Christmas in Davis

A wonderful day -- a beautiful tree, fine food (white seafood lasagna), and many laughs.  Bryan did receive a remote controlled helicopter so he is practicing up his skills for getting a personal drone!  Watch out!

Hot Lips!  The latest in mistletoe decorations -- add a few red hot chilis!

Our tree with almost all the ornaments displayed.  

Almost Christmas...

Christmas is almost upon us...and we are in the thick of preparations.  Baking cookies and decorating the tree and wrapping gifts and keeping secrets and wandering the malls of America looking for that perfect gift.

Crab lunch with Michelle and Bryan to celebrate the end of finals!

Finding the Perfect Christmas Tree on the windiest day EVER!

WHAT?!  Christmas is coming?!  WHEN?!
Taken at the Railroad Museum in Sacramento.

Loving It!

Loving what you ask?  Well.....for starters...

We are loving it that Bessie has 4 heaters.  So we are snug with this arctic weather, perhaps a practice run for Alaska?  The heaters are:  electric, electric heat pump, propane, and now a little room floor fan.  The electric roof heater won't work below outside temps of 32 (which we discovered in the middle of the night when the heat pump started rumbling along)--so we bought a little room floor fan at Home Depot and wow it puts out some heat.  Since we are in an RV Park we are using the electric hook up saving propane for days down the road.

We are loving the free TV that comes with the RV Park.  Gosh, we can watch the NFL highlights and be grateful we only have frigid temps and not that white stuff.

And, I must say, Obamacare.  I am loving it!  I know this is not a blog for political comments but this is personal.  I am grateful to have insurance effective January 1, 2014.  Today, I signed up through the Washington Health Plan Finder (thus spared the healthcare.gov experience) and found multiple options from multiple health plans at reasonable prices.

In 2011 (post COBRA),  I had checked out my options in the individual insurance market.  It was ugly:  all sorts of pre-existing clauses, limited benefits, high copays, and really high premiums.  I gambled I could do without insurance...and so far, so good.

So with Obamacare...I will have comprehensive benefits through a premier HMO.  All for about 55% of what I would have paid 3 years ago for insurance in name only....

Duck, Duck, Goose

We headed north from Davis to explore the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.  The Refuge is a complex of multiple locations and all that remain of the vast seasonal wetlands and grasslands that once existed in the Sacramento Valley.

Millions of waterfowl migrate down the Pacific Flyway to winter in the Central Valley--including wigeons, pintails, shovelers, teals, and mallards.  Snow & Ross geese, white fronted geese, and tundra swans.  Shore birds.  Birds by the tens of thousands.  Sand hill cranes by the hundreds and hundreds.  We drove slowly through several complexes -- lots of honking for sure.  At sunset the birds all depart at once in "the fly off" as they head to nearby fields for easy grazing under cover of night.

A fun couple of days while we figure out our December plans.  Mostly to try and keep warm till we head south to the desert.

Yikes It is COLD Here!

Safely across the border in record time (and with no seashells in hand) we slowly made our way to Davis.  Along the way we visited family & friends...always great to re-connect!

Next -- Thanksgiving in Davis..and then???

Warren and Alan working on the house

Monarch Butterfly migration near Pismo Beach -- 34,000 butterflies in a tiny grove

Walking through Golden Gate Park & a picnic at Ocean Beach with Sharon & Ernie

Adios to the Baja

The times, they are a changing...  Someone sang that tune.  And now we are singing it too.

We arrived in LaPaz in October just in time to hunker down for hurricane Octave, pretty much a non event except for heat, humid, and rain.  The weeks passed with additional storms so common in October in the Sea.

And we debated plans for the next season.  This idea, that idea. Finally the plan evolved to keep Magic in LaPaz & sell her through La Paz Yachts.  And so the work mode really kicked in.   All the details; all the documentation; all the lists; all the packing; all the everything.  And then we were finally ready to leave.  A few goodbyes and then on to the open road.

A couple of days driving up the Baja on route 1:  a thin ribbon of pavement (mostly) winding across a rugged and desolate landscape.  Occasional snatches of water from the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean.  A few fellow travelers in cars or trucks.  Even fewer adventurers on bicycles.  One soul on a unicycle (um, no gears in those hills???)

And then suddenly there is the border to the USA.  Clean, defined, prosperous, efficient.  Chock-a-block full of everything.  It is easy to be here but sterile and distant too.

But we look forward to our next chapter.

• Hoping that someone new will fall in love with Magic and create their own adventure! 
• Hoping we will find a warm & sunny place for this winter!
• Hoping we will keep the magic of new places & new friends present in our lives.

Keep an eye on the blog and I will share how it goes.

Thanks to all for support through this time of transition....

