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Mañana's Great Adventure - Part II

The Prayer - by David Foster

I pray you'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know
Let this be our prayer
As we go our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe

I pray we'll find your light
And hold it in our hearts
When stars go out each night
Let this be our prayer
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe.

We ask that life be kind
And watch us from above
We hope each soul will find
Another soul to love
Let this be our prayer
Just like every child
Needs to find a place,
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe

Isla Coronado Sur

Aug. 30, 2007: We left Mission Bay at 0615 in the rush hour of boaters headed out to go fishing. Our ultimate destination will be Ensenada, but we decided to check out Isla Coronado Sur, which is reported to have a decent fair-weather achorage. There are numerous fish pens in the area and we were warned to watch for kelp. There was a sailboat at anchor when we arrived and no kelp in sight, so we decided to give it a shot. We anchored in 30' of water, which is deep for us. The water is teal green and very clear. Shortly after arriving, we hoisted the Mexican courtesy flag and deployed our flopper stopper. Somewhere along the line we've misplaced two of the lines for it; Jim did a good job of jury-rigging it. We quickly learned that the down side of this anchorage is the number of flies that have decided to come aboard. There was a decent current running under us later in the evening but we slept well.

Aug. 29, 2007: The holding tank light indicated that the tank was full, which was our indication that it was time to leave Dodge. What started out to be a 3.5 mile cruise ended up being a 9.5 hour cruise. Initially we thought we'd hop over to Little Harbor but then Jim thought it would be fun to anchor at the south end of San Clemente Island. The problem with that is that San Clemente is now basically under the US Navy's control and one must receive permission. So Jim left a voice message requesting permission to spend the night, but a short while later realized that we were out of cell phone range and we were well past Little Harbor as well. Our next thought was to head to Mission Bay, but by now it was 0900 and it is an 11 hour ride, which would have put us at Mission Bay in the dark. No worries, mate! Just push the lever with the red knob on it until the engine makes a louder noise! Although the swells and wind waves were present, they were from behind us and we caught a favorable current for a while, allowing us to cruise between 9-10 kts -- yee haw!! We arrived Mission Bay at 1830. I don't know whether the boys recognized the smell or whether they were just anxious to get out on deck, but they both had their noses in the air, twitching.

Day Trip to Avalon

Aug. 28, 2007: We had been vascillating back and forth whether to take the boat to Avalon or just take the bus. In the end, we decided to take the bus, figuring that the cost was probably a wash. The bus left Two Harbors at 1000 and this was not a trip for the faint of heart! The road between Two Harbors and the airport is hard-packed dirt, occasionally wash board. It goes along the side of the hills, with no guard rails. However, the scenery is spectacular (if you're brave enough to open your eyes!) and we saw numerous buffalo. We switched buses at the airport and continued the trip into Avalon on badly paved roads with switch-back turns that required mirrors to see who is coming around the curve and no guard rails, arriving at noon. We passed through the area above Avalon that burned in the recent fire -- it really did come close. Avalon is a small town that lives for tourists. Unfortunately a cruise ship was in port which added more people than what would have been normal. However, seeing the craziness of the harbor, the proximity of the mooring balls and the rolliness of the harbor, we were happy that we'd decided to take the bus. We had 4 hours to kill before we caught the return bus, so we walked around and checked out the waterfront. The stores all sell the same overpriced t-shirts so we avoided them for the most part. We walked out to the famous casino, now a movie theater. Tours were offered, but we thought the price of $16 pp a bit steep. One thing that stuck out was that golf carts are the main vehicle of choice in Avalon! It's totally strange to see them everywhere, but they definitely make sense. We returned to Two Harbors at 1720 and stopped into the restaurant for another one of those yummy buffalo milks (creme de cocoa, creme de banana, vodka, ice, & milk, blended. Pour into glass. Top with whipped cream, cinnamon and kahlua.) before heading back to our boyz on the boat. Had a wet ride back as the wind was wild.

Aug. 26, 2007: Today was a "lay low" day -- too much partying last night. This is what happens when old fogies pretend they are young whippersnappers! One of our friends in Chula Vista told us that we are supposed to do one chore a day when cruising, so Jim secured the new stern anchor. However, to do that, he had to remount the Lifesling. I swear there are no easy tasks on a boat! In mid-afternoon, while the wind was blowing like stink, we went ashore for a trash run and then walked across the isthmus for a buffalo milk (a yummy drink) and a trip to the grocery store. The wind continued to blow in the 20-25 kt. range until early evening, causing us to swing, rock and roll. Ah, I just LOVE being at anchor! ;-).

