Ensenada to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle in Banderas Bay

Approaching Ensenada harbor and Cruiseport Marina.

We left Ensenada on Sunday, November 16th at 10:00 a.m.  The sun was out, 13 knots of true wind which bumped up to 20 off and on.  The boat was making around 6-7 knots of speed with a reefed main and our 120% jib deployed.  There was a rather large swell running with us, so the boat would leap ahead and then slow in the troughs.  In the fall, it is not as much fun sailing for me, as the days are so short.  It gets light around 6:00 a.m., and the sun slowly creeps upward in the sky, and as noon arrives, it appears that the day is almost over.  By 3:00 p.m. it looks like sunset soon and the long shadows and dark seas dominate the land/seascape.
  Our next stop was going to be Turtle Bay, about a two day sail from Ensenada.  The winds were pretty strong throughout this leg, and as we skirted the inside of Cedros Island it piped upwards  of 20-30 knots, with our boat speed reaching up to 11 knots at times!  We were flying, and the sad part of it was that this occurred  in the middle of the night with no moon, so we couldn't see anything.  There were no other boats around, and fortunately no whales.  It was a bit creepy, as going that fast without seeing what was in front of us was unnerving.  We have heard of other boats who have struck whales and sunk... When the sun rose in the morning it was a relief to me.  It remained blustery as we roared past Isla Cedros and into Turtle Bay for a rest stop and refuel, two days and nights from Ensenada.
   We left Turtle Bay the following morning around 11:00 a.m. headed for Bahia Santa Maria, approximately 220 miles away.  The winds were light, and Leif was concerned about our alternator which was making weird hissing noises when we ran the engine.  Fortunately that wasn't often with all of the wind.  This trip so far was more of a sailing adventure, not a motor sail as our last trip turned out to be.

The "Dolphin Experience" team practicing their talents.

   As we sailed, there were thousands of dolphin swimming with us for a few miles, jumping and diving under our bow.  One night on watch at 5:15 p.m.  I heard a loud exhale and looked forward to see a large swirl right next to our bow...  Then a huge slick of swirling whale slime surfaced on our port side.  I looked back, and a large (40'-60') whale surfaced right behind us, way too close for comfort, but thankfully we didn't connect.
   Bahia Santa Maria came and went, we decided not to stop after swinging in and getting internet to update our weather gribs and seeing that it was going to be supposedly calm to medium winds for the next few days.  Well, that was sort of true, the winds were generally 10-20 kts, with choppy seas and swell.  It is finally warming up, sea temps are up to 79 degrees.  Finally saw a sea turtle, and a booby, and the clouds are looking more tropical now.  It has been a challenge to sleep this trip, the boat has been creaking, banging, things making all sorts of weird noises, and quite rough.  So, with the wind and swell, and noises, it's been physically a challenge, we are both pretty tired.  Our mast is making odd clunking noises, the alternator decided to seize up and start smoking, and our auto pilot has begun to make odd grinding sounds.  All of this adds to our mental state of worry and fatigue as we near Cabo Falso.  The engine requires an alternator in order to function, and alas we have decided not to install the spare that we brought along.  It has one fitting that is not the same as the installed one, and we're not sure if it needs an extra part, even though it's the exact same model.  So, no engine.
   We are thinking that if the wind stays up, we'll make it to San Jose del Cabo on Saturday, Nov. 22.  Well, that didn't work out as the winds decided to finally go light as predicted three days ago, so we sat off Cabo all day bobbing around waiting for the wind to fill in.  Not happening.  So, bobbed all night, hand steering, around 35 miles off Cabo.  Finally mid-morning the wind started to fill in and we were off, but not in the right direction as it was coming directly from our destination.  We tacked back and forth, getting closer and closer when the wind once again died, about 11 miles out of the marina.  Nuts.  We didn't want to risk turning on the engine as the alternator seemed to be toast, so it was either sit and wait probably another day out here, or unpack the dinghy and fire up the outboard and push ourselves in.  That's what we did, and it worked perfectly, thankfully, as the wind picked up that night from the wrong direction, and didn't stop for 5 days.  We would have ended up crossing the Sea of Cortez in 20-30 knots of wind without an engine, which was not the safest idea.
   After all was scrutinized, our mast was not loose, just the boom goose-neck attachment needed lubricating.  Leif replaced our alternator with the spare that we brought along after learning that the extra hole was normal and not in need of a plug that the fried one had installed in it.  And, the auto-pilot seemed to work well enough, probably get a spare replacement for it when we get to La Cruz.

