I am stymied over how to begin this blog as it has been almost a month since our last update. Do I bore you with a day by day description of our goings on or do I regale you with highlights only or do I skip the last month and write about what is most on my mind? Meanwhile, you are waiting....

Given that I am officially older than 40 I excuse my ramblings with aging memory issues!

Let's see, last stop Isla San Fransisco after a rough night crossing the stunning Sea of Cortez.

We spent a couple of days exploring this incredible island with its views of utter paradise! We gathered agates on a beach, hiked a desert ridge overlooking the pristine, turquoise waters of the bay; a view which is featured on the 2nd edition of Heather and Shawn's Sea of Cortez guide book we were gifted from great friends who caught our vision way back at the beginning of this journey. Am I allowed run on sentences after 40 as well?

We spent one night at Caleta Partida on Espiritu Santo which was another awful night for me (Lisa) as the corumels picked up sending lovely swells right into the anchorage.

La Paz was our next destination as we were seriously depleted on provisions not having shopped since La Cruz almost three weeks prior to our arrival in La Paz. We tried about six times to anchor in the channel, getting more and more frustrated with the debris we were unintentionally recovering off the bottom; shells, bottles, chains, etc. We gave up and headed into the dock for a night. This is where I pause and wonder how much reality should I share with all our avid followers. If it benefits those who are contemplating a journey like ours the humiliation will be worth it. If you're not looking at this as a new adventure in your future, feel free to skip the next rather long paragraph.

I am not always comfortable with how Brad captains our boat, mostly due to his lack of verbal communication. Don't get me wrong. Brad is very competent when it comes to handling the boat, but I am often left out of the loop not knowing what the plan is or if there is a plan. Sometimes voicing my thoughts comes out as trying to take over and then we have a mild, passive aggressive battle. We don't yell and that is something to be grateful for. We often see husbands and wives yelling at each other while anchoring and docking as these are the stressful situations. So, back to OUR story. I got mad, was silently fuming as Brad's frustration level rose at not being able to set the anchor and darkness was rapidly approaching. We tied to the dock, had a good sleep and set the anchor in the channel the next night. It turned out to be a typical, horrendous night in the channel doing the La Paz dance. The wind was blowing, the tide was pulling and we were bouncing in the waves swinging 360 degrees within a minute! Not fun, nor restful for sleeping. Next day I felt compelled to lay out an ultimatum (not a great relational skill) to either head into a marina with the security of a dock and an ensured good night's sleep or I would be checking myself into a hotel! Sort of funny now in hindsight but it is these types of issues that make the sailing journey not as idyllic as it seems. This is the reality...any relational issue you have while in regular life will be exacerbated while in the close proximity of life aboard a sailboat! Be forewarned.

We headed in to Marina Palmira where we were thrilled to see docked right behind us Selah; our friend, Roy's, boat from San Diego. We were even more thrilled when he arrived back in La Paz a few days later. We were also reunited with friends made in Ensenada, Butch and Cynthia off of Albatross. We enjoyed a quiet week with many walks, runs, meals, cervezas and just kicking back before throwing off the dock lines and sailing north up to Puerto Escondido for Loreto Fest.

We actually had no intentions of participating in Loreto Fest but we just seemed to end up there ahead of schedule. The day we sailed into Escondido we had winds reminiscent of the Pacific Northwest with a great side swell of up to six feet with short intervals in between. I saw 42 knots of apparent wind and had a bit of a panic; thankfully, Brad is calm, cool and collected in stressful situations and quickly dropped our sails so we could manage the boat. This is also why he makes a great firefighter!

Loreto Fest was rumored to be a bunch of old farts sitting around, drinking and talking sailing. I was pleasantly surprised to find that wasn't the case. I enjoyed immensely learning to juggle under the encouraging tutelage of Louis off Cirque. I even managed to get up to 14 successful catches with three balls! The kids had friends, both old and new, to hang with and we went on a fantastic hike up Tabor Canyon. The ultimate highlight for the kids was the dinghy race! Words will be insufficient to capture the glory of the moments!

Katryn teamed up with Serena off Sabbatical and Emily off Adios to take on the other dinghies. Brad stepped up to the plate and took Zach and his friend Ryan, again off Sabbatical to give the girls a run for their money! The race involved piloting the dinghy out and around a powerboat and having to retrieve a stuffed Minnie Mouse with PFD from the water and deposit her safely into a bucket as a time trial. The fastest time wins! The whole process is complicated and ratched up by the presence of weapons; lots of weapons - water balloons, water cannons, water guns, water buckets and any other means of soaking your opponents. The girls dominated in the weaponry intimidating everyone with their incredible arsenal while Brad, Zach and Ryan managed to come in second place! The best moment for me was when they announced the winner and Zach threw up both arms and hooted out his julibant triumph! They will never forget that day!

We hooked up with the Seawind fleet to begin sailing up to Santa Rosalia as a group, stopping at beautiful anchorages along the way. But, this is probably deserving a separate blog entry so I will halt here in my rambling.