Santa Barbara

Wednesday September 28, 2005 LOCATION:Santa Barbara Yacht Harbor GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 34 24.245N,119 41.548W
The anchorage we had in Cojo just around the corner from Conception Point was great. It was a bit rolly as we expected but the there are always the bright side of the story. It had the most beautiful pink,red and rose colored sunset. Oh yes, and the gigantic Team O'Neill surfers catamaran was anchored there. Always fun to see what they are up to. A dinghy continually brought their surfers into and out of their surf spots. Much entertainment for Bruce.
On our way to Santa Barbara we had the most pleasant surprise. Bruce went up to check our heading and found a little bird sitting on the seat. We were a good 3 miles offshore. We grabbed our cameras and audubon books and went to work. As best we could tell it was a long lost little sparrow. She sat a while, fluffed and dried herself and even took a little bread and water from us. She sat on Bruce's arm for a photo op. A second bird arrived but would only fly above us and attempt to coax her away. She joined him for a while and flew about until she was ready for another rest. She eventually got up the strength and/or courage and took leave. We named her Freeride and enjoyed her company.
We are now snuggly tucked into the Santa Barbara Harbor. It is a much more peaceful night sleep in here without the rocking and rolling of our last anchorage. The harbor is set in an amazingly beautiful location surrounded by Sierra Madre mountains, palm trees and beaches. The marina itself is impeccably kept with amazingly nice facilities. I doubt I will ever find as nice of laundry facilities so close again. We walked downtown to a farmer's market last night and hope to take a trolley into to see the Mission and other sights soon. Yesterday was filled with school work and then the whole family grabbed swim suits and brushes and scrubbed every piece on the outside of the boat. In the warm sunshine, this is actually a fun job with all that great kid help. This morning a family with a little girl came over in their dingy to introduce themselves. They are on a boat named Sensei. They will be following the same path as us and are excited to find another boat with kids. They are using a similar school curriculum to our which always adds a bit of moral support. Knowing you are not alone in anything makes it better just by default.
As boating and boat projects go things always take a little longer than expected. Our 10 min. oil change yesterday turned into a hour affair. And I am still not sure what project Bruce was working on before he took leave and ran to a hardware store no doubt. All I can say is something slipped up into the boom or mast where it shouldn't be and getting it out will be an all day affair. The boys and I finished school work in great time and headed for the beach. It is just a short walk down the dock and over the jetty wall to reach it. They donned their new wet suit booties, boogie boards and were in the water for hours. Having seen all this wildlife lately has really inspired them. With their wet suits they are that much more bouyant and love to just float in the water on their backs and pretend they are otters. Or perhaps, dive through a wave as it approaches like a dolphin. Sitting there I realized that this was the stereotypical day we northerners think they must be like here everyday. Sun, sand and surf with no other cares in the world. It did seem amazingly hot there today and we later found out it was an uncharacteristicly high 94 degrees that day. whew.
We may be heading off tomorrow for the Channel Islands. We are paying more to stay here than we like and without a car it is tough to get inland to see as many sights as we would like. We shall see what the water and weather reports say.
until then,
aloha lisa and the boys

Quick reminder for the Google Earth, just click and paste the coordinates exactly as we have them written there above. The google program can be fickle about how the coordinates are entered.

Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo

Sunday September 25, 2005 LOCATION:Point Conception, Cojo Bay GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 34 32.885N,120 36.137W
Morro Bay was a great little harbor to stay in. We came in under overcast skies at sunrise again. Originally we picked up a mooring until we realized there was a small dock that was just as long as we were that we could tie up to for less money. It was like our own private little island for a while. We settled in quickly and head for the beach. The 3 boys donned wet suits and were off to surf and boogie board. It is an impressive site to play under the shadow of the 581 foot tall Morro Rock. Even more impressive were the pod of dolphins that were playing in the waves with them. They continued to breach and flip like a circus show. The dolphins would ride inside the swell and shoot out the back side of a breaking wave within feet of Bruce. We filled our next two days with school work, laundry and chores and a very special purchase. Bruce found a perfect starter surf board at just the right price for the boys. With great pride the two of them carried their new toy through down town Morro Bay and back to the boat.
We took a quick day hop in the boat and we rounded the corner to anchor in San Luis Obispo Bay. Avila Beach is located near an old UNOCAL Pier. I believe it was an oil pipeline of sorts. The story as I understand it is that the soil became contaminated by them and oil would bubble up on the beach. They were ordered to replace the beach and help rebuild the town. They removed 7,000 truck loads of sand! The beach has been rebuilt and it's beautiful. The remaining shops were sustained during the process by Unocal and the town looks like it is trying to grow again. On Friday night when we arrived, they were having a street fair of sorts with live music, food booths and a small farmers market from nearby growers and the local San Luis Obispo Agriculture Dept. We purchased some delicious peaches from a farm in Reedly and ordered some pizza from the Custom House restaurant. In it's day, the building was the actual customs department. Now it is a beautiful restaurant run by a great guy by the name of Chito Moya. He learned of our adventure, befriended us and invited us back for breakfast the next day to talk. He gave us some great ideas for places to visit inland Mexico. It was so fun to sit and learn more about the area and the history behind it. His hospitality and friendship were wonderful. Thanks Chito! Saturday day, we had the great opportunity to visit with one of my childhood friends and his family. They live in Rotarua, New Zealand now but happened to be stateside at the time and right in San Luis Obispo so Scott, Jebraun and their 3 kids Terah, Caleb and Owen Clifford all visited us on the boat for lunch and enjoyed a little swinging in the bosun's chair. (the boy's favorite pastime on the boat) We hope to hook back up with them in a little over a year back in New Zealand.
This morning we pulled up anchor and are beginning to make our way around Point Conception. It is a prominent point on the central coast line and has a reputation for being the "Cape Horn of the Pacific". It can have really rough seas and strong winds by old stories, but from all my recent reading more people have experienced quite the opposite. Our weather and sea forecast look good for the day so we're on our way. En route this morning we were visited by a little bird. He or she we think looked quite tired and maybe a little lost. She hopped around, fluffed herself for a good dry out of the morning fog and wind. We took all our photos as she had some bread and sat on Bruce's arm. Then we grabbed our audubon books and our best guess is that she is possibly a sparrow. A second one came around and tried to entice her back to shore for a bit. She rested a bit longer and was on her way. Quite a treat for us.
The wind has come up a bit now out of the north and we are able to shut the motor down and sail a bit at 5-6 knots. Perfect. Motoring can be critical to recharge the batteries if there is not enough sun or wind for the solar panels and wind generator to do the job. It is tough for them to keep up some days in the fog or calm winds but they do a great job. The batteries help to run the refrigerator, freezer, computer and other electrical functions on the boat. It is always about keeping a balance between how much energy are we using, how much fuel are we using and how can we conserve or utilize them all the most efficiently. Having said all that, it is always nice to shut it all down and glide with the wind.
Off in the distance we are able to start to see the outlines of a large oil derrick or platform. In the distant fog they look like something right out of Star Wars. It is amazing to imagine what power those hurricanes in the Gulf must have to damage to structures likes these.
Tonight we will likely find refuge in Cojo Anchorage just south of Point Conception. It can be windy there but large kelp beds slow down the swells and therefore the rolling. The swells can be fun to ride in the day but make it difficult for a real great night of sleep. We shall find out. Above are the coordinates where we are. Tomorrow we will finish the length to Santa Barbara and explore for a few days.
until then,
aloha lisa and the boys

Oops! Mistake in our last position Report :)

Position Outside Carmel CA. 36 29.501N,122 00.184w

Oops! Sorry guys it looks like my typing skills are still somewhat limited. It has been brought to my attention that my coordinates put us somewhere near the Straits of Gibraltar or somewhere near Fresno....Holy bad navigating batman!!! I think we made a wrong turn somewhere. Anyhow the above coordinates should now work although I have not been able to check my work since we have no internet access at this time. Thanks Brady for bringing this to my attention :) Although I'd like to say it was late last night and we were rocking and rolling out on the Pacific and that was the reason for my ineptness, it simply isn't the case. All of that is true except for the rocking and rolling part. We are currently in.....hmmmm put this in and find out 35 22.043N,120 51.495W Oh by the way TIM I spent all day surfing a wonderful left at 35 22.404N,120 51.94W We should be here next to Rock Rock (not a typo) for a couple more days and then off to So Cal....

Talk to you soon.

Bruce

Thanks Again Brady!!

See Exactly Where we are with Google Earth!!!!

