We arrived in San Diego on Sunday morning, and spent most of the day being lazy because we were up all night crossing down from Catalina Island. The Harbor Police Docks on Shelter Island are OK, but bathrooms and showers leave a lot to be desired. On Monday morning, we tuned in to the cruisers net on VHF, and found out about a coffee klatch at Downwind Marine scheduled for 10 AM. So we put the motor on the dinghy and drove over to a nearby beach, and walked the rest of the way. While there, we met some other cruisers, and from one couple we learned about about a great deal on a slip that they had found. Calling that marina, we were able to get a slip for 2 weeks for $261. So we moved the boat to Bay Club Motel and Marina, and this is a great spot!

It is about a 1/2 mile walk to Downwind Marine, and also to West Marine. I am amazed at how many marine businesses are here - it's a whole industry here! Today I splurged and bought a fishing pole, which I plan to use once we get south of the border (I have a Mexican fishing license, but not one for California). I see fish tacos in my future!!

Ed has been working on getting insurance coverage for Mexico, and finally got that secured this morning.    We have researched the paper chart options and have decided to go with the Yachtsman brand; the book that covers the west coast of Mexico costs $100. Not a bad price, but they are not as nice as the Maptech paper charts that we used on the way down from Astoria. Even though we have a chart plotter at the helm, and Ed has charts in his laptop computer, the paper charts were indispensable in making the trip. Every hour, we would write down our GPS coordinates, speed, and heading on a log that I created. Then we would put a X on the chart and note the time. This way, if the electronics fail, we know where we were at the last hour as well as the speed and heading since then. Paper charts also helped in planning. Before departing from any port, we would look at the chart, decide where we wanted to go, and chose the waypoints for each leg. Then we would measure the length and heading for each leg, and after programming the waypoints into the chart plotter, we could check the headings and distances against the chart. Don't leave home without it!

Not sure what I will do with all my time here - we are not leaving here before Nov 1. Maybe I'll slip the line in the water behind the boat and see what kind of fish are swimming around. I have been walking every day and getting at least a mile, usually 2. We have a list of chores to do on the boat, including washing it inside and out, and some repairs to do.  Last night, Teri and went to a seminar to learn about cooking meals in pressure cookers. There were about 40 people there, and the 2 guys with the pressure cookers did a great job. I learned a lot and look forward to practicing some of it! We are planning to take Ed and Teri's grandsons sailing on Saturday! Hope I can still remember how to sail!