One Room School House at Two Harbors in Catalina

I nearly forgot to mention that there was a little one-room school house at Two Harbors.

The "cafeteria" was outdoors. It is a picnic table that is covered by a shade structure.

The funniest part was their recess playground shown here. It makes our school playground look really fancy!

It is so rustic and rural here in Two Harbors. I forget how many children attend this K-8 school but it was pretty small regardless.

Thurs. 8-12-10 What is cleaning the hull each night?

I envisioned little tiny seahorses galloping hooves as they find places to graze on the bottom of the boat. Whatever it is that "cleans" the hull has the cutest clickety clack sound while eating.

We discovered that these sea creatures only clean the boat's hull when at a dock in a marina. They cannot be heard when anchored or moored.

Today is clean the boat day. We will take Jamie to the train station for his $36 dollar train ride back to San Diego.

We are leaving for LA to attend the Ameriprise National Conference for Rob's company event.

Before dropping Jamie at Union Station in downtown LA, he took us to Phillipes Deli. It is legendary for discovering the famous French Dip Sandwich 102 years ago. Roast beef a jus for everyone.

We drove to Westin Bonaventure at 2:30PM, showered and got ready for Rob's company party tonight at the Convention Center. Shuttles took employees to the center. Staples Center is across the street. Lady Gaga's bus was there as were many of her "Little Monster" fans.

Though it would have been interesting to have her perform at our conference, that wasn't the case.

Wed. 8-11-10 Cherry Cove to Marina del Rey

8:00 Jamie made some batter for scones.

Rob BBQ'ed these.

We ate these with Nutella, honey, and butter.

They were a bit doughy inside but overall quite good. Jamie, we do want that recipe your friend gave you.

Once at Marina del Rey, they refueled at the dock there.

Rob made custom deli-sandwiches for lunch.

Nice job using that tube of Cilantro as a shortcut to Cilantro Mayo recipe honey!

3:30 at Marina del Rey port.

We had food at Jerry's in town. 5 star food.

Tues. 8-10-10 Dinghy Ride to Two Harbors in search of Wilson

Jamie made us fresh blueberry pancakes, Canadian bacon, and sausage for breakfast with coffee. Great recipe Jamie. I learned about Jamie's special coffee cup. It is blue like his boat, Tardis.

11:00 We took the dinghy to Two Harbors. Isthmus Cove is on our side and Catalina Harbor is on the other side of the island. Most refer to Catalina Harbor as "Cat Harbor."

The boys tackled a 3+ hour hike while I relax and read at the local restaurant. I took a warm shower on shore, journaled for my blog for a while, and read the rest of the time.

I really love the idea of cruising and waking in many different ports. The romance of traveling by sailboat and being in the moment are really appealing to me now.

The boys returned and reported seeing Wilson on the trail. Wilson is one of the lonely bull Bison that roams the island freely. A small group of them were brought to the island for a film shoot years ago, and were left there after the movie was shot. That small group has grown to herd of 180 bison.

Capt. Jamie has been a super gracious host I had some concerns about being an a small space with two men for 8 days. I have always been one who loves my quiet time and space. During this whole time I never felt I was imposing. I felt completely comfortable in my own idyosyncratic skin the entire time.

Jamie is a patient instructor, who welcomed us with open arms as we invaded his quiet time and space. I was astounded that there was ample space on board, should I have felt the need to take some quiet time to myself.

Interestingly enough, I didn't need space or quiet time. I am usually claustrophobic in small spaces. This was not the case at all.

There are signs posted all over town as of Sunday August 8th about Frank Cipriano, a missing person, from Avalon. Word has it that his boat was vacated, his dog(s) were still aboard. His dinghy was found loose and empty down aways from the boat. Call Avalon Sheriff if you know of his whereabouts. 310-510-0872.

We took the dinghy back to our anchorage, had a bevie, and read some more before doing some boat chores. The boys put the dinghy and motor away and they cooked Brats in beer, then BBQ'ed them. We had Rob's salad, Jamie's red cabbage, and potato salad.

9:00 PM and it was part 2 of the Portugal slide show time continued.

9:50 PM Rob and climbed onto the deck and sat under the stars and the Milky Way. We listened to the sound of the gentle waves lapping at the boat sides. It was another gorgeous way to spend our day!

8-9-10 Monday Descanso Bay Anchorage to Two Harbors

Today we will do a ten mile sail. Little wind so we motored for 1.5 hours

Breakfast was coffee, smoked salmon bagels and cream cheese. The water is flat like a glass lake today. The weather is cloudy skies but it is pleasantly warm.

Noon lunch was ham and cheese sandwiches, cherries, chips, and pretzels.

I took my first dinghy ride to Two Harbors today. We all rented kyacks and navigated along shore to the rocks in search of Girabaldi, our state fish. They look like large goldfish with their brightly colored orange scales.

Once ashore, Rob had a traditional Buffalo Milk, a frothy sweet drink. It was too sweet for me.

We took the dinghy back to the boat. Jamie and I read while Rob took a nap.

