It has only been three days since my last journal entry and it seems like an eternity has past. Our anchorage in Shark Cove was very calm but not protected at all, so we bobbed like a cork as the boat swung from side to side and offered her side to the gentle rollers. All night long any item that had the ability to roll or slide did just that and it was a cacophony of noise. I tracked down every noise some-time around 7am. We finally had silence, just a little too late for sleep. So we spent the morning in a bleary zombie state. After leaving our anchorage in Shark Cove we returned to Avalon to have a meal with some friends of ours and continue relaxing in Avalon. Our feet were itchy but Gary and Odie were still here so we did not want to leave until they were forced back to work, then our journey would really begin.

It was Saturday so we decided that despite a sleepless night on a rocky anchorage we were going to go and paint the town red. Shane offered to buy us drinks and I promised him I would drink him under the table, which I did. We rocked the Karaoke (I sang and the boys watched) and we drank like fish and celebrated our good times. It was a real blast and we had a ton of fun with Shane. Then we went back to the boat and here is where Shane wishes I would stop writing. We went back to the boat and Shane wanted to see if those girls at the bar were still out and about and so he took the dinghy back to shore. We brushed our teeth, got into jammies and all of the sudden we hear a shore boat coming along side, very loud in the silent harbor of Avalon. Shane was being dropped off.

Alarmed, I asked where the dinghy was and he informed us that he did not have the dinghy, had never had the dinghy, and did not know what I was talking about. Yikes. I guess I can drink him under the table. Brett then had to talk me out of swimming for it and I had one fitful night of worry. Where was my dinghy? Was it floating to San Diego without me? Despite the worry I got a few hours of sleep and waited until the sun was up to go out searching. Luckily Gary and Odie were walking their dogs and had seen the dinghy tied to the dock with a red tag on it, they gave me a ride to pick it up. With that stress off my mind we went to breakfast and the rest of the day was spent catching up on sleep.   On the up side, I have eternal fodder to tease Shane with, that totally makes up for the night of stress.

Dave arrived via the Catalina Flyer and now we are fully crewed and Fearless is stuffed with folks and food aplenty. The shape of our little home is altered and I would be lying if I were not to admit that I am a little possessive of my home and it has been hard for me to share. We have lived aboard for over three years and though we have had many visitors it is different to have permanent guests and I am still getting used to it.

Odie made us a great meal on our last night together and the next morning it was so sad to see them off. Now we are really on our own and our journey will take us far from familiar ports. We left Avalon and headed to San Diego with our full crew and we sailed to San Diego with the asymmetrical sail doing all the work in the light breeze. It was amazing to finally watch as Avalon, and my life in LA, slipped beneath the horizon.