I took advantage of the opportunity to see my brother Matt and his wife Julia and their 3-week old baby Andrew briefly up in Sausalito. I drove up on a Friday night to San Francisco where Mia was staying for attorney convention business. My mom also drove over to Matt and Julia's so it was all of us together for Sunday afternoon. It was pretty surreal seeing them cooperatively take care of this tiny baby and also realizing I'm now an Uncle.

While there I stepped out to make a call to the marina office and got the good news that a different slip will be available to move to. The whole point has been to get as far away from the Shade Hotel as possible. That place is garbage and devastating to the area as far as the boating community is concerned. But money talks and alcohol and food is enough to get everyone with authority in the city persuaded to go along with it.

Anyway the following weekend on the night of the hotel's official (like 6th) grand opening, we started the motor on A Cenoura, took the dock lines and shorepower cord with us, and tied up to another dock about 200 yards away. It's quieter, darker, and we're facing bow-south now which I think will be cooler inside and better in the summer. We can park closer to the dock and use the bathrooms that don't usually have homeless people hanging out around the doors. So it's a win-win-win-win-win. It took two dock-cart trips to relocate the stuff in my dockbox and that was it. Probably will go down as the easiest move of my life. The following day I went to clean and scrub out anything remaining in my dockbox (soggy sand paper, some screws and washers) and the hotel was visibly trashed from their party. Cigarettes were all over the walkway and blowing into the water, hotel towels thrown from balconies were blanketing sea life on the rocks underwater, plastic "keg" cups were scattered around probably tossed off balconies...all of these images just get under my skin and defy the whole "environmentally friendly" lie that the hotel portrays.

So I'm happy that we moved a little bit away from the money taking monstrosity but when I think about the rules they're breaking and getting away with and the widespread and significant damage across the value and safety of the marina and marine life surrounding it, I get upset. Luckily now that it's a little easier to keep it out of sight and out of mind that means I probably won't complain more on my website about it. You're welcome.

Final night in this slip was the grand opening for the awful intrusive hellish hotel  

Finally got to hold Andrew  

Four years ago when I moved onto the boat I was seriously interested in buying a shell for the bed of my truck. It would have solved a lot of storage problems at the time but back then I couldn't justify spending $1,500-$2,000 on a new one. I browsed Craigslist as often as possible for a long time and gave up after a few months The toughest part was realizing that the cab setup of my truck required a very specific shell shape to match the line of the back of my truck so not just any shell would work.  I would occasionally look over the past four years and kept my fingers crossed that someone with a 2005-2015 white, regular cab Tacoma would be selling a camper shell with windows in good condition. Finally, two weeks ago, that post was found. For $800 I got exactly what I was looking for. 

On the drive back home my immediate priority was to get the rear center brake light wired up. I went to Discount Campershell in Long Beach and for $20 they hooked up my new brake light and then we collectively discovered some burns on the wiring going to the left brake light, which hasn't operated correctly for awhile. Some Wd40 and wiggling got that light working too. I was so happy with it. The truck looks great, in my opinion, and everyone diving behind me can know when I'm hitting the brakes.  

I am still happy with the shell, but less so with the transmission. Oddly, the exact moment I pulled away from putting a $800 new-to-me accessory on the truck, the gears were acting up. Neutral crunch first gear crunch second gear silence third gear crunch fourth gear. I've sort of had a semi broken and sensitive transmission for couple years and every mechanic blamed it on whoever put my clutch in (around 120,000 miles) saying it was shoddy workmanship (Lexology in Redondo Beach-stay away). Anyway I was warned that the synchros were wearing out. I drove carefully and had work-arounds to get into certain gears smoothly and kept on getting from point a to b just fine. But now, accelerating away with my awesome new campershell, it just got worse - a lot worse. Finally I felt like I was on the brink of hearing a crunch and then seeing sparks of metal transmission bits bouncing off he ground behind me. Obviously I'm going to keep this truck for awhile, I thought, I just invested more in it. I should get that transmission checked out. 