6:30 dinner. Jamie made Chicken Mole with fresh cilantro, black beans, and Spanish rice with tortillas. Thanks Chef Jamie. Another yummie dish aboard your boat.

Rob attempted to back softer cookies tonight too. Jamie showed us another slide show of he and Elaine's trip to Portugal.

Sunday 8-8-10 Moonstone to Avalon to Descanso Bay

We had coffee and fruit with yogurt for breakfast and left Moonstone Cove early to find a mooring ball at Avalon. Avalon was all full again so we opted for Descanso Bay nearby. We took a shore boat ride to Avalon and walked to the Botanical Gardens to tour. William Wrigley Jr. was buried here at one time and his memorial monument is quite impressive.

Megan was our tour guide. She gave a rousing tour of the gardens and the monument. After the tour we found a local restaurant and had lunch before returning boat side. The boys returned to the boat for a swim in the 65 degree waters and I stayed ashore to shop and peruse Avalon for a few hours. That evening we took another boat ride to town to have dinner in Avalon.

Upon our return to the mooring, Rob baked Toll House Cookies.

I learned something new about Jamie's boat last night that is worth mentioning. He refers to the crew berth as his "garage." The crew berth has two long bunks that he uses as shelves to store sail covers and other large items. I found it comical that he refers to part of his boat as the "garage." This handy catch all definitely provides needed storage.

Now that the cookies were done, Jamie showed us a slide show of his blue water sail to the Azores.

I learned about the "Salad Bowl." It is a floating garbage collection boat. They come boat side and pick up trash for free. I love the nick name of their waste management boat,

Sat. 8-7-10 Leg 3 Dana Point to Catalina

It was great waking up in Dana Point. 8:00 Rise and shine. Jamie made us bagels and lox and coffee. He toasted the bagels with this silly sort of toaster that works on a gas stove.

9:00 shove off for Catalina. I removed my wristwatch as I am officially entering island time. Saw tons of rock fisherman competing for snapper and ling cod which didn't stand a chance according to Jamie.

Destination Avalon, a 31 mile sail. Little wind today so we motored for 3/5 hours. Wind picked up to 18 knots so we sailed for 1.5 hours.

I saw my first sunfish with its fin out of water. It looks like a shark fin. It was a big guy at about 35 pounds or so.

We arrived at Moonstone Cove at 2:45 PM. Avalon was all booked up. We moored for the night. This was my first experience spending the night at a mooring ball.

Once moored safely, the boys swam boat side. I read Escaped and looked at boats from the deck.

Our first dinner on board Tardis was a group effort. Rob marinated and BBQ'ed the salmon, Jamie made asparagus and wild rice, I made salad and set the table and did dishes.

Friday 8-6-10 Our 22nd Wedding Anniversary

The guys made a marvelous Denver omlette for our breakfast. It is my husband and my 22nd wedding anniversary today. We met 24 years ago on this same date. This will have been one of the most memorable ones to date. Jamie, it is all your fault and we LOVE you for it!

10:00 I enjoyed a wonderfully warm shower at the Oceanside Marina.

11:30 AM we shoved off for our second leg (a 20 mile sail,) from Oceanside to Dana Point on a glorious warm, sunny morning. Our expected time of arrival is 5:30 PM.

We docked on the A dock at the end and took a shower at Dana Point Marina. Once showered, we walked to the other end of the marina and ate at Wind and Sea for our Anniversary dinner. The food was unbelieveable! Appetizer was pounded calamari steak, the best most tender I have ever had! Rob ordered chef's special of swordfish with mango salsa. Exquisite flavors! I had grilled salmon with double veggies. Yum! Dessert was over the top. Jamie had the warm brownie ala mode. This was freaking unbelieveable! We shared a mudpie that was HUGE and sinful.

Rob and I tried to remember some of our annviersaries and what we did over the years. Here is what we came up with.

OUR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

1st year~ Bayside Boat and Breakfast. We stayed dockside in a large sailboat. Very romantic.

5th year~We took Rob's motorcycle to Monterey and stayed downtown in Carmel at the Normandy Inn there.

10th~We rented a house at SeaRanch and Rob made rack of lamb and we drank a 10 year old bottle of BV George's de la Tour to celebrate.

15th~Poipu Beach, Kauai Hawaii. Snorkeled with 11 sea turtles at a turtle cleaning station.

20th~ Chicago Ameriprise Conference. Amazing food and party events planned for the 4 days we were there.

21st~ Attended Nicole and Kevin's wedding in Seattle. Met Lisa at her parents ranch outside Seattle and then did our Loop of the West tour through 10 states, man national parks for 3 weeks.

22nd~Sailed for 8 days to various locations from San Diego to Catalina Islands and back.

Thurs. August 5, 2010 7:00 San Diego~Oceanside, CA Rise and Shine Capt. and Crew

7:00 AM. San Diego, CA. Baton down the hatches and stow all movable items. 8:00 departure shoving off to destination Oceanside, CA. Weather was foggy mid 60's but comfie behind the canvas dodger. We have a 45 mile sail ahead.

