Ocean Lounging

With a long holiday weekend and the summer heat upon us, it was time to pack up the car and head down to the Gulf Coast to introduce our new furry hellraiser to the sand & surf.  Galveston's Stewart Beach, with its sand parking lot, legions of kid-toting families, and dog-friendly ways was the destination of choice.  Despite eating a bunch of sand and getting dirtier than a little boy playing in shitpiles, everybody had a great time.

Looking Westward

Sometimes its easy to forget that we once again live in a seaside city facing West.  Theoretically, we should have 365 days of glorious sunsets over the ocean.  But then add one hefty dollop of the notiorious San Francisco fog that creeps into town late in the afternoon and add a healthy palette of grey to the gloomy Pacific beaches and you don't  usually get crowds of people clamoring to watch the sun sink down over the Western horizon.


Enter Indian Summer and a week of fog-free afternoons and you have a mad dash westward to catch big orange retire for the evening.

Our trip to Baker's Beach not only allowed us to discover a gleeful nude beach but also gave us a glimpse of one of our most popular, yet elusive residents: the Golden Gate bridge.  For those of you that have visted SF, you probably saw this ole gal covered in her traditional white shroud.

Never ones to feel constrained by traditional definitions of how things "should" be done, our sunset picnic for that evening consisted of Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches from the questionably sanitary Saigon Sandwich in the Tenderloin. Top that off with a little rice-banana-dessert-suprise, and you have a pretty perfect little Monday night.

A Ratnakara Virgin No More

So amongst the numerous and most triumphant firsts that we racked up during our trip through the Garden Route (golfing with baboons, stingray fishing with Prince Charlie, wild oyster shucking in the Knsyna Lagoon, and avoiding a hyena shake-off after her afternoon urine bath) one feat was unacceptably left unheralded. Well no longer. After an incredibly scenic and rugged 30 minute hike down the Kranshoek coastal cliff, Lindsay plunged into icy waters of the Indian Ocean for the first time. Congratulations Lindsay!

Life, as advertized

When booking our champagne sunset cruise in Knysna during the Drakeley's visit, I have to admit that I got a bit nervous when remembering how the previous sunset cruise had turned out.  Luckily, this nautical journey was less "A Perfect Storm" and more like this Grey Goose commercial which demonstrates clearly how awesome is to have a lot of money and drink straight vodka.  Just kidding.  What the commercial actually shows is how awesome it is to be out on the sea on a lovely day with good company.  It doesn't hurt to throw in a little bit of bubbly and some live oysters either.  Luckily, our cruise around the Knysna lagoon supplied both. 

Although for a short moment, it did look as though things were going to get a bit rocky as the captain steered us toward the crashing waves of the open sea, we remained in the lagoon for the duration of the journey, with not a drop of water splashed.  Easily the highlight of the trip was learning about the oysters from the captain: how and where they are grown, and how to tell if they are good to eat.  I was happy to know that there was actually a way to tell if an oyster is bad or not.  Up until that time, it had previously seemed a bit like russian roulette for me when choosing that particular menu item.  Jim, on the other hand, did not seem reassured that your gastrointestinal fate was in the hands of a kitchen staffer.  Whatever your stance on the indulgence of bivalve mollusks, I have a feeling that just about anyone would have enjoyed this cruise. 

Champagne Sunset "Cruise"

Champagne? Check.

Sunset? Check.

Enormous waves soaking all passengers in freezing sea water? Check.
Prayers to return to shore ASAP? Check.
Experience that is funnier once it is over and the anger and trauma have died down? Check.

To me, the champagne sunset cruise was a no brainer.  Our group would get to go on a boat, drinks would be taken care of, and everyone would get to see the city from a unique angle while watching the sunset before we rushed off to our dinner reservations. All for about $25 per person.  Perfect Christmas present that would result in memories, rather than material items. 

And, boy, did it result in memories.  This was easily one of the funniest events of the trip, with everything going terribly wrong and calling into question my (thusfar) flawless planning skills.  First we were late. Then they made me trek all over the stupid waterfront harbor in my carefully selected (champagne casual but boat practical) wedge heels. Once we got on the boat, we were, of course, last aboard and there weren't enough seats.  Certainly not together.  Nevertheless, we were all on board and I began to relax and look forward to the champagne and lovely views.

Unfortunately, things did not work out that way.  As soon as we got out of the harbor, the wind and waves picked up dramatically.  The little sailboat began to lean perilously to one side ("totally normal" says the captain) and the first waves began to crash onboard.  Luckily, Joseph secured some of the few available blankets for our group.  Tara, Kelly, and I huddled together and tried to "turtle" inward to create a warm, dry shelter.  Jared and Mom got to bond a bit under a shared blanket as Michelle, Joseph, and Michael clung to the more perilous, but drier top level.  Somehow, between Kelly trying to calm herself by repeating, "this is fun, it is just like Six Flags" and moving the blanket just enough to stick our glasses out for more champagne, we spy Dad examining the bubbles in his champagne glass from the warm, dry boat cabin.  How he became the only passenger to secure this position is unknown to us, but lets just say that it didn't create any warm feelings in our turtle shell. 

Exiting the boat, everyone was soaked to the bone and shivering.  Nevertheless, this was easily overshadowed by the hilarity of a Champagne cruise gone terribly wrong.

Fish Like an Egyptian

In addition to the presence of a star-studded cast of characters in Cape Town for the World Cup draw, some soccer/futbol-related excitement was had as well.  Most notably, the soccer gods answered my prayers and gave us the ultimate dream matchup in Group G opening round play: Brazil vs North Korea.  Looks like the boys downstairs may want to revisit their championship prediction now that the Canarinhos are going to be banging cleats with Kim Jong Il's mysterious Pyongyang Nightstalker squadron.  I can't wait.

On the tail of such exciting news, I decided to let Lindsay and Co. hunt down Charlize, the Beckhams, Corey Feldman and all the other mega-celebrities roaming around town, while I hit Langebaan Lagoon for some late-night fishing with my Egyptian friend Hesham and our Afrikaans boat captain, Anton.  Talk about a fishing dream team.  How'd we do, you ask? 

Well, we may have set a new national record for most Brown Shy Sharks with about 54.  The first couple were pretty interetesting since its got a cool pattern and strangely curls into a ball and covers its eyes with its tail once it senses trouble.  But, they quickly started to wear out their welcome.  Overall, pretty lame shark.  Here's Hesham and one of the 42 he caught....

The real prize of the night was my Kabeljou...

Which turned into prime braai material....

All in all pretty nice little Saturday...