Position Outside Carmel CA. 36 29.501N,122 00.184w

I'm sure that most of you are already aware of this cool little program available for free at Earth.google.com but we are gonna tell you about it anyway. Once you have downloaded this little wonder you can input our Latitude and Longitude. (From now on we will include these in our updates so all you have to do is cut and paste as we have written it into the box) You will magically be transported to our location...Well kinda!! You will be shown a real satellite image of where we are. Keep in mind the satellite photo may be a little bit old so you will not see our boat directly in the photo. You will see our exact location at the time of that posting though. This is the coolest thing ever!!!! Give it a try!!! I posted our position above just cut and paste it into the search window... Let us know how you like it....

The Martins

(the above coordinates are now correct...sorry for any confusion)

Monterey, CA

Friday September 16, 2005
Time keeps flying by us. It is amazing how quickly your day can fill up with the usual stuff whether you are on land or on sea. Tuesday after Labor Day weekend we had another wonderful send off from friends out of the Bay Area. We went straight to the Santa Cruz Harbor and tied up to their docks for a few days. We found great kindness from a gal in the Harbor Masters office as we realized we needed a few small parts to fix a leaky sink. She kindly drove Bruce around town and even lent him some money when he came up a little short. We celebrated Matthews 7th birthday on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. We filled ourselves with cotton candy, roller coaster rides and arcade games. Again the Elste family was able to come and visit us. We took them on the boat and moved it down a little further south to Capitola and enjoy some fun in the sun and surf. Monday the 12th we set out for Monterey. The weather reports had said a potential of thunder storms were coming so we made haste. We have been so blessed with support from family and friends and Monterey was no different. Bruce's parents were here to visit us (and shuttle us around :)). Monterey is home to their famed aquarium and I have to say it was absolutely amazing. The boys brought their cameras and we spent hours oohing and aaahing over the creatures. They have these amazing volunteers that are just a wealth of fascinating information. The sea life to be found in the ocean and around the shore here is amazing as well. We have never seen so many sea lions, otters or dolphins in our life. While I am writing to you a pod of dolphins swam through the bay here to feed, and a sea lion popped up maybe 10 feet from the boat to talk to Bruce. The sea lions are huge and quite noisy as they bark 24 hours a day. They can also be quite a nuisance if they decide to take up residence on your dock or boat. Aside from the smell, they are big enough that a few can sink a small boat.
The marina here is quite full as it is a popular vacation spot and you can start to see cruisers that are preparing to go south like we are. We are anchored out and have been rocking and rolling alone out here for a few days and bring the dingy (newly named Dingy-Ma-Bob, nick named Bob) back and forth to their docks. A few new boats have anchored out with us last night. One of the new neighbors on the boat Salacia' just visited us in their dinghy and we realized they are a couple from Victoria, B.C. They will be following the same route with us all the way through the Pacific. I am sure we will all know each other well at the end of this trip. This weekend in Monterey is their annual Jazz Festival and a Cherry Jubilee (classic cars) Show at the Laguna Seca raceway where Bruce's parents are staying in the motor home. We have decided to wait out the weekend here as the weather service has reported a southern hemisphere storm that is going to bring some rough seas and long swells this way. Any beaches or anchorages that are facing south will feel it the most. Unfortunately, that is most of the stops for us for a while.
We are happy to rest here for a while and continue to get used to our routine. We are successfully completing our first full week of school. As with any other routine, this one will take a little time to get smooth but we are off to a good start. We are deciphering what each others needs are going to be in this process. Matthew, having never really sat in a classroom yet is learning the ropes of first grade and how to focus. Tristan on the other hand, a big fourth grader, is very used to a detailed curriculum and an amazingly designed classroom setting. He is working on learning how to be a little more flexible. I have to commend the boys on getting their morning routine down well as they make their beds and keep their room clean. It is essential when you have such small space. Our days are so much like yours at home. Morning routines, breakfast, school work and cleaning, off to town to run errands or see the sights, cook dinner, clean again, maybe watch a movie or read a book and off to bed. The schedules are much alike but the challenges and changes come from having to use a dingy to get to where you need to go or keeping your living space workable. How much stuff can you carry in the dinghy? Groceries, garbage, laundry? Everything has a place to be stored in the boat but the system always needs improvement. The challenge in the system is that you need to move something to get to something every time. It is just a new way of life and I have to say I am loving it. So far so good!
After this weekend, we will be spending more time on the boat as we have less company along the way south. We will miss the company but it will mean a bit more regular routine for us and hopefully more frequent, smaller email updates from me.

