Avalon con't...

Saturday morning Ed went on his usual jog and my walk consisted of a couple city streets that went straight up. Nice part about going up hill here is that once on top there is usually an incredible view.

So I made sure to pack camera with the water. For the most part my walk was uneventful, yet beautiful. Californians know how to pack a lot of garden in small spaces. At top I took a picture of the harbor with Bullwinkle to add to the book and much of the fauna.

As I turned around after snapping some cactus, I realized I was in the path of an on-coming buck. There was only a niche for me to squeeze into so I did and he cruised by within inches; being spooked by a dog. Yikes (for both of us!) They've got a lot of deer here on the island and they come into town when it's quiet, sometimes staying a bit to long and then can't figure how to get out of town fast enough.

Ed and I met up to hit Vons, owed by Safeway. We asked if they knew AnnMarie Williams and they said “do you mean 'evil catbert'?” We just laughed...awkward...

Back on board we set up with cushions and munchies for a front row (mostly) unobstructed view and waited...and waited...you get the idea. A 2.5 hour air show was full of about 5 planes and not one formation -bummer. I'm glad we were here 3 days before because we saw more planes than most with their area/wind tests etc. After it was over we took a dive off the boat to cool down. Dinner and a movie; we rented one for $4 as opposed to $15.00 per ticket at the casino movie theater, well, $13.00 for the senior :)

 

Sunday morning we hoped most of the current boating population here were going back home, but a lot (most of the loud ones) didn't. I guess in California, because its always sunny and warm, popular destinations don't really slow down. Headed out for some snorkeling. Everyone here keeps commenting on how warm the waters are, but they sure feel chilly to me so I rented a suit. Ed couldn't stay in for very long periods, so he put his on as well. It took all I had not to think of the previous sweaty body that rented the suit – and ugg did it stink. Fortunately for me however, it was not as difficult to get in as the previous one I tried in Long Beach, but definitely a cockpit shower in the under the full moon was needed and felt great. We tried several spots up the coast off the dingy, but found the dive area just off the breakwater was the best spot found so far. We've not seen the ray again and couldn't find any today – mostly the Garibaldi gold fish.

Monday we found welcome relief as most of the loud boaters went home. Alas most of our soap opera stories went with them. Boating this close together you hear just about everything. We titled our soap “As the Tide Turns”. Just as in land life I had to keep bringing Ed up to speed. He tends to loose track of who's who. So noisy last night I had to wear ear plugs, which put me out of loop on the new soap star neighbor – 'drunken sailor' – who, at 2a.m., decided to move his boat next to ours and fight with the Harbor Patrol while doing it. Ed got the entire low down. Headed out for a 3.5 mile hike to Wrigley's Memorial. Today has been the warmest since we've been here and we got a bit of a late start as it got warm quickly (up hill all the way.) Ed went on from the memorial another 2/3 miles to the crest to see the other side of the island, only to find that the pacific was shrouded as far as the eye could see in cloud. Afterward back to the boat, naps and a cool dip before dinner.