California-Oregon-Panama

 

This is why we sail warm tropic waters!!

  

      Nancy and I are still away from Panama and counting the days till we return. I (Sam) am going to Portland to visit friends before returning to Panama next week.
     Last week we took a trip to Yosemite National Park with the snow covering the area, and what a beautiful sight we were treated to! Whew! The road was snow covered when the park Rangers stopped and asked if we were in 4-Wheel drive...Yep! Good thing, from the picture above you can see we needed it! 
    Light snow fell as we strolled the visitors center and enjoyed a wonderful day with the beauty of Yosemite, which I must admit even tops the scenic natural beauties of Oregon. We could spend a lot of time in Yosemite.

   We stayed a weekend with our cruising friends, Scott and Jerid from Portland who also lived in the same marina as us,  they were in Newport Beach (Blaboa Island) with their boat and heading to Mexico! We had a great time and went to a very large second hand store for cruisers where we bought some paper charts of Panama...yes, we still use paper charts as a backup for the high-tech electronics aboard Windfall....you know....just in case.

Blaboa Island sailing....California style...LOOK OUT!!!! Whew! That was close!

    And for our cruiser friends, here is a picture of the sailing traffic that you're missing where you're at. This picture makes you appreciate the open ocean! Scott and Jerid's boat is anchored out there...somewhere.....

    I flew to Portland to visit my friend Jim and his girlfriend Joanne. I found Joanne was quite a dog breeder as they had 10 Bichon show dogs (and 8 puppies) that look like fluffed-out white poodles fresh from the dryer! Oh my! I can't tell you how much I laughed at the sight of Jim walking these white dogs and keeping track of them...in 2' of new Hood River Oregon snow...One dog ...Two dogs...Three dogs....$#%! One dog ...Two dogs...$#%! I'm not even sure if Jim can count to 18! Ha Ha
I had a great time visiting Jim and other friends while in Portland, but I must admit I was glad to be heading back to warm Panama and be back aboard Windfall.