Life in the Emerald City

On Thursday of last week, we realized were informed that we’d need a slip to move the boat to after the sale was finalized. Duh…why didn’t we think of that??  Well, it is very difficult to get a live aboard slip here in SoCal, so by Friday (when we’d set the appointment to make the offer on the boat) I’m thinking our dreams will just have to be suspended for now.    I just knew we wouldn’t be able to get a slip in time, someone else would fall in love with the boat and we’d have to start all over.  I rationalized that this was probably for the best…we should be saving our monies for property taxes and wedding expenses in November.  But deep down…I really wanted to make an offer!

After work on Friday, I drove down to Wilmington Harbor and checked out some of the marinas..in hopes one would have live aboard slips available.  I met this darling lady at Lighthouse Yacht Landing named Barbara.  She and her husband have owned the marina for over 35 years and have put their lives into it!  They hand select their tenants and keep their grounds super clean!  The bathrooms and laundry were simply adorable…I just fell in love!  Luckily, so did she!  She really liked me and felt like maybe we could work something out!  She had a small issue with the pups, but she seemed flexible enough!

Friday night I told Sean all about my findings and he and I agreed we’d go back with the dogs to try and win her over for sure!!  Saturday morning was sailing lesson #2.  It was just Sean and I with the instructor, so the class was much more intimate and fun!  We went over all the parts of the boat and got underway!  Both of us got to practice the helm position, hoisting the sails, trimming the sails, switching sides, and putting the boat all back together!  We had a great time…we are really loving our new hobby!

After sailing, we had a quick lunch at Tequila Jacks while watching the first quarter of the UF vs. UT football game.  We scurried home after lunch in time to catch the end of the 2nd quarter…we were slaughtering them!  With full bellies, Sean and I both dozed off, waking up halfway into the 4th quarter…just in time to see UT LOSE to UF.  GO GATORS!!!  After the game, we hurried the girls into the car and headed for Wilmington Harbor.  We did get to chat with some of the other marinas only to find out they didn’t have any slips either.  We finally made it back to Lighthouse Marina…Sean liked it right off the bat!  It has a great little garden area with a BBQ and fountains…so nice!  Barbara just loved the pups and walked us all over the marina talking about which slips she could put us in!  Score!!!  With that taken care of, we could now put in our offer!

And that’s just what we did on Sunday!  We met our boat broker on Sunday afternoon to sign the papers and put in an offer.  Today the owner of the Pearson 36 countered, then we countered back, then he countered, and we countered…you get the picture!  Eventually we agreed on a price and the process is in motion!  If all goes well with sea trial and survey this week, we could be boat owners by next week!  How exciting is that?!?!  Whooo…I am excited and nervous!  We probably should be saving those monies for the wedding, but hey, that’s why we go to work everyday, right???

So, I’ll keep you posted…keep your fingers crossed for us, please!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”  ~Mark Twain

Sean and I have decided to take on a new adventure and learn to sail!  Not promising a trip around the world just yet, but there should be some future vacations worth blogging about!  Anyway, we took our first sailing lesson this past Saturday at Marina Sailing.  We had a blast!  Got to go out on the water and everything.  Way too many lines, sheets, and wind directions to remember in one lesson…good thing they give us ten!

On Sunday, we went to look at a boat we are seriously considering.  Check out our photos of a Pearson 36′.

Roller Furling Jib

Cockpit…nice and clean!

Looking Aft: Dinette on left, settee on right, nav table on right, galley on left, head (bathroom) on right, stairs to cockpit, aft cabin (guest bedroom) on left.

Looking forward: Settee (couch) on left, dinette on right, beautiful teak floors, shelving on left and the v-berth all the way forward.

It’s a really beautiful boat with a nice price tag.  As for now it is our biggest contender.  We’re still doing our research before making the HUGE decision to move onto a boat for the next year.  Let me know if you have any opinions!   Our next lesson is this Saturday…I can’t wait!

Ciao!

Music has always had a special place in my life.  I always feel something inside when listening to a good song, whether it be happiness, warmth, sadness or nostalgia.  Some songs just have a way of taking me to a different place…almost spiritual.  So with that in mind, I have selected a mellow tune for this post as I’ve had a pretty mellow week of learning new things!

This is KT Tunstall‘s ‘Through the Dark‘

(I removed the music file after about 6 months, but it’s still a great tune you can get off  iTunes anytime!)

