It's been a busy couple of weeks!

"On the go" is usually just an expression, but it was reality for Scott and I this week. I'll back up a bit. Last you heard, we were in Santa Barbara. After 4 very relaxing days we decided to pull up and head over to Santa Cruz Island where we heard the anchorage was great in a place called Pelican Bay (aptly named). Leaving around noon it was only gonna take us 5 hours to get there. A piece of cake after the trip down the coast. We got in a an hour before sunset, set the hook, and had a glass of wine. There was some roll, but all in all not bad or terrible uncomfortable. The weather forecast was a little windy when we left Santa Barbara, but it should be OK in the cove we were in. The winds were to come out of the north, we were quite protected from that direction. About 1 am we woke to howling winds... OUT OF THE EAST!!!!! The only direction we weren't protected from. It turned out the Santa Ana winds we forecast after we left Santa Barbara and were out of radio contact. It takes about 6 to 8 hours for them to come in, so they were right on time. Scott and I looked around at the waves crashing on the cliffs a few hundred yards from the boat and decided to stand watches. We discussed weather we should move the boat in the dark and it was dark! So, we continued to watch the shore and check the anchor. I think she dug in toward China, because we didn't move until we pulled her up early in the morning. After daylight, we made decided to head back to Santa Barbara. Our normal ritual when raising the anchor is for me to be on the bow and let Scott know when the anchor is up and secure in the bow roller, it didn't quite happen that way. Scott didn't want me on the bow as there was too much swell, even with the tethers he wasn't comfortable with me up there. I watched as the anchor came up and then the chain jumped out of the bow roller. It couldn't come up without someone going on deck. Scott dropped it a few feet below the water and we let it trail until we could get to calmer waters, which was 3 hours later. Finally calm enough, Scott crawled out and helped the chain and anchor back into the roller. The next day, we saw a little damage to the bow. The gel coat is chipped in two places and we have a small gouge on the starboard side from the tip of the anchor. Very minor and easy to fix, thank goodness we plan on repainting in Mexico next spring.

Well, after that we were ready to settle in for some lunch and a nap, but we were woken by the harbor patrol telling us we couldn't anchor where we were and would have to move to the winter anchorage a mile further out and no where near as protected. It was still daylight and we were leaving the next day anyway. We spent the night rather uncomfortable, but after the night before who cared, sleep was sleep at that point. Early the next morning we woke, brushed our teeth and headed toward Ventura. It was a perfect day. Quiet, not a lot of boat traffic, scenic, just a little wind. We've only had two days like this in all our travels to date on Reisender. It's my habit to usually look for a slip before we ever leave from our departure port, but Ventura has thousands of slips and we were planning on stopping at the fuel dock once we got there and I would have plenty of time to call around. Two of the three marinas were full and the 3rd wanted $61.50 a night. Now I know that doesn't sound like a lot to non-boaters, but that is crazy! $1.50 a foot for a parking space for the night! No Way! We went to Oxnard and found the lovely marina, Channel Islands Marina with it's very accommodating staff and much more reasonable rate. As our luck would turn out, the weather was going to be against us for some time and we decided to use this time to go get our truck.

Rental car, over night bags packed, and Linux sedated we were off. I'd never gone the PCH route and it was well worth it. It skirts the coast line and winds around some of the most beautiful country I've seen. After a lovely night with friend in San Francisco, we headed to Portland early on Sunday and made it in 10 hours! Before any of you say anything about a lead foot, remember I drive like an old lady, the cruise control was never set to more that 5 miles over the speed limit. Portland was a blur and a rush to us, but we got all the shopping done, the truck repacked, and all the stuff we were off loading gone. A quick visit with our dear friend, Wayne, and we were off again. Roseburg the first night, San Francisco the next, and Oxnard the night after that! We fell into bed our first night home. Well, we are officially out of Oregon and are looking forward to the next leg of our adventure. We don't know for certain where we are going next, but it looks like Marina Del Rey, or Catalina Island, or...?...????