Beth’s Musings

beth

Beth’s theme song

ANY ‘NEW’ POSTS  WILL BE JUST BELOW THIS INTRODUCTION! THANKS 🙂

This particular page is just my observations and thoughts about GA, boating/cruising and how I am handling it. The thoughts here will be quite different from what you get on the rest of the site which is pretty much all Kyle. I’m hoping some of my trials or joys can be fun, enlightening and/or helpful to those reading.
      Just as a bit of background, Kyle has wanted to cruise since he was a kid. He introduced me to the idea MANY years ago….but I could never quite embrace it. I was afraid that if we sold everything and went to a boat, we could so easily lose it. I just couldn’t give up the ‘security’ of being land based. Then a series of events happened that snatched all the ‘security’ right out from under me. I lost everything important…including Kyle. It was a very bad few years.
      A few years ago, I had finally gotten myself on track and mostly stable. Kyle came back into my life and we set about rediscovering each other and the people we had become in the years between. The universe, with its own perverse sense of humour, gave him the opportunity to find the very same boat we had looked at together years before. Grateful Aire. He got into the boat early 2012, and loved it. I kept my own apartment, we dated and just…………got to know each other again.
      Fast forward to this year. Around his birthday in May…Kyle was fussing about wanting to do the cruise. Frustrated with his job and a lot of other stuff and not wanting to lose the dream. I suggested he cut the dock lines the following year (2015) on his birthday. He embraced that idea and moved forward with it. In early August, we were enjoying the evening on the boat. He asked if I wanted to join him for the cruise. He would like me to but he was going with or without me. I said yes.
      I figured I had about 8 months to get used to the idea, clean out my apartment, sell stuff, lose some weight, and get my employer to hire my replacement with enough time to train them. Then a friend introduced Kyle to another friend that desperately needed some help diving in the San Francisco area. It would give us a good head start towards going south, let me write and be a much better area for getting things done with the boat because of the sailing resources. Soooooooo…..I went from 8-9 months to prepare to four weeks! I physically moved onto the boat the first week of September 2014 (after a massive sale of 90% of my worldly possessions).
      This is the background for the entries you will see here. A lot of it will be journal entries, some will just be random thoughts, some will be bits about things seen or done and there will likely be big gaps when we are just sitting at the dock.
      The very first entry (which will be at the bottom eventually) will be chronological since it’s going from when we left Florence, OR till we arrived at Richmond, CA. After that I’ll put the newest posts on top – but beneath this intro. Are we confused yet?!

 Cheers!


7 August 2015

Yesterday was one of those days I felt totally useless. One of those days I wonder why Kyle even wants me onboard as I am so less than helpful.

I finished my first novel, but there are some legal hoops to deal with so no money coming in from that at this point. I’ve started another one and it’s going, but who knows if/when that will bring money into our funding.

We had put in a new head while back – the original to the boat was just old, the base cracked. The holding tank hadn’t been put to use before so Kyle also had to set it up for being pumped out since we are still staying in marinas for a while. All good. He did a great job with the through hole for that and has been working fine.

 

We’ve been having a bit of an odor issue with the head, and came to the conclusion that all the old hoses desperately needed to be replaced and that he was going to plumb it so it was being flushed with fresh water. Let me tell you, bay water can stink BIG TIME!

Yesterday was our pump-out day, so shortly after that happened, Kyle got down to changing hoses. Nasty, messy job – which of course needed at least two runs for materials and took most of the day. I was useless to help with this project. Aside from there just not being a lot of room to work in the head area; my arms are too short and I’m too heavy to do the things needed.

This is true of so many projects around here. I can sand and varnish (needed) but I’m not overly adept at mechanical stuff. I just wonder if, once we are out cruising, I’ll be far more of a hindrance than a help – and it concerns me. I’ll keep plugging away – hopefully my writing will help the bottom line soon.

