Day 2...we kept on truckin' ... all the way to Modesto, California

Phew!!  Today we endured 878 kms of rainy, windy, dry, dusty, hot and sometimes cool, roadways.  The good news is that today is Sunday and all but one of the "Road Work Ahead" areas... wasn't, and so we proceeded very smoothly.  We used the many rest stops along the way to stretch our legs and switch off drivers every 2 hours... and so here we are in sunny Modesto, California... a small 'town' south of Stockton.

Things we learned along the way... big trucks in California are painted in beautiful rainbow colours, are kept shiny and clean... and look great coming along the highway in colourful parades; some (but not all) rest stops have volunteers doling out pretty good coffee for their favourite charities; Sophie is still the best ice-breaker and people- meeter we've ever known... what with her hops and spins and twirls...she gathers crowds wherever she goes; Chuck the truck is a trouper (for those who haven't met him he's a 1999 Ford Ranger with a canopy and he's loaded to the gills) ok, one thing we learned is that when it's absolutely pouring and you're forging down the highway at speeds around 110 KM... water does find it's way in the tailgate... no biggie tho'... there's so much stuff packed in there it had no where to go except onto  the first layer :-); GPS (Martha)... thanks again Susan and George... is a miracle.  She just always knows which way to go and how often... she hasn't even been yelling "U turn"...  "U turn"... at us this trip... so far; the first palm tree heading south on the I5 is just south of Redding;  talking to locals can really pay off (for instance... staff at one of our hotels described Stockton as "gang central" and warned us to stay away....  thank goodness they did as we'd been heading there.  Instead we passed right by and stopped in Modesto; and, finally, Trip Advisor really is a great service.  We check out potential hotels as often as we can and gain valuable info re where and where not to stay...  Suffice to say we learn something every trip.. and, some days, we can even remember what it is :-)

Well, we're tired.. and it's time to turn in.  Tomorrow's another long day, during which we'll be sliding by LA and heading for San Diego....  we hope to make an early start (0700 we think) and that should relieve some of the angst with respect to rush hour traffic, etc.

We hope you're all well.. and, before I forget,  Happy Birthday Anika B. and Diane R. (Oct 18th) hope you had lots of fun...  Take care everyone.... talk to you again soon....  Hi  Dad.... love ya...  Carolyn

On our way Day 1... made it to Springfield, Oregon

2030 hrs... and all's well.  That's right, we actually made it to Springfield, Oregon... right on schedule :-)  We left home at (well not 0630 as planned) but rather... more like 0715... and then, with a very full truck (the last few items had to be pushed in with force and the tailgate door slammed shut, and Sophie's bed was about 3 feet higher than normal, having been set up on top of clothing bags and computers...) we headed on down the road to Victoria.  It was a quiet but effective drive, smooth in every way, and we arrived at the Coho Ferry terminal in good time to join the line of folks awaiting their visit from 'the customs guy'.  Well, the Customs 'woman' arrived and she was very friendly, asked only a few questions and then had a good chat with us about retirement and sailing. After a short trip on an interesting ship we landed in Port Angeles and there met a very nice Border security guy... he just wanted to know if we owned the truck... and off we went after assuring him absolutely everything in the truck was destined for our boat in Mexico.  Sweet (and true).

The drive from Port Angeles to Springfield went very well.  We stopped for a break at a rest stop and then again for dog food and groceries in Vancouver, Washington.  We're here now in the same hotel we stayed at on the way up (The Springfield Comfort Suites).  It's very nice and we get breakfast in the morning... and Sophie likes it too.  She's already passed out on the couch. Yup it has a couch, coffee table, desk, tv, and huge bed....and serves a good breakfast (altho we might give the biscuits and gravy a miss... and head for the Belgian waffles instead).  How good is that?

We 're now about to sit down and sort out exactly how many miles it is to San Diego. Then we'll divide by 2 and hope to get half way tomorrow :-)  We'll report in tomorrow night and let you know how we did... so far, so good...

We hope all of you are well and enjoying the rainy, windy, yucky fall weather... most of which we drove through today... so much rain it came in the tailgate  :-(

Take good care...  hasta la vista

Carolyn & Kathy.... and Sophie

We hear the wind a callin'...it must be time to go.

For those of you who are just joining us... welcome. You may want to take a little time and read through the record of our first season (August 2011 to April 2012) during which we sailed our little ship down the coast of North America to Mexico and the Sea of Cortez.  For those of you who are returning... welcome back and thanks for your continuing support.  It's October 19, 2012 and we're about to begin the second season of this wonderful adventure - so thanks for joining us and hopefully enjoying our stories as we continue to weave our way through the pathways ahead of us.  Here we go...

