Monday, October 29, 2007
San Francisco
San Francisco has been very relaxing. Dan has "worked" at his old job at South Beach Marina taking tourists out sailing and maintining sailboats. I have spent most of my time reading and riding a bike around the city and catching up with old friends and family. Dan and I commute to the Mission most nights on our bikes to find his hipster clan and socialize with them. One sign that its time to leave town is when going out starts to seem like a job.
One highlight of my stay has been a great bike ride I took with my old friend Mariana over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. It was one of those perfectly clear days here, sunny, with cool, crisp air, when you feel it might be the best city in the world. Its the time of year now after the fog has abated that San Franciscans say is their real summer. Its not quite warm enough for us, though. Hopefully La Paz will be warmer, as that's our next big destination.
The view of the city from the top of Twin Peaks.
A good end to a bike ride as the sun sets behind the GGB.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Eureka to San Francisco
The dreaded Cape Mendocino Boys, barking at us and playing King of the Hill on the Cape Mendocino Buoy, with Cape Mendocino behind. This band of local thugs was not too pleased with our visit, and motivated us too keep going.
On deck, watching the sun set, thinking too much about land, and life. Scout Niblett and normal life seems another dimension entirely, so distant from this lonely world.
The Porpoise Show. They've been visiting us regularly. Its most impressive to watch them at night when phosphorescent phytoplankton lights up when disturbed. A swimming porpoise will appear as a streaking torpedo of light zooming in toward the boat. When the water is clear and the night is dark enough, you can see a perfect outline of the porpoise, sparkling and shimmering in the most eery and inspiring display. Its as if the ocean has a whole new sensory option, with motion producing its own light.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Final Push
http://distance.marinesc.com
Dan and I were taken in by a great local family yesterday and we had an awesome night of conversation and food at their house in Eureka. Thanks Stacia and Dan(#2) for everything. It was so good to be taken care of and make such a fun connection while trapped here....behind the redwood curtain.
Its time to abandon my permanent chair here at the coffeeshop and get ready to head back out to sea. I hope my stomach remembers that its become immune to the horrors the open ocean.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Neah Bay to Eureka
John and I hiked out to Cape Flattery on Sunday. An amazing place. I want to come back and kayak there when the swell is a bit lower. John's birdwatching urges were sated as well, as he spotted a sojurner Pelican, maybe blown by the storm, at the extreme northern end of its range. This one of those primal, land-before-time places that can't really be appreciated in a photo.
Karuk does all the work while we enjoy the view.
It started to look tropical as we approached California.
This kind of sunrise over the coast after a crystal clear night with brillant starts makes it hard to get a lot of sleep during a night of motoring from Crescent City to Trinidad, CA.