OK…OK! I’ve been lax in updating the blog! We've been busy having fun and the couple times I've tried to update the connections have been difficult at best.
When we left San Francisco we expected the passage to Monterey to take 24-25 hours. Imagine our shock when 16 hours later we were outside Santa Cruz! It was the middle of the night and foggy so we opted to spend several hours just going out to sea and back several times while we waited for sunrise. It turned out to be a good choice as the entrance into Monterey Bay's marina is very narrow as are the fairways between the docks. Was a piece of work getting into the slip during the daylight so would have been even more interesting in the dark.
We played tourist in Monterey and it is a great place to do that. We spent an entire day at the Aquarium, walked the Presidio numerous times and Patty & I did some damage in the shops at Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf. We really enjoyed all the wildlife and met more cruisers.
Currently we're in Marina Del Rey and it is my favorite so far. Nice wide slips with lots of room to get in and out; a lovely park in front of us and behind us we is the channel which is alive with all manner of boats coming & going. When we arrived Neil & Jackie from Emeryville were next to us and we've met several more boats of cruisers - some going on the Ha Ha and some not. Chris & I have taken to keeping a written list of boats/people we meet so that when we meet up down track we will remember them!
The trip from Monterey was especially nice as the weather was starting to warm up and the nights were clear. We are starting to see more sea life and one afternoon we had a very large pod of dolphins come and play. Besides streaking around under the bow and playing with our wake, we had about 6-8 ft seas at the time and as one wave came up off our starboard quarter we looked over to see five dolphins surfing down it. What a thrill! I actually got some halfway decent photos of them.
We leave tomorrow morning for Catalina Island and will meet up with Jerry & Cathy of "Glorious" for an overnight in Catalina Harbor before we continue on to San Diego.
Just so you know, cruising is way more fun than I expected. The first part down the Oregon/Northern California coast was cold, damp and not so much fun (at least off shore) but once we went around Point Conception the winds & seas calmed down and the temperature went up considerably. I must say, though, is the best part is all the wonderful people you meet and continue to run into over and over.
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