Our faithful dinghy and Tohaitsu motor helping us into San Jose del Cabo.

 While in San Jose del Cabo, the wind blew hard daily, sending dust from the surrounding hills all over our salty boat.  Now we had a muddy mess to deal with, but not worth cleaning until the winds die down.  The hurricane Odille that hit Baja really damaged the marina as well as surrounding hotels and structures.  There were pilings without docks attached, sunken boats tied to docks, and the ladies restroom was without any walls, just toilets, sinks and showers.  I had to use the men's which was not popular with the workers who apparently were not told of this arrangement.  The dolphin experience that was located here was restocking their dolphins who were flown out to Puerto Vallarta prior to the hurricane.  This was pretty interesting to see, although they didn't want us taking photos, we managed to get some from afar.  Once into their new enclosure, the dolphins were given directions from the trainers and they put on a quick show for us, probably to ensure that they were thinking clearly and could follow directions?

The women's bathroom, sans walls.  Sad, as it was really nice, with granite and tile floors.

  The weather looked promising for a departure on Friday, so off we went to Puerto Vallarta.  The winds were 15-20 knots, and short choppy seas for the first day or so, finally settling down on Saturday afternoon.  We motor-sailed the entire way, making water for use while we are in the marina in the days ahead.  As usual our speed didn't match our timing of our arrival and we arrived at 3:00 a.m. in the dark morning hours of Sunday, November 30th.  Even though we know this marina well, we didn't want to enter in the dark without an assigned slip, so we motored in circles until past 6:30 a.m. when the sky started to lighten as dawn approached.  Sunrise here is 7:15 due to the time change.  We are now two hours ahead of Los Angeles time.  Our slip was a welcome sight as we needed some down time to regroup and get some rest from the trip.  La Cruz is a small town as compared to Puerto Vallarta, but it has many great restaurants with live music each night, and a thriving gringo community.  It always feels like home when we arrive here.  Most of the locals speak only Spanish, but are very patient with those of us who are learning.  It's fun to test my poor Spanish in the local tiendas.  We left California on November 3, and arrived November 30 to our mainland destination of La Cruz where we will be until mid-January when we think we'll head south towards Panama.

Leaving Wilmington, starting our next adventure.

We left California Yacht Marina in Wilmington and headed down the long channel towards Angels Gate and out to sea.  Our friends Craig and Liz showed up to give us a proper send off, with Champagne, veggies and bacon that doesn't need refrigeration!  What a great idea.  We headed out to Catalina and the Isthmus for a few days to relax and get the dirty air out of our lungs from L.A. harbor.  This time our departure seemed so uninspiring, just a normal event.  Sort of, been there done that.

Lovely Wilmington, quiet, peaceful, and no pollution?  This was a dock fire near our slip,  The Calif. Yacht  marina management was awesome though,

   Catalina was beautiful, clean, clear water and air, calm seas, no noise of trains, trucks, and ships.

We even got to exercise our right to vote at the Isthmus! 

Finisterra sitting quietly.

 While we were in Avalon, we arranged to try the zip line over at Descanso.  It was really fun, and not at all scary.  There are 5 lines, and they give a nice crash course on how to stay safe while speeding across a small canyon. It ended up that we did the 3:00 p.m. time, so when we ended it was nearly dark.  That was rather interesting, zipping along in the blackness.

The happy zippers, still standing after 3 lines.