View of Cat Harbor

Aug. 24-25, 2007: The rendezvous has been fun so far. In addition to playing, we've squeezed chores in when we could. Jim tried to fix the ship's clock, but couldn't get it to accurately count off the correct number of bells, so the switch is turned off (and so far, the bell hasn't rung). He also came up with Plan B for the freezer by removing the fan from the refrigeration system and putting it into the freezer and hooking up a temporary fan for the refrigeration system. We'll buy 2 fans when we find them. Last night was an appetizer competition -- such fantastic foods -- who wanted to have dinner afterwards? But John and Carol invited us back to their boat and John put salmon, steak and asparagus on the grill and we had that at 2030. Yum! We tested the BMW's occupancy rating by bringing 4 of the Horizon Yacht brokers back to their show boat. The BMW handled it easily. One of the brokers had had one too many mai-tais and it was rather entertaining watching him try to climb out of the BMW onto the swim step (he wasn't a little guy)! But all made it aboard safely. Breakfast was served this morning, although there was a bit of panic when the caterer realized that their coffee maker didn't work! Not to worry! Folks went back to their boats and returned with several Mr. Coffees. Aaron from the Catalina Island Conservancy spoke to us about wildlife on the island and afterwards, we went on a brief hike. He was a wealth of knowledge and told us that 50 Catalina foxes have collars on them for tracking purposes, and of the efforts that have been made in reintroducing the bald eagle back to the island. After the tour, Jim and I decided to check out the new 50' DeFever. Pat (the broker) took our line and tied us up while we toured the boat. As we were getting ready to leave the boat, someone asked how many dinghies should have been tied up, as one was floating alone in the anchorage. A quick look and sure enough, there was the BMW! Another boater retrieved our dinghy for us, but we wondered if the BMW is going to start running away on us as Ruthie had tried to do several years ago. Pat was mortified, and I suggested that perhaps he could make us a really good deal because we hadn't made them swim back to the boat last night and he had just almost lost our dinghy (not that it would really have gone too far). However, the new DeFever has a price tag of $650,000 with NO electronics, dinghy davit or watermaker. Pat figured we could have ourselves a nice cruising boat for around $700,000! Yea, sure! I loved the layout and the extra space, but the price tag is crazy! Dinner was held at the yacht club, after which Arthur DeFever spoke. He has such an amazing memory, given that he is now 90 years old! Music was provided by Yvonne Perea (www.whitegirlblues.com) -- she and a partner sang oldies and had a good chunk of the crowd (including us) on the floor dancing. It was a nice conclusion to a wonderful rendezvous!

Arthur & Ruth DeFever

Aug. 23, 2007: It was very rolly so we set the steadying sail -- much better (but still rolly). Jim and I had our own chores to attend to. I sanded the starboard rail and got one coat of varnish on it, and then we proceeded to defrost the freezer. Lately the interior temperature is at 24 degrees instead of 10. Jim discovered the fan is not working, and a quick call to Sea Freeze confirmed that is our problem. There is a small warehouse on island that stocks a wide variety of "stuff", so we headed over there with the hope that a fan might be in stock, but there wasn't. We'll just have to hope that either Jim can come up with Plan B or that the freezer decides to stay at 24 degrees! The rendezvous officially began at 1600 with a wine and appetizer social gathering at The Banning House, which is an 11 room B&B built on the top of a hill. The house was built in 1910 and affords spectacular views of both sides of the isthmus. We had another chance to talk to Arthur DeFever about the 38' DeFevers. Supposedly only 1000 were built and ours is hull #2. He also stated that our hull is a combination of mahogany and Japanese kiacki (? spelling), which is a hard wood. Although the social supposedly ended at 1800, people didn't leave until well after 1930. We ran into Carol and John (Sea Rogue), a couple we met last year and whose company we thoroughly enjoyed. Afterwards we walked to Two Harbors and had dinner with them. We headed back to the boat at 2100, in the pitch black. We hadn't planned on being out this late, so we hadn't turned on our anchor light, nor had we brought the dinghy's running lights with us -- oops! Thank goodness the Harbor Patrol wasn't out and about!