 


 

28 April 2015

I may occasionally subject you to my poetry.  In that sort of mood tonight.

wind whispering through the grass
sand blowing on the breeze
salt spray on face and hands
beach stretching endlessly before
while waves crash in symphony with the cry of gulls
spirits soar as souls find solace in the tranquility of the sea.
                                                                                                          27 February 2009

 


 

12 April 2015

Spent yesterday and the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show in the Bay area. I really am relatively new to the whole sailing lifestyle and process, and this was my first boat show. It was definitely an experience. I’ll let Kyle talk about that part of things.

Sitting here this morning listening to ‘boat music’ with Kyle, I decided I have a theme song. “It’s Blowing a Hooley” by Ken Gill. Given my maiden voyage on GA – I think this is very appropriate and I laugh every time I hear the song!

Small differences. I don’t plan on moving to Nebraska any time soon! The trip down was a huge learning experience. How I should / shouldn’t eat before going out, to STAY HYDRATED, to communicate with Kyle about what is really going on in my head. Storms happen – in life as on the water. I’ve probably gone through one of the worst passages (both on and offshore) and it taught me so much about myself, the boat, my captain and sailing in general. (Not that I’m kidding myself – I still have so MUCH to learn about sailing and the boat especially).

I’m still on-board and working to adjust to this new lifestyle. Some days are really frustrating. I miss having a full kitchen. I miss having an ‘office’ with all the things I used so much every day easily available. I have days when I wonder if I made the right choice because, just where things are right now, I’m not contributing to the bottom line of the sailing kitty or getting repairs done on the boat. I feel like there is so little I can do to help – and it bothers me.

I’m trying to finish my novel which takes up a lot of time. I’ve started working on some of the varnish work because it’s something I can do and not screw up. I need to walk or exercise more just so I can get around better. I designed curtains for the boat and made some of them (will try to get some pictures up on the Projects Page once we get that up – one of the things we are working on). A bunch of the curtains I had sewn by a shop before we left Oregon because we simply ran out of time. I did do the decorating on them.

But am I really contributing? It’s something I struggle with. I don’t want to be another anchor onboard – so I’ll keep learning and growing and fixing my head.

 


 

Sunday – 21 September 2014                     Leaving Florence, OR

Finally pulling out of Florence port! Only 6 days behind schedule. We called ODOT yesterday to request the bridge be opened at 6:30 am so we could be at the bar entrance ready to go at daylight.
We got up at 4:30am, had some coffee, went up to use the head and set about preparing the boat to leave. We should have done more the night before, but were both really tired from the last week trying to get away from Florence. We thought we had stowed things fairly well, and may have for a calmer passage – but we didn’t get that.
Left the dock about 6:15am and went under the bridge right at 6:30. Made our way slowly down river to the bar as we didn’t have good daylight until around 7:30ish. The bar was restricted to smaller boats, but we went across just at 8am. So far so good.
We were taking southerly winds right on the bow along with 8 to 12 foot seas at 6 – 8 seconds. This meant the rolls were really steep, so climbing them and slapping down the other side. To complicate things we were getting cross swells making the ride even more choppy.
About 2 hours into the trip, I got sea-sick big time, heaving hard enough over the side to give myself a bloody nose. Not helpful. It was also much colder than we had anticipated and I definitely hadn’t dressed properly for the passage. Hard shivering was not helping the motion sickness, so Kyle finally convinced me an hour or so later to go below and crash on the settee – which I basically did for the rest of the trip. Unfortunately, that left him manning the helm for the whole trip. I had taken the wheel for short intervals early on, but he was stuck there once I went down.
Kyle will have to tell his own version of the passage as I was out for most of it. We pulled across the bar to Winchester Bay around 7pm and docked around 7:30pm. A passage that we had planned on taking 4 – 6 hours start to finish had taken 13 and we were both wiped out.
His mom met us at the dock (oh…she called the Coast Guard on us to make sure we were ok. They finally got hold of us on the cell when I took it up to Kyle), and took us to their trailer for a bit to eat and to get warm. I didn’t bother with a shower till the next morning.

Monday – 22 September 2014                   Winchester Bay, OR
                Recovering from sea-sick and getting the boat put back together from her beating coming down from Florence…several items we will want to secure differently so things travel better.
Went over to Bob & Nancy’s this evening and got showers. That was wonderful! As always, Nancy cooked a nice dinner; but we returned to the boat early for sleep and recoup time.

