Surfing etc.

Nadia surfing and at the animal park

Animal Park Pictures

Nadia, Emma, Peter, Brenda, Terre and Wally

The Emma Visit Pictures

Our Back Yard In San Diego

Emma and Sharks

These two events were the highlights of the past couple of weeks. Terre, Wally and Emma came for a visit. For those that don’t know them they used to live a couple of doors down from us but have since moved to Ambleside. Nadia and Emma have been good friends since they we were very young and until this trip, would still see each other frequently. Emma was only told that the family was going on vacation to California. The expression on her face was truly priceless when she saw Nadia at the airport arrival. They originally planned to stay 3 nights but after one day here they decided to re-schedule the rest of their holidays and stay a full week. We went to Coronado Beach, La Jolla Beach, The Wild Animal Park, Ocean Beach not to mention several trips to the hotel pool. We decided to stay on at the Marriot Marina for a full month. It has full resort status with swimming pool, hydrotherapy pool, gymnasium, tennis courts, it’s embarrassing but you can even get room service to your boat. The kids really loved the beaches. They took turns surfing on Nadia’s board. It was the first time both of them “caught” a wave. It was hard to get them to stop. They found live sand dollars. They snorkeled and swam until they shivered. The animal park also went over really well. We didn’t get out of there until nearly 8 pm after arriving early in the day. There were a great many displays and activities, too many to do and see in one day. We had a small birthday party dinner for Nadia at Ocean Beach so that Emma and Nadia could celebrate together even if it was a couple of weeks early. We are really happy that they had a chance to visit us. A few days later, Dale was back with us for a couple of days. He met a delivery skipper in Crescent City on our way to San Francisco who offered Dale a crew position on a delivery from Hawaii to Oceanside CA. Always the adventurer he accepted and when he called us he had just returned from their ocean crossing from Hawaii. Check out his blog for more details. While he was here we went back to La Jolla Beach. The last time we were there with Emma the surf was quite high and the sand was stirred up so visibility was limited and the waves made it more difficult to snorkel. This time the ocean had settled out and we had a chance to swim with the big attraction, leopard sharks. Dozens of them in water 5 to 10 feet deep, so they were up nice and close. Everyone loved it. They are a docile species that come in to the sandy bottom bay to lay their egg casing this time every year. As the name suggests they are spotted. My fish guide indicates they grow to seven feet but most of the ones we saw were 4 to 5 feet. There were several other fish species but funny how they were overlooked. We then went for a drive up to the glider port just a couple miles north. There is a 400 foot cliff there that catches the Pacific onshore winds and makes for a natural place to fly gliders. Model gliders, hand gliders and para-gliders. I think everyone, including Nadia wanted to go for a ride. Today we went to Balboa Park, home of many museums, gardens, and the San Diego Zoo. We didn’t do much except look around the gardens and architecture. We are feeling a little burned out from all the activities of the past few weeks. Time for a short rest and we’ll be back at it shortly.

Pete

Arrived In San Diego

As you can see from the many photos I recently posted, we have been very busy. Emma, Terri and Wally are meeting us in San Diego this Monday so we to had move through the area quickly. We are happy to be in San Diego and consider it another milestone accomplished. The weather has made everything infinitely easier. I hardly have to check the weather forecast anymore. Another day of calm winds and seas. The water has taken on a much bluer look now, compared to the green I'm used to further north. It's also much warmer although I must admit I haven't been swimming yet. Brenda and Nadia spent a couple of days snorkelling in Two Harbours on Catalina. We've done some pier fishing with Nadia, she caught several Calicco Bass.

The day at Legoland was great fun for Nadia. The place was built for kids Nadia's age of which there were thousands.

We will probably stay in San Diego a month or so. It depends if we can find a slip to stay at.

Peter

Nadia Pics

Marina del Rey and area

Legoland

We made a 2 day stop in Oceanside which is a short trip from Legoland. It's built for kids Nadia's age. She had a very good there.

More Dolphin Play

Dolphins play in the bow wave of Songline as Nadia and Brenda watch.

Rounding Santa Cruz Island

Rounding a fog shrouded Santa Cruz Island.

More Activities

More beaches and fishing with dad.

Activities

Channel Islands Pictures

Various views of Santa Cruz Island

Santa Cruz Island, Ventura and Marina Del Rey

After spending 3 days exploring Santa Cruz Island we headed for Ventura. The Prisoner's Harbour anchorage was very rolly especially into the evening and night. We did get a good chance to look around. The island is very dry and the days were hot. One of my favorite activities was watching the pelicans dive fishing. They fly over schools of small fish then go into a dive attitude with wings close together, splashing head first into the water in an attempt to catch a fish. The hiking was good with many fine views of the island and Santa Barbara Channel. There is a great deal of fennel growing wild in the area. The trip to Ventura Harbour was an easy motor-sail. We found the harbour area unappealing, fortunately Ventura Harbour is a short bus ride away from downtown Ventura. There we visited the Patagonia store where the original forge of Yvon Choinard the man behind Black Diamond and Patagonia is located. Not everyone's idea of a holiday destination.

Another easy motor-sail put us in Marina Del Rey. This marina is huge, there are slips for 6,000 boats plus dry storage for countless more. The amazing thing is there were only 5 sailboats out in Santa Monica Bay when we arrived. It was sunny with a nice breeze. I think Americans work too much. There is a very nice spot next to a pubic park reserved for transient boats. A little bit noisy but nice. Saturday night was free concert night in the park with a symphony and Lorna Luft (Judy Garland's daughter) singing. A nice bonus. We took a walk through Venice and it's few canals. We took in the boardwalk at Venice Beach. It's a bit hard to describe Venice Beach and area. I'll try get some pictures posted next time we are at a fast internet connection. Quite the group of people, that's for sure. We also went to Santa Monica Pier and area. Our friends Steve and Kathy were at the same marina. We enjoyed a couple of BBQ's with them in the park.

We've moved again, this time to Catalina Island. We are on our way to San Diego where Emma (Nadia's friend) and her parents, Terri and Wally are meeting us for a visit. Unfortunately Pat and John, Brenda's parents had to delay their visit. Although we are all having a good time and experiencing a great deal everyone feels homesick about now.

Pete

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