One if by Land, Two if by Sea

While I was in San Diego, I decided to call on a “friend of a friend.” My best sailing pal Nancy back in New York has a friend, Marcia, who lives full time on a 38 ft. Hunter in the marina on Harbor Island. I have long had a dream to live aboard a sailboat. In fact, were it not for my poor chart navigation skills, it might have been a sailboat rather than an RV…

Ever curious to know more about full time life on a boat as a solo sailor, I contacted Marcia about a possible meet-up. She suggested we meet at the Boat House in her marina, as they were having a $12 special on Maine Lobsters. How fitting. 😉

As picked my crustacean clean, I also picked Marcia’s brain for about two hours. After a couple of glasses of wine and some engaging conversation, followed by a tour of her “F Dock” (“F” for fun, of course,) I pondered why I didn’t feel more enlightened. I was “surprised at no surprises.” But I realized it was because our systems and challenges are so very similar. From the dumping of holding tanks to the filling of propane, we were both single-handing a self contained rig. It’s just that sadly, hers has a much bigger price tag. Seems as if in this case, Longfellow’s famous line “One if by Land, Two if by Sea” applies to required bank accounts!

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Inside Marcia's beautiful 38 ft Hunter.  Have I ever mentioned "Envy" is one of my least favorite words?

Inside Marcia’s beautiful 38 ft Hunter. Have I ever mentioned “Envy” is one of my least favorite words?

 

A phantom ship, with each mast and spar Across the moon like a prison bar, And a huge black hulk, that was magnified By its own reflection in the tide.

A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Here are a few photos of my favorite place in San Diego. I have always managed to find a little soothing and solace in the Torrey Pines Reserve.   It’s eight miles if you hike all the trails.  My favorite route is to walk the “old road” to the end, and work my way back along the trails overlooking the ocean.  This road was the first “highway” between LA and San Diego, built in 1910, then paved with concrete in 1915.   Because Model T’s used gravity to infuse gasoline, the cars had to drive up the steep hill in reverse!

This day, I walked the trails until they dropped down to the beach, then finished my walk along the shore.  It happened to be nearing sunset, which was magical…IMG_7386 IMG_7381 IMG_7376IMG_7388 IMG_7389 IMG_7402 IMG_7410IMG_7414 IMG_7421 IMG_7430 IMG_7441 IMG_7444IMG_7445 IMG_7455 IMG_7460“It isn’t that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.” — Sir Francis Drake

13 thoughts on “One if by Land, Two if by Sea

  1. We did a hike yesterday that took us along the beach from Scripps Pier to Blacks Beach (immediately South of where you hit the beach). The recent high tides have sucked away a LOT of beach sand….making it a different place altogether and possibly making the bluffs more unstable.

  2. Love the NO DRONE ZONE ! Guess they are becoming a hazard. I’m not entirely clear how one controls them, but it would seem quite possible that, having been sent out on a photographic mission, a drone might easily become irretrievable.

    Do I see the moon peeking up over that saddle in the mountains? Good catch!

    Virtual hugs,

    Judie

    • Hi, Judie — Good catch to you for noticing it! 😉

      I recently read an article about a tourist who crashed a drone into one of the more delicate pools of Yellowstone. The park talked of fining him, I think $3,000 for retrieval. Although I enjoy the photos, i am not a fan of the device. One kept buzzing overhead while we were camped at Anza Borrego. Annoying!

  3. What a lovely dinner and walk. I thought that was the moon, it seemed so small that I was not sure. As to the no drones sign it is obscene as are some of the uses of drones. I have not walked that beach in almost 50 years and from the erosion I am not sure that we walked the same beach.

  4. I think you outdid yourself with the photos. Stunning. If you swing by JJH, hope we can connect. Email works…

  5. Wonderful photos of the sunset over the Pacific! All wonderful photos. Taking notes for my visit to San Diego. A large body of water is so soothing to the soul. I enjoy your blog posts very much.
    Pamela in Houston, for now…

  6. We never did get to Torrey Pines for any hiking during our month in SD. It was always so hard to find parking. But we did spend a nice day sitting on the cliff at the Hang Gliding place overlooking the ocean. Little did we know what was below us!!! It was only after some strange sightings and then getting out the binoculars, we realized what was down there!! Interesting!! Love that final sunset shot:)

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