Aug. 22, 2007: Jim woke up at 0500 and asked what time I wanted to get underway. My response was "not now". We caught another 40 winks before rolling out of bed at 0615 and were underway, bound for the DeFever Rendezvous on Catalina Island, by 0645. We were greeted with extremely sloppy seas. The waves were from the SE, the swells were from the W and we were headed SW. So for 20 + miles, the ride was up, down, roll left, roll right, up, roll left, down, roll right, etc., etc., etc.! We altered course a couple of times trying to find a more comfortable one, but one course had us rolling heavier and another had us pounding more. And unfortunately we had a foul current making it a longer trip (lovely...) It wasn't until we were in the lee of the island that the ride turned decent. The cats seem to be getting their sea legs. For the most part, Jerry stayed down below curled up on the bed and DC "assumed the position", although he had to have his claws into the settee back cushion to hold him into place at times! The Rendezvous doesn't offically start until tomorrow evening, but there were already many DeFevers in the anchorage. We are the only DeFever at this time at anchor -- everyone else is on a mooring ball at $26 (or more) per night. Being unemployed, we can think of many ways to spend $100. At 1700, 12 of us walked over to the Isthmus and had drinks and dinner at the restaurant. It was good conversation and a nice way to get to know people. We returned at 2000 and climbed into bed.

Yee Gads!! Don't Let Martha See This!

Aug. 21, 2007: The attack of the V-berth...aka the day the ship's bell wouldn't stop dinging. A phone call from Andy suggested that we'd see Sue around 1700 so we felt that we would have plenty of time to clean out the garage. We began the attack at 0900 and after a few hours, there was virtually no clear floor or counter space. Not one to pass up an available laundromat, I headed off with a couple loads of laundry while Jim started going through the piles (electrical, plumbing, next project, electronics, tools, maintenance, etc). I returned a couple hours later to find the boat looking pretty much like I had left it. At 1530 the phone rang and it was Sue, telling us she was at the marina. Jim's voice saying "Already?" said it all! Sue graciously visited while Jim put things back, unsorted. We had a delightful visit with Andy and Sue. They live in the city known as "Surf City USA" (the next time you hear the oldie by Jan & Dean singing about Surf City, you'll know it is a real place). Even though we don't see or talk to them often, we're still able to pick up where we left off. Corey is now 14 and nearly as tall as Andy. We didn't leave their house until 2315 and arrived back to a boat that was not ready to head out to sea tomorrow morning. We didn't climb into bed until 0030 -- ugh!

Now the story of the ship's bell...last week the bell started ringing at odd times and not ringing the correct amount of bells. So Jim physically moved the switch for the ring to "off". During today's breakfast, the bell started ringing and wouldn't stop -- ding, ding, ding, etc. Thinking that somehow perhaps the switch popped back into the "on" position, Jim removed the clock only to discover that the switch was in the "off" position. At that point we determined that the clock is haunted and we were forced to remove the battery. Jim may have to perform surgery to remove the "ding'er".

Old and New Cruise Ships

Aug. 20, 2007: We had a nice trip to Long Beach -- 3 foot swells at 15 second intervals. The course had us pass by several oil wells between Huntington Beach and Long Beach. We also passed several man-made islands. The islands contain equipment and buildings required for the oil wells; however, they have been cleverly disguised with tall palm trees, flowers, grass, etc. so that they aren't eye sores. We pulled into slip #C101 at the marina, tied up and headed off to the office. As we were walking, we noticed another slip #C101 -- hmmm. Turns out the slip we pulled into was erroneously marked, so Jim moved the boat over 3 slips. As we walked to the office, we passed Lazy Days, our DeFever friends we met in Mexico, on the same dock, a few slips down. We chatted briefly with Ron, checked in with the office, returned to the boat, had lunch and then we both took a mid-afternoon nap! This slip does not have anyone beside it so Mañana took the full brunt of the afternoon sun and the boat was HOT. After dinner at Tequila Jack's (not recommended), we returned to the boat and touched base with the Cappons.

Aug. 19, 2007: Up and out at 0650. It was a bit rolly until we got several miles offshore. None of us have our sea legs and our stomachs were a bit twitchy. Eventually the seas calmed, with just an occasional side knocker that had the glass bottles clinking in the cabinet. We arrived to the zoo of Dana Point at 1400. Initially we thought we would anchor in the east end because of the proximity to the channel entrance, but once inside, we were greeted with sail boats, power boats, jet skis, all of which were basically okay -- it was the million kayaks with beginners on board that scared the daylights out of us. We decided to check out the west end; it was very crowded with day users, but we dropped anchor with the idea that we would re-anchor once there was more space. The last time we were here was on a weekday in early December -- very definitely a different scenario! After dinner, a large boat anchored next to us and a short while later, a dinghy full of people stopped by asking we'd mind keeping an eye on the boat while they went to dinner. In chatting with them, it turned out they are from Long Beach (our next destination) and will be in Dana Point for a few days. Jamey offered us use of his slip FREE! while we are up there -- kewl!!

