Living like locals where we could never afford to live.
A week ago we left Marina Del Rey, sailed along the “marine layer” (aka smog) of LA toward Long Beach. My Great Great Great Grandfather Phineas Banning was the go-getter who put together funding to dredge Long Beach harbor and build break walls. He got wealthy had a great big estate, it was turned into a museum, and a century later the museum was closed from a plague and I took a picture by the gate.
- Long Beach was awesome. $1.50 fish tacos topped the list. The Queen Mary was cool (also closed though), we got a lot of walking in, and figured out another city bus system.
- Newport is a massive bay filled with yachts and mansions. This made for great dinghy rides. We spent hours on Scootie exploring the nooks and crannies of Newport. It’s also apparently the home of Duffy electric boats, my future competitor when I release my own custom cocktail-cruise-dinghy. There are 9,000 boats in Newport and I’m convinced 8,000 of them are duffy’s. We also put forth another attempt at surfing.
- Dana Point was the most expensive marina in the world. Apparently, every boater has also read the same book I’m reading (Two Years Before The Mast, by Richard Henry Dana Jr.) and needs to stop and see the cove named after the famous sailor. Fortunately, we were able to anchor for free. It was just ok, but we were distracted by a diesel failure on the sail in. Greg, our engine, died off the coast of Dana Point. Luckily we had our sails up so Taylor sailed and I spent 3 hours troubleshooting. Eventually, we got up and running again. I’ve always enjoyed being an amateur mechanic, but it’s 100% more fun in a stationary garage. I was sick, frustrated, and covered in diesel which made it very gratifying to not have to call the towboat.
- Oceanside was nice. We had a long walk to the grocery store. Tay bought a “top-shelf liquor” for the first time in her life: a friend sponsored a nice bottle of scotch for an early Christmas present. I handed over the reins to the galley and Taylor cooked a bomb dinner. Polenta, pork tenderloin in a pan sauce, and roasted carrots. She also found a new appreciation for the timing required to serve 3 hot dishes with a 1.5 burner stove.
- Mission Bay is a great big bay with tons of waterfront but Scooter is too tall to access most of it due to a bridge overhead. So we anchored just outside and explored via dinghy. Scootie has been carrying a heavy load this week, keeping us entertained.
