November 12- November 16, 2015 Alamitos Bay, CA

We left Santa Barbara with thoughts of returning someday.  Not sure if it was the beaches, stucco houses with red-tiled roofs, palm trees along with citrus fruit trees in neighborhoods, or the weather.  It's hard to pin-point the reason but it was certainly an enjoyable stop over.

We knew our next passage to Alamitos Bay would include an overnight passage.  We waited until early afternoon to set out so that we would arrive in daylight, and it turned out to be a good thing we did.  We raised our sails in calm seas with 10 knot breeze.  With days getting noticeably shorter evening soon arrived.  But despite a new moon the night was a bright one, with city lights blazing all along the coast.

Look Ma! No hands!   The Hydrovane takes over as we sail out of Santa Barbara with a 10-15 kt tailwind, leaving us with more time to admire the oil rigs.

At dawn we approached Port of Los Angeles- another major commercial marine traffic area- and made it through without too much stress.  Then there was an endless rock jetty that eventually opened up to allow us passage into Alamitos Bay... which is where we suddenly found ourselves in a sea of blue crab pot buoys.  Nice color choice!  Wouldn't have had a chance with these in the dark.  At the Alamitos entrance markers dolphins welcomed us in.

We pulled into a nice end tie guest slip among beautiful mega yachts.  I think our boat of 44' was smallest at the dock.  We immediately received a warm welcome from the owners of the 61' Starbuck, a sailing vessel, as they came out of their cockpit to help us tie up.  We have been in fishing marinas and resort marinas but Alamitos was of a different variety.  This was a marina for pristine mega yachts, mostly 50' or more.  And we soon found out why they are so pristine.  Most of the boats had hired help cleaning and doing maintenance on their boats.

I know it's hard for many non-Asians to tell apart which Asian countries some of us are from.  People usually guess wrong about my Asian heritage.  It's OK if you get it wrong.  I don't know and guess wrong most of the time myself.  So, when I saw Isabelle who came out of Starbuck to help us tie up, I wasn't sure if she was Japanese or Korean.  She confirmed that I had guessed wrong- she too is Korean.  I was happy to chat her up in my unpracticed Korean mother tongue.  But why did she just stare back without a sound? Was my Korean that bad? After a half a second of insecurity about my Korean, I was relieved to know that the delayed response was due to the sudden unexpected demand to speak Korean. What was clear though was that we were happy to learn that we had something in common.  Isabelle lives on Starbuck with her husband Bill, and I of course am cruising with my family down south along the West Coast.  Let me elaborate here.  I've never run across another Korean doing what Isabelle or I do.  Koreans own boats but they don't live on it as their home or go cruising.  So, we immediately became friends and Isabelle lavished us with a delicious Korean dinner.  It turns out that Bill had Starbuck custom-built after having previously sailed and cruised another boat down to Mexico.

I finally get my fix for Korean food.  That chicken dish was really yummy. I should have asked her how she made it.  

Through Bill's many boating connections, we were able to get good discounts on some boat equipment, numerous advice on boat systems, plus stories and tips on cruising.  Their friends Ramer and Fay joined us another evening for more useful advice and lots of laughs too.  Jeff and I have been told more than once that cruising community is really friendly.  People are eager to help and share knowledge.  We can attest to that.

Seal Beach 

Girls are content after getting their fix at the beach.

Miss Muffet Cutip, a rare picture of Cutip almost smiling. 

We found this lion statue near the entrance of a Chinese restaurant as we walked around town.  Jeff has almost an exact picture of this when he was a boy travelling with his family in Thailand.  Both Jeff and Anna tried to pry the rolling ball out of the lion's mouth without success. 

Newport, CA

The stay at Alamitos Bay was especially pleasant because our family was able to meet up with my brother's family from Arizona in Newport.  It was a nice break to get away from our boat for a couple days, plus Tony brought along some special requests, like a 50 lb bag of Korean rice.  The way we go through rice the 50 lb bag is not going to last very long.  Tony's family was recently blessed with a new member, Christopher, just 5 months old. We love chubby babies and he had a lot of chubs to love.

Chloe and Anna were happy to be playing together again.  They are the same age and when Chloe lived in Seattle these girls played together often.  We missed those days when 2 year old Chloe and Anna would run through our house screaming and giggling as Uncle Tony tried to teach them the robot dance. 

Chloe is a talented gymnast. Check out her abs! Her sister, Clare, looks on.

Christopher, you are so chubby and such an easy baby, unlike your sisters and cousins. 

Cross girls and Koo girls. Why not call them Koo-Cross girls! Claire, now that you are the middle child we can exchange notes once you have a few more years as the middle child. 

The whole gang. Thanks Becca and Tony for hosting us at the villa. We had so much fun. 

It nurtured our souls to see family again.  I have never been particularly dependent on my community or family before. As I get older, however, the meaning of life sinks in a little deeper every year.
It's really important to surround oneself with a close knit network of family and friends. We are really blessed to have wonderful people in our lives, though not close by.

One dish that I have been waiting to try was this fried chicken recipe.  I don't enjoy frying food but love eating it. I wasn't ready to try this on the boat, so I waited until we met up with the Koos at the villa's kitchen.