September 23 – 28, 2014                              Winchester Bay, OR
                A long week. L Went into Reedsport a couple of times to do laundry and get internet. Sunday morning we went to breakfast at a restaurant in Winchester Bay so we could catch up on email while Bob and Nancy went to church.
We had planned to leave Thursday – but there were engine issues. By the time Kyle figured out we had a bad starter (even though it’s only 2 years old!) late Friday none of the marine shops were still open or wouldn’t be by the time he could get there and not open over the weekend.
We got some minor stuff done on the boat. Went and talked to a guy we watched come in and got a tour of his sailboat. Nice guy. Smaller boat, nowhere near so many systems to deal with. There was also a big catamaran that came into the port. Very pretty. They too are headed for the Bay area. Kyle got a card from him. Paddy? Patty? And Queenie.

Monday – 29 September 2014                   Winchester Bay, OR
                Nancy took Kyle to Coos Bay this morning to get a new starter. Went to the same place he got the one that just died. I kept working on the plastic canvas tray for the NAV station. He got back and put the starter in. Issues. The motor was spinning when it shouldn’t have been. Finally got that figured out – but it took ages. Just as he was finishing that, the guy from the smaller sailboat came by.
We decided to get fuel and turn circles in the morning so we wouldn’t have to re-dock. Went back over to the RV park for another shower and dinner.
Came home early to button up the boat getting ready for leaving tomorrow and lost 110 power again. Kyle messed with it for an hour and couldn’t figure it out. We were running the batteries low, so he tried to start up the genny – no joy. The diesel didn’t want to run either.
Finally gave up and going to bed. Will deal with it in the morning.

Tuesday – 30 September 2014                   Winchester Bay, OR
                Still here! L What a day. We got up and I secured the inside of the boat while Kyle went back to work on the engine. Finally had it running for a while and everything else ready to go around 7:45am. No 110 power so we walked up to use the head and Kyle got coffee at the little store right there.
Around 8am we called his mom so she could go with us to spin circles. Last trip to the head and a bigger cup of coffee for Kyle. I didn’t have any coffee as I was trying to avoid getting sea-sick. I had a bowl of cereal and all the dishes got washed in cold water as we had no water heater.
Turning circles (this to try and re-set the auto pilot) went fine and Kyle did a great job getting GA up to the fuel dock. Took way less fuel than we thought it would, so had a bit of a geyser at both tanks. Will stick with DAWN dish soap now seeing how well it disperses the fuel.
We had talked to Paddy, the guy from the catamaran, on the last trip up to the head; he said the weather reports he tapped into were saying the weather was going to be pretty heavy today and that he wasn’t going to risk leaving till tomorrow. After fueling, Kyle listened to the radio and, very reluctantly, decided we shouldn’t risk it either.
His mom and Uncle Jan came on board for the short run back to the dock. Marina workers had shown up about the same time as Nancy, so we knew we could get 110 power again.
Just back out into the river/bay from the fuel dock, the engine died. Oh great! L Kyle dropped anchor so we wouldn’t drift and went to work. He bled out the fuel lines and got her running again. We made it back to the dock where he did a lovely job of sliding her into place – with no further incidents. Thankfully we didn’t have to call the Coast Guard.
Bob took us all out to breakfast. Some of their friends, Mike and ?? (can’t remember her name) had shown up with cookies so tagged along to the restaurant. Mike and Kyle came up with a probably reason for why we keep losing the engine.
We came back from breakfast. I actually went to pay for another night and Kyle came back to the boat. He had a bit of a fuel spill so dealt with that first, then got us plugged in. I took a nap and woke to find him reading – waiting for the fridge to come down to temp after being off for so long. We went up to the local restaurant to get through email and check account balances. I got to chat with Susan briefly which was nice.
Back to the boat, Kyle did a temporary fix on the air leak and the engine fired right up. He also got the STOP button adjusted so hopefully that will work now.
Dinner at his folks. Nancy gave me leftovers (chicken and salad) for lunch tomorrow.
Back at the boat, we watched a movie – Two Weeks’ Notice – and are going to bed.

