Road Trip to Mexico

 Its been a little while since the last post, but I just got to my boat, Altair, after a great road trip down the west coast, from Bellingham to Cabo San Lucas, and then across the Sea of Cortez to San Blas, where Altair is.  I drove fairly quickly at first, and didn't take many pictures of Washington or Oregon, but as I got in to Califorina I found some Elk!  Beautiful big antlered things, lounging on the road, so I got my camera out and snapped a few...
From there I went to visit my sister Rachel, and we went for a short ride together, and I think I finally have found a passion for mountain biking.  I just needed a $5,000 bike to get on in order to enjoy it.  So we went for a fairly tame ride (in her standards) and I had a few brushes with disaster, once where I fell off the downhill side on a steep slope and jumped clear in time to run down the slope and another where I ran the pedals into a tree while trying to make it through.  Compared to surfing, the consequences of trying to squeeze into a small barrel are worse.
I did a small jump as well, and after some practice, I think it looks all right.  I'll see if I can get that to post....

After visiting for a little while and hiding from the huge smoke billowing all over, I headed to the coast and to Moss Landing, where I found my favorite little otters slinking along the beach.

 They don't like to walk, and one was just pushing itself forward and skidding on the sand.  Then we (I had picked my friend Lindsey up at the airport) went to the Monterey bay Aquarium and looked at Jelleyfish and all sorts of things.

 I'd been to this before with Danny, but it was worth a second visit.  Well, not quite worth 50 bucks a piece, but we managed to find someone who got us in for 30 each.  I think its worth the 30.

 We tried to go down Big Sur after that, but the coast was not clear.  There was a big landslide and it hasn't been fixed, so we drove around it and went back north to look at Elephant Seals.

 This one looks like it got bit by cookie cutter sharks!

 We camped at a secret spot in San Simeon and awoke to the clucking of California Quail!

 From there we went to Morro Bay and found some more otters, up close like...

 And to Pismo Beach for some Butterflies.

 Then to Jeremy's place and a short play with his kids before going to the Salton Sea!

 And then crossing into Mexico.  It was so hot it was hard to take a lot of photos, but we went down to San Felipe and over to the west coast again.

 And saw a road runner!  It didn't go Beep Beep.

 Also found some weird Jellies that are blue and I don't know the type.... Do you?

 And then I had a kiting lesson.  I was taking some pictures of this kite boarder and he liked them and offered me a lesson in return.  We just flew the kite and he is a professional teacher in La Ventana, so it was a good lesson.

 Here is a picture of him ripping it up.

 Then we went further south to the area around La Paz and Cabo, and went up a river and found lots of little frogs and some waterfalls!

 and these cool trees that sort of melt around the rocks.

 The trip was a great success, and I had a great time surfing and playing around.  Lindsey flew out to work in Antarctica and I took the ferry across to Mazatlan and then drove to Altair and now am trying to get put into the water so I can go surfing some more.  It is very hot and very humid, as I write this I am sweating like someone is spraying me with a hose.  I am soaked and dripping and still too hot.  I can't wait to get swimming.