South Colby Bobcat's, the boys say Hi and hope that the school year is starting off well for you, Mr. Pickard and all the teachers. Feel free to send us an email at TheMartins@ohanakai.net or reply to this blog.
all our love,
Lisa, Bruce, Tristan & Matthew

Road trip

Friday September 2, 2005
Road Trips!!! We are covering Northern and Central California and not leaving too many stones unturned. We spent the first day or two at my parents catching up on our sleep and a little swimming in Grandma Carols pool across the street. We were then able to borrow a car from my parents and head to Modesto. The Elste family, Amy, Ed, Charlie and Severin graciously put us up for the week and showed us a great time. We met their friends the Castle and Shank families and enjoyed some fun swimming and a nice BBQ. The boys managed to set up a lemonade stand and brought in a little extra spending money for all four of them to share. We were able to spend a little more time with Bruce's parents in Oakdale before they head back up to live in our house in Washington. We were very grateful to sneak in one more day of swimming at Amy's parents house the Hoffman's. These pools are key out here in the valley. Though we are taking full credit for bringing them some nice tolerable Washington summer weather. It stayed in the mid 90's while we were there and we didn't have to brave the 100's this time. whew. A big highlight is definitely the trip to Yosemite. It was a perfect day of picnic lunches and a beautiful hike up to Bridal Veil and Vernal falls. The boys all did spectacular! They were rewarded with dipping their toes in a crystal clear lake and snow cones when they got home. You can never tire of looking at the beauty and wonder of the mountains.
Back in the Bay Area my parents put on a nice little pool side get together for family and friends. My sister-in-law Jenny and niece Samantha, nephew Malcolm came down from Auburn, CA. We were able to chat and tell our story a little more. My sister Krista and her two boys Indiana and Lucian were able to come down and visit from Arcata, Ca which was very special. We took them all and did a day in San Francisco at the Exploratorium. It is very comparable to the Seattle Pacific Science Center. The boys loved making tornados, bubble creations and making dad peddle to create electricity.
We were about to head out this week before we realized that Labor Day Weekend was coming and decided not to brave the millions of boaters last summer fling and crazy waters just yet. So, flexibility is the name of our game and we headed to Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe. It was home the the 1960 Winter Olympics and nearly every one of my greatest childhood memories. My parents have a cabin there that needed some yard work done, and away we went. We enjoyed a few more pine trees and mountain hikes before we begin the rest of the journey on the water. We are back to the Bay Area to do a bit more organizing and preparations before we head out. Hope your summer is wrapping up well. I know the boys are even looking forward to a little bit more structure and routine which is good as we are ready to start our school work along with a lot of you.
all our love,
Lisa and the boys

Let us know how things are going! Please remember not to send any reply's, forwards or attachments. Thank you.

Sorry we have been so neglectful.

Wow I can't believe it has been so long since we have posted. We will definatley be more regular with our posting from here on out. We are still in SanFrancisco but will be heading south on Wed. We have been having so much fun hanging out here and visiting friends and sites that we kinda stayed longer than anticipated. I'm sure Lisa will be sending out a detailed update on what we have been doing and an Itenerary of what we will be doing in the next day or so. Our immediate plans are to leave Wed to head for Santa Cruz for some surf and beach time with the Elstes and then on to Monterey to meet up with my Folks the following week. Anyhow we will be much more diligent in our posting and returning emails from here on out so keep them both coming. Oh and feel free to post here on the "Comment" section of this Blogggy thing. We have gotten quite a few emails from people who were intimidated by the "sign in" section in order to post a comment..It's really not a big deal. If you fill out the little bit of info then your post won't come up as just "anonymous" but will actually have your name or whatever you put as your name :) under your post. And any Friends of Tristan and Matthew that would like to post here, you are more than welcome also. And if thats still to complicated or Scarrrryyy you can just plain old email us at TheMartins@ohanakai.net. One last thing we just updated the Website at Ohankai.net so feel free to Click on the Adventure page to see what we have been up to and check out the photo albums at the bottom of each of those pages. In the slide shows, click on the first photo and it will show you them in larger versions, so you can see our pearly whites even more clearly.