November/December 2004
We stopped in Oceanside because it was close to Susie and Doug Brewer's house, where we While we were there, we met Mike and Julie Hatcher, and got our first taste of the kindness of the cruising community. Oceanside is a great facility but for a couple of major issues, like no close groceries stores or easy public transportation. As we sat at the transient dock and tried to figure out how we were going to take care of critical food shopping, a voice hailed us and Mike Hatcher stepped aboard to see our boat and talk about where we started from and where we were heading.  After a short chat he was getting ready to go back to his varnishing when I asked him about provisioning. His immediate reply was, "let me finish my varnishing and I'll take you to the store". Well it sounded good and we thought "OK, we'll just get a quick look and pick up a few things". Mike meant something else entirely.  As we got in his car he started giving us the scoop on grocery stores in Mexico  as well as what was available locally. He drove to the local store that featured lots of the semi-natural and veggie oriented foods . However, Mike was just getting started. He took us to a local store where the Mexicans shop and talked about how the stores in Mexico would compare to US stores. He took us to four different stores and walked us through all of them to help us get ALL the supplies we needed. All this time and information was offered to us after a 10 minute chat. It's the kind of instant bond cruising presents. We know that we'll also pass it on when it's our turn to help cruisers in our part of the world. It didn't end there. Mike and his wife Julie invited us to the yacht club Monday Night football potluck and introduced us to many of the members in attendance. The warmth and help we found in Oceanside really showed us another facet of cruising.
Betsey's got that French Braid down.  This seems to be the most comfortable, most stable hairstyle for sailing.  It stays put, a hat fits over it, its easy to do, it works with dirty hair, it looks good.  If you want to get on Betsey's good side, tell her how pretty her French braid is.
	Boat School in Oceanside at Thanksgiving. Luc looks pretty comfortable, reading Modern Latin America and watching  whatever he is watching.  The cherry red hammock was a gift from my friend Claire, who will be so pleased to see how well it works.
Coming into San Diego at sundown.  Betsey was still pretty sick from a bug picked up in Oceanside. We anchored first in Glorieta Bay, then at the Municipal Docks, then at La Playa, then back to the Municipal Docks.
	This is Lacey, parents Shirley and Lew from Reflections.  Lacey, besides being a darling, is the perfect boat dog.
We loved meeting Brian and Teri Johnson from Sea Pilgrim.  They are pretty happy about their kewl hats, yes?
	Sea Pilgrim, from Seattle, at the Municipal Dock. Brian and Teri sailed into El Golfo (The Sea of Cortez) and we sailed to Mazatlan, so we didn't get to sail together much.  We hope to meet them as we sail back up the coast of Mexico on our way back home.
Anchored in La Playa, hanging with Andrew and talking Single Side Band.  We had just purchased and installed our SSB, and were finding the learning curve a little steep.
	We were so envious of Andrew's cool dink, which he built on the foredeck of Neuva Vida.