Extra crispy chicken.  It was good despite having forgotten the chili peppers. 

We said good-bye to our new friends at Alamitos Bay. It's easy to get sucked into these stop-overs especially when there are friends and nice weather.

We hope to meet up with the Clutes again in our journey. 

Leaving LA in a nice orange haze sunset, on our way to San Diego. 

November 7th (Saturday) through November 11th (Wednesday) Arrived in Santa Barbara CA

After two days of being at sea Jeff and I are beat.  Being at the helm at all times and trying to dodge the weather window create a pressure similar to a deadline we are all used to in our professional lives. Once we overcome the stress of coming into a new marina, fueling and docking, we can finally relax and turn off our engine. Though not ideal we arrived in Santa Barbara marina at 1AM.  Later that morning the weather was calm with 5-10kts of breeze and sunny with temperatures in mid 70s.  It was a perfect welcome after two days of toil we just finished. Heard lots of great things about Santa Barbara and they are all true.

The rest of the day was spent at the beach. 

Jeff was lured into the sea by the girls with promises of warm water but found the water not warm enough at 65F.  Compared to the 50-55F water in the Northwest, the water here is considered warm by the girls.  

They created another pool that is warmer than the ocean. 

Where are Anna's feet?  

Sunday, we visited the Old Mission Santa Barbara.  This is the 10th mission in California.  It sits on the mission hill and overlooks the rest of the town down to the ocean.  What a beautiful location.  Although our main purpose was to attend mass, its history and the grounds were a full day of education.

Front of the church.  This mission is run and maintained by the Franciscan monks.  More about Old Mission Santa Barbara

From its nave looking to the alter.  Flash photography is not allowed so a little blurry. 

The statue below the crucifix is the statue of Santa Barbara.  The Spanish landed on this land on December 4th, the feast day  of St. Barbara. I learned that among other things she is the patron saint of sailors.  Nice. 

The mass was beautiful and the homily carried the message of filling our emptiness with Christ's love instead of worldly things.  In the back of the church the professional choir sang in the balcony.  All the hymns were very familiar but sounds were of angelic nature.  After mass we hung around for free donuts and coffee. After the museum tour, we met the pastor of the church, Father Charles, who welcomed us so warmly and invited us back on our way back up the coast.  We would love to be back in Santa Barbara!

In front of the Sacred Garden. 

Sacred Garden is where the monks come to work, and contemplate.  One senses a definitive serenity, peace, and beauty here. 

 The Island of the Blue Dolphins   

It was serendipitous that we picked up a Newberry Award Book called The Island of the Blue Dolphins from a used bookstore in Eureka.  Not knowing that it had close ties to Santa Barbara, it was a nice surprise to read this book and be able to relate to a place we visited.

The following is Anna's summary of the book and the visit to Old Mission Santa Barbra:

Daddy, Sophia and I have just finished reading Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. It is about this girl who gets left behind on San Nicholas Island which is located off the coast of Santa Barbara in the Channel Islands. She lived there for eighteen years by herself.  The story is pretty much real. She finally comes to Santa Barbara when some people from Old Mission Santa Barbara  come and take her away to Santa Barbara. You can see where she is buried if you get a tour of Old Mission Santa Barbara.  But, people do not know exactly where she is buried because they did not use grave stones at that time.  She is buried in the cemetery of Old Mission Santa Barbara. You should really visit that church.  First, it is good to go to church. Second, the church is really cool because monks live there and after mass you can talk to the priest, who is a monk.  Sometimes there are some other monks walking around in their brown robes.  Also, they have a crypt in their church, but they hardly ever open it because it is so hard to open.  When you get a tour, you can see the Sacred Garden, which is very pretty, the cemetery, the museum, and you can also watch a movie about the history of Old Mission Santa Barbara.  
By Julianna Cross. 

In front of the Juana Maria's (name given to the girl in the above mentioned book) plaque.  

Sophia's treasures found in our walk through Santa Barbara.

Walking toward the historic Court House. Notice how Sophia carries her found treasures. 

Inside the courthouse full of Moorish architectural influences.  

It's great that Santa Barbara has preserved a lot of its historical architecture. For a moment, I felt like I was back in southern Spain.  

The highly decorated mural room in the Courthouse. 

At the top of the Courthouse a 360 deg view of Santa Barbara. 

November 4 (Wednesday), 2015 We finally made Kimchee on the boat!

We have been craving kimchee since departing Sandy Point.  It may be obvious that we eat a lot of rice with everything.  Usually, we have kimchee to go with everything, too, but we have been without it for so long.  Every time we have soup or stew (typically enjoyed in colder weather), we need to have kimchee.  We were able to secure some of the critical ingredients so I decided to try my hand at making kimchee on the boat.  If you are interested in making kimchee on your own, try the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sX_wDCbeuU

Washing the salted nappa cabbage.

Left is a mixture of ginger and garlic minced.  Right is a mixture of green onions and carrots.  These two bowls are combined with a rice flour paste, chilli peppers, and fish sauce to make the stuffing for the cabbage. 

