Our View From The Road

54th Annual Urbanna Oyster Festival 2011

We Flew too far, saw too few friends, ate just the right amount, and enjoyed every minute of it!  After missing the 2010 version we just had to get back.  To those we missed seeing, here’s to v.55 in 2012!

J

Leaving the Overland Rally in Hollister, CA on Sunday we drove north, north, and more north.  First destination was Portland Oregon.  The PAV’s maker and two other Sprinter tech companies are all three based near Portland.  So, we spent several days hanging out in the area while modifications and additions were completed.  Thanks to all at Upscale Automotive, Van Specialties, and of course Outside Van who all did fabulous work and happily dealt with our time constraints.

Just into Oregon we took a detour so L could visit Harry & David… home of Moose Munch

L, you may NOT buy that much Moose Munch!

L, do NOT try to break into the Moose Munch machine!

Besides The PAV details, L’s first request was to visit the Portland food trucks. After a walking tour we went back and sampled the #1, #2, and #3 most popular choices.

Portland's #1 choice

Portland's #2 choice

Portland's #3 choice

Food for thought...

The iconic Voodoo Doughnut, home of the maple bacon doughnut

Our tour of eastern Oregon continued

Mt Hood from the north side

Salmon in the fish ladder at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River

Heading Southeast out of Portland, we saw a small sign on the side of the interstate for pumpkins at The Roloff Farm.  Could it be?  The stars of the TLC show Little People, Big World?  We took an immediate exit, detour, and did in fact wind up at the Roloff Farm.

Pumpkins

Hey Matt, can I try out the Pumpkin Catapult?

Get down from there, that's not your chair!

Clammers at sunrise

Two tourists

Saturday morning while driving through Lincoln City, OR I saw this truck outside the Beachside Coffee shop.  I had to go back and take a few pictures.  Inside we met Erin who had just purchased the shop via a Craigslist ad and moved on Tuesday with her husband and two kids from Arizona.  Talk about a major leap! By comparison it makes our decision to move to the left coast tame!  Best of luck to you and you family in your new venture/adventure.

"On the coast of somewhere..."

J

Overland Expo, Overland Rallies, and their associated companies put on a rally in Hollister Hills, CA (about 2/3rd of the way north between LA and San Francisco). Similar to last weekend’s seminars on Catalina, this weekend was geared toward explorers who have an interest in overland travel. We made a bunch of new friends and learned a ton about international road travel (and off road adventuring).

After dark meet-up at The PAV

Night time screenings of movies and slide shows

Friday and Saturday were full of seminars like route selection, wilderness first aid, general discussions about logistics (like visas, crime, provisioning, etc) plus how to drive in locations that require 4 wheel drive. Needless to say The PAV is not off-road friendly.  Saturday morning Anthony was kind enough to offer us seats in his Land Cruiser. The vehicle’s modifications for overland travel had just been finished last week. Anthony and his wife Astrid were planning to embark on a multi-year around the world trip this December 2011. However, just four weeks ago Astrid was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. During the weekend Astrid was in the hospital for her second round of chemotherapy. However, she insisted that Anthony go to the rally for the weekend.   Keep up with their story on their blog at www.overlandnomads.com

Update:  our time with Anthony must have been well spent. We can’t rightfully take any of the credit… BUT… Anthony won first place in the Expedition Trophy Challenge (driving contest) on Sunday!  (It must have been the spotter on your first run in Saturday’s class…)

Anthony & L in "Hank". L, there is no backseat driving course...

Walking the course for Saturday morning's driving class

Kristina demonstrating the spotter's role

I'm not sure Morgan has a firm grasp on left foot braking techniques

Anthony at the top of the hill

If you get stuck in the water crossing you have to hook-up here

We’re looking forward to seeing all of our new friends (Anthony, Art, Benji, Brent, Dan, Grace, Jonathan, Leeway, Nick, Ryan, Shawn, Zack, and Astrid!) in Flagstaff, AZ May 2012 for the Overland Expo!

J

Latitudes & Attitudes Seafaring Magazine sponsored a Cruiser’s Weekend at Two Harbors on Catalina Island this past weekend. Free seminars by and for boaters who have an interest in cruising. I was already interested but when I found out about the free food and beverages I said “we’re there”!

