Back in Seattle...

After taking care of lots of boat chores, it was finally time to leave Bravo, safely tied up in her new temporary home in San Diego.  We flew back to Seattle Sunday night, for the next 2 months.  Cindi will finish up at work, and we'll get the house packed, moved, and ready to rent out.  Arghhhh....we're not looking forward to that!  Adam will also go down to San Diego in a month for a few days of work wiring and installing a new anchor windlass on the bow.

Then, in the first week of December, we'll head back down there and be off to Mexico.  Can't wait!!!

For both of us this shakedown cruise down the coast has been a great experience.  We learned a lot about Bravo, how she handles in heavy winds (and, more often, light!!!), and about ourselves, handling the boat and getting along in such tight quarters for a month.  Happy to report that it was a real success!!  It felt very strange to leave Bravo behind, as she has really begun to feel like a great home for us.  And we're eager to get on with the adventures that lie ahead.

So check back periodically over the next two months for the occasional post, and by all means, join us the first week of December as we get underway again!  In the meantime, here are a few last pix of the past few weeks...stay tuned for more to come!

Mark and Adam leaving SF, ready to head out on another adventure

Leaving the Golden Gate behind after a nice SF visit

Mark, Vicki, and Adam walk the labrynth in Santa Barbara

Being swallowed up by a monster ficus tree.  Had to ask a couple of homeless guys to let me into their space for the shot, there were perhaps 20 sleeping in all of the nooks and crannies!

Cindi has decided that David Crosby's yacht in Santa Barbara would do fine....The boat is undergoing a major restoration.  "Off the wind, on this heading, lies the Marquesas...."

Flopper stopper hanging off the spinnaker pole made a big difference when anchored in the rocky rollies!

Toys deployed!  These inflatable kayaks are great!

A view from a hike on Santa Cruz Island above our anchorage.

Cindi tests the Channel Island waters....C-O-L-D!!!  In fact, just a few degrees warmer than Puget Sound until we got south of Newport.

Empty moorage field in Emerald Cove.  This is the way we like them!!  Weekends, we're told, are a completely different story.

This was the scene around the corner at Avalon!  Mid week, no less!!!  That's Bravo right in the center.

This is the way the Avalon moorage looked on radar!

The dinghy dock was quite the scene!

But the sunsets were beautiful.

Impending squall heading into Oceanside.  Avoided the rain tracked on radar, and saw some scary lightning arcs.

Computers and other electronics went into the oven for lightning protection.  Don't know if it really works, but we figure it can't hurt.  As long as we don't forget before baking brownies!

Boat on our San Diego dock....I think we found Al Gore's yacht!!!