As anyone in San Francisco knows, this summer hasn't been normal with chilly fog/ mist/ drizzle and colder than average temperatures. It's been down right bummer-town actually...

In a last minute effort to escape the fog and get into some warmer temps, we took a last minute spur of the moment trip via sailboat up the Petaluma River to it's conclusion (Petaluma)... It got damn hot as we snaked up the narrow river. Got to raise our first draw bridge, ate oysters, drank in a bar with a shit load of dead animal heads and rifles on the wall... Almost got stuck in the mud when our motored died entering the insane chop and breeze leaving the river into San Pablo Bay. In total we spent 18 hours in 2 days traveling by boat and almost didn't make it home.

On our way and past the forever being built Bay Bridge...

Hello/ bye San Francisco.

Already sunny in the North Bay

This bed and breakfast... sits on an island.

We call our auto pilot Sir Stirs-A-Lot

muddy San Pablo Bay

Into the Petaluma River and the sun's effects are being felt.

Pasty skin greats sun... Warmth never tasted so good... Or is that the Simplier Times?

Funky river front communities.

Baby and parent swans.

Narrow river for a sailboat with a 4' draft.

Under Hwy 101

Draw bridge? Sweet. Had to hail him on the radio and ask him to raise the bridge... That was a first.

There she goes.

I was pretty stoked.

Made it to sleepy but refreshingly warm Petaluma.

And right to this place that had the best oysters ever.

Then drinks at a funky bar with a crap load of animal heads along with old guns covering the walls... If I wasn't so drunk I would have gotten better pictures.

The turning basin in the AM.

Petaluma was nothing to really write about, although a nice little town to stumble about.

And just like that, back on the water for yet another 9 hour journey.

Although we had plenty of heat.

And this is where we entered the San Pablo Bay. Really windy and really choppy. Photos don't do it justice. So much chop, our motor crapped out. Luckily we got our sails up quickly and sailed out...

We got soaked.

We made our way through a moonless night past heavy cargo traffic back home. Exhausting, but our bodies got warmed like the chilly snakes we were... got more hours in the sun than my skin would have liked. Our boat wasn't lost in the mud and chop. Hungry, with no beer to drink, we managed to keep our spirits high... Why more people don't get boats is beyond me...

More life on the boat...

Never caught anything.

Funny story. I thought I'd lost my wallet only to find it weeks later...

That's kinda funny. What's better is that the day I lost it I phoned Bank of America who told me that someone had tried to use 2 of my cards and therefore they shut the cards off. Bummer, I thought at the time. Some asshole found my wallet and tried to use my cards. Thank God, Bank of America had shut them off. What a savior Bank of America is... Or so I thought... No one had found my wallet OR tried to use my cards because I had them the entire time (in a drawer I forgot I put it in)... They said that someone that morning had tried to use my cards and because the purchase was suspicious, they turned the cards off. At the time I was bummed, but also very happy that disaster had been averted by Bank of America's quick thinking and anti-theft high speed computers... How lucky I was to have such a great bank who protects my accounts... When I told them that my wallet had been stolen (or so I thought), they lied and told me that someone had used two of my cards. I mean, how the hell could someone use my cards that morning when my wallet (with the cards inside) was tucked away in a drawer on the boat two feet from my sleeping head?!... My guess is that after hearing that someone's cards have been lost or stolen, they make up some story about them being a hero and shutting off the cards before the criminal could use them... I don't know, but it sounds fishy to me.... Anyway, after stressing about the idea of someone enroute to stealing my identity AND after waiting hours in line of the DMV to get a new ID, I'm glad that all ended well... I just want to thank Bank of America for lying to me and scaring the shit out of me... Did that rant make any sense?!

Last weekend to Angel Island... Some people need big boats.

We like the view and warm air.

Gotta work on my posture when peeing.

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