Check It Out

Magic is now officially for sale.

Check out this site and let me know what you think!  I've looked at the site SO MANY TIMES my head is spinning.

magiccatamaran.blogspot.com

And cross your fingers!

Bit by Bit....

And so it goes.  Life on a boat in a boat yard.

The bottom painting is going on & looks great.  We should splash on Tuesday and then be at the docks for a week.  At the docks we will finally have WATER in our tanks & use of those heads....No more walking a city block for anything related to water or hygiene.

I am working hard on a web posting to sell the boat.  Our plan is to get in the water & take some pictures.  Post everything and then leave for the islands.  And hope.  We are going to try and sell Magic on our own while cruising this season in Mexico.  We will be advertising in Latitude 38, the go to source for boats & cruising on the West and Best Coast.

If that doesn't work....well, we will move on to Plan #2.

Bye Bye Cyclone Octave

We arrived in LaPaz just a day or two before Octave.  And she opted to skirt the city and make landfall further up the Baja Peninsula.  Our impact was a whole lot of gray skies, high humidity, high temperatures, and occasional rain.  Only 1 or 2 showers of any intensity and they were just an hour or two.  Just enough to leak in through 1 hatch -- the one over MY bunk.  Life on a boat.  Glamourous.

So now we are plugging away at our project list.  We are scheduled to go back in the water on October 22; from there we will be a week at the dock cleaning and getting ready to cruise up in the Sea.

Our big project this season is bottom paint.  Gallons and gallons of it.  Anything to keep the critters and plants from calling Magic home this season.

La Paz

The Baja is a long, lovely finger of desert dangling off the southwest tip of California.  Mostly desert, the peninsula is a rugged and desolate landscape with small, hardscrabble villages dotted here and there.  Mostly where there is water...so along the Pacific Coast and Sea of Cortez.

Highway 1 rolls across this land -- up and down, twist and turn, up and down.  Two lanes; no shoulder.

On and on the road goes.  A mileage mark is a major distraction!  Hours stretch by without any other traffic.

But -- it is the only way to drive to LaPaz and so we drove it.  We arrived safely on Friday; checked out Magic and found her dirty but otherwise fine.  The next couple of days will be focused on getting her ready to go back in the water as early as possible.  There is that pesky storm system floating around south of the Cape but it promises just a good dousing and not much wind.

Oh, cruising! Oh joy

Jiffy Lube Saves the Day!

Our days of summer play are winding down as we look ahead to the 1,000 mile drive to LaPaz and working towards getting Magic back in the water.  So we pulled out from Oakland after totally enjoying redwood hikes, Star Pizza, City Guides walking tours, and lazy hours with dear friends.   We returned to Davis for a last pass through the storage unit and dinner with Bryan.

The last chore was an oil change.  We opted to use Jiffy Lube in Davis even though it was "early" for a change -- our other option was San Diego after arriving there on Tuesday afternoon.  With a few extra minutes in our day, we went into Jiffy Lube and lo & behold:  a leak in the radiator!  Oh my!

Next stop was our mechanics at City Auto.  Yup.  2 radiator leaks actually.  Maybe you could have driven the car to the Grapevine (hills up from the Valley into the LA Basin) before everything sizzled and fizzed.  Fix it NOW!

So...the new radiator was ordered and we will spend a few hours Tuesday morning at a European bakery and THEN drive to San Diego.

Oh cruising....

City by the Bay

Bessie is under wraps for the season.  The couple of hours it takes to close up an RV is a marked contrast to the several weeks it takes to pack up Magic.  Oh well.

We have spent a few days in the Bay Area -- a few errands, a bit of chilling, and mostly catching up with friends.  Our tourist day was a ride across the new Bay Bridge span between Oakland and Treasure Island and then a City Guides tour of the murals in the Mission.

The bridge seemed light and airy -- with incredible views across the water.  It will be even more stunning when the old structure is completely removed.

The murals in the Mission were gorgeous with a combination of themes, colors, sizes, and whimsical details.  The tour was only a sample of the 100s found throughout this neighborhood.  I have long wanted to explore this corner of the City and finally it happened.  I was not disappointed.....

Bessie under wraps in a secure and locked storage yard.

New Bay Bridge with 1 tower and cascading cables.  Bike and running lane between spans.

Into the City we go!

Finally -- a new span!

English on right:  No One Should Comply with an Immoral Law.  Monsenor Oscar Romero

Mural covering several garage doors.

My favorite:  Indigenous Eyes:  Will They See War or Peace?

Detail of Left Eye

Detail of Right Eye

Ongoing work to repair murals -- the time is mostly in the preparation of the surface.

Theme focused on gentrification throughout the Mission neighborhood.

