Visitors from Texas

Location:  Mission Bay, California

We’ve had a few visitors from Texas since the last blog.  My friend Sheila, from Houston, joined us for about 5 days at the end of July and then the Herndon’s from Austin, Ben, Cat, Maggie and Benjamin, came and stayed with us for almost a week in August.  We had a lot of fun and did some more exploring around the San Diego area.

The Herndons - Bubby, Cat, Ben, B, Maggie, Dave
on the stern of Seabiscuit

Dave is working on renewing his Captain’s license and as part of that process he had to take a 40 hour course on leadership and management.  We joked with him about his management techniques with his unruly crew and told him we hoped he learned something.  The course was the same week Sheila arrived for her visit.   She flew in on Wednesday morning so we had lunch and strolled through the shops in Coronado Wednesday afternoon.  Thursday we spent the day at the zoo while Dave studied.

Hotel Coronado

Sheila drinking sangria with lunch at
The Islander Restaurant Coronado.

View of the Balboa Park California Building
Dome from the zoo sky tram.

Polar bear after a swim, San Diego Zoo.

Panda, San Diego Zoo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave finished his class on Thursday afternoon, so Friday we headed to the casino to try and win the pai gow progressive bonus ($347,000).  We didn’t win but we had a good time trying and we did get free seafood buffets.  Saturday we headed up into the hills north and east of San Diego, near Ramona, and did some wine tasting.  The first place we stopped, Salerno, had a beautiful patio area and a lovely sculpture garden.  The wine samples were very generous so we relaxed, drank our samples and had fresh hot bread dipped in oil and balsamic vinegar.

Sheila and B, wine tasting at Salerno.

We moved on to Cordiano Winery for lunch and some more tastings.  It is not as nice as Salerno and the wines are not as good but we have salad and pizza and enjoyed the scenery.  Our next stop, Domaine Artefact, had a great patio area and French style wines.  We relaxed and did a tasting, then, for an afternoon treat, we headed towards downtown and Extraordinary Desserts.  We each had a sugary dessert and a glass of wine and then headed back to the marina.

Sunday was Sheila’s last full day in San Diego.  We spent the morning strolling along the waterfront and through the shops at Seaport Village.  After lunch, we drove up to Cabrillo National Monument at the top of Point Loma and looked out over the Pacific Ocean and the entrance to the San Diego Bay.

B and Sheila, Cabrillo National Monument, overlooking
the entrance to San Diego Bay.



View of the San Diego Bay entrance
from the top of Point Loma.

Sheila headed back to Texas on Monday morning so Dave and I settled in to get some boat chores done before our next visitors arrived.  All of the pieces and parts for the windlass and the fuel system were delivered.  Dave put the windlass back together, installed the new fuel valve and fixed some leaks in the fuel system.  He also installed a new bilge valve poppet, worked on the forward hatch seal and did some scheduled maintenance.  My computer crashed shortly after we returned from our trip to Austin.  I spent time recovering my old files and setting up a new computer.  We had a new dinghy and davit cover made and worked on removing the rust from the swim ladder and swim platform. 

New dinghy cover

Dave finished all of his paperwork for his captain’s license and submitted it to the Coast Guard.  We made another trip (or two) to the casino but didn’t come home with the big jackpot.  We finished fabric guarding the cushions and cushion covers and did some general cleaning.  On Saturday, August 8, the marina hosted a dinghy poker run and an “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” party.  We didn’t do the dinghy run, but went to the cookout and to see the live music.  Our neighbor at the marina got second place in the poker run with a low four-of-a-kind and won a haul-out for their boat – a pretty nice prize.

Five O'clock Somewhere Party

Sunday morning we finished up our projects and got a few groceries to be ready when the kids and grandkids arrived.  They pulled in Sunday afternoon about supper time.  Everyone had sititis from being in the truck all day so we jumped around the boat, explored monkey island and climbed up and down stairs.

Maggie and Bubby at the dining table.

Maggie acting as captain of the boat.

Benjamin, aka Bubby, got sick Sunday night so Ben and I headed to CVS to get some Children’s Tylenol.  Monday morning, everyone got up early.  Maggie and I went to play in the park while the boys headed to CVS for more medicine.  Bubby got sick in the car on the way home so we decided to take it easy for the rest of the morning.  We did some laundry and some coloring and told stories up on monkey island.  After lunch, we drove to the aquarium in La Jolla.

Sea turtle at the aquarium.

 

Ben, Maggie, Cat and Bubby at the aquarium.

Bubby was sick most of Monday night so Ben and Cat took him to the doctor on Tuesday morning.  It turned out that he had walking pneumonia and was given antibiotics to clear it up along with Tylenol and ibuprofen for his fever.  Maggie and I spent the morning playing with sidewalk chalk on the dock, telling stories and juggling.  After Ben and Cat returned from the doctor’s office we walked over to the beach near the RV park.  Ben, Maggie and I did some swimming while Dave and Cat pushed Bubby in the stroller so he could nap.  After lunch everyone napped.  We ran some errands and hung around the boat.  Bubby still had a fairly high fever late in the afternoon so Ben and Cat took him to the hospital.

Grammy and Bubby reading on the stern.

Maggie and Grammy playing with sidewalk chalk on the dock.

Wednesday morning Bubby is feeling a little better.  Dave, Ben and Maggie go to get the truck windshield fixed while Cat and I hang around the marina with Bubby.  After lunch, we all take a trip to Balboa Park.  We watch the koi in the koi pond, listen to musicians playing saxophone, violin and guitar, saw an exotic dancer or two and walked to the play scape where Maggie and Bubby do some running around and playing.  We picked up pizzas on the way back to the boat.

Everyone finally had a good night sleep and we woke up refreshed Thursday morning.  We decided to spend the day at the zoo and arrived just as the gates were opening at 9:00 a.m.  We started with the primate exhibits and got to see the baby orangutan and the baby gorilla along with hippos, birds, tigers and other animals.  Next, we hopped on the zoo bus tour for a ride around the entire zoo and got to see the giraffes, elephants, polar bears, etc.  We had lunch and everybody was ready to head back to the boat for naps. 

Maggie, Cat, Ben and Bubby at the zoo entrance.



Bubby playing near the gorilla exhibit.

Later in the afternoon we went to Coronado Beach to see the Pacific Ocean.  Maggie and Bubby dug in the sand and got their feet wet in the surf and Ben went for a swim.  We stopped for dinner at the Islander, a great restaurant downtown Coronado, and ate fresh fish and shrimp and then returned to the boat for showers and sleep.

Maggie and Bubby, Coronado Beach.

Maggie playing in the sand.



Bubby playing in the sand.



Maggie running in the surf.



One tired little muffin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday is “go” day.  The Austin Herndons pack up the truck and get on the road.  They are driving to Las Cruces today and then into Austin on Saturday.  Dave and I prepare for sea and leave the marina.  We cruise up to La Playa anchorage, near Shelter Island, to spend the weekend.  This is the first leg of our journey north to San Francisco. 

Dave and Ben at the Islander restaurant, Coronado.



Bubby, Cat and Maggie at the Islander restaurant, Coronado.