Here's a fun picture for a Saturday morning. This is a photo of the Bay Bridge at sunset, taken when we were out sailing in San Francisco Bay several years back. The picture is my favorite souvenir of that sailing era. My other souvenir is a nervous twitch.
Just kidding. I'm over it now. Maybe. For a year or so we were co-owners of an old sailboat. My husband has always been interested in sailing--he even took a sailing class in grad school and got to sail up and down the Charles River in Boston (where you really don't want to fall in). As for me, I'm not into sailing--the fact that boats don't have brakes is very intimidating to me, and I have deficient spacial ability, so the "pull the sail this way to go that way" and all is anything but intuitive. I found that I didn't enjoy owning a boat--disliked it intensely, in fact, and found it exceedingly stressful. Sailing our own boat scared me, and boats constantly slurp up money, whether or not you're actually in them on the water. Our boat got dubbed the Sea Weasel. Our co-owners did eventually come up with another name for it, but I don't remember what that name was--something about a duck, maybe? No matter. That boat will always be the Sea Weasel to me.
When we sold the boat, I was greatly relieved. My husband now has a little sailboat you can pull behind your car. I like this one much better. It's small and harmless. There's no danger of crashing into somebody's million-dollar yacht. No danger of much of anything--when you sail it on lakes, if you fall in, you can get back in the little boat--no harm done--as opposed to sailing on the Bay, where if you capsize your boat, you'd better hope the Cost Guard gets to you before hypothermia sets in or you end up in the path of a freighter heading toward the Port of Oakland.
I'm a wimp. I know it. I guess I just wasn't cut out to be a salty old sea dog. Other things that scare me: small parking places, missing a flight, and online gym classes.
Oh! I've always wanted to go sailing in San Francisco Bay. When I was a teen we lived on Treasure Islands in the middle of the bay and could see all the boats out there in good weather.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I think I could have issues with being spatially challenged too ... so maybe I'd need to be sure to take someone with me who knew what they were doing. =D
Donna, that's awesome that you lived on Treasure Island!
ReplyDeleteI'd enjoy going sailing in the bay again too--on someone else's boat, where we have no responsibility whatsoever for anything and can just enjoy the ride :)
That's a beautiful picture. I went to San Fran last year, but we didn't sail.
ReplyDeleteSmall parking spaces should be outlawed. And I'm not a fan of the parallel parking maneuver either.
ReplyDeleteThat picture is GORGEOUS. I'm so glad you snapped it. My spatial reasoning is all out-of-whack, too and I end up running into corners all the time. I imagine that if I sailed, I'd be drowned by now.
A couple of my co-workers have boats (not sail) that they've taken us out on Deer Creek Reservoir a couple times. Now that's something I could go for. =) There's something so peaceful about gently rocking in the water. You get hot, you hop in the water to cool off. Putter around slowly, or crank it up to a speedy 40 mph and feel the spray of water in your face. I can skip the fishing.
ReplyDeleteFor a smaller version of fun, I can handle a little personal watercraft, but overall, I'd rather have the boat.
Thanks! LT, I think my husband took it--he's a better photographer than I am. We were heading back to the marina and there was the most gorgeous sunset--and the camera was almost out of battery. Aargh! But at least it didn't give out before we got that shot.
ReplyDeleteThe only personal watercraft I can handle is . . . um . . . still thinking . . .
Hey, that brings back great memories! My husband and I lived in that area many moons ago when he was in the Navy!
ReplyDeleteAnd I enjoyed reading about your sailing experiences. I loved the part where you said - the fact that boats don't have brakes was very intimidating to you - Whoa! I never thought of that! What a crazy thougt to think of being on a vehicle-of-sorts with no brakes!
Didn't you go tubing once upon a summer? My parents have gotten into kayaks of late. Maybe you'd enjoy that.
ReplyDeleteWe did the 2-man Sea Doo PWCs down at Lake Powell, loved it. My wife gave me leave to splurge and do something like it on Deer Creek this summer. Still thinking about it. =) (Too bad she's not in a condition to join me.)
Brenda, that's fun that you used to live here! And yeah, it unnerves me that you can't just make a boat STOP when you want it to stop!
ReplyDeleteJon--hey, yeah, tubing! I can tube! As long as the boat driver doesn't go too fast and freak me out . . . And my husband and I went kayaking in the ocean last summer; that was fun. But then there was that time I went jet-skiing and got lost on the lake (it was a very big lake with lots of little branches) . . . Anyway, have fun this summer at Deer Creek!
Online gym classes? I've never heard of such a thing! I'm sure I can humiliate myself in those, too. I'll avoid them all. :) GORGEOUS picture, btw!
ReplyDeleteTAG, Stephanie. You're it! You'll have to check my blog to see what I'm talking about. ;)
ReplyDeletehttp://weavingataleortwo.blogspot.com/2011/06/another-tag.html
Erin, I didn't take the online gym classes--my daughter did, to fill a high school graduation requirement (she didn't want to take gym at school). To make a very long, very painful story short, it's a lot easier to procrastinate an online class than a class you have to attend every day and she came VERY VERY close to not graduating.
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks, Donna! I'm honored to be tagged!
As for me, I'm not into sailing--the fact that boats don't have brakes is very intimidating to me, and I have deficient spacial ability, so the "pull the sail this way to go that way" and all is anything but intuitive.
ReplyDeleteIs your husband into driving powered vessels. Obviously these don't have brakes either, but these are less reliant on wind.