Vacation 101

I'm not real good at vacations.  They are expensive always on someone else's terms and never seem real.  I guess it's because as a child all of our vacations were going to see family who had moved away.  A perfect example are the endless vacations we took in Zion National park, my Aunt (mother's sister) and husband had purchased a small Motel and MiniMart when I was about 7 and we spentat least one vacation a year going to the area just south of Zion called Springdale. 

 

Eventually my Grandparents moved to the area also leading more fervently to that area on vacations.  This has been engrained so much into my vacation habits that since Kari and I have been together at least 3 out of the last 10 years we've gone on vacation in that area and almost every year including this week I tried to get Kari to go back.  Truthfully I love the idea that all there really is to do is to go hiking, biking or horseback riding in one of the most beautiful places in the world.  Instead we have started a meandoring journey through another beautiful area, our home state of California.

 

It really is starting off well, we crashed Kari's Sister's vacation at her time share at a resort like place called Pacific Palisades in Carlesbad.  As I'm writing this I have a non maliced view of the pacific ocean on one of the coasts many beautiful mornings.  I can tell it's going to be an awesome day at 9:00 the whole area was already clear of any overcast and a gentle breeze started up to ensure it won't get too hot.  We are planning a trip to a private beach that is associated with Pam's (Kari's Sister's) Timeshare and the rest is up in the air.

 

Yesterday we went sailing in Mission Bay.  We had a great day and Pam commented that it was probably the second best day we have ever had.  The latter was almost exactly 3 1/2 years ago in January when we took a boat out of Dana Point up to Newsport and a school of not less than 500 dolphins surrounded the boat and played with us.  It's a emory that I will truly never forget.  Mission bay is beautiful when it wants to be, another fantastic day we went out at 10:00am and the morning overcast had already burned off in spite of the weather reports, as if to warn us that we better be prepared to take in a great time.

 

We sailed into the bay under full sails but everyone was more interested in just putting around and hanging out on deck ad didn't wasnt to put forth the ffort of having to working the sails in such a small area.  So we furled the jib and I ran the boat purely on the main so everyone could just do what they wanted.  We ate lunch on the boat and cruised by the back of seaworld just n time to see part of the their Cirque de Soleil water show.  It was fun for me to hang out and set the sails so that we could stay in one very small area and watch the show.  Next we decided since everyone was doing well we'd go out into the ocean. 

 

We tacked out of the bay and put up the Jib again, got out very well and had a small encounter with a group of young adults that were partying on a small 25ft sloop called Tortuga (they had handpainted the side it looked like 5 minutes ago).  Matter of fact the thing had barnacls all along the bottom, was not rigged quite right and looked as if they had just bought it in a salvage auction for $50.00.  It obviously didn't matter to them, they were there for the party.  On the way out we passsed them easily, and went out about 2 miles and when we came back in they weren't much further and obviously a little more inebriated and less clothed. 

 

The kids had taken to playing downstairs in the Bow and we wanted to see if any of them would get sick, since we were nearing the end of our planned sail it wouldn't be too bad if one of them got sick.  The kids all did pretty well and after we got to open ocean came up so they could ride the stern settee's in the swells which is always fun.

 

The boat we took out was a Catalina 250, a great boat with a lot of room in inside for such a small boat, it would sleep 5 or 6 pretty comfotable if she had to, and  the topside had two stern rail seatee's which the kids just loved. She handled pretty well considering she was a rudder boat, but she was slow, mostly due to the fact that the Jib was not secured properly on the downhaul.  It looks like it broke at some point and that whoever repaired it just loosely tied it up.  I didn't find this out until we got back because nobody felt comfortable taking over the tiller so I could go up and look at it, wouldn't have mattered I really didn't have the equipment necessary to fix it.

 

We met John (Pam's husband) in Old Town San Diego, had some beers and tequila shots and took the kids through the historical museum's offered there free.  We've been down there several times but every time we go I see or do something new.  It's a great little historical area, surrounded by a lot of little stores and novelty restaurants, you can get some cheap food and cheap memoribilia or you can spend 5k on a painting.  Up to you.  We had dinner at the Coyote Cafe and Bar where they serve freshly made tortilla's right on the street.  Two more beers and a Tequila shot and the activities of the day are REALLY wearing on me.  On the way back to Pacific Palisades we go to the store to pick up some supplies for our days ahead and when we get back I crash on the bed for a bit before heading ot the pool.

 

I am looking forward to the days ahead, no real plan, we want to head up the coast, we have earmarked some cheap hotels along the way and I got a few activities we are going to try and hit.  We've taken this trip before about 9 1/2 years ago and since it's Madison's 10th birday we thought we may take it again.  But that's in another story.

 

Tim