Visiting the Wittpenns

 La Jolla Cove filled with sea lions :)

 This is a trail that is right next to the Wittpenn's house. As you can see it is pretty awesome!

 Margaritas at this AMAZING Mexican restaurant. Mango. Delicious.

 Del Mar. Grass next to a beach, what a foreign concept.

 This is a park that is in Escondido and it is by far the best zoo park that I have ever been to.

 They are playing tag!

 Lions are so freaking HUGE!

 Seafood Buffet! 

 Fancy tequila bottle!

 The most adorable sheltie at Del Mar!!! 

 Isn't this pool awesome?!?!

The spectacular view from Cordiano Winery. 

Comic-Con

When I first arrived to San Diego, Maureen picked me up from the Amtrak station and the first landmark she pointed out to me was the convention center where Comic-Con takes place every year. A month ago we had no idea we would still be in San Diego on the weekend of Comic-Con.

Anyway the crew decided to check out all of the free stuff going on around the convention center the Saturday of Comic-Con because how often do you just happen to be in SD when Comic-Con is going on?!

Boba Fett, a Stormtrooper and the Bill of Rights crew! The perfect combination.

 Smurfing it up!

 WonderWoman fan art

 Why be cool when you can be cool and geeky?!?

 Teen Titans (David this one is for you)!

 The Star of India

Ship Yard Update

So we are currently still hauled out of the water making the Bill look even more beautiful.

Check this sexy lady out!

Putting the bowsprit back on!

Dania's tugboat!

Scrubbing the barnacles off of the propellor shaft :)

Resting after a long day's work.

Not Quite Afloat Yet

So I am ending the second full week of living on the Bill and man have we been working hard getting her back together! Sanding, sealing, painting, pumping bilge water and learning a lot of terminology and the important knots. 

When I first arrived on the Bill she was in the water having the bow repaired. The Friday after arriving

she was hauled out of the water for further repairs. The ship yard we are at in Chula Vista is one of three yards in California that has the equipment to haul the Bill out for the inspection and repairs that take place every two years.

Here she is in all of her glory! This was quite a sight.

Sunset off of the stern of the Bill.

Painting Cetol on the Main Boom (6 coats of this and then one of the gloss). Lots of painting ;)

The Quarter Deck

Red, the badass demolition contractor next to us, taking apart a barge that was owned by the military.

Another BEAUTIFUL sunset in Chula Vista.

I made Summer Spaghetti for the crew and had so much leftover!

Painting the hull from below.

Coated in paint. This happened way too often.

The Bill with her beautiful new paint job!

The plan is for us to be back in the water next week and then we will be heading back up to Oxnard! Now for a much deserved couple of days off :)

Shipping Out to California

A couple of weeks ago I found out about an opportunity to teach marine science to kids aboard the famous Bill of Rights with the American Tall Ship Institute (ATSI). So I applied and the next thing I knew I was booking a flight to LAX, which I actually did in Jamie's apartment the day Leigha and I drove to Manchester, TN for Bonnaroo (Thanks again Jamie ;). Following Bonnaroo's four fabulous days of music and general summer camping awesomeness, I did the Scheil tour from Atlanta up to Hickory and Lenoir.

Wow. What fun, crazy and travel filled couple of weeks. I am so glad that I got the chance to see all of the Scheils, minus Kirst (what the heck man), and Keisters before I left the East Coast!

So in traditional me fashion, I have been here in California for a week and here is my first post... Bear with me I do have a lot of updating to do.

A few days before I was scheduled to leave for California, I contacted Maureen, the Educational Director at ATSI, and found out that the Bill was still in the ship yard in Chula Vista. So instead of taking the train to Oxnard, I took it south to San Diego. I flew out of Jacksonville last Wednesday at 7 am, ouch, and landed in LAX at 11 am PST.

Here are my beautiful, consolidated bags; the black duffel took me at least 10 minutes to get zipped all of the way up, while I was still in baggage claim. And hey there is Game of Thrones (thanks dav:)! As it turnes out, there was no need for me to struggle so much because it would have been so much easier to just carry three bags of manageable weight, instead I got to awkwardly lumber for about a quarter of a mile from the bus station to union station.

From LAX, I took a bus to Union Station, where I had to wait for about two hours for the train south, which by the way is a beautiful, scenic three hour ride along California's coast. Here is a snap shot of a beach that the train passed.

Maureen picked me up and we headed to a restaurant in the marina, on the water for $5 hamburgers and fries and $3 draught beers on Wednesdays. Delicious!