December 30, 2001: Day of Departure

Day 1 of our trip has ended and we reached our intended destination, Ensenada. It is a place we have been to many a time, both by boat and by car, so it was not much of an adventure, and that actually was a relief. I.e., it was uneventful, non-challenging and relaxing - - all much needed after a very tiring, frustrating and overly challenging last several months of getting ready all the last minute "details" that were needed for this day to be "un-eventful!"

Let me back up a day to December 29th: For those of you who attended our bon voyage party yesterday, it was very special to us both that you came to see us off. So again, thank you very much for coming!

The gray skies and occasional rain drops DID indeed try to intimidate our party and send off, but it didn't "rain on our parade" hard enough to discourage us or the send-off party attendees - - as the glasses of champagne did not get diluted by the rain drops... however at the last minutes of departing, had we had champagne in our hands at that time, some dilution may have occurred by the tears shed. First Maxine, my stepmother started crying... and then a few by me, but when I saw my Dad shed some tears, I lost it...Of course, Scott, the ever happy-go-lucky kid who thinks he can rule the world at 18 was fine... Part of my tears were for saying good-by to family... but when our break-away song (* see below) played from our stereo and we motored away from the dock with everyone waving, I burst out in more tears... only this time in relief and happiness as I said to Joe... "we really did it... we're really leaving!" After all the hard work, OUR DAY had ACTUALLY COME and we really DID leave and start on an adventure that had first been a vision for the 2 of us together over 4 years ago, and for both of us, separately, for many years before!

We knew we would be exhausted on the day of departure (Joe actually was STILL working on some had-to-do project as our Bon Voyage Party guests arrived!!) , but knowing we did want our few friends and relatives to be there for a celebration on the day we left... without telling any of our guests (except my Dad), instead of leaving for Ensenada (a 12-14 hour motor/sail) , we left our dock and marina and went a couple of miles away to another marina where we had a one night reservation. We immediately crashed into bed to at least get some rest before our 4AM REAL departure for Ensenada.

For our first day at sea, the weather was gray, even misty, as we left San Diego Harbor. We both took a turn napping. Joe missed though the most exciting thing of the day while he was sleeping...a great gray whale broached right next to our boat... parallel to our boat probably only about 4-6 feet away. He/she must have come up to see who we were.

I've only seen whales (usually in Feb/March) when they are heading south once way in the distance in front of the boat. I almost thought I was seeing things as it came up and then disappeared (dove) so quickly. We also went through a pod of dolphins with lots of babies who were jumping and playing in our wake and diving under the boat. Although we can see (and never tire watching) the dolphins playing off the shore right from the porch from our house at a distant, it is always exciting to have them so close to us... almost feel we could dangle our legs over the side of the boats and tickle their backs.

We had a spectacular sunset arrival in Ensenada,

and it's actually in the mid 70's, so we've shed the jackets and are back in shorts. Since we're staying in a marina, we also walked down the dock to a hot shower and returned to the boat for a hot meal. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and we have reservations in a great upscale continental restaurant where we've celebrated several past New Years in style: a place called El Rey Sol. We will then relax here on New Year's day... as on the 2nd of January, we start a 14 day trip to Cabo San Lucas... with no marinas, and very few place we will even be able to go ashore.

(*) A "Break-Away" song is traditionally a song chosen by the Captain of a Navy ship to play loudly on the ships Public Address speakers after unloading cargo or supplies or fuel from another ship along side when they "Break Away" from the other ship. That song usually becomes that ship's theme song. For Joe and I we got married on our "ship" to our favorite song (see A bout Joe and Michele) and we played the same song, as the wording was so appropriate, for our "Break Away" from life as we once knew it. Most likely, it will be lifetime theme song. The song by Jimmy Buffet and called: Barometer Soup. [To see the great words of this song which follow so closely to our thoughts on this day of our departure, click here: Barometer Soup]