A nice surprise, some good friends and farewell for now...

The weather has been absolutely beautiful! It is finally Summer and we are so done being cold! We were stowing things down below, getting ready to pull out of Oceanside, when my dear friend Andy sends me a text that we are going out for dinner. It was my 52nd Birthday and another good friend and her husband were going to be joining us, (back from "the Pasture days", 1970's!!) What a lovely surprise and and even lovelier evening. Thank you Andy, brought me WAY out of my bad mood!

Bad mood?! Yeah, somewhat cranky and I wanted to slap myself. I have absolutely nothing to gripe about in the big picture. Sure, the no sleep thing with the phantom alarm action, was wearing both Mike and myself very thin. The microwave blowing up, was somewhat annoying. Then the refrigerator started acting up and turned into a big ole chunk of ice, I mean, I know, I know, "it's a boat!". Just really?! We need a little reprieve to catch up with stuff?!

We had a motor sail down. Saw a couple of small pods of some Common Dolphin and a couple of whales off in the distance. They were too far away to tell what kind, but the spouts were blowing. There were also a ton of Military boats, helicopters and planes. There was so much chatter on the radio, lots of rescues, even an unfortunate recovery by the Coast Guard. The light was flat, so I didn't really feel like it was the best photo op day either. We started into the cut, around Point Loma when the radio explodes with excited chatter, hooting and hollering! We were thinking something really bad was going down, as Mike turned the stereo down and evened out the squelch of the VHF, when we realized it was cries of joy. Huge congratulations over the radio to this guy, Will Schmidt, who just finished his final leg of an International SUP paddle from the Canadian/USA boarder to the USA/Mexican boarder! It took him 58 days in transit and we were fortunate to witness and listen to his final moments of success! A Naval Ship had joined into the chatter and said that they were buying the beers that night. We got on the radio and hailed the escort/support boat to congratulate them as well. The whole paddle was to raise awareness and support for the Wounded Warrior Project, plus to help Will, himself, overcome his battle with depression. Amazing!! Bravo!! Here is a link if you want to know more...

http://youtu.be/KnQ2RJRThEE

The new Marina was rock'en it! That was a huge bonus! Really state of the art facilities! It was the first place we have found free wifi in about a year! Beautiful bathrooms and showers and tons of stuff to do here! As we pull into our slip and tie the lines, we hold our breath as Mike turns the ignition switch to the off position, the moment of truth... YAY!!! No alarm?! I don't even care why, I just know that there was a Holiday Inn down the Blvd. that we were going to hit up for a night, just to get a solid 10 or twelve hours! So happy we got through the turning it off part!! The panel was still torn apart inside the box, so what ever moisture was in there must have dried out?! We haven't heard it since!! Yay, yay, yay!!!

It's been really great here. We have met a variety of Cruisers from whole families, complete with toddlers to some excellent Couples (young and older) to some real Piratical peeps, all with hearts of gold! We made friends with a"concert connection", that has really turned into an exceptional friendship! Loving that! Yet it somehow feels like a turning point here. I can't explain it or put my finger on it. Maybe it's the anticipation of the approaching end of Hurricane season, so we can finally continue South. Everything in the news lately, the recent loss of two of America's most loved comedic & lovely film stars, everything seems to be moving so fast. It is so much better when we are able to take it slow, watch the sun come up, listen to the tranquil sounds of the boat slicing through the water, the feeling of the salty spray on your face and being graced, with the beauty that the Ocean has to offer everyday. It feels like we have more in common with the creatures of the Sea, than mankind anymore. It's a detachment that we embrace, yet an element of sadness.

I think that's what I love about cruising, you deal with the here and now, tomorrow will come and if yesterday didn't sink you, you have everything to smile about!

"It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you have!" ....Sheryl Crow