Wednesday – 1 October 2014                    Leaving Winchester Bay                 Much easier getting up and going with 110. Diesel started no problem, and ran great as we prepped to leave.                 Paddy, the guy from the catamaran, gave us a conch shell sendoff which was very cool! We spun circles again out in the river/bay, but still didn’t manage to fix ‘Bob’ the autopilot.                 Bob, Nancy and Jan tracked us around as we left, and were actually on the inland part of the south jetty as we left. Was supposed to be 4 – 6 foot swells….more like 10 – 12 with rolling tops. Nancy told us later (Kyle called her when we were ‘out’ and in much calmer water) that they completely lost sight of the boat a few times as we were going out through the channel.
First part of the day was nice – but the waves got bigger and very confused. Kyle tried putting some sail up – didn’t really work.                 It got pretty bad. The mainsail was stuck so we had to turn into the wind to get it loose. He was climbing around with no lifejacket, not tied in and I was getting sprayed in the cockpit. I was terrified. Shaking bad and just wanted him to hold me. He didn’t. He sent me below where I gratefully curled up on the settee; shaking, shivering and sweating. He had a long night.

Thursday – 2 OCT 2014
Pacific Ocean, off southern Oregon Coast
                Got up still feeling awful. Tried to do what I could to help – but it wasn’t much. Hard not to feel like I shouldn’t have come – I’m more of a burden than a help.                 The seas were awful – from my perspective. Kyle said they were “sporty”. I didn’t feel like I could even attempt to take over the wheel and he didn’t seem very confident in the idea either. There is so much I don’t know yet and in those conditions……………..I’m useless.                 I stayed below on the settee most of the day. Tried to find him food and drink when I could. I knew he was tired and pissed at me but really – what was I supposed to do?! He talked about trying to get into Eureka, which I didn’t think was a good idea. He had said before what a nasty port it was to get into and with the weather so bad….                 He really snapped at me about needing a break, so I left him to it. Useless.
Friday – 3 October 2014
Pacific Ocean of Northern California
                Last two nights have been horrid for me; feeling so sick and listening to things crashing all over the boat, knowing he is up there exhausted and I’m useless to DO anything. Hate it – hate myself for being so weak.                 Got up to much calmer water and sunrise over a California coast. Very beautiful. Kyle said he had decided to bypass Eureka as it would have been just too dangerous. I used the head and sent him down for a nap.                 Those two hours were nice….peaceful. Was feeling better about things though the boat had taken a terrible beating. The back deck looked a real mess and Kyle had said it was actually worse than it looked. Got him up after 2 hours. We had some cold lasagna and he went to work fixing some things while I steered.                 Had a couple of dolphins start swimming with us at 12:48pm (yes I looked to know the time) only three…then I finally got Kyle to come up and suddenly the whole pod was there! It was absolutely amazing! I got one good picture out of 9 and I think he got some but not sure the Go-Pro worked when he tried to take video. (*later note….it did work and vid will be on this site if it isn’t already). He had me go forward and stand right up on the bow so I could REALLY see them. So very awe inspiring!                 Day went downhill after that. I had gone below to change into something cooler…was feeling rather dizzy/lightheaded. Cracked my head on the bulkhead above the loo/head….that REALLY made me queasy so I decided to lie down for a minute. Hit my head again. Lovely. Stayed still for a few then went up and told Kyle I wasn’t feeling well. He got pissed when I said I felt I needed to lay down for a few. I said fine…go ahead and do what he needed to but he just ignored me, so I came down and crashed for about 15 minutes.                 Went up, got him securing the back deck. I was trying to keep the waves on the stern but….again….useless. I was trying not to cry with frustration as he was angry and getting hurt because I couldn’t even drive the damn boat right.                 He finally got things secured and went down for another nap around 3:30 pm till about 6:30pm. It was beautiful and BORING. No one to talk to, no music, no book…though I was still queasy enough reading might have been a bad idea.                 I was cooked. Right side in the afternoon sun and I was baked. Got him up, told him I felt awful and would come up later to spend some of the evening with him. Dug out the chillow and crashed. Heard him banging around later and he said, “Obviously you are not coming up to spend time with me so I’m fixing me something to eat.”                 God! Like I’d rather be so sick I wanted to die than spend and evening under the stars with him! I asked him for some water with a little sugar and salt in it…I was pretty sure I had a mild case of heat stroke. Very little fluid for days, hardly any food, not used to the heat and stressed out. He ‘forgot’ it, go got myself some plain water later. I was crying because I was hurting so badly…which seemed to piss him off more.