31 miles each way across the San Pedro Channel from Newport Harbor. We left as early as we could Friday morning and took our time returning Sunday. Southern California’s fickle wind even cooperated and let us sail for a while on the return. Add five whale sightings and warm sunny skies to make a successful weekend!

Thanks to our friends Don & Jill who agreed to come along with us and show us the ropes (I mean lines!).  They each have between 500 and 1,000 days of cruising experience and added to our knowledge base tremendously!

Underway with Catalina Island in the background

L at the wheel

Jill & Don @ sunset in Two Harbors

The Skipper and The Admiral

Latitudes & Attitudes Saturday Night Beach Party

After sunset in Two Harbors

J

Not exactly scientific but the findings will still be flush with worthwhile information

After the week I’ve had…  and since I’m in control of the house this weekend…  I decided to do an experiment on the kitchen counter.

J

One year ago yesterday L & I decided to take an introductory sailing lesson.  The very next day we signed up for a series of classes and experiences with the intent of advancing through enough levels to be able to bareboat charter sailboats word wide.  This past weekend we completed the final course that allows us to do just that (which means we “skipper” the boat ourselves without hiring a captain).

Friday night we met at the marina just before sunset.  After getting the boat ready with the help of the other four students the six of us (plus instructor) cast off.   We arrived at our Friday night anchoring spot in Long Beach harbor just after mid-night (Saturday morning).  At dawn all were up cooking and getting ready for Saturday’s coursework and sailing to Catalina Island.  By late afternoon we were on our mooring in Emerald Bay near Two Harbors/Isthmus on Catalina Island (L &I visited the same spot on our Trawler School trip).  After a few hours of studying for Sunday’s exam we took a water taxi into Two Harbors for dinner and then had a moonlight trip back to the sailboat after dark.  More boat handling practice Sunday morning before setting a 6+ hour course back to Newport Harbor.   During the passage home we took our written exam.

L&I both passed (yeah!) so we have more stickers in a book to prove we’re “insurable” for open water bareboat chartering.

No pictures from this weekend’s adventure.  I originally packed a big camera thinking I’d take lots of pictures.  In the haste of trimming the amount of gear we took on the trip I purposely decided to leave photo gear at home.  There will be future trips on which to make lots of images.

J

Thirty-one guys were here at the Nelson B&B, Recreation, and Event Center this past Thursday night.  Church men’s group.  We’re having BBQ’s once a month during summer break.  During sharing time one of the newer guys mentions he is the surfing instructor at a local high school (only in Cali!) and that he’d like to organize a dawn surfing session some Sunday morning.  A dozen hands flew up and suddenly I’ve signed up for my first surfing lesson.

Let me add that on Thursday night I mentioned that I was an eighty degree minimum water temperature kind guy.  79.9 degrees means I don’t go in.  80.0 degrees minimum.  Period.  End of discussion.  I was told the Pacific Ocean will never be that warm here, but since it’s nearly August, I could expect low 70′s.

The excursion was also sold as a sunny dawn surfing class followed by breakfast and then we’d all go to church as a group with mostly dry swim trunks.

At 5:30am this morning I woke to a light rain.  Rain!  We haven’t had any of that in months.  Why today?  But not being a quitter, I was there on time.

The boards are stored under the lifeguard office at a Newport Beach.  First items out were the boards.  Next item out was a wetsuit that almost fit.  They said I’d need it.  Heck, I needed it just standing there shivering on land!

After some words of advice and pop-up practice on the sand we headed to the water.

OUCH!   OH!   THIS WATER IS COOOOOLD!  @#$%^&*!!!   “Oh yeah, it’s cooled off in the last couple of days” because of some storm, yada yaadda, yaaaddda.

Wet sand. Light rain. Yup, this looks promising....

Cool fish stand next to the pier

Is this for the fish stand or a sign to welcome me out of the surf?

Where's the sunrise that was promised?

Official city time

Look at all of the other people out here at this time on a Sunday morning!

Men. Here are your weapons.

By the time we were frozen the donut shop had a line out the door

Ready or not surfers, swimmers, and other marine life... here I come!

Although I’m not sure this sport is for me, I greatly appreciate the experience.  In fact, I hope we do it one more time this summer on exactly the warmest water temperature day of the year!  But, I’ve decided the sales pitch was not 100% correct!

So how cold was the water?   Low 60′s!

J