This has been a week of learning for me!  I’ve heard folks say you should learn something new everyday, but we all know that doesn’t always happen.  This week I’ve learned enough to last for at least a few weeks!!

This past weekend Sean and I went to a Catholic Engaged Encouter weekend in Orange, CA.  We had a wonderful weekend and learned a lot about ourselves as well as the best actions we can take to keep our upcoming marriage last!  Speaking of our upcoming nuptials…check out our wedding website, The Wedding Bells!  So after our weekend of learning about loving, Sean and I signed up for SAILING LESSONS!!!

We registered and picked up our studying materials at Marina Sailing.  We will be taking nine lessons on the water and one lessons in the classroom.  We have already read all the info for the first lesson and have started on lesson #2!  We are very excited to be learning how to sail…just can’t wait.  We’ve also found another sailboat we are considering as our new home…it is incredibly priced and seems to have everything we want!  Check out the 37′Oday Center Cockpit in Marina Del Ray, CA.  Sean and I have an appointment to view it on Thursday night!

Lastly, I learned how to put this great song into my blog today!  Thanks to Sean, who is so so smart and has taught me everything I know about computers!  I hope you enjoy the music (and of course the writing…though it doesn’t compare to the music)!  Have a great day!

Ciao!

Hello, hello!  I know I haven’t posted since last week, but that’s only because there hasn’t been that much stuff going on around our house!  That doesn’t mean we haven’t been having lots of fun, though!

On Monday, Labor Day, I had to work…who ever has to work on Labor Day??? I thought Labor Day was a day to celebrate those who do Labor…and give them the day OFF!!  But I digress.  Anyway, when I got off we took a nice long bike ride down to Granada Beach (A.K.A. The Dog Beach!)  A neighbor let Sean borrow her extra bike (Sean’s was stolen back on 4th of July…I told him to move it inside, he never listens.. )  The bike down to the beach is about 3 miles.  The dogs just love the exercise on the way to the beach!  You’d think they’d be tired by the time we get to the park, but as the pictures show…they still had a blast!!

Kenzie jumps right into the water after all that running!  She’s really loves to play in the water!

I wish Kenzie was facing forward in this picture, but it is nice to see the two of them playing together!  Maddie just admires Kenzie and I think Kenzie is finally warming up to her too!

Introductions: Maddie meets the big dawgs!

Sean and Kenzie do some tricks…the other pups look on with jealousy!  Kenzie is so athletic!  Just look at that poor pup, he wishes he could jump like my girl, Kenzie!!

I just love the reflection in this photo…so artistic…I can’t believe I took it!  Doesn’t Kenzie look like she’s trecking across a desert?  Still carrying that ball of course!

The bike back was long and a little tough on the pups, especially after all that play time at the beach!  We made it though (I did carry Kenzie half way cause she was slowing down a bit.)  I know she’s spoiled, but she’s my baby.  The dogs have been resting ever since..sore muscles you know!

On Tuesday morning I was treated to a rare sighting of peacocks near my restaurant.  Well, I guess it’s not that rare acording to the neighbors, but I’ve never seen peacocks in the wild, so I thought it was rare!

I believe this is the female, as in most bird species the females have less color and are not as pretty (radically different than humans!).  However, don’t quote me because I know nothing about peacocks except the famous color (of which I have many favorite outfits!)

Look at the color on this peacock!  To me it’s even more rare to see a peacock pair!  These two were traipsing around enjoying the sunshine!  I was running late to work but had to stop a snap a few photos.

Wednesday was my day off and I slept half the day, then worked on wedding questions throughout the afternoon.  In the evening, Sean and I met up with an old friend of his from high school, Sara Tayyarah.  We went to Wasabi for a sushi dinner, and it was delightful!  We bought 5 rolls: Spider, Dragon, Crunchy Dragon, Baked Lobster & Jalepeno.

The were all very good, but my favorite was the Spider Roll (not in picture).  So so yummy!

On the walk back home we stumbled across one of those new European cars that looks like a squished up SUV.  Not as cute as the mini cooper, but still adorable!

The pictures are a bit grainy and blurry, but the car still looks good!  I just think they are so cute.  This one happened to be for sale, but they are waaayyy over-priced for now!

The week has been fun…good fun, lots of fun and still another 4 days to go!

Ciao!