Sunday, December 28, 2014

In Mexico for the Winter



It's been a long time since I updated my blog - right, Suzanne?  Now that I've been busy on facebook, I have overlooked the blog.  There's no way to catch up without boring everyone, so briefly.........

After leaving the Napa River with the boat newly repaired, we returned to Sausalito and San Francisco, then down the coast of California stopping in Redondo Beach to visit with Laurie, then to San Diego.  Thanksgiving was spent with Larry and Shelly in Indio where we were able to sneak in a few Harley rides.  Back to San Diego to prepare for our trip south to La Cruz, Mexico.  We checked into Mexico in Ensenada - with the Capitano de Puerto, immigration, and customs.  What a joke - sorry but the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing - it's all very frustrating.  But you have to do it to be legal.  Now we are on a mission - after 2 days at sea we stopped in Turtle Bay for a break and a good night's sleep.  Then back to sea for 2 + days and a sleep over in Magdalena Bay.  Next stop Punta de Mita (check this place out!).  We only saw it from the water, but it looks very high-end with gorgeous scenery.  www.puntademita.org 

With all the cruising we've been doing, we have seen our share of spectacular sunsets.  




Booby on the bow rail.  He spent the night there!

                                           Joshua Tree National Park outside Indio, CA.  Took a harley ride with Larry through this unique national forest..........................lots of boulders, few trees.

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                                            Sunsets in La Cruz.  View from our boat.


                                                                Santa Paddy Claus


Friends John and Marlene, who live here 6 months of the year from Navarro, CA, invited us to join them for Christmas festivities.  They live behind a wall that opens into a spacious living area full of color and Mexican art.





                                          In the center of this village is a plaza/park.


                                      Christmas day with Jenn, Dawn, Marlene and Marina.

I hope your Christmas was bright and your new year a delight!

xox  Queenie

Back in the Bay! (Finally posted from Oct.)





(This is an old post that I never published - think I had a weak internet connection)
We arrived back in San Francisco Bay on Oct. 7.  I feel like I'm returning home.  I just love it here! 

 While on our way to Napa to visit friends we hit a buoy!  Ouch!  Fortunately Linda and Doug, who we came to visit along with Wayne and Elly from Roatan, live on the Napa River.  AND there is a marina @ 1 mile up the river where we can get the boat out of the water and get it repaired.

 As I have discussed before, living on the hard is HARD.  But this time, we did it right!  We were able to stay with the Simms' and enjoy the Napa Valley.  First on tap - dinner at the Pedroncelli Winery.  Dinner was served in the
barrel room after a wine tasting outside in the warm California sun.



Below is Wayne, Elly, Linda and Doug.



The Girls after a few glasses of very yummy wine.  Pedroncelli - try it if you can find it.

Then on to Domaine Carneros,  makers of Tatingers sparkling wine.  Domaine Carneros | Napa Valley Sparkling Wine and Pinot ...https://www.domainecarneros.com/


 Great quote on the wall:  "Remember Gentlemen, it's not just France we are fighting for, it's Champagne."  Winston Churchill.  He drank 1/2 a bottle of champagne everyday with lunch (or for lunch?)!!  My kind of guy.



Oh, then there's Gloria Ferrer, another sparkling wine winery.  This is a photo of one of their caves where they store there bottles in a naturally cool setting.



Yoga with Elly on the deck - downward facing kitty...............................


Lunch on the deck overlooking the Napa River - beautiful scenery.



Bonnie Kuhr is a multi-media artist who we met during the summer 2013 - she joined us several times on the boat to watch the Americas' Cup races.  We were able to attend her studio opening.

Thank you Elly and Wayne for letting us enjoy your Benz baby!  We only ran out of gas once!

The girls' all fixed and ready to go back into the water - after 3 weeks and mucho dinero!

On our way back to Sausalito, we spent the day/night on Angel Island.  Here's the view of San Francisco from the top - whew! what a hike.


Sunset over Sausalito....................


Monday, September 29, 2014

Living on the Hard - is HARD!







After leaving Port Townsend, we sailed west to Port Angeles, WA to check it out.  They had recently had a sand sculpturing contest.  This one was obviously the winner as all the others were gone!


Next stop Astoria, Oregon.

