We've been on the move for over 3 1/2 months now. It seems we've only have one true day of a perfect trip down the coast. Even that day wasn't fully perfect, as we could only raise the sail for a little while before the wind died completely, and I was suffering from the beginning of a cold (that is still here three days later). We've had all sorts of misfortune on this initial trip: fuel injector pump going out, current against us as we tried to cross the Columbia River Bar, fog with no radar, deciding we need radar and spent a week waiting for delivery, muffler needed re-welded, exhaust thru-hull blocked, un-predicted wind storm, waiting out a rain storm in port, trying to dry out the boat and clean the mold from the condensation of waiting out a rain storm in port, 13 foot swells, me getting sick, and a host of other things usually weather related.
So why are we doing this? It's a question we've asked ourselves several times over the last few weeks, but then we pull into a port and the question seems to disappear. It's the friends who came out to visit us all the way down the Columbia as we began to say "goodbye". Thanks for the encouragement and love: Jeff, Val, Eric, Diane, Jim, Jules, and Scott, even our dear friend, Harold, his former boat showed up even if he couldn't. Then there were the people we ran into along the way: Courtney, Mike, Linde, Ken, and the cruisers from the Sea Of Cortez cruisers rally. Once we left there it began with friends Dan and Becky teaching us how to crab and sharing some wonderful memories and food together. Sherry, my northwest mama, came for an evening, and we even caught up with one of Scott's cousins he hadn't seen in 10 years and got a behind the scenes tour of the Hatfield Marine center where she works. That's when we finally started to meet other cruisers. Erlin and Jen with there cat Minion (who I'm convinced would make a lovely boyfriend for Pixel). Then, there were the crews of Deep Playa, Puddle Pirate, and several others we met in different ports. We all share the same dream: to see, to explore, to get away. We'd all talk and share experiences: have you met so and so aboard such and such, or you must try this little restaurant when you get to such and such destination. My favorite conversation is to get sailors talking about ground tackle..... hours and I mean hours of talks about that one piece of equipment. Then there are the people in port. The night watchman who came down to make sure we were OK after a rough bar crossing, the staff who gladly accept mail for us, the guy early on Sunday morning telling me where to find the best bloody mary's in town, the lady at the farmers market telling me about her experience sailing for an afternoon and how she'd love to do it, the friendly harbor master who said "no you must be tired, check in tomorrow", the fisherman who came down the dock with a lure and trolling line for me as a gift when I asked about what best to use, even when we run across an old crust of a person it still adds to the experience of cruising.
I can't put it all on the people we've met. Then there is mother nature, with all her beauty. The dolphins playing in our bow wake early as the sun is just breaking over the mountains. We've seen sunfish, dolphins, whales, seals, sea lions, jelly fish, and now a sea turtle. A sea turtle! Swimming only feet from our boat! There are the cliffs that come straight down into the sea, the mist early in the morning, sunsets on the water can never be matched on land. I don't have the words to describe all the things I've seen in just these few short months. I can only imagine what else is laying out there waiting for us...
Then there are the wonders of man: harbor walls that make you so safe once you come through them after a rough passage, light houses, observatories, we saw Alcatraz from 1/2 mile away, and San Francisco bright as a Christmas tree at night, The Golden Gate Bridge popping out of the fog, The Golden Gate Bridge on a bright sunny day as we passed beneath her on the way out, and now I sit here writing this with the anticipation of seeing the old mission of Monterey in a few hours and the Aquarium after that. I hope it can live up to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. They are actually growing their own rain forest there. It's not to be missed.
Oh, I can't forget the food! You all know what a special part of my life food is. I grew up in the South and feeding everyone is part of our heritage. Thanks to the fisherman in St Helen's who sold me halibut and salmon straight off the boat, thanks to the wonderful farmers market in Astoria for the amazing produce, thanks to Becky and Dan for teaching us to crab, thanks to Trader Joe's for being so damned convenient in Emeryville and for having a wonderful wine selection. Also thanks to TJ's for being so close to the marina in Monterey! And thanks to all of you who shared meals with us on and off our boat.
There are so many other memories and new friends we've made. It truly is impossible to name them all. Thank you to DJ and Joe, Mike and Frank, Mike and Cheryl, The crews of Deihl with It, Wings of Dawn, and Turtle.
These and many more are the reasons we are out here and the reasons we will continue....
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