The PLAN for Summer 4.11.08

After one full week of resting & recuperation for Michael, he had his stitches removed on Thursday. And for those of you who know Michael....yes, he stayed on the boat the entire time and no, I didn't have to tie him down. He 'doesn't want to go through this again' and followed the Dr's orders. The Dr told him to 'walk normally' now - which is difficult after hopping around the boat, but he seems to be doing OK.

We're in our last 5 days before leaving the boat & heading back to the States. Whew! Time sure flies! I can't believe it's been almost 4 months. So much has happened, we've had so much time to relax & enjoy the trip so far...and so much more to do next season. And how do you pack for 6 months away from home and still be under the 50lb weight limit for bags on the airplane!? Especially when we'll be in such different climates! I'm sure we'll be purchasing things while we're there.

This summer we have a lot planned already. We're flying back to California on April 15th. Michael will spend a couple weeks (at least) working with the new buyer of the Electric Boat business. We will stay in California until the end of May. Then we'll take off on a long camping/hiking trip of California/Oregon/Nevada/Arizona that should take us about 2 1/2 months or so. We have many stops planned and will certainly come up with more places when we come up with the 'final' plan. So far, here's the rough draft plan...take off in early June, head up Highway 1 North up beyond the Redwoods, then possibly continue up to Crater Lake in Oregon, then down to Yosemite, then over to Las Vegas, then to the Grand Canyon, then back to San Diego and back up to Ventura. We have all of June, July, & only the first week or so of August. I'd like to spend a week (at least) in San Francisco, the Redwoods, Yosemite, & the Grand Canyon, and the rest of the time in between. There are obviously many, many places & things we want to see & do but here are a few of our 'hot spots'...

- Santa Maria - the wineries of the movie 'Sideways'
- Big Sur - Redwood forests
- Pacific Grove - Point Pinos Lighthouse
- Santa Cruz - Mystery spot, boardwalk, surfing museum, Mark Abbott lighthouse
- Fairfield - Jelly Belly Factory tour, Anheuser Busch tour
- Visit a working lumber mill (although I haven't found one yet...)
- Loleta - Loleta cheese factory
- Madonna Inn
- Hoover Dam/Las Vegas
- White water rafting in the Grand Canyon
- Monterey Peninsula
- Monterey Aquarium
- Yosemite - most of the waterfalls & the A
- San Francisco lots of things... Ride the cable cars, Lombard street, visit the Ritz Carlton & Fairmont hotels, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge & Park, Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, Chinatown, Telegraph Hill, Haight-Ashbury Neighborhood, Alta Vista Park, Muir Woods, Lincoln Street, etc.
- Berkeley - the campus and also the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker
- Saucilito
- Death Valley
- LaBrea Tar Pits in LA

Of course, our list will grow or change but it's a start.

After our circle of California, we'll pack up all of our items in storage and hit the road out to Texas. Michael has been looking at properties in the Corpus Cristie area and we will purchase one. If time allows, we'll go up to see my folks in Kansas before heading to Nicaragua to spend 3 weeks with our friends Scott & Liz. That trip is looking to be late August/early September or so (we haven't purchased tickets yet). When we return to Texas if we weren't able to spend time with my folks, we'll do so after the Nicaragua trip. Finally, we'll drive back down to Mazatlan from Texas, making several stops & checking out Copper Canyon on our trip back home to the boat! We anticipate being back in Mazatlan in early October, opening the boat back up and heading South! Woohoo! Funny, we left to 'sail the world...' and so far we've only spent 4 months on the boat, and are now headed back to the States for 6 months. But oh the adventures we'll have in the next 6 months!

We don't have a camper/RV - just a jeep & a tent (which we will replace). So it'll be fun! Luckily while we're in Ventura, we'll be staying with friends for the 6 weeks we're in town. Then it's time to pack it up.

Do you have any suggestions on where we should go/see/do while on our trip? Drop us a line! We'd love to hear of any hot spots that you have found. Off the beaten path & on...it doesn't matter to us.

So until Tuesday we are packing up the boat & moving down our 'summer packing list'. We're doing really well so far - have only the big things still to go. We have moved into a condo as the boat has gotten REAL small suddenly as everything is out, open, stacked, covered & everywhere. There's no more sitting room, the bed is tore apart, the heads are cleaned & ready for summer, etc. It's a lot of hard work in the 81 degree/70% humidity weather. We don't have internet at the condo....but we do have a bathtub, a refrigerator we don't have to climb in to see what's there, LOTS of room, air conditioning, a TV and best of all....a pool! Wow! What a treat! Our plan is to bust butt for the next couple days and then attempt to enjoy the condo/pool on Monday before we leave for California on Tuesday. Cross your fingers for us...

More to follow...and we'll see many of you soon!!
Rene