4-29-2013
Another solid weekend in the books.
On Saturday I got on my blue roadbike and rode up to Marina Del Rey along the Strand (the beach). It’s just a little over 10 miles, and there’s sections with congestion, but it’s a really fun easy ride. After arriving at my Dad’s boat, Planet, in MDR, we untied from the dock and cruised Planet down to Redondo beach. The weather was warm, yet there were low passing patchy clouds (typical of this time of year) to keep things comfortable for the afternoon. It was perfect to sit out and relax. The tradition for the short trip to Redondo Beach is to take the dinghy into the fresh seafood market and pick up food for dinner. With the food picked up, another friend made it over in the late afternoon and joined my Dad and Mimi and I for a fresh seafood dinner. Shortly after a delicious dinner we were taken back to my boat inside the marina, got ready, and we met with a group of about 20 people in Hermosa beach for drinks for the night.
During the bike ride, everyone was stopped for a few minutes to let a crane set down a new piece of wall along the path.
On longer boat rides, the dogs usually get drugged to battle motion-sickness. Fortunately the trip from MDR to Redondo takes about 45 minutes and was very calm, so letting the dogs hang out with just empty stomachs works fine. We often joke about how these two dogs are adapted to life on a boat. One day they step aboard from a dock, and suddenly and randomly their home makes noise and tips and bounces for an hour, then they have no more dock to step on to for the weekend. instead it’s an inflatable dinghy ride into shore. Most dogs probably familiarize themselves with neighboring dogs, but these two are surrounded by several-hundred pound hungry sea lions. Interestingly the size difference doesn’t intimidate the girls Flo and Momo, and it doesn’t keep them from barking their heads off at them either.
Anchors were set, then it was time to watch the activity go past us, with the help of Momo standing guard to bark away curious sea lions.
Good music, good weather, good conversation, and good beer. It always feels like a privilege to be comfortably disconnected from everything happening on land, much like a vacation. I would describe this as having a private 5-star hotel, wherever you want to put it.