Flag reads:  Don't Waste Water and Keep it Clean Because Across the Water is Where We Find the Wild Things!

Mural depicting the struggle of Indian and Nepalese women for land and water rights.

A tiny corner of a mural at St Peter's Church

Women & Water.  

Detail from large mural honoring local priest who set up AIDS hospice

Wow!

Mission is multi-cultural neighborhood and murals spoke to wisdom from all perspectives.

Half of mural on Elementary School.  Unseen to left are large figures depicting elders (connoting ancient wisdom); central portion reflects passage of time; these children are the hope of future through eduction.

End of the Summer Season

We spent a few days in Calistoga.  Walked the quiet streets, soaked in the mineral pools, and sunk deep into a mud bath.  Then back to the Davis area where we found a storage yard for Bessie.  She is secure for the winter.

We are doing a week in the Bay Area then packing up and heading south -- where it is starting to cool off and the chances of those pesky windy storms is diminishing....

Wright's Lake -- Getting Away from it ALL

What is not to love about Wright's Lake:  alpine lakes, granite ridge views, hiking trails galore, quiet campsites?  This is truly one of our favorite places and we choose to end our "camping season" up in the Sierras.  Lucky for us the air quality was great (no Rim Fire smoke as in the previous weeks) and by the season's end, the campground was mostly empty (except weekends).

We hiked and hiked:  Twin Lakes, Island Lake, Gertrude Lake, Lyons Lake, Beauty Lake, Dark Lake and of course, Wright's Lake.  The days were sunny and warm; the nights cool and getting cooker!

We left as the first winter storm of the season rolled in leaving a snow dusting on the highest peak.

Twin Lakes

Island Lake

Walking a Trail across granite slab

Wood grain

Granite Ridge Line

Flower along the Trail

Lyons Lake

Lyons Lake -- just over the ridge is Crag Lake where we backpacked in 2012!

RVing with Bryan

An RV is a wonderful thing -- believe me!  We snatched Bryan from Davis to share Oregon's beauty and outdoor adventures with him.  A great week with a bit of everything to please us all.

We hiked the Green Lakes trail with Bryan and then set off to explore Bend.

Enroute to Bend we watched a group of racers from the Senior National Cycling Event whoosh by us.  We had to stop while they rode on; all except one poor hapless guy who managed to ride his bike right into the first stopped car.  Um....

Not 10 minutes later and a bit closer to Bend, we had some weather.  As in hail.  Lots of hail.  Inches of hail.  Sure glad to be in a car and not on a bike!!

Finally to Bend we jumped on a tour of the Deschutes Brewery.  A wonderful time that wraps up with plenty of tasting!

But that weather was putting a damper on our spirits so....we opted to drive south and east.  First to Klamath Falls and then over the Cascades to Ashland.  In Ashland we found a county park with RV hookups -- because here we needed the AC not heat!   We explored the town of Ashland, known for its theaters and professional productions.  Lucky us--we saw two plays:  The Heart of Robin Hood and MidSummer Night's Dream.  Both productions were in the outdoor "round" theater.  Both were absolutely wonderful and such a contrast from the typical camping experience.

Back now to Davis -- sorting out gear and figuring out the next adventure!

Crossing the Creek along the Green Lakes Trail.  That is 1 log!

Here come the riders!  Oops -- the last rider smacked into the red car!

Deschutes Brewery Tour -- barrels of hops!

The QA Lab ....

Off to the theater!

A fun picture from Lithia Park in Ashland

That be a summer hail storm in the Oregon Cascades.  

Kidnapped!!

Um, well, we did the kidnapping!

After a few phone calls and only a bit of planning, Alan and I left early for a quick 400 mile drive to Davis to "kidnap" Bryan for a camping adventure in the Cascades!  Down one day and back the next!  Way too much time in the car; Bessie stayed in her camp site.

We'll be sharing our adventures with Bryan for a week or so till we all get back to Davis!

Alan and Bryan in the campsite AT LAST!

Always time for a frisbee golf game!

Obsidian Rock

Natural Hot Springs for a lunch spot at Paulina Lake

Green Lakes Hike: 3 Sisters Wilderness

Our days in the Bend area were slipping past.  We held out till the end for the forecast blue skies & no cloud day to walk up to Green Lakes in the 3 Sisters Wilderness.  Nestled between South Sister and Broken Top, this is a quintessential Cascades hike.  Slowly walking uphill beside the Fall Creek, crossing an obsidian flow, and then cresting a rise to see Green Lakes.  And views in all directions!

Let's Go Sisters!

Fall Creek 

Along the creek viewing an obsidian flow

South Sister Peak with Green Lake 

Broken Top with Green Lake

Views from the downhill trail

View back into Broken Top