Day 12: Santee, CA

Day 12 was supposed to be more interesting: rent kayaks in La Jolla, kayak the caves and watch the leopard sharks which congregate in the bay at this time of year. 

Unfortunately, it was cold and windy this morning and we ended up repeating yesterday with a few additions of the following: hat shopping for my mother in prep for the tea party bridal shower and listening to grandpa’s stories of riding horses in the war, going to mechanic and gunnery school, and his 11 cross country moves while in the Air Force. His favorite place he was stationed was Bermuda (where he met my grandma) and he and his pals had a blast sailing and scuba diving the wrecks when tank diving first came out.

One story he told: Him and a friend came into possession of a 30 foot stiff sailboat with two tall masts while in Bermuda. They fixed her up and spent many days sailing. At St. Georges, a city on Bermuda, there is a 150meter cut into the rock that you have to tack out of before getting past the reefs and into the ocean breeze for sailing. Well two girls, friends of friends, had come to Bermuda and his pal and grandpa took them out on the boat. The wind was strong and it took awhile to tack out of the cut. His friend asks him if he’s looked at the girls lately. Grandpa looks and they’re both retching over the side, totally seasick. So they turn to go back into the bay, but as they’re heading in, a tug is coming out on underwater wires. This tug was responsible for keeping the bay deep enough for the cruisers to come in without riding aground. It had a shovel on the bottom and somehow moved on wires or cables unmanned. Their boat ended up getting tangled up with the tug, which ultimately snapped both of their large masts off. It ended up being quite an ordeal, and not a favorite day for either of the girls. Furthermore, they were given money to make 2 more masts, but it took months to piece together and he recalls that it never quite worked again.

The day ended with a family dinner at Auntie Catherine’s.

Auntie Catherine is a champ. Growing up she sent us the best presents and as kids, we always felt close to her even though she lived far away. Nowadays she’s a whiz at gourmet food and hosting, whipping up a wide array of drinks all with the appropriate glasses. We got the customary hug from cousins Gage and Callum before they disappeared to their rooms and cellphones, and we nibbled on appys and chatted while waiting for the rest. Auntie Robin and Annie arrived soon, and then Uncle Stephen; Uncle Doug, Auntie Jackie, Michael and Matthew as well. Dinner and drinks were delicious, company was lovely and it was fun to hear Uncle Stephen’s stories of caribou hunting in Alaska earlier this month...sounded very cold, but he got two caribou, yum.