Blog Post 7 – Cruising in San Diego

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We have spent the last 3 weeks in San Diego with our tourist hats on. We rented a car so we could get around and that helped a lot. We took hikes, went to the beach, rode bikes etc. We had friends come down and visit as well. Nico even had a friend come down with her mom. 

Diane and Bruce came down for the day and so did our friends John and Ellen. Our son Daniel comes down every week on his days off.  We went to the horse races at Del Mar, visited the USS Midway aircraft carrier museum and visited the beautiful La Jolla Cove. We were staying at a really friendly marina. The live aboard people there were wonderful. We were on the million $ boat dock with all the big boys. Funny thing was these people with million $ boats never use them. The entire time we were there none of these boats were taken out. Crazy! It was the quietist marina we have ever stayed in. Except of course for all the military activity. There are 5 military bases in the San Diego area. There is a submarine base, an aircraft carrier base, a Seal base, a helicopter base and C130 Cargo plane base. There are helicopters that buzz by every 15 minutes. When the F-18’s zoom by it is hard not to notice. They scream and shudder at Mach 1. San Diego is a very busy port. There are over 2 dozen marinas there. Boating is a big deal. The navy dominates the activity of the port. They are everywhere.

We have settled into a routine on the boat. In the mornings we do boat chores and then in the afternoon we try to do something fun. We have all acclimated to this lifestyle. We get up with the sunrise and start to wind down when it sets.  I have made some changes to my normal routine. I have not blow dryed my hair since we left and as of this week I am no longer wearing make up. I don’t need to, my face is tan so there no need for blush. Putting on foundation seems ridiculous. The only thing I use is an eyebrow pencil because I have no eyebrows, and lipstick.

The only problem with San Diego is that we feel like we are not on this amazing cruise because we are still in the US. We are anxious to get to Mexico, that is when it will really begin for the three of us. We are so anxious in fact, that we left early. We were supposed to stay in San Diego until 8/1 but instead we took off on 7/29. We moved to a marina that was closer to the entrance of the harbor so that when we took off for Ensenada which was a 10 hour sail we did not have to transgress the 17 miles to get out of Mission Bay from Chula Vista. It was a perfect day for a sail when we left. The sun was just rising as we left the harbor. The fog soon cleared to a glorious summer day. The sea was like glass; no swells at all. Nico slept in as usual and it was just Jirig and I for the first few hours.

We are headed to the Coral Hotel and Marina in Ensenada. We have stayed in the hotel many times before on trips to Mexico and it is really nice. Again we are on the dock with the million $ boats. Because we are almost 60ft long with the dingy in the back we get put on the dock with the biggest slips. Here itis all about fishing. There are some incredible fishing boats here. 

Next week we are headed out to the Todos Santos Islands. They are 2 islands about 10 miles off shore from Ensenada. If they sound familiar it is probably because Todos Santo is a world renowned surf spot. It runs between the 2 islands and when certain conditions prevail waves upwards of 30 feet are created. You can go ashore and hike around. I will post again next week after we have returned and I am sure we will have some wild tales to tell.