My transmission torn apart  

They said these two parts had no oil between them and rubbed metal to metal.  

An example of the gear grinding culprit

I took it to a reputable shop near my work and they did $1,700 of work which they were 90% sure would fix it. It unfortunately did not. They kept it another day and found out the synchros are all blown out. Replacing it piece by piece is more money and time than just getting a new transmission, so the less expensive but still good plan is to put a slightly used transmission in for over $2,000 on top of what I paid already.  They kept the truck a few more days and put in a different transmission. I immediately could tell something was whirring in idle that shouldn't have been, they agreed, and it took another week to get another transmission in. At least I got to drive my vehicle with the crud transmission in it to get around. Finally after the second replacement transmission things seem good for the one mile I drove it back to my office. I'm driving up to San Francisco tonight so I guess that will be a good test drive. 

If I had known all of this before I took my truck in, would I have evaluated the worth of my truck versus the cost of repair? I don't know.

Many of the broken pieces  

That truck is the most dependable of any machine I think I've ever relied on. And I just made it look more to my taste and more functional to my daily routine. 11 years old and 185,000 miles and I feel like I just bought it a second life. 

I did learn that the regular cab tacomas are discontinued and therefore their value as a used tuck is sky rocketing in the niche market of people who want them. The truck that was carrying the shell I just bought was sold, used for 8 years, for $14,000. This high resale value was Something for me to weigh against letting it go over a transmission repair. But, ouch, my wallet hurts.  Also, this matter of being discontinued could be why the shop was looking for used transmissions. They worked with a company that picks up collision-wrecked vehicles and parts out the good things, like 5-speed Tacoma transmissions. 

On another note, last week I was getting socks out for my day and say a lizard hanging on to my storage bag. How did it get there? Where did it come from? I was confused. I actually thought for a moment about letting it stay, grow its tail back and chase any other bugs away, but I don't want it crawling around my tiny home. Out it went  

Stowaways not welcomed.  

Congratulations to my big brother and Julia and their healthy and happy baby boy!  

My mom is finally a grandma! 

My brother Scott and Nicole are expecting their daughter in January and are shown here getting some baby experience  

Born 10-27-16 just after midnight and just in time for Halloween! 

I'm excited to hopefully meet Andrew in about a week when I take a trip up to the Bay Area. 

Went up to visit Mia's family for the October Birthdaya celebrations. Her mom and her sisters (16th) birthdays are both close and we spent the weekend seeing the horses, test driving some cars for Maeve and going to a couple nice dinners. 

Mia taking Journey out for a spin  

Day 1:  Mia and I took a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Boston and arrived around 5am. It was dark and about 40 degrees, we had both been up for almost a full day because our $200 upgraded seats (so that we could sit together) for extra leg room came with front-row seats to the always-on lights in front of the cockpit, bathroom, and kitchen area. Therefore we never could fall asleep, not even to the soothing sound of the flight crew talking all night. That expensive plan back-fired.

Taking a walk past stuff that is older than our country  

So we arrived to Nick and Jen's apartment-treehouse just as the sun was rising and they were ride awake ready to hear about our travels so far.

We stayed up thanks to their coffee, the entertaining dog named Wonderful, and Nick's apple pancakes and eggs breakfast. This fueled us to go out walking around for the grand tour of their neighborhood. Nick and Jenn live in Somerville, MA, which connects south to Cambridge and east to Boston. Cambridge is home to Harvard and we walked from their place to a farmers market and up to a high point with a castle looking landmark and took in a view of the city. Then we came up with a game plan, to walk all through Harvard campus and Harvard square. This whole experience for me was like a illusion I've held in my mind about New England all coming true. It helped that the weather was perfectly crisp and clear fall weather. We circled back to their apartment and had some beer/wine/cheese/crackers before taking a nap in the afternoon. Mia and I needed it. 2 hours later we awoke and headed out for the night. Nick and Jen took us to a brewery and played some card games and met another couple. The six of us went to a pizza restaurant that also had "east coast bowling" which is miniature pins and bowling balls. unfortunately the place is as cool as it sounds and although we got stuffed on delicious pizza, we never got an open spot to try the mini bowling. Then we stopped by a soul music dance bar but our exhaustion finally caught up with us. With an early start looming on Sunday, we all went back to get some rest.

