Windy Weekend

The seasons change somewhat in California, some trees shed their color of leaves, some years the rains fall late in the year bringing welcome new green and some years the sun just keeps on shining. Saturday was a trip to the tropical island of San Pedro which is actually in the City of Los Angeles to scrub and holly stone by boat. Yes, the sun was shining bright and as usual I forgot to bring something from the house, like my shorts. There are two closets on the boat and plenty of places to store things plus a dock side stowage where I keep my sails but the feeble brain that directs my actions tends to forget and almost every trip leaves a forgotten item on the kitchen counter or in my bedroom. Washing the bird crap off the boat's deck and cabin top can get you soaking wet and Saturday I not only forgot the shorts, it was nice and warm outside, I forgot another pair of long pants to change into. So to help our President Elect create a stimulus for our weaken economy I ventured to beautiful downtown Pedro and went to the war surplus store where I have been wanting to visit. Unfortunately their selection of shorts did not meet my surfer's choice so I meandered over to West Marine on Harbor Blvd. and bought a couple of shorts with lots of nautical pockets. This purchase, when viewed, was not accepted by the waisters and lubbers a day later. These teenage mutants who spend 24 hours a day playing video games complained loudly about the length of my new shorts. The length of the shorts were not within the limits set my creatures who idea of fashion does not consider anything pragmatic, as they the shorts did not reach my ankles as most basketball players do so they booed and their cries of Prop 8 rallied about the house.

Meanwhile armed with dry backup clothing I returned to swab my decks. Then I got ready to sail my sabot and the wind just quit working, similar to the people who write speeches for Sarah Palin. It is not hard to fault her speaking or writing unfortunately for me it doesn't earn any money.

So the lack of wind caused me to switch to rowing as a form of entertainment and I did so. Well tomorrow will be better and getting an early start will allow for a nice sail. While sleeping so nicely Saturday night/Sunday Morning mother nature decided at 2:20 AM to start blowing and actually howling. And did she howl. When I was a kid there was a TV Show which featured Gale Storm as a young woman as the star of her own TV Comedy.

I don't know where Gale Storm is today but her ghost came to visit me after a very calm day Saturday. We had 45 knot winds in the Gulch. I am sure veterans creatures of the Gulch have seen greater but as a novice it was a little bit more than casual.

About the ohotos: Every weekend the cruise ship sails from our island of San Pedro headed towards other destinations that are close. The pictures of the cruise ship leaving the channel next to where my boat is are actually a far piece but since the ship is so large it's actually looks very close. Close enough to hear the music from the ship as it heads toward the breakwater and out to sea.

Halloween Pictures

Not much to say here cause these are too scary for words.

It is hard to tell about these evil looking eyes and I am not sure if a "Red Eye Edit" would fix it.

Really can not say what happen to the mummy and how he got in such terrible shape but at least he has some serious helpers.

The two pumpkins heads did the carving themselves and took their own pictures using the auto timer on the Nikon.

Shopping Spree

Boat ownership can be an expensive, very expensive undertaking and since the economy needs more than a jump start, I thought about spending $150,000 on my boat this weekend to brighten her up, add to her wardrobe, maybe a little sparkle, but my checking account refused to earmark any additional funds so I had to settle for $101.06. This is far below expectations and I had to leave a very soft green towel on the rack and a dapper sun hat ($8.88 and $24.95). Earlier in the month I replaced several worn items and broke down and added a teak towel rack and today the mailman brought me a discount mailer allowing me to spend more money at the marine boat store at greatly inflated prices. The supermarket gave me a "Rewards" card that allows me to buy a loaf of bread for $4.56 and a barcoded card similar to the marine supply store.

A few weeks ago I bought a Jolly Roger to fly when my grandson goes on the boat and I also purchased a new ensign but Saturday I saw a shiny flagstaff that mounts on the transom rail and this allows me to fly a pennant that also services as a weather gauge. My pennants and flags don'y stay out at night or bleach in the daily sun but only grace the ship when we are sailing. My clinometer that been kicked a few times too many and needed replacing. This device tells you how far you are heeling (leaning over) and serves to give you something to brag about. My gauges in the cockpit show knots, wind direction and speed and I also have a wrist watch GPS that allows me to calibrate the knot meter and record time/distance traveled. Someday when I catch an Alaskan earmark I will purchase a fancy GPS like the big boys have.

When day sailing in San Pedro one almost always see a high speed passenger boat headed to Catalina, a large percentage of sailboats not using their sails, the Good Year blimp, seals sleeping on a buoy, a couple of off-shore what-a-be racers, the Coast Guard, the Fire Department boats, tugs waiting for a container ship, the Port Police, and the Life Guards.



Yesterday started with the morning fog and not much wind and a return sail with the normal daily wind that gave Hurricane Gulch its name and warm weather. After a fun day on the water the work starts again as I have to put all the toys away and put the baby in bed. The next day sail washing, drying and folding makes the one day sail a three day work detail.

Nunc est Bibendum

Went to the desert over the weekend. Well I went to what is left of the desert and where we camped out is now part of a park ran by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). The area surrounds a dry lake called El Mirage and the lake bed is used by assorted fans of this vast flat surface for racing, sailing (with wheels), jeeps, motorcycles, gliders, normal airplanes and those not quite normal. As of October 1, 2008 the BLM started charging for entrance to park. They had been building a fence around it for several years and the rumor was some day they would start charging and now the day has come. I am not certain when the word BLM came into my vocabulary but among desert riders it was a very hated word then.

And there is my portable mobile hair dispenser who thinks the desert is maybe paradise and she rides shotgun seat or floor depending on her mood. Her name is DeDe, two Ds and she got that name by being a desert dog. She came into our family via a cardboard box that was placed in front of Stater Brothers market in Phelan which is located south of El Mirage and used to be the only store of that size for a zillion miles around. Myself, my son and his friend had stopped at the store for supplies and it was a few weeks before Christmas and I am a sucker for puppies. Her first ride was from the store to El Mirage where we went riding dirt bikes for the day. She probably had her first can of dog food (actually two small tins in the back of a Chevy pickup) and had just been weaned. When she was a wee pup she was a cute little ball of fur now she leaves her hair on the boat, our carpet, the van and anywhere she lays down. DeDe has been to the desert many a time but this trip was the first time she had so many buddies and friends to play, bark and chew with.






Before we left the flat lands to head for the desert we had to climb the feared toll road mountain that divides plastic southern Orange County from the mighty Santa Ana River that runs next to the fastest jam free 91 Freeway. Several wagers were made my the mutant teenagers than the VW van would never make it over the dreaded toll road mountain and the wages were even higher than it would never, never climb over the mountains to the high desert which is between 4 or 5 thousand feet at the summit. I tried to explain than the van was born close to the German Alps and would scoff at these small California mountains and indeed it did. We went flying over the toll road at 42 mph pedal to the floor and crested the summit going over into the desert at a brave 44 mph carrying a full size motorcycle parked inside next to the stove and kitchen sink. And nothing was removed or altered to carry it inside the van.












With several families sharing stories, excellent food, my daughter's Margaritas, and an unending supply of fire wood for the fire DeDe simply refused to get in the van when it was time to go home.
Since I use the word zillion as a simple plural I must guesstimate the number of flies inside my yellow rolling pent house with an upper floor bedroom to be more than a mere zillion but a zillion zillion (that is a zillion squared to those math majors) and the small stubborn flies refused to leave or be blown out by the violent winds that came through my wind wings when I reached 65 mph going down the mountain grade. We are already planning our next adventure to go motorcycling riding and next time will remember to bring matches, cork screw, and fly spray.