Welcome to Southern California!

Almost a week ago we left Port San Luis to make the long trip around Point Conception, and thus into Southern California. We've since spent several days in the Channel Islands and completely out of cell or internet range. We were able to sent GPS position updates to our farkwar page from our satellite phone, hopefully you were able to follow along.

We are currently tied up tied up to the dock in Santa Barbara and are really looking forward to laundry and showers!

The trip from Port San Luis around Point Conception (the so called Cape Horn of the Pacific...hyperbolic? maybe) is a long one, about 50 miles, and given our weather conditions, it was a long motor. It was totally amazing, once we rounded the Point, it was clear we were in Southern California, the wind let up, it got much warmer, and we saw tar balls floating in the water.

What truly tripped me out though was that I could see the bottom even though the depth sounder said 30 feet. It was completely disorienting. Up in Puget Sound, if you see the bottom, it is likely that you've gotten yourself too shallow and you better get out or risk going aground. It made me really anxious while we were circling the anchorage (Cojo anchorage right around the corner from apt. Conception) to find the right place to drop the hook. Then I saw a ray swimming clear as day near the bottom...like at an aquarium. Fantastic! Guess I better get used to seeing the bottom...

Sunrise. We left Port San Luis at 5:45 am. I love mornings in the cockpit with a cup of coffee!

Filling out the log

Sunrise in the cockpit, plus knitting while kids are still asleep? Heaven!

Sight of the first oil drilling platform

Sewing project down below. The beautiful thing about sending the boys to a Waldorf preschool? They already know how to sew! Lars kept saying "it's really great to get back to sewing!"

Thanks for the art and sewing kits Nana and Grandpa!

Can you see the anchor chain underwater?! Crazy!!

Morro Bay

What a pleasant stop this ended up being.  We met our first kid boat of the trip, yay! The hospitality and facilities at the Morro Bay yacht club have been wonderful, and the setting can't be beat.

It was wonderful to spend time with another family doing the same thing we are.  I think Linda may be the first Mom I've spoken to in a month, and kids for Lars and Odin to play with?  Wonderful! I do hope our paths cross again S/V Nomi!

Amazing Sunset with Morro Rock, the view from our boat

San Simeon

A 67 mile long (13 hour) motor brought us from the anchorage near Pebble Beach to San Simeon Bay.  For geographical reference, the Hearst Castle looks down upon the bay, and when we came in after dark, the lights from the mansion were most of what we saw.

It was a fairly uneventful trip, but we were visited by dolphins!  It was amazing to show Odin and Lars how dolphins like to ride bow waves, they termed it "playing with our boat."  Totally apt. Thanks to the field guide we got at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we think they were striped dolphins, and there were hundreds of them!  And they were jumping so high out of the water! Amazing sight.

In the morning we had two little boys who needed to get the wiggles out so we launched the dinghy for beach time. Surf landings aren't something we've ever needed to do in Puget Sound...and our technique definitely needs some work! Luckily I planned ahead and didn't bring my camera, and I put my phone in a water proof case, because I got wet!  Unfortunately it did scare Lars pretty badly so he was very nervous about getting back out through the surf, but it went pretty smoothly, if again, quite wet. There was a nice man on the beach who helped push us out and he got quite wet too, hopefully he took any valuables out of his pockets!

After that we had a lovely afternoon of school and dinner cooking.  It felt like it was our first day of real cruising.  Wonderful.

When we woke the boys at 5:30 am to give them Dramamine
 and get underway, this is what happened.  We got several
more hours of sleep from them, woo hoo! 

Dolphins!

Riding the bow wave

Hard core beach time at San Simeon, with Yare
anchored in the background

Boat Kids!

Does it look like these two have fun on this boat of ours?

Monterey, CA

Golf Anyone?

After a short trip around the corner from Monterey, we are anchored off Pebble Beach golf course.  Pretty stunning place for a game of golf, but I'm glad we are here by boat.

Favorite San Francisco Photos

Guess what Lars just saw?

Odin too? 

The Golden Gate Bridge!

The quintessential shot

The most touristy food in SF?  We think it might be the clam
 chowder in a bread bowl at Boudin Bakery.  Touristy sure,
but eating your bowl is always fun!

First cable car ride!  This was the whole reason Lars and Odin
wanted to come to SF.

California Academy of Sciences.  Beyond cool!

Some just plain kid fun at the awesome playground on The
Embarcadero across from the Ferry Building.

Not just cable cars in SF, but vintage electric trolleys too.  Fantastic!

Another trip to the playground

Another cable car ride!

One gripman asked the boys if they wanted to ring the cable car
bell. What an honor! (too bad I was slow with the camera...)

Just a few of our sea lion neighbors at Pier 39.

I know, I already showed a similar picture of the Bay Bridge
from our anchorage at Treasure Island, but this one was
taken with my real camera and is a much better shot.  That's
the super moon on the night before the blood moon eclipse. :)

The view from Angel Island

A "selfie" back underway on our way out of SF bay

Different conditions than when we arrived!  Brrr!

Yep, plenty of vertical clearance!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Purple striped jelly in the Open Ocean exhibit

Mackerel 

Wait for it...

Wow!  A wave crashing overhead!

A skate egg case or mermaid's purse, window to show wriggling skate embryos provided by the aquarium.  SO COOL!

Did you know that in calm water sand dollars stand on end?  Only in surf zones do they hang out flat or even slightly under the sand?  SO COOL!

Last time I was at the Monterey Bay Aquarium I was 12 or 13. I was completely transfixed by the kelp forest exhibit.  We spent all day there today and didn't even get to the kelp forest.  The place is huge and totally amazing. The beauty of being without much of a schedule means that we can take the time to go there for more than one day.  Yep, we applied our (admittedly very expensive!) admission fees today to a yearly membership.  We will be back tomorrow!