   Our next stop was Dana Point harbor anchorage, which we decided would make our next leg to San Diego shorter.  It was again uneventful, calm, cold.  We departed around 5 a.m. and ended up at Southwestern Yacht Club just in time for happy hour.  Any hour is happy when you're at a lovely yacht club with friendly members, excellent food and showers.  Our friends Tom and Mary Ellen were there to catch our lines and welcome us to their club, as well as their home for several days.  We jokingly claim the downstairs bedroom as ours whenever we are there.  This time we had many little "to do's" when we arrived and they graciously let us use their car to drive to West Marine daily.  The best part though was that Tom pulled out his Sailrite sewing machine and created new side curtains and double layered our bimini for us!  What a guy, he's amazing.  We overindulged ourselves with good friends and food, and before we knew it, it was time to leave.

One more stunning sunset near Ensenada.

  As we left San Diego harbor entrance there was a stealth submarine entering with an escort to keep the riff raff away.  So we stayed clear.

An interesting view as we left San Diego, always fun to see our Navy in action.

 The sail to Ensenada was not bad, actually sailed most of the way and it was fairly warm, compared to last year when we all froze to death. Our destination was Cruiseport marina, our favorite place in Ensenada as it's easy to walk into town for food, the paperwork to check  into the country is done by the marina and they escort you to the port captain's office. All checked in, cell phones transferred to Telcel, and the boat cleaned up, we are ready to depart for our trip down the Baja.  Three days after arriving, off we go to Turtle Bay.

Jellystone... oh wait, that's Yellowstone National Park, and the Grand Tetons

Our first pool, amazingly clear.

We left Mammoth and drove up some very interesting highways towards Yellowstone, as Leif always likes to take the path less traveled.  I'm getting used to it, although I tend to be the one hell bent for leather to get to our destination, instead of enjoying the ride.

One of the bubbling pots.

You'd think they'd run, but they don't.  At least not right away.  

 We arrived in Twin Falls Id. and spent one night there, leaving early for West Yellowstone as our final destination.  West Yellowstone is just outside of the park, and an easy place to start each morning for the trek into the park.  The attendant at the gate became our long lost friend as we met her each day on our way in!  The idea was to be there in September after the children were back in school.  Well, that was a great idea, but the senior citizens were out in full force, as well as many foreign tourists.  The park was absolutely full of buses, RV's and cars all wanting to see the infamous elk, moose, bison, deer, antelope, bears, and of course the bubbling pots and geysers.  We had no idea it would be such a scene!  I recommend going towards the later end of September or October.  It was still unforgettable, but the wildlife was hard pressed by the tourists.

One of the antelope hanging out near the road.

 If there was anything moving near a road, the cars would back up for pictures for a mile or so.  Having been to Catalina, we have seen many bison, so they were not a big deal, but it was amusing to see the other folks ohhh and ahhh at them.  I have to say they were much healthier than the ones on Catalina.

Bison with a scratching post, alias large pine tree.

   We tried our skills at fly fishing, to no avail.  The fish here are pressed daily and are quite challenging to catch inside the park.  Not that we'd keep them anyway.  We hadn't seen any bears, and wanted to see wolves as well, so we visited the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery center in West Yellowstone.  I thought it would be a sad day seeing captive animals in their unnatural states.

It was an interesting setting for the bears, somewhat realistic for them at least.

 Wrong,  This is a center that rescues animals that would otherwise be put down for either attacking humans or their animals, or coming too close to civilization.

Sleepy after eating.

Pack # 2, searching for the food placed in the trees or under rocks.

The grizzlies were kept in large pens then released into an acre or so of natural habitat, with a running stream, pond, waterfall, and then they'd have to hunt for the food that the volunteers would hide under the rocks.  It was fascinating to see them work with the crows which would point out the food sources and lead the bears right to the food.  Apparently they coexist in nature in a similar manner.
   The wolves were kept in a similar manner, the keepers would hide food and hang it from trees, then release them to search for it.  True, it was still sad, but at least they were trying, and the education part of the exhibit was excellent.  And... we got great photos of grizzlies and wolves!  It was surprising to learn of the decline of the grizzlies, as they are amazing animals.