                So………some comments here well after the fact. Go easy on the caffeine going out, but DO have something in your stomach! Oatmeal seems to work well for me, but it doesn’t last very long. Stay hydrated!!!! I had people telling me liquid sloshing in the tum will make sea-sickness worse. Ok, but you still have to be hydrated. I wasn’t. We had the added problem of the inverter not working right and the propane electrical had been knocked loose in the storm so couldn’t cook and didn’t have decent stuff to eat without heating. We have drastically revised what we plan to have on board for passages now to counteract those issues. Sunscreen and some way to keep cooler if needed or warm if needed. Coming from the Oregon coast…I just wasn’t used to the heat out on the water. All this stuff worked together to really mess me up and make me ill enough I couldn’t function well – THAT meant Kyle carried the burden of it all. Not only was that very unfair to him…it was dangerous!

Saturday – 4 October, 2014                          Fr. Bragg, CA
                Woke up still feeling really sick but mostly functional. Went up so Kyle could take a nap. Only an hour as we were headed to a port. He had only been out about 15 minutes though when I had to wake him. Fog was getting awfully thick so I asked the captain’s advice {{which he said later was absolutely the RIGHT thing to do!}} He told me to give it another 15 minutes & it should burn off….if not, wake him. It didn’t burn off but it didn’t get any worse either and he really NEEDED the sleep. It started getting worse about the time I was supposed to wake him anyway.
I had to use the loo/head desperately & was just sitting down when the engine died. He was already babying it as our oil pressure was bottomed out. Great L Basically we were out of fuel and no wind. He called the CG (Coast Guard) to let them know the situation. They would put out a call to see if any vessels in the area were available to help. After 90 minutes or so, they said they would come out. Kyle got the engine running but….it was pretty sketchy.                 They paced us for a while, then the temp spiked up again and he had me throttle back. Smoke everywhere! That was enough. Kyle made it clear he was not ASKING for a tow….we got one anyway. I was thankful! He was so tired and I was afraid we would really damage the engine if we continued. My first thought when the CG boat came alongside was “Billy Zane is driving the boat!” LOL
Coasties all looked like a bunch of kids again, but were all really great. Kyle was punchy he was so tired – but we got in ok (took a while) and got tied up and power to the boat.
As soon as our ‘inspection’ by the CG was done, Kyle hoofed it to a nearby store for cigarettes…he’d been out for two days (part of why he was a bit pissy).
We ate something (crab salad on bread), had showers (glorious if not the best facility), came back and put a movie in (a Stargate movie Kyle got from his dad) and just relaxed. He was still hungry so cooked up some broccoli beef (he tried to do that last night I found out – but couldn’t get the propane stove to work and no 110 for the microwave…more stuff for the ‘fix it’ list).
Finished the movie and we talked for a few. I understand a little better now where his head was/is. Mostly he was tired and stressed. I have dishes to do and coffee to set up for morning. Kyle’s been snoring for 90 minutes already. I’m so glad.

Sunday – 5 October 2014                              Ft. Bragg, CA
                We spent the early morning just relaxing a bit and doing housekeeping sort of stuff. I had done oatmeal for breakfast so there were a lot of dishes with the ones from the night before.
Then we took our dirty laundry and the laptops up a really ^nice^ hill. Steep and 1/2 to 3/4 miles to the shopping area. Did laundry while Kyle rounded up what he needed at the auto parts store.
Went to the pizza place right next door for a really good pizza lunch and Wi-Fi. Sent out some emails and chatted with Susan. After that we picked up a few groceries, then back to the auto parts store to pick up and pay for the stuff Kyle had found earlier. Then….we got to hump all that stuff back to the boat L (at least it was downhill). Kyle was carrying several gallons of fluids and the laundry…I had the laptops and the groceries. Fun.
Got back and put all the new oil and oil filter in the diesel. Did a few other bits then watched “For Love or Money”. Heading for bunks – still VERY tired.
Oh…had crab salad on sourdough, our special green olives stuffed with blue cheese and garlic we got in Florence before we left. Good stuff.