Aug. 18, 2007: Jim did a bunch of fine tuning items in the morning and at 1300, we lowered the dinghy and headed over to Dana Landing (within Mission Bay) for lunch, gas and a trip to West Marine. It's always interesting dodging the big boats in a small channel! Once we returned, we went through the routine of securing the dinghy to the davits. As Jim was winching the aft end up, the pedestal that the winch is bolted to snapped in two, sending the winch flying and wrenching his hand. An ice pack was quickly applied to his baby finger while we figured what Plan B was going to be. We had used up 9 of our 10 allowable days at the police docks, the Mission Bay anchorage is only for 72 hours and the LaPlaya anchorage closes at 0900 on Monday. So basically, what it came down to was we were not going to be allowed to wait in San Diego while a repair is made. We jury rigged the dinghy and davits and decided that we will figure out a fix while we're in Ensenada. It was an early-to-bed evening as it will be an early-to-rise morning.

Aug. 17, 2007: Work continued on the watermaker. At 1800 the project was complete, although it hadn't been without its share of "oh sh*t" moments! The instructions say that we must run the watermaker for 1 hour before putting any water into the tank on a new membrane, so we enjoyed tostadas and beer/wine for that hour on the flybridge. The anchorage started to fill up in mid-to-late afternoon (oh, yeah, it's a Friday!). A sailboat with 4 guys anchored in front of us and a couple in a 28' Bayliner anchored right beside us. Eileen Quinn has a song about a "speedboat babe" and that was who was in the 28' Bayliner, complete with blond hair and a bikini! She waved to me and I commented to her that they were a bit close to us -- we couldn't quite pass the Grey Poupon, but if the wind shifted, we would have been in trouble. Oh, she said, this is our first time anchoring. I suggested that they move back, where there was plenty of room, and they did so. As we were coming down from the flybridge I noticed one of the guys on the sailboat was getting ready to ... well, you know! Not being shy, I shouted "Hey, no pee'ing off the aft deck!" at which point Jim hollared for him to "keep it in his pants". We hope this was loud enough for everyone around us to hear. Are we getting old? Yes, but that sort of thing is illegal and especially a no-no in a crowded anchorage in daylight! And to conclude the wonderful day at anchor, another nearby boat decided to start his generator at 2200 -- geesh! Someone should teach these southern Californians the fine art of anchoring etiquette!

Aug. 16, 2007: The boat behind us began projects at 0630, waking us. Although we weren't happy about being awakened so early, it was probably a good thing because we had projects of our own that needed to be done before we could take off. The major project was to secure the BMW in a more permanent arrangement. By 0815 the task was completed and I readied the boat as much as I could while Jim returned Ron's Jeep. We left the police docks at 1105 in gusting winds. I think this was a first for us -- no sailboat races and no warships to contend with as we left the bay. The kelp field didn't look too bad, so we cut across the buoys as we made our way away from Point Loma. We were driving from the flybridge and were greeted by VERY rolly conditions. We took a couple of good sized waves on the beam and cringed, thinking about what the garage looked like. At times we felt like we were creeping through a mine field, picking our way through the thinnest of the kelp patties. Two hours later we crossed the bar at Mission Bay and cruised into the calm waters of the anchorage. We anchored at the northern most point, next to a yacht club that had a large raft-up forming. An hour or so later, Jim noticed a guy swimming out to our boat. The guy hung on to our swim platform so we went aft to see what was going on. It was very apparent that either the guy had an emotional problem or was high on something other than life -- he kept telling us that he didn't care any more and at one point he told us to give him $50 and he'd go away. At that point Jim contacted the Mission Bay lifeguards, who arrived via surf board, talked to the guy and then paddled him into shore. Over the next 15 min. we were the focus of attention while the various lifeguards/police stopped by our boat to ask if we wanted to press charges (No!). Afterwards we laughed at what the group in the raft-up must be thinking...here we are, an old woodie whose aft cabin is covered with "stuff" and the police are at our boat within an hour of our arrival! Jim worked on the watermaker installation all afternoon. We are both definitely in cruiser mode now -- when the sun goes down we are both ready for bed! However, the anchorage is close to SeaWorld, which has fireworks nightly at 2155. Although we'd both fallen asleep, the fireworks woke us up, so we climbed out of bed to watch the show. It's only 5 min. long, but is very impressive!

