Dad rented a car in Santa Cruz.  And of course we put it to good use–many trips to the store, then popped over to Walnut Creek to watch our niece Karrin play in a water polo tournament, a parts runs for Carmanah.  Then mom (who was staying at sister Lisa’s), dad, and I drove to Olympia to conclude his leg of the Carmanah journey. Donna got to stay with the boat in the Santa Cruz marina–finally time to herself with no one to take care of except for Lucy of course.   I went on to Bainbridge to see the dentist and pick up Bob Morton who joined us for the central coast cruise.  Our first leg down to Monterey was outstanding–warm AND windy.  We never get that in the PNW where it’s warm OR windy.  Vanna drove the whole way averaging 8 knots.

Monterey is great. Really busy with activity but laid back and very few hassles. And everything is right there. The marina is the heart of the town. There was an aquatic center two blocks from our boat for swimming. We went on long runs on the beach each morning. Cannery row and the aquarium were just down the street. The wharf is loaded with shops and restaurants.  We stayed for 5 days but could have easily spent another week here. Much of our time revolved around re-plumbing the head to facilitate direct overboard flushing for when we’re off shore. A smelly job that we’ll be happy we did when there are seven of us on an off shore passage with no pumpout stations in sight.

Nick & Morgan sailed in with their kids Simi, Maggie, and William on our last day in Monterey. We celebrated with a big slab of Ahi Tuna from the Monterey Fish Co (and a bottle of Patron from Bob) . Wish we could have visited with them longer but have a lot of places yet to visit before San Diego.

Checked out the board walk but never got to ride the roller coaster at Santa Cruz.

Two sea dogs heading to shore in the dinghy. Dad got off the boat in Santa Cruz after being with us all the way from Bainbridge.

John with Niece Karrin and her coach Rachel Scott–who many years ago was a player on the BHS girls polo team and went on to earn a Silver Medal in the Olympics.

The whole fam at Karrin’s waterpolo tournament in Walnut Creek.

Our niece Kristi popped over the hill from San Jose for a day visit. Lucy was of course thrilled.

Santa Cruz is sailing crazy. Boats are always coming and going all day long and into the night.

Bob and I hanging with our bud-John Steinbeck.

Bob and I working on a (smelly) plumbing project. Man those hose parts are hard to get apart sometimes.

These sea otters were hanging around our slip in Monterey. I remember traveling many miles on the out side of Vancouver Island just to catch a glimpse. Now they’re pestering us.

Cannery Row was a highlite of visiting Monterey.