This was a real live wild grizzly.  I hope he stays away from humans so he can remain so.

   So... as we left Yellowstone headed for the Grand Tetons, the cars stopped along the highway.  We figured there must be an elk or something, well, there was a large grizzly strolling alongside the highway!  Some idiots jumped out of their cars and were headed towards it as the ranger arrived and yelled" Get in your cars now!  I'm not telling you again!!"  We stayed safely inside, but passed so close, it was awesome to see the large hump on its back and know that it was truly wild.  
   Next on my list was to see a moose.  We had heard they were in Yellowstone, but none were near.  So, I asked at a ranger station, got some inside info. and headed out in search of my first moose sighting.  Sure enough, one evening we hiked down a dirt trail, and down a cliff, to see a female eating.  I was ecstatic!!!   My first moose!  Then, a day later, we saw a bunch of cars stopped alongside the road, and sure enough, a male moose was lounging in the muck nearby!  I was beside myself.  Could have stayed all night just to see it move.  Which it didn't.  We finally left, satisfied that the poor thing was happy sitting while there were probably 100 people walking in and out taking pictures of him.

Mommy Moose

Macho Mommy Moose

Daddy Moose hiding out, not moving.  Don't blame him at all.

   The Grand Tetons are truly grand,  We hiked up a small part of one of them, met a ranger who was a former fireman from New York.  It was beautiful, lots of ferns, water, lightning and thunder, rain, and rock climbers.  The weather was sporadic, from hot and sunny to torrential downpour.  It was so wonderful to have weather again.

One of the beaver lodges that were along Moose Creek road.  

 We also saw beaver dams, elk, antelope etc.  If you haven't been to Yellowstone, you must go.  It's amazing, and awe inspiring with the dramatic sunsets, mountains, clouds, animals, and miles and miles of forest.  Oh yeah, there's Old Faithful too.  Yes, we did finally see it erupt.  It erupts about every 90 minutes now, as the drought has affected it a bit.  We went one afternoon and missed it, then returned and saw it twice.  Once from the balcony of the Old Faithful Inn, which is not to be missed either, and once from the benches nearby.

Old Faithful Inn, with the natural tree supports and all.

Old Faithful, captured by the millions...

   It was a fantastic trip, one to celebrate Leif's 65th birthday, and one to get out of town and see America.  I highly recommend it!!!  And, driving up there is an experience too...

Summer events of 2014

We returned to Southern California with the idea that we'd work on the many upgrades for the boat as well as take a trip north.  The upgrades included taking off the old teak and sealer from the cockpit seats and stern, and replacing with plasteak, adding spreader patches to the jib, replacing the membranes on the water maker, and a multitude of other items.

Plasteak installation in progress.  Biggest challenge was taking off the black goo from under the old teak.

   So far, we have the teak almost installed, and have ordered new seat cushions for the cockpit as well.
   The trip turned out to be an outstanding idea, especially as the weather in So. Cal. has been quite hot.  Leif added a shell to his truck, which allowed us to put bicycles, hiking gear, and luggage in without worry of theft or rain.

It was a bit creepy walking through the caves, but what an experience!!  

 We first headed out to Pinnacles National Park, formerly a national monument, but upgraded to the newest National Park.  It was a surprise for me, but Leif had it planned all along, and brought along a flashlight for the caves inside the park.  I scoffed at that idea, but they turned out to be a spelunking experience that was really exciting.  The pinnacles themselves were dramatic and hiking around them was beautiful with extreme heat and the cool of the caves.

Some of the amazing perched rocks at Pinnacles National Park.

   We then left for my cousin's house in Berkeley, and a thorough cruise of San Francisco bay on their sleek Grand Banks yacht.  The weather cooperated and we had awesome views as the fog lifted and then the wind piped up later that day.

Joanne and I enjoying the views and trying to stay warm!

 Joanne had packed a delicious lunch of sandwiches, salads and libations which were enjoyed as we motored downwind towards Giants stadium where a game was in progress.  So fun to see the boats anchored with kayaks and dinghies scuttling all around in search of home run balls.  We didn't think that the World Series would soon be here!