Fall colors at Harvard  

Wonderful the dog that seems too sweet to be real

Woke up to this 3 days in a row  

Day 2: On Sunday morning we hopped in their car and headed up highway 93 north to New Hampshire. During the 3 hour drive we stopped for Dunkin' Donuts (I had never seen this in real life before landing in Boston). We drove around the White Mountain National Forest and took in all of the fall colors and scenic beauty. Then we took a shortcut to the Kancamagus Highway - famous for its seasonal scenic treasures. The plan wasn't to go on a long hike because the area was actually touristy at all of the parking lots leading to trails. So we would spot a cool looking turn-off near a path, creek, or bridge and just wander off to take photos, hop across rivers, and walk through the woods.

A panoramic photo from near the top of the waterfall  

We found a waterfall flowing down smoothed granite, rocky riverbeds, foot bridges, and lookouts across valleys that looked like paintings.

Nick getting a photo on his film camera of Mia and Jen, with that crazy fall backdrop  

Taken by Jen as Nick, Mia, Wonderful and I strolled across the bridge  

Mia and Jen

That night when we got back it felt much warmer than the previous night and we were excited for good weather for Monday.

Me hopping across a river. In case you're wondering, yes, I did have a rock top and sink my foot in the water.  

I got across the river and took this photo  

From a scenic pull over looking down at the small town of Barnett  

Day 3: On Monday, Jen and Nick had to return to their lives of school and work which left Mia and I to take the T into Boston proper and be tourists. I was blown away by the history and the combination of 250 year old streets, brick buildings and sidewalks, all next to state of the art modern buildings. This city is very cool. We walked through Boston Public Garden and picked up the Freedom Trail which is marked in many places by red-white-blue bricks, right through busy Boston. We stopped along the Granary Burying Ground with the graves of Sam Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock and more of the historical figures. We stopped into an Old South Meeting House where public discussions about slavery and gender equality as well as the conversation that sparked the Boston Tea Party all took place. We passed through the Boston Public Market, a few more memorials and historically significant landmarks and then took a walk around the wharfs of Boston Harbor and met up with Jen. After lunch, and a walk through other parts of the city and to the Cheers bar, we headed back across the Charles and to their town to meet with Nick and get groceries for a feast that night. The weather was almost 80 all day and stayed warm that night, it felt like we had experienced fall and summer in Boston at this point.

Inside the Old South Meeting House. So much significance in history has happened here 

Day 4: Then, the morning of Tuesday, before we would fly home, we got breakfast at a local small spot in Somerville and the weather was misty, cold and grey which resembled a true winter (by California standards). It even became so foggy that by the time we got in our seats in the plane, we could barely see the airport ground below the wing.

It was my first time back to the east coast since I was a baby, we stayed busy the entire trip and were treated so well by Nick and Jen that this will definitely be a special trip to me.

Wonderful knows how to relax  

Mia's selfie with wonderful  

Over the weekend I drove up to the Bay Area to see my family up there and attend my twin brother and his wife Nicole's baby shower at their Oakland apartment rooftop.  As if that isn't cool enough, the weather was typical fall all Bay Area perfection - almost 80 degrees by the water and clear enough to see past San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. Plus, if those two things weren't enough, it was also the annual fleet week on the bay and a blue angels air show. I think this is the not time I've seen them perform twice in the same year. The guests who also attended the baby shower party and the view that went along with being in a rooftop couldn't be beat. Really the only downside is the short amount of time to see my family and the hours of driving. It's all worth it though. 

