Week In Review

Wow! What a busy week it has been. Neil's dad and little brother (no matter how old, he will always be the "little" brother) flew in from La Paz on late Wednesday night.
It has been close to 7 years since we have all seen each other. Time flys, hey?

Thursday we were off to the "Boat Show" at Jack London Square in Oakland. Jack London is always a neat place to go and restaurant hop or see a good flick, but when combined with the latest and greatest sailboats and powerboats along with booths for every marine dealer....it's like Christmas for us die hards!

It was a lot of fun to see the reactions of our family guests as they went from boat to boat. After seeing his (still up in the air) boat in La Paz, which does need quite a bit of TLC, he was able to get a better feel of what the potential could be. This being said, I think anyone who stepped into the huge Jeneau on the end agrees that their are some boats that make your tongue fall out and drag on the ground....only $800K? (before taxes). Oh My! Thursday was spent with family and we had a good time later that night closing down the Boiler House.

Friday was all about the deals. We met up with our clients/friends.(Michael T. and Michael G., plus or minus a few). We spent the day wheeling and dealing everything from sails to refridgerators. Neil and I have done all this before, most of it before we were in business. This year we are coming in with our business contacts in our favor. Knowing the Managers of the two major players in the marine industry was definately good news for Michael who is refitting his boat. I hate to play pit boss, but it was a matter of, "how low can you go." (within reason, of coarse!). All in all it was a great day. We scored a new Gennaker sail for a down wind run. These are great when there is little to no wind. We got a great price from the boys who made our head sail...We will have "Doyle Sails" plastered all over the place! haha.

Saturday was spent playing tourist in the City by the Bay. We took Neil's dad, Jamie, and little brother, Lewis, along with the kid's friends Ian and Kira, to go and play tourist at Pier 39 and Fishermans Wharf. It has been a while since we have gone but it was a lot of fun. As always, we had to try on alot of silly hats at the hat shop on the boardwalk. It was a warm night and it is always fun to "gawk" at all the street performers and do the "bum count challenge." (they are realy out on the weekends!).The kids walked around in their own little group and we (us old farts) hung back and checked out the wine bar. A yummy dinner at the bread shop and we shut down the city.

Sunday was for lack of a better word, "lazy!". Neil and I went for a morning skiff ride around Brooks Island for a peek of the harbor seal pups on the back side rocks. These guys were not used to seeing people so they were quick to jump in the water and pop their heads out to take a peek at us. They look like little "Daisy's" with their big puppy dog eyes. When we got back we jumped up into our 2 hammocks in the cockpit and just relaxed until Jamie and Lewis got here. The kid's spent the morning with their friends before they went home. We had a fun time just B.S.ing the rest of the day.

Dinner at Hotel Mac with the boys. Than back to the boat where we woke up a sleeping Jamie with a seal bomb that shook the whole boat! It was funny and yes, we got it on video!




The "boys" left early Monday, and we are back to business as usual. Great improvements are being made on Michael's boat, and a little here and there on ours. We hope to be gone in 3 weeks. It will all depend on the planets aligning just right! haha. Either way..as our friend Lori said, "there will be a conga line out the gate!". To which I stated, "Shall we dance?".

Yes, I think we will!