From Wikipedia:
The Lewis and Clark Expedition spent the winter of 1805–1806 at Fort Clatsop, a small log structure south and west of modern-day Astoria. The expedition had hoped a ship would come by to take them back east, but instead endured a torturous winter of rain and cold, then returned east the way they came. Today the fort has been recreated and is now a historical park.
In 1810, John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company sent the Astor Expedition that founded Fort Astoria as its primary fur-trading post in the Northwest, and in fact the first permanent U.S. settlement on the Pacific coast. It was an extremely important post for American exploration of the continent and was influential in establishing American claims to the land. Fort Astoria was constructed in 1811.



 New headsail - working like a charm.
 Astoria has served as a port of entry for over a century and remains the trading center for the lower Columbia basin, although it has long since been eclipsed by Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, as an economic hub on the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Astoria's economy centered on fishing, fish processing, and lumber. In 1945, about 30 canneries could be found along the Columbia; however, in 1974 Bumblebee Seafood moved its headquarters out of Astoria, and gradually reduced its presence until 1980 when the company closed its last Astoria cannery. The timber industry likewise declined; Astoria Plywood Mill, the city's largest employer, closed in 1989, and the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway discontinued service in 1996.


The Astoria post office is the oldest west of the rockies. It opened in March 1847.  Marble walls, floors and columns.  Stunning.

Astoria-Megler Bridge crosses the Columbia River to Washington state.

 There she is - out of the water.  First time since Guatemala in 2012.

Le Chat Beaute' is coming out of the water for bottom cleaning and a paint job.  For you landlubbers- keeping a fresh coat of copper-loaded paint on the bottom helps to keep the critters from attaching and growing there.  Like barnacles and other creatures that can bore into your boat.  This paint has a sloughing effect to avoid those problems.  A good paint job lasts about 2 years.  After the boat is raised over land, a good pressure washer is used to get rid of the goo.





Hull sander extraordinaire!  Yes, that is a vacuum cleaner over my shoulder.  Who knew that all those years of carrying a heavy shoulder purse would prepare me for this job.

 Okay, here's one of those stories.  The boat below is a 47' Tayana sailing vessel.  During the previous evening he had anchored in a supposedly safe anchorage when at 5:30 a.m. a shrimp boat was going by.  Shrimp boats have those outriggers that stretch out over the sides for quite a ways.  The fishing boat didn't see him, hit his mast with an outrigger, throwing the mast off and totaling his boat.  The guy was single-handing from Alaska.


Cap. Paddy grinding and repairing a hull.


The before and after.  Now she's all pretty with red paint!  And new strips.








We had the boat hauled on the 15th of Sept. and back in the water 1 week and 1 day later.  I know because it was hard living on "the Hard".  So we were living on the boat, out of the water in the middle of a working boatyard.  We had electricity but no water nor toilet usage.  Paddy did hook up a hose from the galley sink to a bucket so we could wash and brush our teeth.  Otherwise we were 3 blocks from the marina restrooms and showers.  Not fun!  All day long you could hear the drills, sanders, grinders, welding and smell all the scents plus paint.  We were overjoyed when launched back in the water and we celebrated with champagne!  What else?


Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend





It was always a dream of mine to attend the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend.  I made it.

Sept. 5 - 7, 2014

 First of all, Port Townsend is a charming little town that's not easy to get to.  Located on a peninsula, you can either drive the LONG route, arrive via the ferry system, or come on your own boat!
Wooden boats have been made in this town for over a hundred years.  These craftsmen take great pride in the restoration of older boat as well as building a new one.

Here's a cute little houseboat with the Lady Washington in the background offering tours.



Looks very festive, right?


This beauty was even showing off a trophy cup from the past.

My favorite picture.

Love this little pirate ship.


This entrance is to a modern condo converted from the Clam Cannery built in 1885.

Great looking Chris Craft sharing the name of my German sheppard.


Packing them in..................

Making paella in this huge metal pan right over the fire.  

This guy cracked me up!  He's sitting Indian style in the smallest row boat I've ever seen.

On the last day of the event, they have a "Sail Around".  Here they come towards our stern.
We enjoyed our time in Port Townsend - we saw every boat, I'm sure.