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Now that I've been back in Ventura long enough to start settling in, it's time to address the question I've been asked a lot:  Why did you come back?  I've been mulling it over for some time, because the answer isn't simple.  When I did a much shorter cruise to Mexico in 2000, I came back for two fundamental reasons:  I was getting tired and getting lonesome.  This time it's a bit more complex.  I really enjoyed my time in Mexico.  The people are wonderful, the scenery is often fantastic, I made many new friends, the food is good and most things are much cheaper there.  So, why did I come back?  For one thing, I wanted to be closer to Carol.  It takes some of the joy out of the great experiences when you have no one to share them with.  While I often enjoyed going places with friends old and new, I was almost always the only single person in the group and felt like a fifth wheel after a while.  Although I had many cruising friends, they (and I) were all moving around all the time.  So you spend time with them for a while and then they are gone until mostly by chance you run into them again somewhere else.  There's a lot to be said for permanence sometimes.  After almost three years,  I felt I had accomplished what I wanted to accomplish in Mexico and the novelty was waning.  Instead of being excited to explore a new Mexican town, I started to see them more as 'just another town.'  At the same time, the work and challenges of cruising, especially singlehanded, were beginning to wear on me.   While fun and exciting, cruising is a lot of work, especially when singlehanding in a different country.  There are the big obvious challenges like the physical, mental and emotional work of sailing or trying to speak and understand a second language, as well as the more mundane ones like finding a grocery store, getting online somehow, getting parts or supplies for the boat and even learning to recognize coins well enough so you don't delay everyone waiting in line behind you at the bus stop.  Everything is a harder in varying degrees, and when you have no one to share the load, it takes its toll over time.  And while I hate to admit it, I'm not getting any younger.  I have had a bad hip for some time now, and it's gotten significantly worse while I was in Mexico.  I didn't think cruising singlehanded in Mexico with your friends constantly moving around was a good situation if and when the problem got worse.  All in all, it seemed the right time to come back.
So, now that I am back, what do I think?  Ventura remains a great and special spot.  It's been heartening to see how many of my old friends are still around and glad to see me back.  And I've certainly appreciated how much easier life is staying a familiar place where I don't have figure out how to say something or try to understand people, where I know where everything is and it's easy to get things.  And things work almost all the time.  However, while not a surprise, it's still shocking how much more expensive everything is here.  When you're used to paying a dollar or two for a beer in a restaurant (sometimes less!), it's hard to swallow one at eight dollars.  I still freak out dropping toilet paper into the toilet.  Do I think I'll go back?  Probably, but most likely by plane.  Knowing some less-known wonderful spots, a bit of the language and some nice inexpensive hotels makes it pretty appealing.
In the meantime, I've been running around like crazy taking care of the many logistic and bureaucratic tasks essential to getting settled back in.  I also found a bit of time to see friends, handle some minor boat projects, paddle outriggers and get re-acquainted with some of the attractions of Ventura.

One of the first things I had to do was get my 

car back on the road.  My friend Tom helped

me change the wheels/tires and battery and in

a couple of hours we got it going.  It was a dirty

total mess, but it moved!

I also had to make a couple of trips to the DMV to get

current registration, which in turn required a smog test.

After I got all that done, I cleaned the junk out of the car,

bit the bullet and paid to get it detailed.  It was worth it!

On the boat, I took care of a few minor projects when I

had time.  This nick in the cap rail was one.

Cutting out the bad part.

New piece in place.  Not great, but it will do for now.

One of the galley locker door latches had

broken, which was a real nuisance at sea.

I finally found a replacement online and

got it fixed.

The plastic cover for the deck switch for the windlass had

broken off, which was not a big issue in the short term,

but needed to be fixed.

Once again a replacement was available only online.

Installing the new cover was quick and easy.

It was nice to see the stingrays are back, swimming

around the rocks on the banks of the marina.

And Ventura has its own historic mission.

While not as spectacular as a tropical sunset, the

beach sunsets here are pretty nice.

And there are flowers, too.

And birds, like this belted kingfisher on my neighbor's

spreaders.