October 2, 2007

San Diego, California!!!


The countdown to Mexico has begun in earnest!

We arrived back in San Diego from Michigan on September 5th and have been running in high gear almost continually since then.

The trip was not quite as we had planned as Gary’s Mom passed away while we were there. We knew she hadn’t been doing well and we’d started making arrangements for her to move into a facility where she would have more assistance. I went back a week early to do some of the legwork and she was admitted to the hospital on August 20th. Gary arrived the next day and she was still able to recognize him. She was placed in Hospice care on August 24 and died peacefully a week later. We are thankful that she was able to live independently for 92 years and that we were able to be with her in her final weeks. Dealing with her belongings and cleaning out her apartment took another week and we felt fortunate to be able to donate her belongings to local charities. She was cremated and buried in Forest Home Cemetery in Newberry, Michigan with her parents and siblings.

Another reason for our trip to Michigan was to celebrate Dorothy’s parents 60th Wedding Anniversary on August 23rd and celebrate we did! The entire immediate family was there and Norm & Gladys were greeted to a living room filled with 60 helium balloons when they awoke on their special day! The family dined at Kruse & Muer’s on Main and enjoyed spending the day together reminiscing. It was the first time we’d all been together since Kate & Damon’s wedding in 2005; we also had a family portrait taken to commemorate the event.

Much of the remainder of our time was spent with Gary’s mom at the hospital and at her apartment, but we did take a “breather” and drive up to the Leelanau Peninsula to visit Nan in her motor home. She was volunteering as a campground host for 2 months; it was great to drive in that beautiful area of Michigan, to walk along the shore & visit with her. We also spent a couple nights with Kate & Damon in Lansing, which is always a treat!

Before we knew it, our three weeks in Michigan was drawing to an end and we headed back to our life of “leisure”???? Due to the intensity of trip, we got home feeling like we needed a vacation. I started checking around, found a B & B in Idyllwild, California in the San Jacinto Mountains and made reservations for two nights. The Strawberry Creek B & B is a delightful retreat complete with hammocks and hummingbirds. The innkeepers were very gracious and the breakfasts were wondrous! Gary had the opportunity to do some photography even though he was feeling under the weather most of the time we were gone. I thoroughly enjoyed my morning coffee sitting on the deck watching the sunrise light up the trees and having hummingbirds and stellar jays entertain me…the afternoons found me with a book in the hammock….what a tough life!

Now, back to life on SV Wand’rin Star…..

With all the boat projects that need to be done before “M” day, we decided to rent a car for the remainder of our time in San Diego to make it easier to get to the shops and stores. An added bonus of having a car was the one of us could go back to work at West Marine, thus getting an associate’s discount on boat stuff! I drew the short straw and am now stocking the shelves in the plumbing aisles two nights a week; it’s really a fine place to work and I work about 8 hours a week. I was glad that they were willing to hire me knowing that I’d be leaving with the Baja Haha at the end of October.

Gary has been SUPER busy with projects…

• Designing & implementing the installation of the Spectra Water maker
• Installing a long range WiFi antenna
• Researching and ordering a Hydrovane, a wind steering apparatus
• Having the rigging inspected and the hardware on the mizzen boom replaced
• Ordering and installing a new main sail
• Designing an awning for the cockpit & having it made
• Inventorying spare parts and determining what we need to have on board
• Restoring our brightwork to its pre-Northwest Pacific shine
• Working on our routes south and getting our new nav computer up to snuff
• Researching, purchasing, & installing a wind generator
  

October 7, 2007

Only 3 weeks left!!!!!

We’re enjoying a warm, sunny autumn in San Diego as we continue the “last minute” push to get things done before leaving on the Baja Haha on October 29th! I spoke with Teresa & Rob of SV Yohelah this afternoon and they’re already experiencing winter in the Pacific Northwest with rain & high winds. We’re looking forward to seeing them in La Paz in November. We’re taking some boat stuff south to them as they left the boat in La Paz for the summer and returned to Seattle to house sit.

Our boat is looking more & more like a “cruiser’s boat” with the addition of our new wind generator which will be installed on the mizzen mast and the Hydrovane wind steering device that is going on the stern. Gary has come to the realization that “cruising boats look like cruising boat ‘cause they are!” He’s always had an aversion to having anything on the decks or rails, as it doesn’t meet his standard of “neat.” Oh well, such is life on the seas!

Visits to the Mexican Fisheries Office to get our Mexican fishing licenses (required for the boat and all passengers if any fishing gear is aboard), doctors and dentists are also filling up our last days in San Diego. Unfortunately, it was decided that I needed major dental work and I was lucky enough to find a wonderful dentist, Dr. Mark Kretz, who could do it all in the time remaining! We’re also working on adding Mexican insurance coverage to our current policy, which necessitated a new survey.

Wand’rin Star is scheduled to come out of the water for a “Haul & Hang” on October 16th to have the thru hull for the new water maker installed and the Hydrovane mounted.. Hopefully that will only take a few days at the dock and we’ll be back to the slip for our last week of preparation.

Another bonus to our time here is that my daughter, Kate, is coming out for a 5-day visit! She’s never been to SD before and we’re looking forward to taking her to the zoo and out on the bay. She leaves on the 25th and Bill & Masuko arrive on the 27th in preparation of sailing south with us to Cabo. We’re SOOOOO excited about our upcoming trip south and to points unknown and glad to be sharing the first leg with such wonderful friends! Our profile is in this month’s issue of Latitude 38 as part of the Baja Haha coverage; sure sounds like we’re heading south with lots of interesting folks. Gary is busy boning up on the SSB nets and weather information and I hope to take an intensive Spanish language class once we get to Mexico to reawaken the little bit of high school Spanish I remember.

Another “small-world experience” before this log closes. Last Saturday, Gary was in DownWind and thought the woman in front of him looked familiar. She turned around and thought the same of him. Turns out she was Gerry from MV Misty Michael, who we had met going through the Yaculta Rapids in British Columbia in April 2006! She had given me the book Passage to Juneau by Jonathon Raban, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Seems that they are moored here in the bay and getting ready to head to Mexico in the next couple weeks. We continue to be amazed at where we run into folks from our journeys…just another bonus of this cruisin’ life!

Hopefully the next time you hear from us, we’ll be enjoying the Mexican sunshine from a little beach bar with a cold cerveza in our hands! May you enjoy the changes in your life that the changing of the season brings.

Adios,

Dorothy, Gary, and Murray the Cat

Thoughts for the Month

Be prepared. ~ Boy Scout Motto

Your independence shall lead you to bold adventures. ~ Dorothy's fortune cookie on 10/5/07

Cruising boats look like cruising boat ‘cause they are cruising boats. ~ Gary Engelman 10/07/07

© Copyright 2007
Last updated on September 2, 2008