Roof top cornhole

Missing from the family photo is Julia's parents (who were there) and Mia (who was celebrating her grandmas 90th birthday in San Diego) 

Mias sister and fellow equestrian Maeve came and visited us on the boat and we all went to a Grand Prix horse show in Long Beach. It was excited to watch these horses jump so high and fast. Many of the horses and riders were just in the Rio Olympics. 

How such a large and strong animal trusts their rider to just go and leap 6 feet in the air at full speed is mind boggling.  

For the USA team

The weekend brought a heat wave, calm winds and some fun summer swell for bodysurfing. I fortunately was able bodysurf Saturday morning with my neighbor Connor and then again Sunday afternoon when Mia and I met up with her dad in Laguna Beach. As a surfer of about 12 years, there is something special about the feeling of dry Santa Ana winds, thinner crowds, and crisp, clean waves. Day time this weekend was great, the major bummer what when the hotel they're still building opened up their doors to a private party on Saturday night. 

This is taken from the cockpit. It looked like a police helicopter was shining a spotlight on the boats. I needed to lay towels over the port lights to try to darken the cabin.  "It's only going to get worse" everyone keeps saying. 

I have not yet gotten over how awful the marina just got, due to the Redondo Beach Shade Hotel. I think I lost my last sliver of hope that it could be good for the area...But I don't think my blog is any appropriate place to complain about my first impressions. They aren't even finished with construction but they're desperate for money so they hosted a very loud, very bright, party on Saturday night. The community in the marina is furious about this monster nuisance, but the fact is that liveaboards complaints are not even a drop in the bucket full of money the city will collect from the hotel when it becomes gainfully operating. Unfortunately after four years in this current marina, the only thing we can do to regain peace and quiet is look to move to an open slip in other marinas. 

The Shade Hotel running a constant flow flow of fresh, precious, valuable, scarce California water out of a hose across a pathway straight into the ocean. All day, all night. 

To celebrate our friend Kait's birthday there was a big dinner at her and Kevin's Silver Lake apartment - yes, the same place I recently cracked my chin open. I pledge not to ever stand on their balance board again.  

This time Kevin went to a restaurant and picked up pounds and pounds of food: potatoes, shrimp, corn, crab, and more. Dump it all over the table and everyone just gathers around and eats with their hands.  

The group that was up at the cabin the previous weekend (and post) plus some more close friends and Kaits parents and aunt were all in attendance to celebrate. After drinks and dinner and drinks and some coffee everyone was wired and we went to place nearby called Funky Soul. As is obvious from the name, you dance to funky soul music spun on turn tables. 

The feast  

Kait and Mia not letting messy hands get between them and some wine  

We're really lucky that Leif has a skill for taking photos  

A night at Funky Soul

The weekend included a trip up to running Springs - a community between lake arrowhead and big bear up in the San bernardino mountains. We drove up to lake arrowhead Friday afternoon and arrived as the sun was going down at a waterfront shopping center and promptly put on winter layers of clothes while all of the people around were still in shorts and t shirts. It was about 60 degrees before the sun went down and felt great in the crisp mountain air. 

A live concert, bar food, and a view of lake arrowhead. 

Puzzles at the cabin - I focused on the sailboats as Mia did the rest  

1. We met up with the Kevin (who's family cabin it is) and Kait, Sydney, Molly, and later on Tim. It was an awesome get away. Saturday we went on a hike to a summit and to a small lake and jumped off its dam. 

Fireplace heat was necessary as the temps went into the 50s at night  

The view from Running Springs down on the LA basin  

The locals secret spot "hole in the fence" 

bringing this frisbee everywhere has become a bit of a running joke, but this day it served as a speaker amplifier for the phone music. 

Me sharing a couch with Kevin's dog, Cayman

Can't ignore the photogenic quality of Cayman 

I was just out of the frame, doing that puzzle  

After a couple days at the cabin we came back to normal life with a day to spare to relax. The trip up to the mountains perfect and we all plan to go back in November.  

With an extra day off of work following the holiday I surfed, but it was typically bad.