Cruisin to Newport

Yesterday we took the boat up to Newport again. On the way there Jon said he feels the boat is ready for Catalina. I can't help but wonder if we will ever do our Newport runs again once we start going to Catalina. This time Tara and Mimmi came with us - nothing short of a dream come true for the kids, and they actually entertained the kids so thoroughly that at times Jon and I felt we were on a mini date. Such a treat!

This bird in the foreground, the blue heron, is my favorite bird in the harbor. They build these giant nests way up high in the eucalyptus tress, and altogether just seem to be so majestic.

There must have been several litters of seals birthed recently because there seemed to be about 50 baby seals on the jetty this time. 

Zi passed out on the way there.

Boat rides are fun but also exhausting.

We think this was Jon's Granddads house (as pointed out by Mimi). Apparently he designed it and had it built back in ? year and it was even in an issue architectural digest. Big deal right?

This is the pulled back view of the house (on far right). Jon says he remembers playing at the beach on the left as a child.

This is Zion's scary face, and he loves to think that it is oh so frightening.

This is Zion's favorite place on the boat - standing on a bucket and fishing from the bait tank. He took a spill from this spot on the way over - significant enough to leave a mark, Mimi was kind enough to supervise him here so he could get after it some more on the way back.

These were the contents of the bait tank this trip. Jon had gone out that morning and fished up these rockfish, which were actually some of the best tasting fish I have ever had.