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Elaine’s birthday weekend.

January 18, 2013 Reply

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That’s about a five foot octopus mixed in with other fish at the Swan Oyster Depot.

Over a hour in line, but worth it. Elaine’s birthday weekend started at Swan’s Oyster Depot. We had the clam chowder, 2 dozen great oysters, and the octopus salad. Being in San Francisco, a couple of Anchor Steam beers washed the food down. Jimmy was our server, telling us stories about the restaurant and his family which owns and operates the over hundred year establishment. What a great place to finally visit. We will be back.

Got a new ride at Home

July 23, 2012 Reply
Schwinn Tango Tandem.

Schwinn Tango Tandem.

We picked up new transportation at a friends fund raiser yesterday. The bike is in great condition. I need to twick a few components, I already changed the brakes, and then it’s off to the Pleasure Point Bicycle race next month. Elaine and I used to go when we lived in Pleasure Point. Now it’s time for our return to the event. I hope Elaine gets used to being the stoker. The “Stoker” is the person in back with the main duty of pedaling, navigation, and providing beverages. The person up front is called the “Captain”, appropriately, in charge of bike handling.

Finally, 50 hours later and a day late

March 18, 2012 Reply
The view from Aberge de la Petit Anse

The view from Aberge de la Petit Anse

 

Finally, after 50 hours, we are in St. Bartholemy at Aberge De La Petiti Anse. So what happened? We left Santa Cruz about 2:12 pm on Friday. We flew to L.A. to catch the red-eye to JFK. When we got there the fog was so thick, Chowchilla thick, the plane was diverted to Newark to refuel and sat for 3 hours. We then got back in the air, to circle around New York for awhile until they let us land. So we missed our connector flight to St. Martin. American Airlines tried to get us the next flight out on Jet Blue, but when we got there, after lugging our luggage across the airport to another terminal, we were 20 minutes too late. AA only had 1 person to handle about 30 people that missed their flights. So we ended up spending the night next to the Airport.

We then could not get a room at any nice Hotel, because they were all booked for St. Patrick’s Day. We ended up at the JFK motel, it looked like it had been remodeled in the late 1970s. Do not stay there with your wife, what a trouper, even though the proprietors were very nice. We both crashed after ordering Pizza. OK, but not as good as Elaine makes with the homemade dough and sauce I concoct.

We got up at 4:30 am, East coast time, to be at the airport ahead of time. Everything went pretty smooth. Let me tell you, use curb side check in, it is so much faster. The flight went well to St. Martin. It took another hour and a half to get on 15 seat plane to St. Barths. After a wild landing, that’s a great video of a landing on YouTube,  we waited for our luggage, that arrived another 45 minutes later on the next flight and drove the rent a car to our destination. As you can see above, we have a great view from our balcony right on the water at the end of the road. The waves are lapping in on the rocks down below as we drink wine a glass of wine. More tomorrow, after snorkeling at the cove above, and another about a 40 minute hike away. Tuesday we get on a sail boat to watch the Bucket races around the island for a week.

 

Oh yeah, we do have a House Sitter Dave.

Photos

March 4, 2012 Reply

OctopusI have not had time to add pages telling about and showing photos of the trips I have done. So, here is a sample. I photographed this octopus at the Indians in the British Virgin Islands a few years ago. It was our fifth sailing trip, our fourth to the BVI’s. The BVI’s are simple place to bareboat. It is like KOA camping on some islands, and the other islands are like dry camping with no facilities, except the boat. The navigation is line of sight. Most islands are in sight of each other, except for Anegada, which is barely above sea level. We had spent the night at the Bight in Norman Island, a very cool place to stay. The first time we ever anchored in the Bight, there was nothing on the island but goats, though there was a boat bar, the Willie T. Now there is a restaurant bar, Pirates Bight, on the beach. We have bareboated several times, about ten, in different spots around the Caribbean.

 

I was snorkeling around the submerged reefs when I came up on him (actually I don’t know the sex). The fish life was great that day. I also saw an Eagle Ray, in about 30 feet of water. It took off immediately to deeper water.