...Eureka, California, that is.

On a fortuitous day, my birthday, November 29th, we left Coos Bay, Oregon, headed for "Californy".

What a good trip we had. Seas were calm, winds were mild, and no one got sick. That was all we were asking for this particular trip.

Thirty hours at sea with our two year old, and it worked out just fine. We are fairly new at this ocean sailing with a child.

Grandparents will be happy to know that Malou really enjoys being out on the water. She was especially excited when we saw doll porpoises swimming right along-side the boat. For the rest of the trip she diligently searched the seas for 'whales', sea otters - (none were found), and sea lions. What a joy it is to see her expressions.

When coming into Eureka by boat, one has to motor up a very long channel - but well worth it, every mile. Eureka, CA is a beautiful town with a quaint historic Old Town district that boasts fine art gallerys, good restaurants, and plenty of local coffee roasteries (for the 'northwest outdoorsy crowd').

We celebrated my birthday a day late with an excellent Italian dinner in town and home-made carrot cake on the boat, and some nice phone calls from family - thank you.

We will probably be leaving here tomorrow, Saturday, to take advantage of the high pressure systems that we are having right now. They make for some fairly easy cruising - considering it's December 1st.

Take care all, until our next posting.
P.S. Photo is actually from Coos Bay. You know you are approaching warmer weather when you see pelicans flying overhead. (Thank you to Dan for the outing along the coast.)