Summer 2024

June 12- December 20, 2024

After two seasons of full-time sailing in Mexico, we returned to San Diego and had a busy summer and fall. Although not necessarily all sailing related, I’ll provide a review of what we’ve done to keep ourselves busy.

Upon returning to San Diego, Shelly headed to MN for a quick visit with her mom while I spent a week in AZ getting my pilots license current again. I flew twice a day for a week straight getting current and checked out in the Piper Super Cub. What a blast. Then it was back to San Diego to tackle the never ending list of boat projects. These included a variety of repair and upgrade projects as well as routine maintenance to get Tasi ready for her next adventure. More to come on that in later posts.

Then it was time for a road trip. We left San Diego enroute to MN with stops in Petrified Forest National Park in AZ and Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado. Petrified Forest was notable for the petrified wood formations and epic, moon-scape scenery. Great Sand Dunes has, interestingly enough, huge sand dunes but also some great hiking.

We spent several weeks visiting Shelly’s family in MN with some Super Cub flying thrown in. We also spent a few weeks with my Dad in NY where we were able to help him recover from a bicycle accident. It was great to catch up with family and friends over the summer.

Just after Labor Day, we started our drive back to San Diego. Our first stop was Deadwood, South Dakota. It’s a cool, “Old West” town with historic saloons and casinos dating back to the 1800’s.

Our next stop was in Jackson, WY to visit Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. We stayed in a campground between the parks and were able to easily explore both. Grand Teton has some of the best hiking we’ve ever done. Yellowstone, the first national park, founded in 1872, has incredible hydrothermal formations. Both parks have incredible wildlife. It was such a blast to get to these “must see” parks. We can’t wait to go back again because there’s just too much to see in one trip.

After leaving the parks, we headed to Flagstaff, AZ where we met up with good friends Tom and Theresa from SV Rio Salado at their cabin in the woods. It was such an amazing place, tucked up in the Forest Service land around Flagstaff. Shelly and I even got to stay in the Schoolie. So cool. We all met up with Andy and Shannon from SV Tino Pai and enjoyed a night out in Flagstaff. Can’t wait to see these guys again soon.

Once back in San Diego, we took Tasi out for some sailing around SoCal. We stopped in Long Beach, CA where we stayed at the incredibly friendly Cabrillo Yacht Club. We had a great time visiting with close friends Gordon, Lara, Osian and Logan from SV Starr E. So fun to hang out with these incredible people. I hope they’re staying warm in Canada this winter.

Then we headed out to the Channel Islands, visiting Santa Barbara Island (first time) and Santa Cruz Island before heading to Catalina Island to meet up with our good friend Scott to celebrate his retirement from the Navy at Buccaneer Days. It was a blast.

Then it was back to San Diego where we docked Tasi and headed off to Maui to visit with our very close friends Erin and Ramon. We had an incredible time eating and drinking our way around the island. We also somehow managed to find some time for some great hiking. Always fun to hang out with these two and although we were sad to leave them, we knew we would see them again soon.

Upon our return, we headed back out to Catalina with our cruising friends Adam, Jessica and Foxy from SV Volare. We had a great time catching up with them and reminiscing about great times in MX. So fun to have them back in San Diego.

At the end of November we headed back to see family again for the holidays. Fortunately this time we flew. First stop was NYwhere we caught up with my Dad and celebrated Thanksgiving together with my sister Wendy for the first time in years. We also met up again with Marko, Hima, Ramon and Erin in NYC. The city was decorated for Christmas and we took in all the sights in and around mid-town. True to form with this group, we ate and drank our way through the weekend together. We also threw some culture in the mix with a Broadway Show. The Book of Mormon is hilarious!

Now we are in MN with Shelly’s family to celebrate Christmas before we head back to San Diego to get Tasi ready to head out again.