Aug. 15, 2007: Ready or not, we are leaving here for Mission Bay tomorrow. John and Liz stopped by briefly last night, bringing our mail and packages with them. I think we now have all the required parts on board to finish the generator and the watermaker. Jim's been working methodically, going from one project to the next. I am his "go-for". I got my first driving lesson for the BMW this morning -- I motored over to the San Diego Yacht Club dinghy dock so I could do a couple loads of laundry. Two hours later I was headed back to Mañana and made a grand entrance into the boat tied behind us! The dinghy steering is backwards to how I think, so I went right instead of left and gave it a bit too much throttle. Thank goodness the dinghy is made of rubber! Ron arrived around noon. He was gracious enough to loan us his Jeep for the afternoon so we could run errands. We have run out of printer paper, Jim has outgrown his scuba wetsuit and I decided not to pass up the opportunity to do some food shopping while we have use of wheels. Later on, Ron told Jim that we could keep the Jeep overnight and that we were to go out to dinner and relax. I like that idea!

Aug. 13, 2007: Jim called the fire extinguisher company to confirm that we would be serviced today. He was told that we'd probably see the technician by early afternoon at the latest. So Jim spent the morning doing Starfish Marine paperwork and troubleshooting the wi-fi software that was just purchased -- it had been working marginally over the past few days but gave up the ghost today. Errands needed to be run, but he didn't want to leave the boat until after the fire extinguishers were serviced, just in case there was a problem. By 1500 we still hadn't seen the technician so we started working on projects. Murphy's Law -- the technician arrived just as we were starting to bed the aft stanchions! It was very quiet here today. Many of the boats left this morning and we were basically the only people here during the day. Fischer Panda was contacted regarding the defective part; they are overnighting a new part to Chula Vista. So it now appears that we will probably be here until Thursday. We have plenty of projects to keep us occupied between now and then!

Aug. 11-12, 2007: Another busy weekend -- I'm ready to relax a bit! Jim was on a roll Saturday with the generator but he needed to make a bank deposit, so I volunteered to walk the 3 miles r/t for him. Because I had a blister between my toes from yesterday's walk, I wore a different pair of shoes, including socks (how dorky was that??). With 1/2 mile to go, I was yanking off the socks to see if that would make my feet feel better and at 1/4 mile, I was putting them back on. I limped my way back onto the boat, vowing not to go anywhere tomorrow! Jim had finished installing the generator, only to discover that the coolant recovery container was defective (the very last item that gets hooked up). He will contact the manufacturer on Monday to see if there is someplace in San Diego where we can exchange it. If not, we may be stuck here for a few more days while a new one gets shipped in. He then started working on mounting the watermaker. He was making good progress until one of the bolts galled and, of course, he had only enough to do the job. We've been paranoid about going out in the dinghy because the registration numbers aren't on it, so that was the first priority Sunday morning, although it wasn't on "the list". After that, Jim tackled a few items that were on the list. Around 1630 I decided it was time to play. I had yet to ride in the dinghy and was wanting to goof off a bit. It's no where near as comfortable as Ruthie was. We had been warned that it is a "wet" dinghy and I found that to be true, although the wind was howling and the bay was full of wakes from returning boaters. Still, it felt good to take a break from projects.

Jim's 50th Birthday!

Aug. 10, 2007: Happy 50th birthday, Jim! Jim headed out on a parts run late morning -- I baked him a pineapple birthday cake and finished the tiebacks before I headed out. Vons is supposedly a 1.5 mile walk from the police docks. Unfortunately there is no transportation whatsoever until you get to Rosecrans Blvd. and once you are there, you might as well keep walking because it's only another 3 or 4 blocks to the grocery store. I decided to buy a frozen lasagna and some KFC chicken. I'll do up a tomato, cucumber and mozzarella salad and we have plenty of appies on board. Jim called me as I was walking back and it turned out we were 1 block from each other, so I waited for him to catch up. It's always good to have someone to walk with -- it seems to make the trip quicker (and with a full backpack, the 1.5 mile return felt more like 5 miles)! Our friends arrived at 1730 and a good time was had by all. Thankfully they are all boaters and are aware of the intricacies of ovens that don't bake at the correct temperature, or a lack of counter space. This was the same group that attended our wedding and we are all comfortable with each other -- needless to say, there were lots of laughs and snide remarks about Jim's age!

