Digital Nomad Summer - Part 2
Here's the link to Part 1.
And that's it for SoCal! Our week there was great - it was awesome to visit with family and friends (including several of Dad and Risa's sailing compadres we hadn't seen since we moved back to AZ), we got back to our old stomping grounds in the LBC for a bit, and the weather was truly outstanding. It was time to pack up and head further north!
Bea says she helped write this blog!
When last we blogged, we just finished eating a delicious dinner at Lanta Thai Fusion in Orange, California with Dad, Risa, and Aunt Denise.
Dang it, I'm just trying to take a nice family photo!
Monday was our first day working from the rig, and since we didn't know exactly how things would go, we planned to stay close to home. I took a wander around the grounds at our spot, Canyon RV Park, on my lunch break and grabbed some shots of our surroundings:
Having lunch (pasta salad) with Bob the bonsai tree
and his new friend, Bobette the pepper plant
(she went back to Risa, though, as we didn't have room to take her with us)
Looking toward Zelda and our site - number 101
This was roughly where we saw a skunk waddling around our first night in the park.
Thankfully, we didn't see it again!
The Santa Ana River runs right behind the RV park,
and we can see it across the green area from our site
Although it would get warmer later in the week, for the first half of our stay, the highs in the afternoons were in the mid-70s, so we spent much of our time outdoors.
Zoe using the cot as designed; Bea, not so much
Zoe says it's nap time!
We spent the hottest part of the afternoon (generally, after work ended at 4pm) in the rig, running the AC and watching tv (thank you, Max app, for having every season of House Hunters all queued up and ready to go).
Big dog in a little bed!
(We do have a Zoe-sized bed in the rig as well, I promise)
On Tuesday, we all woke up and got going early, as it would be a big day - today, Dad would be starting his third Transpac race, and we were going down to the LBC to send him off in style. We dropped the girls at a local doggie daycare for the day (spoiler alert - they had an amazing time and were exhausted the next day - hooray!) and then headed to Alamitos Bay (in eastern Long Beach) to wish the Night's Watch crew fair seas and good winds (stopping by a Home Depot on the way, since we needed plumber's tape and a hose clamp to fix our toilet, which had developed a small, but steady leak off the clean water line - thank goodness it wasn't a leak to the blank tank - ick!).
Dock selfie in our Night's Watch team shirts
A team shot -
I don't know everyone, but Dad is hiding behind the other folks
(in the middle of the shot)
Dean (the skipper) is right in front of him,
and Debbie is all the way to our right
(she and Dad work together creating custom covers for sails, etc. on boats)
All the boat crew plus land crew
Family time! From left,
Risa, me, Dad, Aunt Denise, and Chris
Look at all those dock paparazzi!
Ashton (the bow guy) attaching a very important rope (VIR)
One last hug for Risa and Dad!
After we wished everyone adieu, we drove the short distance from Alamitos Bay to downtown LB proper, to the marina area. We hopped aboard the boat of Dad and Risa's friend Mark, who graciously volunteered his lovely craft to escort us (and other friends and family) out to the start line. Along the way, we grabbed some shots of the experience:
Chris sitting with the other gentlemen in the cab.
Most of us ladies were near the stern, in the comfier chairs
Hey, there are our folks!
The crew waving hello
Time for a last minute trash transfer
Success!
Aunt Denise looks on while the Night's Watch peels off
Putting up the main sail
Boats milling around the start line
What a neat sail!
The text reads, "Time to make a change - one wave at a time."
That's Night's Watch in the right of the shot
The start kicked off right on time at 1pm, and we trailed the team for a little bit; eventually, however, we had to let them go, and we turned around to start back toward Long Beach.
Riding the bow back into harbor
I attempted to take a panoramic - it did not go perfectly
Hello, LBC!
Chris, smiling from the observation deck
One of the astronaut islands in Long Beach harbor
We hugged everyone goodbye at the dock and started on our journey back to Orange County and the rig, picking up the girls on the way. Before that, though, we made a stop at one of our old haunts, the Long Beach Beer Lab for some drinks and snacks.
Apparently, during the one picture I took at the Lab,
Chris had his eyes closed.
C'est la vie!
The big girl is SACKED
Bea assisting Chris as he fixes the toilet -
she's such a good helper!
The rest of our week in the OC was much less eventful; we worked Wednesday-Friday each day in the rig and spent our afternoons/evening relaxing (we would generally decompress with a few episodes of House Hunters, make some dinner, then watch Mrs. Davis on Peacock - we have a 30 day subscription to watch the Tour de France). We did have some visitors on Wednesday evening, however, and it was great to have the chance to spend more time with them:
Cheers to spending time with folks you love!
Hanging with the (smaller) girl!
Showing off the side-of-couch pockets Dad somehow had time to make for us
while in the midst of preparing for a trans-Pacific boat race.
They work perfectly!
During the workday, we switch between working at the dinette,
in the captain's chairs, and outside in our camping chairs.
Here, Chris and Zoe are modeling one of the lap desks
he made for us before we left home.
We've been getting our fair share of exercise, and so have the girls.
We walk them each morning, as well as a few other times
throughout the day, and the green area you saw in earlier pictures
was a great space for playing frisbee/fetch, which really wore them out.
Also, the next time you hear someone say how kennel training dogs
is cruel or mean, please just remember this photo.
Does this dog look stressed?
On the next blog, we pull into Sacramento for one (very hot) night to see more family (Chris' this time), then head to the coast for our first working week without shore power.
Later!
Amy
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