We're in Moss Landing, CA. A little town half way betweeen Santa Cruz and Monterey. We left Santa Cruz this morning in pea soup fog. That was a little nerve wracking. Kayaks, pwc's and little dinghy sailboats scoot in and out of Santa Cruz Harbor, and they don't give much of a radar return. But it was really cool when we got into the whales. The fog made it seem like we were in our own little world with them. More intimate than when we see them with the sun out.

Gladys Schoennauer, one of Mom's cousins, met us at the dock in Santa Cruz last night. That was nice. I hadn't seen her in 25 or 30 years, and she and Janie had never met. I used to see her a lot when I'd visit my Gramma Fox while working on the dredges in SF.

We had a great time in SF Bay. We were hosted for a few days in Sausalito by the Corps of Engineers who let us stay at their docks by the SF Bay Model. At one time these docks and the surrounding facilities were strictly industrial. That's where the Dredge Harding tied up for crew changes. And for awhile the Essayons and Yaquina used these docks as well. Nowadays they are used by the Corps debris boats, but also for a big charter schooner. And the Bay Model has become a destination spot with very nice displays for the public. When I first saw it back in the 70's, it was strictly an engineering facility.

After a few days in Sausalito, we moved over to the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon, where we were hosted by the commodore. ( He owns a Passport 40 like ours.) Then another Passport owner hosted us in Alameda. That was cool, because it gave us a chance to see an old family friend, Georgia Hubner, who now lives in Oakland. She came out for a daysail w/ us last Saturday. We motored up to San Quentin (where my Grampa Jerry Conway had been superintendant of maintenance), then turned around and sailed downwind through Racoon Straits, past Alcatraz, to the City Front and back to Alameda. It was a georgeous sunny day and we all had a great time.

We don't know how long we will stay here in Moss Landing. The local yacht club is having an event with a live band and a BBQ dinner tomorrow night. If there is room for us here, that would be fun. But there may be more boats coming in for the party than they have room for, so we may move over to Monterey. Either way it should be a great few days. As you may know Monterey has the largest aquarium in the US and also has lots of museums, galleries, antique shops, restaurants and other stuff to see and do.

This is a tiny harbor. The channel is only about 50 feet wide. Just across from us is a sand bar with hundreds of spotted harbor seals hauled out. Closer to the harbor entrance the sea lions are barking and carrying on, and between the sea lions and us there are lots of sea otter swimming around on their backs. We're not sure what they are eating, but the pelicans and sea gulls are harassing them terribly in order to steal a little of whatever it is they are having for dinner.

After Monterey, I think we will have an overnight sail to Morro Bay. With the full moon, that could be a nice trip if the weather co-operates.