Giants stadium, lots of cheers during this game.

   The next stop was my brother's house up in Nevada City, where they had recently redecorated several rooms and added a hot tub to the newly landscaped yard.  It looked like a totally different house as we arrived, very upscale and lovely.  This is not to say it wasn't prior, they live on several acres up a mountain road with beautiful trees and an inspiring view.

My brother Brian, getting our tubes ready for our rafting experience!

    We arrived early and stopped in at a winery for a tasting of the local wines.  This led to us being asked if we would like to help harvest the sauvignon blanc grapes the next day, which sounded like an interesting affair.  So, up early, we headed out to Sierra Starr vineyard, were equipped with clippers and told where to start.  Three hours later, we understood how difficult it is to harvest grapes, leaning over and bending under each vine to snip off the multitude of bunches clumped tightly on each branch.  It was a truly interesting experience, which was recorded by the local TV news station.  I heard later that we did make the morning news, as I was miked up and interviewed about our experience.
   While visiting my brother, we enjoyed relaxing in their new hot tub, hiking the canal trails nearby, and tubing on the Yuba river.  Of course it was great to catch up on all of their doings that we missed by our travels in Mexico.

I'm always a sucker for wildlife, and this little one walked by with a friend as we had coffee one morning.

   Next was a side trip to Mammoth Mountain, where we have a small condo near Canyon Lodge.  This was a chance to relax and get in some long distance hikes and bike rides around the local mountains.

Who's to say that Mammoth is not dramatic?  It is so beautiful up here, even glaciers high up.

 The weather was beautiful, cool, crisp mornings and warm afternoons.  We hiked McGee Creek, Rock Creek, and rode our mountain bikes around the lakes and a park outside of town.  On the McGee Creek trail we heard there was a beaver dam and lodge up a ways... so we kept going.  Sure enough, there was a very intricate dam and tidy lodge mid-lake.  This was a highlight for me, being the ultimate "OSU Beaver".   This vacation stuff can be quite exhausting!  Sooner than desired, we needed to head out to our next destination, Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons.

This is up Rock Creek, near the Gem lakes.

 

San Diego to Catalina, and home to Calif. Yacht Marina

San Diego is one of our favorite places, with fun friends and a very welcoming climate.  It was hard to tear ourselves away, but indeed we did.  After a week of merry-making, we set off early in the morning for Avalon, Catalina, our "home port".  As we motored out there were some submarines caged in their yard, unlike the huge ship that met us on the way in. The Navy traffic around San Diego is always interesting to us, and they are very communicative on the radio so not a navigation problem.

Not so stealthy sitting here.

   The seas were calm, winds light, and as we passed the customs dock, there was Scout, a boat we had met in La Cruz, Mexico.  Greg had just arrived, dropped off some crew and was headed in our direction.  After a couple hours, he caught us and then passed on his way to Avalon as well.  There were some Navy ships and Osprey aircraft doing exercises off Catalina which were fun to watch, as long as we stayed 5 miles away.

Catalina breaking out into the sunlight in the late afternoon.  Almost there!

   We were once again motoring, so I had the fishing line out trying for one last tuna or dorado before Catalina.  Suddenly, as it always jars the senses, the reel started screaming.  I jumped up, slowed the boat down, and started cranking.  The fish on the end fought hard, then became somewhat airborne as it skimmed across the surface as I reeled it in.

Not a happy camper.  Him or us!

 As it got closer, I yelled down to Leif who was napping, "get up here, you have to see this!"  It appeared to be a shark, and indeed it was a baby great white!

Too close for comfort.

 I've never caught a shark before, and to have this be my first was shocking.  What a lot of teeth!  And it kept snapping its jaws at us.  I grabbed the pliers and attempted to pull the hook out as it bit through the line and fortunately freed itself.  Whewww.  Quite exciting for us.

Oh my, look what we pulled in!

