Catalina

We sailed out of Marina Del Rey and it was sloppy with wind on the nose but we were ridiculously excited anyway...

The new belts made some whining noises Jon didn't like- He used a crowbar to tighten the alternator belt last time-so he spent most of the crossing canoodling with Old Perkie ( we've christened our old diesel with a name, hoping that personifying her will endear us to her and our adventure!). She must have liked the attention because she had him to herself for most of the trip but in the end caused us no problems what-so-ever. 

We had cheese and pickle sandwiches on the way over just in case anyone's tummy was weird on the first day out but the kids are salts now and spent the whole time reading and asking for more snacks.

Pura Vida's new solar panel...charges the fridge!

Landlubbers ask me about sea-sickness all the time...I stick to a few rules I learned growing up and while I know everybody succumbs to the woozie-wearies at some point, we have been good so far. My rules are simple, we break them all:

          Don't drink too much the night before.

          Don't eat greasy food the night before.

          Eat light snacks often.

          And if you do feel icky-don't stress.

It's normal. Your inner ear is adjusting, so just keep over-riding the messages your brain is sending you that something is terribly wrong. Repeat this mantra, "it's okay...This is how the ocean feels". Honestly, I spend a lot of time below, in the galley, sloshing around and if I feel odd, I reassure my body that it's "okay" that the world is surging from side to side, or up and down. I tell my anxious brain that we can function just fine in this environment. I  always seem to feel better instantly and am not bothered again. Now that I've actually said this, on our next voyage. I will of course,  become violently ill for the for the first time ever, 

I promise, full disclosure if this happens.

So, we arrive at Catalina as the sun is setting. We get our mooring, there are a few boats on the long weekend, so we know it must be festive at the bar and this being a celebration of our new adventure, we head in for a toast and an order (or two) of the world most delicious calamari.

At the bar, we see many of the locals we have come to know over the past two years of coming here. Everyone is excited for us. It feels great. We haven't gone anywhere yet but we feel we have accomplished something just by setting off.

Back to the boat and it's FREEZING tonight - it is still the middle of winter. To warm us up fast and make a hearty dinner -we are all still starving from my "light" meals all day (yummy calamari appetizers not withstanding).

Kai and Hunter are big enough to take the dingy now!

I make baked potatoes on our propane stove- 45 minutes and Pura Vida is toasty!

We also have Italian sausages sautéed with whole cloves of garlic, cherry tomatoes and fresh rosemary and thyme...

Yummy, fast and you warm up the boat!

Grinding beans for Mummy and Daddy's coffee.