Monday – 6 October 2014                            Fr. Bragg, CA
                Paid $76 for 3 nights here – plan to leave tomorrow. Kyle worked consistently to get things done for departure & there was a lot to do. The propane stove is working again, the engine and generator are both running. Unfortunately it seems the switch is shot, so even with the genny running we can’t get 110 power.                 We walked back up to the shopping area in the afternoon. Several stops up there; cigs, minor groceries, extra oil, sandwiches for the trip.
We ordered pizza and had it delivered which was fun. It was really good but didn’t sit that well on my tummy (really spicy sausage). I should have stopped at 2 pieces and 2 bread sticks instead of three each. Just hope it settles before we sail.

Wednesday – 8 October 2014                    San Francisco, CA                       We left Ft. Bragg yesterday morning. Didn’t’ get out till around 10:30am and even ten we hit dense fog once we got back out on the ocean.
As far as sailing went – we didn’t and it was a fairly boring day. There wasn’t enough wind to sail and while the dense fog lifted, we had high, solid cloud cover all day.
I will be SO glad when we have a working autopilot!!!! I took the wheel most of the day knowing Kyle would have it overnight. I was going down for the night, using the head when….the engine stopped. Out of fuel in the port tank – so he had to bleed the fuel lines, switch over to the starboard tank and get her going again. I went back to the wheel.
Once we were going again….I went down to crash. I ended up doing that…literally. It got really rough again overnight and at one point I went flying off the settee into the table then down to the floor. Kyle apologized, but he didn’t seem all that sorry. Put the table up as sort of a brace and went back to sleep.
This morning the water was still pretty rough and high overcast again. Can’t say I find this part of things very fun or even enjoyable. Kyle and I don’t really talk as we are both focused and you can’t really DO anything unless you are steering. Maybe it will be different with the autopilot working, the engine running better and in a different area.
Finally started being ‘nice’ late afternoon though still chilly. We had to get out of the way of a big tanker or cargo ship when we tried to cut inland – that was interesting. I had Kyle take a couple of naps in the afternoon. I got him up from the second one at 5:30pm as I knew there was a LOT to deal with going into San Francisco and I was getting nervous.
He came up and brought his laptop so we could really see where we were going. I stayed at the wheel till almost dark and just before going into the mouth of the bay itself. He had been directing me through some fairly rough seas. My shoulders and neck were killing me both from being thrown off the settee the night before and tension. The boat was hard to handle and I was stressed.
Went under the Golden Gate Bridge at 7:30ish. Hard to appreciate it properly as I was VERY cold and the CG was looking for a possible person in the water.
Found a slip where Steve told us about 8:30pm. CRAP dock. No 110 (someone had blown it out) no Wi-Fi like I hoped and mostly commercial guys that weren’t so friendly. ACK
Finally got tied up around 9:30pm. Fixed something quick to eat, had a whisky, time to crash.

Thursday – 9 October 2014                    Hyde Pier – San Francisco, CA                 Woke up early – 5:30ish – just weird noises then couldn’t get back to sleep. Steve (the friend that driven our Range Rover down for us) pinged Kyle at 6am – I let him sleep. I got up, made coffee and worked on my journal. Steve texted again around 7am – so I got Kyle up. Turns out Steve had the Range Rover and was up in ‘our’ parking lot wanting McDonald’s…lovely.
We all walked to McDonald’s for breakfast, then Kyle ended up taking Steve ‘home’ to Yuba City on the other side of Sacramento! Of course, Steve was driving and didn’t bother to TELL Kyle this till they were half way there. Not what WE had planned for our day and Kyle didn’t get back till around 5:30pm.
I was stuck on the boat with no power for most of that. Steve had said the car was too full for me to go. Turns out the back seat was empty. I got the dishes done, the stove scrubbed down the aft head cleaned AND got farther on my chapter.
Kyle was tired, but we walked down to Pier 39 so I could experience that. Very cool. We had fish and chips in one of the little shops – pretty good. Great slaw – had cilantro in it.
Oh! Turns out we arrived just in time for Fleet Week (10 – 14). Saw several Navy/Marine Corps walking around even tonight.                 Kyle talked to Viking (the guy he’s going to be diving for) tonight. We need to get the Range Rover out of here with Fleet Week and get the boat moved ASAP

