Balance

So, here’s the problem with this port… there is way too much to do and see while still having things that absolutely have to be done on the boat while we are here!!! San Francisco is one of the premier places to visit for the sights and experience of being in S.F. but the time here is limited. We picked up the repaired (previously torn) main sail today and there are still projects calling out for completion BUT there are also about a bazillion places to catch as touristy places that, I for one, would like to see. Yikes!!! Too many places and not enough time!! We will see how this unfolds but for now I am trying to focus on the safety aspects while waiting to see if any particular day has space in it for all these great places to visit. I have been here many times in the past and still have not seen a quarter of what the average tourist sees because there was always an agenda that didn’t allow for a “time-out” to make the stops necessary. Today we did manage to go to a great marine chandlery, then to the other end of the bay to North Sails and then into Sausalito to mill about so it has been a good day with a mix of things. We did also get caught in the rush hour and spent a lot of time just bludgeoning ourselves with an urban problem we don’t wish to participate in any more. Oh well, no good deed goes unpunished. It also meant that the problem I wanted to finish today never even made it to the organization stage.

“Tomorrow,” I say to myself resolutely, “I will finish the radio.”

In any case, I am enjoying the sunshine and now feeling a part of this marina with all the people we have met this far. Ah yes, this brings up the issue of tools. While I had a great shop at home it did not translate into having everything I need at hand when I need to create something here. Much of what I had is now residing in a basement in Portland or a garage in Las Vegas, you see. I don’t really want to buy a tool for every need because it would likely sink the boat to add all that weight. In meeting all these new people there have been tools offered when I bring up what I am working on. We do have lots of tools to offer too, when it comes to it, so among the informal fleet it seems there is always something available to fix whatever needs fixing. We have lots of creative ways offered to fix things too… that is, everyone always has at least one opinion on how a job should be done best. Lots of logic but usually only a few ways are really useful when all the facts are known. It’s amazing what the solutions offered are sometimes too. I like this aspect of chatting with fellow cruisers; there is always a surprise or two hidden in the conversation.

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As it turned out the skipper declared a tourist day and forbade any work to be done. We pointed the rental car toward the city and shortly found ourselves on the Embarcadero cruising all the touristy stuff. What a fun day!! It did involve lots of walking and my knee problem slowed me down a little but I managed not to injure it further and walked everywhere we wanted to go. We came across the maritime museum and admission was free due to being a national celebration for newly naturalized citizens. So we clambered all over the large sailing square rigged cargo hauler Balclutha and watched a film about its voyages around Cape Horn. The boat was a relic in many ways and spoke to lots of issues of how things were still done a hundred years ago. Those were some tough S.O.B.’s doing that work at the time.

We managed to miss a turn off when we got back in the car to point toward the next attraction… the wave organ near the St. Francis Yacht Club and ended up in Sausalito where we ultimately met my cousin Steven and wife Judy. We had a great dinner with lots of stories and a waiter who became part of the party for awhile. It turns out, too, that Steven has a new record label taking up his band (Jackie Payne Steve Edmonson Band) and he put two new CD’s in my hands. The first is “Master of the Game” and the second is “Overnight Sensation” which I had a good chuckle with Steven about. It would seem obvious that there has been nothing overnight about their climb but that was what a fan said during his obtaining and autograph! The link for their stuff is www.payne-edmonson.com so everyone can check it out. The titles are all I have seen so far so we will have to get them on the CD player later today… I am expecting great things after the last CD. We had dinner at a place with live music too and while we waited to be served we had a view of the Maltese Falcon anchored in Richardson Bay. What a stout yet gorgeous looking boat. A link for this is www.symaltesefalcon.com.

This was all a good call by Steven and Judy because it also got us into Sausalito, for one, and secondly because it was easier to haul ourselves back to the marina from there than it would have been from San Francisco. Since we had gotten up bit earlier than usual and stayed out later than the norm we collapsed into bed at the end of the day with at least a faint smile when we got back to Faith.