San Diego 'Summer'

Jay's post: We have traveled 526 miles down the California coast and now find ourselves in San Diego. The longest leg of our journey was 104 miles, when we sailed off shore, overnight from Morro Bay to Santa Rosa Island. It was this leg of our trip that took us around Point Conception. Our most enjoyable anchorage, thus far, has been Mariner's Basin here in San Diego, where the waters were “bathtub smooth” regardless of how hard the winds were blowing. Our worst anchorage (see the “rock in and roll in” post) was in Pfieffer Cove. Sailing down the California coast, our most enjoyable marinas include Monterey and San Diego. Along the way we have met many wonderful people. It is amazing, regardless of where we go, we meet someone we know or someone who knows someone we know.  Tomorrow we cross into Mexico and head for Ensenada! We are anxious to see what this next leg of our journey brings, as we struggle with the lack of internet, cell phone service and marinas.

Balloons 30 mile offshore

As we travel, people ask us what we do all day as we sail. Obviously there are routine daily tasks like driving the boat, which entails trimming sails, navigating and steering. These tasks can be more time consuming than one might think, depending on the winds and seas. Throughout the day, the wind tends to shifts from east, to south, to west. There is also a surprising amount of trash, crab pots and kelp we have to steer around to avoid wrapping it around the propeller or having it tangle in the rudder.

There is also the task of planning meals. It is amazing how much time goes into meal planning. It is not because there is a shortage of food on “Little Lara”. Quite the contrary, ever drawer, every locker, and every cabinet is jammed full of food: everything from cereals, to pastas, to soups, to cookies, to candies. The problem is we spend a lot of time planning and cooking these meals. Not your typical boat food (i.e. spam, corn hash, or beanie weenies), but pork chops with salad, potatoes and green vegetables, or spaghetti with clam sauce, tossed green salad and fruit. After dinner there are also desserts of cookies, cinnamon rolls or muffins.

There is also a great deal of time spent watching and identifying birds, dolphins and whales. It is always fun when a bird lands on “Little Lara”. Sometimes they stay for a short while, as if catching their breath before they fly off. Other times they will stay the night. Dolphins never cease to amaze us. When they see us coming they race toward “Little Lara” to ride our bow wave. Sometimes they even put on a personal private performance, jumping clear out of the waves, turning somersaults, and swimming upside down – a “Sea World” kind of entertainment. Whales, on the other hand, we enjoy watching only from a distance as they breach, blow, then sound. As they sound they often throw their flukes high out of the water. Once, on one of our offshore legs, Peggy was fortunate enough to be at the helm when we came upon a Sunfish sunning itself on the surface of the water. It was a spectacular sight.

Peggy's revenge fishing lures

We are often asked if we fish while under way. The answer is yes. We have a fishing real attached on the stern pulpit, which allows us to drag a line behind “Little Lara”. We also have a fishing pole that we use while at anchor. So far, I have caught a Sea Bass and a Rockfish. When we were sailing between Santa Catalina and Oceanside, I caught a Sooty Shearwater. These birds are very abundant along the California coast and migrate in a great circular pattern around the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately, we were able to untangle the bird before any real harm came to it.  I also threw both fish back arguing they were to small to keep. So, the score is Jay – 2 fish + 1 bird, Peggy – 0. To even the odds, Peggy went shopping this past week for fishing lures (giving credence to the adage that fishing lures catch more fishermen than fish). She also asks advice of every fisherman she meets. Time will tell whether her strategy pays off.

Peggy's post: We have truly enjoyed our stay in the San Diego area. My sisters, brother and sister-in-law met us in Oceanside and I was able to spend a few days in a hotel with them. A real bed, bathroom and shower! Also a real breakfast buffet as well as eating out in restaurants. What a nice treat! And it was especially nice being together around the time of our mother's birthday. We played "Zilch" (a dice game) one night in honor of her ... it was one of her favorite games. I think they let me win!

One day we toured Old Town San Diego where we were fascinated by the Mormon Battalion

historical site. The multimedia presentation is truly amazing. If you ever have the opportunity to travel to San Diego, I would definitely recommend it. As Jay mentioned we sailed down from Oceanside to Mariner's Bay, which was one of our favorite days of sailing and the anchorage here rates as my favorite. The bay is encircled by beaches and we were entertained by multitudes of stand-up paddle boarders, kayakers and swimmers. One day we swam to shore (too lazy to inflate the dinghy!) and walked the perimeter of the bay. Then as we were checking out all the cute vacation rentals homes, we discovered that the real “ocean pounding surf” beach was just two blocks away, so we enjoyed wading in the surf. On the beach I saw something tumbling in the waves, someone's swim fin. We continued walking further down the beach, and I was able to do my good deed for the day ... I found the owner and presented him with his lost fin.

Mariners Bay Anchorage

Yesterday we rented a car and we were grateful to be able to attend the San Diego Temple. It is very beautiful and peaceful place. How ironic it was to go to the shopping center across the freeway and see the Temple from the view of the 'World'. On Sunday we attended San Diego 6^th Ward as recommended by the senior missionaries we asked to take our picture at the temple. We saw them at Sacrament meeting, before they left to go work at the Mormon Battalion site (where I plan to take Jay this afternoon). And as usual we meet someone we knew at church. It took me a few minutes to figure out why one of the men looked familiar. Don and Karen lived in Redding for a few months while he was working there, and we had invited them over to our house for dinner. He is now working in San Diego and has returned the favor by invited us over to his house for a home cooked Mexican dinner. Unfortunately, his wife was out of town. It shouldn't surprise me, but it always takes me by surprise at how small the world is. Thanks Don! Another sister approached us to tell us she was from Redding and her parents still live there, attending one of the other Wards. I feel next week when we go to church in Ensenada this trend will probably end, but the members in any Ward feel like family.

San Diego Temple

We send our love to family and friends. We plan to work hard to stay in touch!