   We arrived at Avalon around 6:30 p.m. and relaxed for the remaining daylight.  Early the next day we were off to try miniature golf once again, our favorite thing in Avalon.  The crowds were not too bad as there were no cruise ships in yet.  The U.S. was playing soccer though, so all the restaurants and bars were full of people watching the game.

This submarine is definitely not stealthy...

   Avalon is nice, but Isthmus is our favorite, so we left after two days for more peace and quiet.  As we left, the cruise ship had arrived and was off-loading its cargo for a day on the town.

The Casino with the Atessa anchored nearby.  We saw this yacht in La Paz and other various spots in the Sea of Cortez.

   Isthmus was not overly crowded either, with many empty moorings around us.  Nice.  We hiked to the top of the road above the USC campus grounds, about 2-3 miles up and then back, and across to Cat harbor.  Then, we walked the road out past Cherry cove and back for some more exercise.  I did jump into the water one day, but it was 68 degrees and was a quick swim.  Not bad for Catalina actually, but we're used to 86 degrees.

On one of our hikes above the Isthmus.  Not a lot of boats for the week before the Fourth.

   All too soon it was time to find a place to put the boat for our work on the mainland.  We called Shoreline, and they were not helpful, to put it mildly.  So we called many other marinas and finally decided on California Yacht Marina, who were very friendly and helpful.  And, they were having a marina appreciation day the Saturday after we arrived!  So, burgers, hot dogs, salads, cake, and beer!  All free, and also a give away drawing for free slips and gift bags.  Not bad for a U.S. arrival.

What a beautiful spot to relax.  

 

Overlooking the campground and several coves.  I just love this place.  Even though it's dry, it's still greener than most in Baja. 

We are now busy tearing out the teak on the stern step, and cockpit seats, cleaning, and sorting through all of the stuff that we want off the boat.  Then, there's the stuff to put on the boat...  Later, much later.
 

San Jose del Cabo to Bahia Santa Maria, Turtle Bay,Ensenada, and San Diego

La Paz was getting hot to the point that we were hiding out in our boat from noon until 8:00 p.m. when the sun set.  The heat would very slowly subside, around 10:00 p.m. it would be in the high 80's.  Finally, near 6:00 a.m. it would drop into the 60's for about an hour, then rapidly climb to the 90's and 100's by 10:00 a.m., not to mention the humidity.

This was our life for much of the day in La Paz.  No quick escape!

   We had decided to bring the boat back to California so that Leif can accomplish the many upgrades he wanted on the boat.  It would be tough to do hard work in the heat and humidity.  So... I started pushing for sooner rather than later as it was too hot to even go out and enjoy Mexico.  If we were anchored at the islands it was nice, as there was swimming to cool off (86 degree water).  However we were in a marina and the winds were less, and swimming was not an option as the pool was murky and swimming in the marina wasn't an option either.  Finally we decided to get out of town...

This is a small fish camp on Isla Partida.  A panga full of women and children arrived in the morning, spent the night, then the coromuel winds came up strongly and they had to wait to leave.  All seemed to have a good time.

   On May 31 at 10:00 a.m.we left Marina Palmira for Bahia de los Muertos.  As has been the norm here in the Sea of Cortez, the wind was on the nose, so we motored around the corner.  We were on a mission, not an afternoon daysail.  Arriving at Muertos around 7 p.m. we anchored and quickly jumped into the lovely water to cool off.  The water temp. here was 86.9 degrees!  It's hard to stay cool as the water keeps the air warm.  Next day we set off early, around 5:00 a.m. for our journey to San Jose del Cabo.  The seas were rough, as the swells are coming from the Pacific ocean and the Sea of Cortez, creating a cross swell.

It's a long ride across to the mainland when the coromuels are blowing!

One last colorful sunset before we leave.

