car ready to be sold, the puppy's need to have shots soon and need to be chipped..at least the ones we keep...oh geez! now I am back to making the big decision again of whom!!....ok, so I won't think about that just yet....Lot's to do, but all fun and good stuff.

I tell you what, last night I slept so well that I didn't even hear Neil snore!! Now that's a sound sleep! (sorry baby!)...

Oh the sun is coming out!! My heart feels warm and sunny also...it is going to be a good day....and thanks again to all our wonderful friends and adopted family who make every day such a joy! We sure do love you all!

The desire

The puppys have come full circle. Momma is doing great. We are all getting a decent nights sleep and the pup's are starting to want to play a little bit with momma. We gave them a little bit of mushy food the last few days. It is so funny to see them eat the "slop" made out of warmed formula and puppy food. The boys dive right in and literally "hoover" it up like a vacuum, all the while sprawled out across the plate as if to say, "Mine!". The little girl sneaks her way in underneath and pushes them at just the right moment to shovel them off the plate as she freaks out with excitement to be eating the new treat. Needless to say I am glad that we have never finished the floor to level "pretty" as of yet. My new rug is made of newspaper and is easy to clean! haha. They are cute little buggars!

Neil and I have an overwhelming feeling of rush and desire to go this week. It was as if we were all "hove to" with puppy's and now that they have gotten older it's like, "Oh no! We're late, we're late, for a very important date, no time to say hello, goodbye! We're late, we're late, we're late!"

In all reality we are not late, just antsy. Right now we would love to head south, head out, head north...head somewhere, anywhere, yet we have a few more loose ends to take care of before we leave..not too much longer, I hope.

We have most of storage gone through and organized. It is something to empty out a house, take just what you think you need, only to weed through it every month or so and whittle it down until you have this small pile of treasure. You let it sit for another month and realize you have a small pile of???haha! I have gone through my clothes, books, and supplies over and over. Each time I realize I just don't need all this stuff. Other days I look at my little pile and think, "Oh no! I have no stuff at all?" (ok, so now it is starting to sound like a George Carlin skitt here....he was a fun guy, hey?...anyway....).

In a few weeks we will attend our first sea fareing wedding. It will be one of the last things we do before we go. I am curious to see what the groom will wear as I have never seen him without his full "aye Matey", commercial fishing, rubber boot wearing ensemble. It will be full of the same..so we shall wait and see.

I am very anxious to head south, for warmth, adventure, education, and well, because for the last year we have been gearing up for this new life. So far being on anchor full time and taking our dinghy to shore for food,gas, water, and other has been kind of fun, and freeing all at the same time. I know some may get tired of it, but I am sure that the feelings there are because they are stuck in the same place everyday. I look forward to the option of having options.

Until the day....the desire is growing with increasing heat and ravenous appetite...to put it mildly.