Family has alway been and will always be very important to Candy and me. The awareness becomes more keen during the holidays. We're certain that you know, that we're talking about you Jason, and you Brandon, and also you Kirsten. It's always worth saying that;
We miss you all very much!
OK....That said....We had a great weekend together on the SeaCloud. We packed enough food and drink (well mostly drink) to almost sink the boat but our expectations were high.
We towed the Whaler and left Wednesday morning under somewhat foggy but improving conditions. Initially we had about 2 mi visibility which I was not happy about since we cross two major shipping lanes next to two major shipping ports. Just as I began thinking about pulling the plug on the crossing the visibility became more like 5 plus miles and it was all GO.
The crossing was uneventful and we were assigned mooring B-11 Isthmus Cove. After the end of October there are two changes in the mooring scheme. First they only put a boat on every other mooring. Second they have you pick up the mooring bow out (stern to the mooring can). The concept is that If a surprise North Easter shows up there you can throw a second mooring line on the bow and stern. The harbor was looking good. Aside from company boats I counted 12 other boats in the harbor. Very nice!
Initially Candy and I were planning on a nice turkey dinner for two in the restaurant but then we were invited to the Oudins house for the feast. The attendees were to be Doug and Morene, Keith and Gloria, Paul and Katie, Trevor and Lauren, Troy, and Candy and me. Sounds pretty fun.
Actually alot of the cooking was done by Paul and Trevor. They each cooked a turkey in their own unique style along with some side dishes. Moreen and Lauren kicked in more side dishes. Troy, who is now attending Cal Maritime, I'm told, is a pretty good supervisor.
Our contribution along with Bouts was liquid and between beer, wine, and hard stuff we had about 6 cases to schlep up to Oudins house. No problem! In a last moment stroke of interest in not getting my but kicked by carrying all that stuff up the hill I purchased a new fold able, large wheel, light weigh, large capacity, dock cart. Pretty cool eh?
Candy and I hung close to the boat for most of Wednesday and Thursday and just kicked back. We took a couple of side trips in the Whaler and watched Miracle on 34th Street on Thanksgiving morning courtesy of my Sony Vaio notebook.
Our Thanksgiving dinner was well attended by people that we know well and care about and it was very nice. We ate outside on Oudins patio and overlooked the harbor as the sun set behind the mountains. The food was delicious and I shouldn't have had seconds.
Before dinner my phone rang and we all heard it but I just couldn't get to it in time. It was Jason and I regretted that I didn't have it in my pocket. The next time it rang it was in my pocket and it was Brandon and Kirsten. It was still before dinner and it was a great chat. Everybody was happy to hear from you.
Just before dinner was over the USC v Arizona game had begun and you can bet it was on the TV. The rest of the evening was spent watching the game on and off and catching up with folks. SC won. By the way Oudins have a bottle opener that plays the SC fight song every time it open a bottle.
By the time the evening was over I really felt like I had spent the afternoon with our extended family. It was really all quite pleasant.
Friday was a beautiful sunny day punctuated with a trip with my honey around to the backside of the Island, some eagle watching, and a nice long afternoon nap.
While the nighttime temps were definitely cool the SeaCloud kept us comfortable and Saturday morning we awoke to a day like we all had during Katies wedding. When the sun came up it was like a summer day. So we watched "It's A Wonderful Life" followed by mimosas on the bow which lead to a nice egg scramble ala Candy (more mimosas) and then a cruise to Avalon and back.
The sea was so flat that I opened up the throttle and Cloud Break ran up to 5300 rpm. That's the best that she has ever run and boy did she fly. We even raced a flock of birds that were flying in formation a couple of feet above the water. We won by a nose.
Later in the day Candy met up with a Newport Mesa School Board member who she talks boats with and we went for a late afternoon cruise to Emerald and back. Still very nice flat and warm.
Candy then kept her date with me and we joined the afternoon wine and hourderve session up at the Harbor View Inn. A beautiful view, a beautiful sunset, a full moon, and a very cool date. Also met another nice couple.
Sunday was a much cooler and overcast day and we headed out early around 9:30 am for the crossing home. It was actually a pretty wet trip early on so I just stayed inside. In fact we both stayed inside for the whole trip and I thought it was pretty cool. The boat actually steers better from below.
Aside from some careful course calculating and selecting to avoid one of the dread freighters it was an uneventful crossing.
Later that night Candy and I had tickets to the OC performing arts to see the hit musical Jersey Boys. I was a bit fatigued from the events of the day and hoping I'd have no trouble staying awake. The show is basically the story of the Four Seasons and Frankie Valli. They sang a lot of those cool old songs and I was riveted.