Who knew a summer could fly by so fast?  I know we've all said that before, but honestly folks... this has been the shortest and fastest passage of 5 months I've ever experienced.  Don't get me wrong, we had a good summer... we did a little camping (in the rain and lightning storms), we did a little sailing (thank you so much Penny & Jo for loaning us the wonderful ship Kermode), and we spent quite a bit of time with our families. We didn't have near enough time to visit with our friends properly... we must trust in their patience with us and hope they'll be willing to see us more next summer :-).  So, here we are... it's Friday and phase II of our adventure begins tomorrow.

We've all had our haircuts... Sophie too, and the truck is packed... well... actually, it's stuffed full with all kinds of things we didn't realize we'd want to have down there... Much of it will come back with us as it's tools and equipment for the repairs, maintenance and upgrades we intend to do (like bottom painting, hull waxing, deck repairs, dinghy davits, and a new bimini).  And some of it will stay and be used up.. things you can't get in Mexico and that we love. You know, things like Tim Horton coffee :-)...  Oh yeah, we have a case of that stuff, having worked out that we go through one can every two weeks. PS: What do you folks do who don't drive back and forth.. with respect to bottom painting equipment and things like that? I'd like to know as we may think about flying down next year.

Our loose plan (made somewhat firm with the addition of several hotel reservations) is to leave Victoria tomorrow morning on the Blackball Ferry to Port Angeles.  Once clear of customs we will head south on the fastest route possible. Our goal is to overnight in Springfield, Oregon so we'll  have to 'make tracks' to do that. We'll then continue on down the highway and, we hope, get to San Diego a couple of days later. After two days in San Diego we'll cross the border into Mexico and head down the Baja.  Our stops will include San Quintin, Ignacio Springs and Loreto before we arrive in La Paz (we hope on Oct. 28th).  This is an optimistic plan but we are optimistic folks and we'll do our best.

So, with that little intro I'll bid you adieu for now. We should have reasonably good internet connections as we travel south and we look forward to staying in touch with you as we travel.  Until the next time... take good care..  Adios.       Carolyn

Until we chat again…

We’re home, or at least close enough to home to ‘call it’ so.  We’ve sailed from Maple Bay, BC to La Paz, Mexico; we’ve visited many, interesting towns and areas along the North American coast; we’ve come to know the coastal/harbour areas of La Paz fairly well; we’ve explored some of the many islands on the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez; we’ve met up with multitudes of marine mammals and birds along the way; we’ve met many interesting and amazing people – most doing exactly the same thing; and we’ve learned tons about ourselves… our strengths, our weaknesses, our challenges and our goals.  We’ve even had the opportunity to drive back from La Paz, paralleling our south-bound route and visiting some of the places we missed.  What a trip!  What an experience!  Sailing will never be quite the same and our horizons have definitely been expanded!  And, hopefully we have grown and developed personally as well.
Some of you will be new to reading this Blog.  If you are, and you’re interested in our journey, please start at the beginning and travel with us as we journeyed south in our Ontario 32 sailboat the SV Shannon.  For those of you who kept up with us along the way, thank you so much.  While we enjoy writing, it is a blessing to have folks who actually enjoy reading what you write… so thank you again from the bottom of our ‘writers hearts’.
To all of you, we bid adieu for now.  We’re home and it’s time for us to concentrate on our domestic life in Maple Bay, BC.  We’re looking forward to spending time with family friends and to doing some of those things that owning a sailboat seem to preclude.  Stuff like camping and golfing and just plain hangin’ out..  And, if we’re lucky, maybe someone will even take us sailing now and then :-) 
So, we won’t be writing any more blog posts for now.  We’ll leave it here.. and take up again in the fall when we will be continuing our adventure in Mexico.  Until then, enjoy your lives, each and every day, and thanks for joining us on our journey. 
Carolyn, Kathy and Princess Sophie.

PS:  For those of us following our return trip, I forgot to mention, we came through the US/Canada border without a problem, dropped off Vicky's stuff,and were in Richmond by the afternoon of Day 16 of our return drive... no sweat.

Pickin' up the pace...

DAY 14 Wednesday, April 25: We made good time today... so good that we were at Grant's Pass by mid-day... way too soon to stop. So we kept going and ended up in Springfield, Oregon.  This is great because we were wanting to stop here anyway to do a wee bit of shopping.  So, we've spent a comfortable night at the Comfort Inn (no pun intended); indoor pool and hot tub as well as another very nice suite.  Watched a movie called 'War Horse'... and liked it. It appears we've managed to shave a day off our travels and may actually be into Richmond by Friday afternoon... fingers crossed.
DAY 15 Thursday, April 26:  We're up, Kath's had a swim, a warm breakfast awaits us.  Then we're off to check out a couple of things and hit the road.  Next stop, Bellingham.  We're so close we can taste it!!