Friday – 10 October 2014                              San Francisco, CA
                Drove the car over to Sausalito today and met with Mike Viking. Interesting. I didn’t interact with him much. We got over there around 11am and caught the ferry back at 3:45pm. Wandered around a little…it is very upscale over there. I may end up working…..we’ll see.
Got back to the boat and Kyle cooked up some dinner. All the stuff in the stuff in the freezer is thawing as we don’t’ really have power and the inverter or the switch for it isn’t working.
After eating we packed up the laptops and headed for Starbucks. They HAD Wi-Fi…but I couldn’t even hit my email! Kyle got some of his mail downloaded and some of the research done looking into marinas – but not near as much as we had hoped to accomplish. VERY frustrating. No clue where the accounts are or how much money we have left to work with. Step at a time is all we can do I guess.
Saturday – 11 October 2014                         San Francisco, CA
                Went up early to Starbuck trying to use Wi-Fi again. Kyle got on ok if slow while I couldn’t do anything. Very frustrating. All this is something Kyle will have to play with, but he will have to have some good internet and time.
We walked up to China Town today. By the time we got back, I could barely walk my knees and feet hurt so badly. We wandered up there a few hours mostly trying to find me a good journal – no joy. Did find some more ginger candy and had a really good lunch at a Vietnamese place.
We both took a short nap when we got back and woke to the Blue Angels thundering overhead. This was the main airshow for Fleet Week and we had a GREAT spot to see it moored where we were. The bay was just THICK with boats all watching the show.                 We went and had dinner at this great Irish Pub we saw walking back from China Town called Fiddler’s Green. It was loud (there was a game going) but awesome food and atmosphere.                 Gave away several more “Thanks for your service” cards and had a couple of young sailors sit with us when they lost their place at the bar.
Came back and watched the two Under Siege movies. Time to crash.

Sunday – 12 October 2014                            San Francisco, CA
                Long day……..but productive. Spent the day cleaning up the boat so we can make a good impression when we arrive at the new marina in Richmond.
I worked mostly inside while Kyle did things like getting the light off the bow that Steve had attached and re-securing that deck box. I actually got a lot of stuff put away. There’s more to do, but it’s definitely getting there.
We went back to the same pub for dinner and I told Kyle it would be my ‘birthday dinner’ since we won’t know Richmond yet. Last night he had the “Ploughman’s Dinner” – a protein overload….sausage, pork chop, meatballs, ham, eggs and fries. I had the corned beef and cabbage with marvelous mashed potatoes. SO yummy. Tonight HE had the corned beef and I had Shepherd’s Pie. I could only eat half it was so filling! Lunch tomorrow.
Bed early so we can head down the bay.

 

Monday – 13 October 2014                          Richmond, CA
                We got up and moving fairly early today….but didn’t leave the marina until about 9am. The new harbor master didn’t seem to have an issue with how long we’d been here and didn’t ask for a payment which was nice.
The trip across the bay was beautiful and uneventful. Kyle was really nervous as there were some major shallow spots….but we had no issues.
The harbor master in the Richmond office…was not pleasant. He might have just been having a really bad day…but he sort of turned me off to even staying here. He was alone in the office except for a gal working on the broken printer/copier. He was cranky we had just ‘parked’ in an open spot even though that is what the gal we had talked to on Saturday told us to do. NO porta-potty….MUST use a holding tank….oh and their internet is down. More frustration.                 Kyle didn’t seem very inclined to work on figuring out the holding tank issue – which frustrated me. We DO go about things very differently.
Got laundry done tonight at least. Watched ‘Escape from LA’…………..bedtime.

 

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