Aug. 9, 2007: Early this morning, a boat pulled into the slip across from us -- it was the guy who purchased Ruthie. I think Los Angeles heard Jim groan when he realized who it was. (Yes, there's a long story behind that last sentence. Email me if you are curious.) Fortunately the office did not rent that particular slip to him. Jim worked in the lazarette, concentrating on the watermaker until it was time for our 1000 coffee break. Then he switched gears and installed the last hawse pipe trim ring on the port side and rotated the boat so he can install the last one on the starboard side. I gave the area under the starboard steps a second coat of paint before switching gears back to my sewing machine. By the end of the day, I had all 3 wiper blade covers made, the side chair recovered as well as a throw pillow. And I have enough material to do new tiebacks! Jim ended up having to walk a couple of miles to the chandlery to get the parts he needed to continue on with the generator. Unfortunately there is no public transportation down here. Ah, welcome to the world of cruising, where good sandals and a sturdy backpack will get you everywhere! An ex-coworker picked us up at 1830 and treated us to dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse in the Gaslamp district. Rick's wife is Brazilian and she told us tales of growing up in Brazil and the Brazilian people. The restaurant was to die for (possibly literally; I can just imagine our cholesterol count after a dinner at a steakhouse!). It is called Rei de Gado and I highly recommend it if you are in San Diego. Thank you, Rick! That was one restaurant that a couple of boat bums could not afford to eat at! We have a group of friends coming for dinner tomorrow for Jim's birthday. I have no idea where or how I will seat everyone, never mind what I am going to serve.

Sea Lion at Police Docks

Aug. 8, 2007: It will take us a day or two to get accustomed to the sites, sounds and feel of this dock. Our boat rocks differently than in C.V. and the boat traffic is almost non-stop. Some of the boats that go by are HUGE! What do the owners do for a living that allows them to afford a +100' boat? And why do they want/need such a big boat? True, I'd like a bigger boat, but perhaps only 10' bigger. Jim was awake early with all the projects weighing heavy on his mind. For me, last night was the first night in a long time that I slept through the night. According to our insurance policy, our fire extinguishers need to be serviced and the first available date for the company to come out to the police docks is next Monday. So it appears we won't leave here until Tuesday. Jim started hooking up the generator while I tackled several projects that weren't on "the list". As we were working, a man jogged past the boat and did a double-take as he went by -- it was Basil, a guy we met in LaPaz back in 2003 and we have run into him at the oddest spots since then. We chatted for a bit until he noticed a damsel in distress, and off he went. A little while later, an ex-C.V. marina tenant walked by; Dean thought the boat looked familiar but wasn't aware that we were leaving the marina. So we talked for 20 min. or so. Around 1400, Basil and his damsel in distress arrived with grocery bags. They planned to make a big salad for 4 for lunch and had brought everything except a big bowl. Actually, Basil made one heck of a salad and we enjoyed their company for the next two hours. Unfortunately, unfinished projects were calling to us so that ended our break session. By the end of daylight, Jim had made significant progress on the generator and I had started/completed my fair share of work.

Aug. 7, 2007: After our "last breakfast" at the Galley Restaurant, we returned to the boat, temporarily secured the dinghy, and did some last-minute paperwork before checking out with the marina office and saying good-bye to friends on the dock. At 1300 Jim backed the boat out of the slip just like he knew what he was doing, destined for the police docks in San Diego. Good-bye Chula Vista and thanks for the memories! Neither cat was thrilled to be underway, especially when we encountered wakes. This was probably one of the worst parts of the entire trip. San Diego Bay is very busy with sailboat races, ferries, the Navy, Coast Guard, etc. Two hours later, we were tied up to a slip. Both cats seem to realize they are in a new location; DC can't understand why no one is stopping to pet him like they did on "A" dock in Chula Vista! This is an unsecured dock, meaning anyone can walk through and look in our windows. Thus, we are now back in the land of having to close our curtains and lock the boat; we haven't done so for 3 years. The boat in front of us is from Seattle, returning from a 2 year passage and headed home. Later in the evening, after the office was closed, a tired-looking boat pulled into an empty slip. Does anyone want to take a bet as to whether it will be here when the office opens? Our "to do" list is still a mile long, some items are more important than others. Needless to say, we aren't on vacation yet. We have paid through Sat. and can stay an extra 5 days beyond that. Let's hope that we don't have to.

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