Slow Cruz

We have started seeing touch of the “cruising lifestyle”, having visited Santa Cruz for a few days and now in Monterey. Nothing is YouTube-worthy, but we’re having fun. In Santa Cruz I took Harry to the obligatory Mystery Spot, back up to UCSC (my alma mater), visited his cousins Nina and Peter, and our friends from Emery Cove (Diane and Stefan) graciously brought their paddle boards for us to try in the harbor. One morning Harry went for a jog along the beach, and when he came back I was playing my ukulele in the cockpit while paddleboarders and sea lions were playing around us. “Cruzing” indeed.

Now in Monterey, we’ve learned to do all tourist activities DURING THE WEEK and lie low or at least not drive anywhere on the weekend. Just like in Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz, the place EXPLODES on the weekends, even more so if the sun is out. This week we visited the Salvador Dali museum, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, various other historic sites, and a few trips through Cannery Row. We hit happy hours that end at 6p and I comb the web for discounts & coupons. (OMG I think that makes me officially retired). Harry went north Thursday, coming back Monday. It’s a gorgeous Saturday morning as I type this. There is a cultural festival today that I will wander around, but I can walk there and scurry back as needed. The juxtaposition of travelling full-time with your actual home to come back to is a wonderful one.

Our two hops (HMB to Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz to Monterey) both went well. Poor Tux is still 50/50 on seasickness, but I’ll keep trying different ways to help her. I’d say the hardest part of the hops is shuffling our two vehicles. That is something most cruisers don’t do, for very good reason, but with our situation we have to keep it up for a bit. Solla is performing beautifully. All of our ridiculously hard work does seem to be paying off. (See newly posted About the Boat page for details.)

Our stay in Half Moon Bay went a touch over two months. It was a bit of a mixed bag for me, but I started figuring out how to enjoy the time and learned some of what helps/hinders my happy-meter. For right now, it’s internet and warm sunshine. Weather is obvious – when it’s warm I’m out-and-about more, friends are more likely to visit, and even just chilling in the cockpit is a thing. The internet “need” kind of surprised me. Here we are supposed to be heading off to distant shores and I’m whining about no wifi? But here’s the thing, we’re not on distant shores YET, and “we” aren’t “we” most of the time. Harry is away and I need to fill my days. And I’m not talking Netflix/Facebook here. I’m talking regular internet research, updating this website, organizing tax documents, paying bills, etc. A large portion of our lives is online now, and when I can’t manage it, I get antsy. In Half Moon Bay, the public library saved my tuckus. I spent full days there getting all things internet done; I will most likely have a small collection of various California county cards by the time we hit Mexico. I do still think my connectivity addiction will subside when we are actually running around together, especially in foreign lands, but for now I am resigned to being a moderate wifiaholic.