You know, we really grew to appreciate, very much, the beauty of the land and sea in Mexico.  I had no idea rocks, red rocks, could look so beautiful...  the striations continue to lure me and my camera lens.  But, the vibrant greens of our own terrain... that which is truly home... are the most beautiful colours in the universe.  And the air smells so good!  We remain truly blessed by the grandeur of our world.

Day 16 should see us through the border, to White Rock to drop off Vicky's stuff, and in to Richmond. Will write again once our mission has been completed...  Hope all of you are doing well.  Have a great day... CJ

Not much to report... but we're fine.

DAY 12 Monday, April 23rd:  Not much to report... we had a pleasant drive and kept going till it felt like time to stop.  Spent the night in a place called Kettleman City... not much more than a truck stop, but the hotel was clean and we were tired.  Up early and moved on.
DAY 13 Tuesday, April 24th:  Had a very nice drive today with great scenery... rolling green hills, farms and ranches.  Even saw some cowboys on horseback, with herding dogs, moseying along after some cattle along the fence.  Made it as far as Red Bluff (just north of Sacramento) today and have stopped at a very nice Comfort Inn (complete with pool, sauna, hot breakfast... and we have a suite - one of the nicest rooms we've ever stayed in - with a balcony.... and we used a coupon so got the suite for $69/night.  Not bad hey. Off for Chinese food tonight... after a swim of course :-)
That's all for now...  We're heading for Grant's Pass tomorrow.  It'll be a shorter drive but should be quite nice (depending on how hard it rains on us :-(

We hope to be in Richmond by the afternoon of the 28th, have a short visit with Dad and then get back to the Island on Monday the 30th. We'll be back to see Dad for a better visit, after we've delivered the van and in time for his birthday (May 9th) and a few days thereafter.  That's it for now. Happy Birthday Penny, and Dwight, and Joanne.... and Happy Anniversary P&J.  ttfn  CJ

San Diego update

DAY 8 (cont'd): Our drive to San Diego was smooth with only a short wait at the border, a pleasant border guard, and a scenic drive into SD and to our motel The Vagabond Inn. We spent the rest of the day walking about and enjoying our return to this great city (at least the boating world so evident in the Shelter Island area). We really like San Diego and we particularly enjoy the boating area within which we visit. Downwind Marine and other marine suppliers are great to deal with and very helpful. Some of the folks have actually become friends as we've stayed in touch during our trip down the coast and into the Sea.

DAY 9 and 10 April 19/20, 2012: We spent our time relaxing, tidying our gear and visiting some of our favorite spots. Lunch at the Southwestern Yacht Club was as great as we remembered. There's nothing like sitting out on a beautiful balcony, overlooking the full docks, watching boats sailing into and out of San Diego and watching the ever-present sea fog (oh how we missed the fog :-) hovering at the entrance to Shelter Island. Oh yeah, and enjoying our Crab Louis and Cobb Salads along with glasses of crisp Chardonnay.

We did a little shopping and lots of walking... and, yes, we succumbed to doing some restaurant 'inspections'. Found a great Sushi place that even has a happy hour with $3 Saki... yahoo !! We've been missing sushi.. the Mexicans sort of understand it, but lose the game when they insist on using cream cheese instead of mayo. It was fun to finally have some sushi the way we like it. As well as wandering about and shopping, two out of three of us managed to secure hair cuts. I'm holding out, waiting till I get home.. for a couple of reasons... First because I like my hair cutter at home, and second cuz my dad always gives me grief when I get my hair cut short... ok, and maybe because I don't want to cut off all the blonde before I can show it off. Yep, there's still a little blonde left...at the moment.

DAY 11/12 Saturday/Sunday, April 21/22: Our friends Susan and George arrived on Saturday morning and treated us to a great lunch. We spent the afternoon visiting and catching up and then had a fun dinner at the local seafood restaurant. Today (Sunday) we're off to have lunch at the San Diego Yacht Club and then visit the USS Midway. It's been great to see our friends and we're so happy they were able to come and join us for a couple of days here. We leave Monday morning, early, and will begin our driving trek up through the US to home. We expect it will take us a comfortable 6 days to reach Richmond, BC and look forward to the scenery and places we'll visit along the way.

Will write again when we can.... hope all is well with all of you. Remember that no news is good news... and there may not be that much to report as we travel north.... time will tell... ttfn CJ

PS: I'm just finishing up an article about the process for prepping the boat for leaving on the hard in La Paz. Look for it in an upcoming issue of Currents, the Bluewater Cruising Association monthly publication.