All and all I guess it stacked up to be a pretty good weekend.
We towed the Whaler and left Wednesday morning under somewhat foggy but improving conditions. Initially we had about 2 mi visibility which I was not happy about since we cross two major shipping lanes next to two major shipping ports. Just as I began thinking about pulling the plug on the crossing the visibility became more like 5 plus miles and it was all GO.
The crossing was uneventful and we were assigned mooring B-11 Isthmus Cove. After the end of October there are two changes in the mooring scheme. First they only put a boat on every other mooring. Second they have you pick up the mooring bow out (stern to the mooring can). The concept is that If a surprise North Easter shows up there you can throw a second mooring line on the bow and stern. The harbor was looking good. Aside from company boats I counted 12 other boats in the harbor. Very nice!
Initially Candy and I were planning on a nice turkey dinner for two in the restaurant but then we were invited to the Oudins house for the feast. The attendees were to be Doug and Morene, Keith and Gloria, Paul and Katie, Trevor and Lauren, Troy, and Candy and me. Sounds pretty fun.
Actually alot of the cooking was done by Paul and Trevor. They each cooked a turkey in their own unique style along with some side dishes. Moreen and Lauren kicked in more side dishes. Troy, who is now attending Cal Maritime, I'm told, is a pretty good supervisor.
Our contribution along with Bouts was liquid and between beer, wine, and hard stuff we had about 6 cases to schlep up to Oudins house. No problem! In a last moment stroke of interest in not getting my but kicked by carrying all that stuff up the hill I purchased a new fold able, large wheel, light weigh, large capacity, dock cart. Pretty cool eh?
Candy and I hung close to the boat for most of Wednesday and Thursday and just kicked back. We took a couple of side trips in the Whaler and watched Miracle on 34th Street on Thanksgiving morning courtesy of my Sony Vaio notebook.
Our Thanksgiving dinner was well attended by people that we know well and care about and it was very nice. We ate outside on Oudins patio and overlooked the harbor as the sun set behind the mountains. The food was delicious and I shouldn't have had seconds.
Before dinner my phone rang and we all heard it but I just couldn't get to it in time. It was Jason and I regretted that I didn't have it in my pocket. The next time it rang it was in my pocket and it was Brandon and Kirsten. It was still before dinner and it was a great chat. Everybody was happy to hear from you.
Just before dinner was over the USC v Arizona game had begun and you can bet it was on the TV. The rest of the evening was spent watching the game on and off and catching up with folks. SC won. By the way Oudins have a bottle opener that plays the SC fight song every time it open a bottle.
By the time the evening was over I really felt like I had spent the afternoon with our extended family. It was really all quite pleasant.
Friday was a beautiful sunny day punctuated with a trip with my honey around to the backside of the Island, some eagle watching, and a nice long afternoon nap.
While the nighttime temps were definitely cool the SeaCloud kept us comfortable and Saturday morning we awoke to a day like we all had during Katies wedding. When the sun came up it was like a summer day. So we watched "It's A Wonderful Life" followed by mimosas on the bow which lead to a nice egg scramble ala Candy (more mimosas) and then a cruise to Avalon and back.
The sea was so flat that I opened up the throttle and Cloud Break ran up to 5300 rpm. That's the best that she has ever run and boy did she fly. We even raced a flock of birds that were flying in formation a couple of feet above the water. We won by a nose.
Later in the day Candy met up with a Newport Mesa School Board member who she talks boats with and we went for a late afternoon cruise to Emerald and back. Still very nice flat and warm.
Candy then kept her date with me and we joined the afternoon wine and hourderve session up at the Harbor View Inn. A beautiful view, a beautiful sunset, a full moon, and a very cool date. Also met another nice couple.
Sunday was a much cooler and overcast day and we headed out early around 9:30 am for the crossing home. It was actually a pretty wet trip early on so I just stayed inside. In fact we both stayed inside for the whole trip and I thought it was pretty cool. The boat actually steers better from below.
Aside from some careful course calculating and selecting to avoid one of the dread freighters it was an uneventful crossing.
Later that night Candy and I had tickets to the OC performing arts to see the hit musical Jersey Boys. I was a bit fatigued from the events of the day and hoping I'd have no trouble staying awake. The show is basically the story of the Four Seasons and Frankie Valli. They sang a lot of those cool old songs and I was riveted.
All and all I guess it stacked up to be a pretty good weekend.
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