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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.

The Home Stretch

I considered making my way north from San Diego to Ventura to be the home stretch.  It stretched from July 21st to August 1st. Being into the prevailing wind the entire way, it was almost all motoring in the lighter winds usually encountered earlier in the day.  That of course meant some oh-dark-thirty wake-ups for the longer legs.  I stopped in Mission Bay, Oceanside, Dana Point, Newport Beach, Long Beach, Marina Del Rey and Paradis Cove along the way.  There were no significant problems, I just had to keep pushing to make the August 1 marina deadline in Ventura.  I spent a few days in Marina Del Rey to see Carol and get a little rest.
While it feels good to be back,  I've found it difficult to respond to the question everyone asks:  Why did you come back?  It turns out to be a pretty challenging question in light of how much I enjoyed my time in Mexico.  I've been giving it some thought and hope to come up with an answer by my next post.

Leaving San Diego for the short hop to Mission Bay

was not without its hazards.  I had to stay well clear of

this big guy as well as the infamous kelp patch off

Point Loma.

Sundown in the anchorage in Mission Bay.

When here in 2000, there were no moorings

(which now almost completely fill the 

anchorage) and no other boats.

Because my masthead anchor light wasn't working,

I put up two Luci Lights.

The guest docks in Oceanside, my next stop,

were right in front of the Jolly Roger Restaurant.

Surprisingly, a large tree next to the restaurant was the

chosen place for a cormorant nesting condominium.

Even more surprising was a rabbit spotted in the

restaurant landscaping.

Dusk in Oceanside Harbor

The nuclear power plant between Oceanside and

Dana Point.    Always gives me the creeps.

Even though there wasn't a lot of wind, I still did

a bit of bashing to weather.

Looking at one of the tall ships in Dana

Point from the anchorage.

Sunset over Lido Isle in Newport Beach.

The first oil platform I passed on my way to Long Beach

Long Beach/San Pedro Harbor is one of the busiest

shipping ports in the world.  Each blob on the radar

screen is a ship.  Most were anchored.  Most....

Wending my way past all the ships to get to my destination

in the inner harbor wasn't difficult, it just meant paying

attention and determining which ones were moving.

This is oil island White, off of which I anchored for the night.

Carnival Cruise Lines ship, with the Spruce Goose dome

peeking out from behind it.  On the right is the

Queen Mary.

Sunset over Long Beach downtown.

Leaving at daybreak through the fog to get to Marina

Del Rey in the afternoon.

Yes, it was anchored.

No, these aren't battle machines from Star Wars.

They are container cranes in the Port of Long Beach.

Point Vincente Lighthouse

No sooner had I tied up at a guest slip in Chace Park in

Marina Del Rey when the locals came by to check me out.

It turned out I had arrived the weekend of the annual antique

boat and car show, and all the slips had been reserved for

the show.  I was just about to leave when the folks in charge

of the show rescued me.  They explained to the office that

they wouldn't need all the slips and I could stay.  WHEW!!

It was much better to be able to enjoy the show than be

forced out of the harbor into the not very comfortable

anchorage outside.

The car show included an exhibit of working antique

engines.  Don't see a pink ones very often!

I caught a stowaway that must have come aboard in tropical

Mexico.  I released it on one of the trees in the park.

A cormorant nest in a tree next to the Santa

Monica Windjammers Yacht Club.  It would

seem cormorants like to nest in upscale 

neighborhoods.

Coming from sea almost straight

into the concrete and glass canyons

of Los Angeles was quite a shock.

But I was able to catch a rare concert

featuring top jazz musicians with

Carol and friends in Zipper Hall in LA.

Mike Lang, piano; Michael Valerio, bass; and Jim Keltner,

drums.  All top tier; look 'em up!

In Paradise Cove in Malibu I saw what may

be the biggest mobile crane I've ever seen.

It was being used in the construction of 

a beachfront/cliffside home.

Sunrise in Paradise Cove

Sun rising over Point Dume

Approaching the Ventura detached breakwater for the

first time in three years was exciting and a little strange.

I was able to tie up in my new slip with no problems.

Home again:  the first morning back.