 Lovely.  We arrived around 5:00p.m., washed the boat, and settled into the upscale marina on an end tie.  Soon after, we met some fellow cruisers from the boat Tardis, Jaime, Elaine and their friend Bernd.  We had seen the boat in La Cruz, but had never run into them.  They were great fun, and we had several meals out enjoying the sights of San Jose.  The boats which were accumulated in San Jose were mostly waiting for a weather window to head north to bash to California.  Soon enough a window arrived and people started disappearing.  We decided to wait until Friday, and left a couple days after many others.  Friday morning we left around 9 and headed towards Cabo san Lucas, and Cabo Falso, notorious for lumpy, windy conditions. Luckily, we had judged the weather well and our travels were fairly benign, with light winds on the nose most of the way up the outside of Baja.

On an early morning walk around S.J. del Cabo this fisherman was having a bit of luck catching "Lisas"!

 

At first we didn't see any iguanas in Cabo, then, after looking carefully, they were EVERYWHERE!

We arrived in Bahia Santa Maria with a bit of weather, so we stayed the night and left the following night for Turtle Bay.  Things were humming along nicely, with the two of us doing 3 hour watches, so once we hit Turtle, we fueled up and left right away, headed outside of Cedros Island for Ensenada.  The trip was a quick one, taking only 6 days which included one night at anchor.  Last time it took 19 days.  We only hit some uncomfortable conditions around Viscaino Bay, just north of Cedros.  The seas were short and lumpy, causing us to pound unless we bore off away from directly into it.  So, we zigzagged across until early morning when it died down a bit.  The ships were far out to sea this trip, not a concern at all.  And, no fish pens or long lines.

The Whale Man, Ensenada.  This is on the malecon near Cruiseport (background).

 

Ah the fruit stand, not to be outdone, also note the hanging Tostitos!

Arriving in Ensenada, the weather cleared up and the sun broke through the clouds, turning into a beautiful morning with crisp air and bright sunshine.  It was a delight to head into Cruiseport marina and see Jonathan who seems to be in charge of everything there.  We arrived on a Thursday mid-day, so we waited until the next morning to head into the Port Captain and check out of the country.  That went so smoothly, taking only about 1/2 hour as compared to 3 hours the first trip, we decided to go to lunch with the Tardis crew.  There were all sorts of boats that we knew in Cruiseport, which made it really fun to walk the docks and reconnect with them and learn of their travels.  Ensenada is a lively town, especially when the cruise ships are in port.  As it turned out, there were two while we stayed, so the street sellers were out in full force.  At first this adds to the atmosphere, but it quickly gets old and we were happy when the ship set sail so the sellers did as well!  The streets were more barren, but it was calmer and more like a small town instead of a carnival.     It was all too soon that we said "goodbye" to Ensenada and headed north to San Diego and our friends Tom and Mary Ellen.  As we passed the USA border, we did a little tribute and took down our Mexican flag, and put up the American Legion YC flag and the yellow quarantine flag.  This alerts the customs folks that we are entering the country and are not trying to enter illegally.  The customs guys came down and quickly inspected our boat, asking for meats, veggies, and fruits.  We had already gotten rid of these "illegal" items ahead of time, so we passed quickly.

The not-so-weary travelers arriving at Southwestern Y.C., ahhhhhhh.

 Tom and Mary Ellen greeted us as we arrived, but were asked to leave by the customs guys.  Last trip it wasn't a problem having them down on the dock with us.  So, we left and headed to Southwestern Yacht Club and our end tie for four nights. I hate to blather on about Southwestern YC, as I'm afraid it might become too popular and we won't be able to get a guest spot.  However... it is a wonderful club, with a beautiful dining area with views of the bay, looks like they have a very active jr. program as well.  Most important for us are the clean showers ashore!  It's so nice to feel at home there.

The U.S. Navy going out to exercise a unique vessel.

 

Our welcoming committee in San Diego.  Just don't get in his way!

   Tom and Mary Ellen hosted us at their home for several nights as well, taking walks out to the monument and driving all around town in their truck for groceries and cell phone service.  We love San Diego's climate, and the bustling ambiance of the Navy town.  It would be a good place to call home if we ever land.  We also met with Dave and Jan from Pendragon for an evening of catching up and dinner.  Fun to see everyone once again.