We pulled into Mission Bay anchorage in the height of summer and leave on November 1 with a fleet of boats flying south for the winter.
In this city we adopted Cypress the cat, ran many errands atop electric scooters, crossed off countless to-dos, tackled tricky engine maintenance, eradicated ring worm from the aforementioned cat, roller bladed, and caught a few fish. Scott went to class, passed a huge test, and jumped through other hoops on the way to becoming a USCG-certified captain. I wrapped up my role at WattTime.org, learned to surf and kept my sewing machine company.
Mom, Dad, Richard, Rosemary, Jan, Andrew, Owen, Joey, Allen, Morgan, Matt, Beth, Raf, Emma, Kate, Vince, and Charlotte came to visit!
I went to a wedding in the Appalachians, a work retreat in the Cascades, and we road tripped to celebrate another union of friends in Venice Beach and logged lots of Zoom calls and game nights.
Sometimes staying here felt like a flight delay at the airport, other times like standing at the edge of a diving board or the weeks proceeding summer break from school. Lately I’m seeing it as a choice to slow the pace and wandering a little further off course than I intended. Oh yeah, and staying put until hurricanes cleared out for the season!
Right now I feel like the octopus that recently tagged along on our anchor. Squishy and a bit startled to meet my surroundings as we swirl around on this planet circling the sun. I bet a lot of people feel hunkered down in their own muddy caves after the past eighteen months of isolation from a virus and the humans who might pass it.
I am clearing the muck that started feeling like home and dipping my toes into how nice it can be to sit outside and take in my surroundings. Wherever you are, I hope you have some time to take it easy and that we have a chance to connect on the other side of this isolation soon.
Sailing Azimuth 