Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Tropical Mornings Aren't Bad Either...!

In fact, I'll take them.
I actually didn't mind getting off the boat and dragging the dog for a run at 6:30 this morning.
This made it!

Monday, July 16, 2012

Tropical Summer Sunset

Winter in Ventura has the sunsets.
Summer?
Eh, not so much.

Through a little tropical monsoon swirl into the picture.
Toss a little pre-hurricane remnants into the mix and...
Get a tropical summer sunset!



Saturday, July 14, 2012

Our Awesome Next Boat Neighbor!

We love our neighbors.
Who would have ever thought my three favorite neighbors would be a gillnet fisherman, a squid light boat fisherman and the rescuer of the fuel-ess and saver of sunk pangas and people who run into the island and people who wrap their props, the owner of Vessel Assist.
Ok, well the saver of boaters in trouble makes sense, but two commercial fishermen?
We love them.
Helps that they love (and dogsit) our dog...
And they are nice guys.
And they don't complain about my cooking.
And they save lives.
All three of them.

The gillnetter being the most recent.
http://www.keyt.com/news/local/ventura-county/Local-Hero-Captain-Curtis-162249915.html

Complete with video, his nice face and our boat at the end!

And our local newspaper write up:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/jul/13/fisherman-honored-for-rescuing-man-on-sinking/

And photo I stole from the newspaper...

Curtis Hebert, recognized for helping another man and his dog from a sinking boat, stands by his boat 'Sneaky Pete.'

Only because he never slows down enough for me to take a picture.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Islas! First Trip of 2012!

Holy crap... first trip in June?
Yes, I know it's July, but I am always a month or seven behind in posting the dreary, boring crap stuff we do.
So yes, first trip of 2012 in June.
And yes, we used to go out every month of the year.
December and January too.
Now?
We must either be lazy or old.
Or both.

So off to Yellowbanks on a perfect and I mean PERFECT Friday afternoon!

Calm.
Warm.
FLAT!
And full of life!

We had dolphins with our bows for the better part of an hour!


That white triangle above is our bow, not a weird flaw in the photo.

Even the dog thought it was perfect!
Of course she had three humans doting on her and her dog friend, Sophie on board.
Happy dog.


And happy dolphins.


Or so we assume...


I know I was happy!
Tank top, shorts and barefoot at 6:00 pm in windy lane!
Pretty amazing.


And awesome.


And amazing, or did I already say that?


And I said, calm and flat too, didn't I?


Easy, easy run out.
Friends, fun, food, wine and the usual.
And all too soon to head back in...
Dogs included.


Happy, lazy, sleepy waste of fur dogs included.


Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Adapting to "Dog on Boat"

Who exactly had to do the adapting here?

Us, the childless wanderers who have never had to be responsible for anyone other than ourselves?
Or the South LA / Watts homeless, neglected dog rescued one day away from permanent "sleep"?

The humans who had only needed to worry about their own toilet...
Or the dog who had to make her own in gangland...

The dog had to adapt to a human either making sure she was warm enough or blocking the sun to keep the dog in a black fur coat from overheating.


The humans of course had to adapt to watching the dog for signs of "I don't like this wind in my face and don't have opposable thumbs to zip up the enclosure" and "pant, pant, pant, ugh get the sun off of me, but I am too lazy to move to a different spot".

Both hard work.

The dog had to adapt to "kelp fly watch" in lieu of "trash fly watch".


And had to adapt to numerous cushions and throw pillows, both on the seat and table in lieu of cement and asphalt.


The humans?
Running the vacuum every other day.
Feeding.
Walking.
Carrying poop bags.
Accommodating.
Being responsible.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Santa Blahblah

Oh fun ~ a weekend in Santa Blahblah Barbara!
On the boat!
With a bunch of crazies friends!
And some dogs!
Wine!
Beer!
Potlucks!
Pizza!
Awesome breakfast out!
The problem?
This:


World's Worst Marina Design.  Ever.
Good for exercise.
Bad if you have cheap flip flops on...