California or Bust - Final Chapter

November 9 - 27, 2010: Well it hard to believe over two weeks have passed since arriving in San Diego. We are sure busy for retired folks, between family visits, dinners out, errands, sightseeing and boat chores the days have flown by. Life is pretty comfortable in this neck of the woods with sunny days and moderate temperatures. We have had to pinch ourselves to realize it is November.

Our visit to the San Diego zoo was awesome. What a wonderful well laid out park; it was a great experience and quite a walking workout. The old Point Loma's lighthouse, stands proudly since 1855 keeping sailors safe. Its only problem was the fog - the lighthouse was positioned too high on the bluff. The fog & low clouds obscured the light so in 1891 a second lighthouse was built at the bottom of the hill. The Cabrillo National Monument is also located at Point Loma honoring Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo who was the first European to set foot on the west coast. He came to the area we now know as San Diego in 1542.
The Coronado Hotel built in 1855 was absolutely grand and elegant. We felt like we stepped back in time as we strolled along the beach, thru the shops and lunched in the dining room. Where but in California do you find an ice skating rink for the holiday season overlooking the rich sandy beaches and the pacific waters?

Our niece cooked up a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner and we stuffed ourselves with all the trimmings. I must be getting old, it just seems like yesterday when Rachael was just a little critter herself running around the house playing. Now we get to play with her children, which by the way, shared their germs with us back at Dana Point and rendered all us sick. Oh well, we wouldn't miss enjoying these delightful great-nieces and nephew.

We are anxious to move on although I will miss the sights and sounds of the holiday season. But we wish to experience other customs and I know Santa Claus will find me.

I hope all of our dear family and friends had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

I have upgraded our sail blog so we can post from email via the SSB radio, I can also include a position report. Photos will also be posted to the same site ... look to the right side of the text posting to direct you to the photos.

Que le vaya bien! Buen viento, y buena mar ...
May it go well for you! Fair winds and following seas ...