I made too much stuffing on the left.  I only bought one head of nappa cabbage and it yielded a little over a pound of cabbage.  Finished kimchee is on the right. 

For those who know and tasted kimchee, can you just smell the yummy spicy scent of kimchee?

We had to have an entree for the dinner so I cooked up the shrimp that Jeff bought at the wharf.  I call it, "Cilantro Shrimp". 

November 2 (Monday) -3 (Tuesday), 2015 Hanging out in Monterey Bay, CA

Taking notes for the next paint job on Luninesce!

Walking along the Cannery Row.

The city of Monterey obviously trying to copy Eureka, with various rail cars scattered along the waterfront.

Practicing fake smiles.  Someone's tired from walking but obviously not the young 'ns.

The girls always check out berries and fruits on trees.  They love these palm dates.  

Ok, load up those backpacks girls.  Looks like we found dinner. 

Another pic of the boat in Monterey Bay Marina.

Why are coastal towns associated with so much salt water taffy?  Here is yet another Salt Water Taffy shop.  Check out the taffy puller in the window.  We broke down and bought.  Sooooo good. 

Cutip. Courtesy of her majesty's personal fashion coordinator, Sophia.  A rope craft gift from Sona.

Farmer's market in Monterey.  In this area, the farmer's markets move around through different towns in the area each day of the week.  Tuesday was a farmer's market in Monterey. 

We were able to color coordinate the parrots with the girls' jackets. 

You never know who you will run into.  As I was busy scrutinizing the quality of nappa cabbage for my kimchee, I heard screaming and giggling.  Carissa, the girls' old teacher's assistant from Pioneer Meadows, had recognized us in the Farmer's Market crowd.  She had just finished biking through Washington and Oregon with her fiancee and was hanging out with her parents who live in Monterey.  Sounds like she and her fiancee will stay in Monterey for awhile trying to figure out their next move.  Many blessings to Carissa and fiancee!

The girls were a little bewildered that they ran into their old teacher's assistant from school.  Carissa remembers Sophia when she was just 3 and Anna at 5.  The girls are growing too fast! 

November 1 (Sunday), 2015 Arrived in Monterrey Bay, CA

We left Bodega Bay, CA in the early morning.  Once again, the strategy of leaving on a rising tide paid off.  Sona waved farewell from her dock as the fog rolled in thick.  Soon we found ourselves straining to discern the next pair of channel markers in the fog while dodging a crab pot buoy and some logs floating in the water.  It turns out the "floating logs" were seals laying on a submerged sand bar and we were on the wrong side of a channel marker.  We quickly reversed kicking up some sand and mud.  Thankfully we didn't get stuck.  Fog's power to disorient is amazing.  Once we exited the harbor we quickly left the fog behind us and headed south.

This was the most we saw of San Francisco.  Jeff: "There's the Golden Gate bridge."  Anna: "It looks red."  Then all attention was focused on timing our crossing of the busy shipping lane.  The tanker in the photo passed in front of us about 20 minutes later.   Once across, the fog rolled in, dusk fell, and we continued on our way.

Our plan was to go into the Bay of San Francisco and to visit some old friends.  Unfortunately we had to pass, to make up for some lost time and take advantage of a good weather window.  A 6 knot ebb current at the SF bridge removed any second thoughts about heading into SF.

We celebrated Halloween on our passage with Sona's toosie roll candies.

Monterey Bay, CA

Heading into Monterey Bay, our next port of call on the coast of CA, we were greeted by these small dark lumps making lots of clacking sounds.  We looked closer to find they were the famous sea otters of Monterey.

They are content just floating on their backs in the freezing water eating their breakfast. 

We arrived in Monterey 7AM on Sunday.  This hustling and bustling harbor had lots of boat and kayak traffic on the weekends.

A narrow marina entrance with a blind spot, so everyone "honks" before entering or leaving.  When we entered it was busy with all kinds of boats trying to get out to the sea for the last day of the weekend. 

Another view of the marina.  Luminesce in the background.

San Carlos in Monterey is probably the closest church we have walked to so far. 15 mins from the marina.  This is the first church established by the recently canonized St. Junipero Serra.  He is very well known for establishing a total of 13 missions in the state of California from San Francisco to San Diego.

As we go further south, the historic architecture is definitively more of Spanish influence which tells the history of California.  First, the native, Chumas Indian, and Mexican population were occupied by the Spaniards where the missionary efforts began.  Then, the Mexico won its independence from Spain and finally the US government won California along with many other states in the US- Mexican war. 

Nave of the church.

Alter

One of the few Mary statues that has her looking up rather than looking down. 

After church we showered and headed out to see what Monterey has to offer...

Noticed this clever fender cover.

"A beach with real sand!" exclaimed the girls. 

Not a rock or barnacle in sight.

Playing in the waves.  Unfortunately, the beach was closed for the remainder of our stay due to high bacteria counts.

Never looked at a cormarant's feet before but don't they look like one of those toddlers who put their shoe on the wrong foot.  So funny!

These otters also hung out in the marina.   In the marina, they seem to prefer smacking clams against the boat hulls to break them open, instead of using a rock.