A Summer Saturday on the Boat

Memorial Day Weekend

After many, may days of our typical "May Grey" weather, we lucked out with some sunny weather on the tail end of Memorial Day weekend. Jared had to work on the actual Monday holiday, but we managed to get a day out on the sailboat and at the docks on Sunday. Although the weather was beautiful and the conditions mellow out on the water, it was definitely a "miss" day with both boys on the boat. I guess you can't win 'em all, but we had a lot of tears and fisticuffs from both of them during our "pleasure cruise," making our outing considerably less pleasurable. Somehow everyone snapped out of it once we got back to the dock--the mini marine biology lab that Jared found growing on the bottom of one of our kayaks certainly made for an exciting distraction. Note to all selves: partake in regular bottom-cleaning of all vessels kept in the water, including kayaks! On the plus side, the boys got an up-close viewing of crabs, sea slugs, worms, and all manner of underwater flora and fauna.

Happy 4th of July!

When we were making the difficult decision to buy our new sailboat, Prudence, I don't think I took into account too much the fact that we were buying her right at the start of Summer. However, we've been lucky to be able to enjoy the boat, the dock, and the dinghy so much at this time of year, since the weather has been beautiful. We got to spend the Fourth of July down in the harbor yesterday, doing some little boat jobs and cleaning before heading out on a dinghy adventure with the boys. Parker is learning how to drive the dinghy, and he'll definitely have it figured out in no time. Pretty cool for a four year old, eh? The Oceanside Yacht Club puts on a dinghy parade for the Fourth; we missed the parade, but saw some of the funny decorated dinghies as they headed back to their slips. Parker really wants us to decorate our dinghy next year--we'll at least be sure to catch the full parade next time! The City of Oceanside doesn't do a fireworks show off the pier anymore, but Camp Pendleton still does, and we were able to hang out on the boat at the slip last night and watch the show right from the decks of Prudence. So cool! Now we will have things better figured out for next year's Fourth of July. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a fun holiday!

Introducing...Prudence

Believe it or not (sometimes it's hard to believe it ourselves), we are the new owners of a 1980 Cal 2-27 sailboat--named Prudence! We are always looking at boats big and small, and the Cal 2-27 is one that we've had our eye on in the past; Jared found this one listed for sale right here in the Oceanside Harbor, and it looked like it was in really nice condition. It's always been a dream of ours to have a boat at a slip in a harbor, and we've also dreamt about moving up to a bigger sailboat to get more experience and to learn more. We also have fantasies of having family fun on the boat with both boys--Catalina trips? The weather has been beautiful, and the beginning of summer feels like a great time to be outside and to be on the water. We are still figuring out the boat and getting comfortable with everything, but so far so good. I think Jared has been on the boat the last seven days out of seven :)

Evening in the Harbor

We capped off the weekend with a perfectly lovely evening in the harbor. Parker has been really enjoying riding his trike lately, and the sidewalk in the harbor is a good place for him to ride and for us to walk. We spontaneously tried a new (to us) restaurant for a Happy Hour dinner--I couldn't believe that after living here for eight years we had never eaten there before! They had outdoor seating upstairs with warm heaters and pretty, white lights and a fantastic view of the harbor. We enjoyed fish tacos and clam chowder and Pacificos; it was a perfect way to end the day and the weekend.

An Idyllic Day

The weather has been beautiful lately, and it sure puts me in the mood for summer fast! We spent a long afternoon and evening putt-putting around the bay in San Diego, and it was such a nice time. It was fairly warm despite a brisk breeze, and we ate sandwiches on the boat while watching about 100 sabots race around the Shelter Island basin, skippered by really young, really confident sailors! Then we headed down to the Midway and got a great close-up view as the sunset became more beautiful with every passing minute. We made it back to the launch ramp at dark, and I turned around to see Holland America's Oosterdam cruise ship passing right behind us, fully illuminated as it headed out to sea. By then, my feet were freezing and I was chilled to the bone (bringing only flip flops for the day out on the boat was a bit overly optimistic), but the day was totally worth it.

Prindle Pirates

Jared and Parker went sailing by themselves yesterday, and it was a great success. From what I hear, Parker was a very able First Mate, even helping with the jib sheets during a few tacks. They sailed out to the pier and back, and got caught in the rain--but I'm told that they sang pirate songs to keep their spirits high, although they never did find that treasure. Next time.

Crab Catching

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!


We spent a fun afternoon in San Diego today visiting Uncle Nate, Auntie Lisa, and Cousin Alex. The boys caught lots of crabs down by the water--Parker wasn't afraid at all to stick his hands right in there and grab the little sand crabs--this makes me so happy, since it's finally one thing that he's NOT timid about!