Summer 2023

June-October 2023

In the northern hemisphere the months of June through November are hurricane season with the frequency of storms peaking in August and September. Not to mention it is incredibly hot in Mexico in the summer. For these reasons we chose to leave Tasi in a marina in San Carlos, Mexico. This town is in the northern section of the Sea of Cortez and the marina is very sheltered, affording good protection against hurricanes.

We had left hastily at the end of June to return to Minnesota for Shelly’s father’s funeral. It was incredible to see the outpouring of love and support from Bob’s friends and family in Minnesota. He is sorely missed.

We then returned to San Diego in time for the July 4th weekend at SGYC where we caught up with old friends we hadn’t seen for a while. We bought a car and proceeded to drive back to San Carlos to finishing prepping Tasi for the summer. Over the course of several days we were able to remove all the sails and rigging, and secure her while we were away for the summer. We hired Hector (fantastic guy) to watch over the boat and make sure she was cleaned and inspected regularly. Once we had her secured, we drove back to San Diego and commenced our summer of travel, visiting friends and family throughout the US.

From San Diego we drove to Shelly’s hometown in Minnesota and stopped at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado. It is a spectacular park with huge, shear cliffs dropping to the Gunnison River below. It was great to spend time with Shelly’s mom, sisters, brother-in-laws, nieces, nephews, and friends. In early August we met up with great friends, Erin and Ramon, in Key West, FL for some great diving. We also ate and drank our way through the town thanks to Ramon’s meticulous planning. Thanks guys, can’t wait to see you again soon.

Our next stop was New York to visit my dad and sister. Along the way we met up with our friends Jeff and Jenny in Minneapolis and spent a great evening with them and their girls at their beautiful home. We were able to spend a few weeks in Piermont, NY exploring the area with a trip to Central Park, hiking in Harriman and Minnewaska State Parks, sailing on the Hudson River with new friends Steve and Andy, and great dinners. We finally got to meet our number one fan, Marshall, and his wife Sally. We spent time with our friends Marko and Hima and their boys Tobin and Kellan. So good to see them again. Then a quick train trip to Philadelphia to visit with Dave, Heather, Wesley and Leo. Always a blast seeing these guys. We were so happy to have time to spend on the east coast.

We then returned to Minnesota for a few more weeks with family and friends. No visit home would be complete without quality time at Happy Times Resort, the Conger Bar, and the Freeborn County Fair. Before we knew it, we were back on the road again to San Diego. This leg of the trip included stops in Estes, CO to visit Rocky Mountain National Park for some epic hiking, Mesa Verde National Park to see the incredible cliff dwellings, and the Four Corners Monument.

Upon our return to San Diego, we visited with friends, drank delicious local IPAs, and indulged in all our favorite restaurants. We stocked up on supplies for the boat, picked up our mainsail which we had recut, and hit the road again for San Carlos. We had planned to spend several days there but unfortunately I found our that my mom had passed away while we were there. She had been sick for a long time. We dropped our supplies off and returned home to San Diego and then to Houston, TX where she had been living. Although under sad circumstances, it was good to see my sister Wendy and niece Ashley.

We then returned once again to San Diego where we put our car in storage, attended our friends’ Shannon and Dario’s wedding, and had dinners with friends Chris, Rachel, Owen and Emma; and Todd and Stephanie before heading back to Mexico. Big thanks to Todd for a flight in the Yak and the early morning ride to the border. It was great to be able to spend so much time with family and friends this summer.