I did experience some slight sea sickness when we left the harbor. Jamie gave me some wristbands with pressure point knobs that did the trick immediately. I think I chose to go below too quickly before I developed my sea legs.

Capt. Jamie's very informative lesson of the day is that his wife Elaine is Admiral. Admiral outranks the Captain in certain decisions like: Go or No go, etc. Jamie, I forget what other decisions Admiral Alien makes. Perhaps you can fill us in. It was comical how you described Elaine's ability to outrank you in some instances.

Unfortunately, Elaine wasn't able to sail this trip with us. Work calls. She is keeping the marina in check at Cabrillo Isle while we voyage for 8 days or so. We'll miss you Elaine.

Capt. served our first lunch at 11:30 while underway. Cherries, peaches, smoked salmon, cheese sticks, Trader Joe's Cilantro Jalapeno hummus and their Nothing But Sea Salt Bagel Chips.

Noon our sails go up Winds are at 9 knots now. The water sounds soothing like gentle waves at a lakeshore. Water depth is 315 feet deep.

3:30 arrived at Oceanside. Called Zach and Jessica Curran to see if we could get together and meet their baby boys. Marine Drill Sergeant couldn't get time off but Jessica came to our marina and brought her boys. They LOVED touring the floating hotel. We met right in back of the Jolly Roger Restaurant there. Their boys are Ben who is 9 months and Calvin who is 2.5 years old.

At dinner time we walked the marina to the other side of town and had a memorable dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. They serve drinks in mason jars. Two agave margarita's later and I was having too much fun. The wait staff there all dance to a certain song all at the same time. It was entertaining to see them all drop what they were doing to perform this dance. The food was quite good and the place was stimulus overload which created an instant party vibe! I will Yelp this place and give it a 5 forks grade. Loved it!

Back at the boat, Rob tucked me in for a solid night's sleep dockside. The boys stayed up and visited longer. I was 3 sails to the wind by the time we got back.

Driving to Marina del Rey to meet Capt. Jamie

August 4, 2010

We arrived at Marina del Rey at 11:00 AM and met our dear friend Jamie at the marina. He picked us up to take us to San Diego to Cabrillo Isle Marina where the beautiful 49.5 foot yacht Tardis is docked.

4:00 we boarded Tardis to load our gear. Capt. generally packs light. 'Twas not our case at all. Somehow we found more than enough cubbies to stash our ridiculous amount of gear regardless.

Later, We met Jamie's darling wife Elaine and all drove to Umi Sushi for a BOAT LOAD of sushi to the tune of $184. Holy Mackeral, that is a lot of fish! Yum! We Yelped this place a 5 star restaurant and this was our second visit here in recent years.

Tonight we will sleep at dock in San Diego and leave early Thursday morning for our first of many legs of this sail we are taking.

Catalina is waiting to show me how magical it is

I have never been but have always been curious about this set of islands off the coast of southern CA near San Diego.

This is taking a big leap of faith for me to sail on a 50 footer from Mission del Rey to San Diego and then on the Catalina. We will spend 10 days visiting all different stops on these islands. I am so excited about this adventure!

Another great holiday meal with our friends Jamie and Elaine at the Marina. We could get used to this.

After dinner, we had such an entertaining night just watching young couples come and go to and from their expensive and fancy New Year's Eve parties at the Hilton and Sheraton. This is an annual show for them each year. Best of all the people watching is free! The fashion is out of this world. Throw a few drinks in them and there is loads of entertainment.

On our winter whale watch trip in 2008, we saw some nappers taking advantage of being rocked to sleep. Capt. Jamie looks a bit chilly, don't ya think?

Stepping Outside the Box

Friends of ours have a gorgeous 49.5 Taswell sailboat. We've gone for many a day sails on Tardis.

After years of enjoying days on the SF Bay with Jamie and Elaine, they moved to San Diego area. It turns out that we saw them more often after they moved than when they lived here. The amazing thing about us getting together down in San Diego, is that they were able to offer us their 49.5 Taswell sailboat as a luxurious and romantic "floating hotel."

After visiting them these past 3 years, we decided to get ourselves a starter sailboat with another couple (our partners.) We felt this was a good first move because all expenses are split in half.

We now share a gently used 29.5 Hunter which is perfect for a beginner boat. Though we have co-owned the boat for 2 years, I couldn't bring myself to go out on it for most of the first year. Being a smaller boat, I just didn't like being that close to the water when the boat heeled.

I know how much boating meant to my husband,so I decided to sleep on it to see if I could come up with a way to get over my fears and to enjoy boating.

I decided that if we took out another couple, who had experience sailing, I could be distracted while chatting with the wife, while Rob and the husband sailed the boat. The added peer pressure also helped me to keep my occasional screams in check.

Low and behold, I became more accustomed to sailing the bay and after my 3rd sail I no longer got queasy if I went down below. This is progress for sure.

Now we have had the boat for 2 years and it turns out to be very enjoyable much to Rob's delight.

We now spend overnights on the boat (however all have been dockside for now.)