Happy New Year!

<-- Vacation adventures 3 of 4

Jess and Celso arrived the morning of the 31st as Clarke and I were finishing breakfast and taking in the last bit of sunshine we’d have for the day. Since there was no surf to be had, we all went for a walk towards the point. Jess and I got separated from the boys (and dogs) as we went up the cliff trail while the others were down in the tidepools (looking for the fin box Clarke had lost a few days before). Jess and I decided to head back down the trail and join them, although traveling much slower and quite a bit farther back. We lost sight of them quickly but knew they were still ahead of us somewhere due to the occasional foot- and pawprints we saw in the sand. Stopping only to take pictures of interesting creatures with Jess’ new camera, we traveled along the shoreline for quite a while before the cold (and our full bladders) turned Jess and I back; the boys and dogs nowhere to be seen.

Jess and I made snacks (guac!) and started the campfire. The rest of the afternoon was spent not doing much. Celso and Clarke made us dinner (tri-tip burritos) over the open flame of the campfire. We spent the evening playing Rummikub, which is made difficult by frozen fingers. And drinking…Kiwi wine from Jess & Celso’s New Zealand honeymoon, espresso (and Bailey’s), rum tasting (Pyrat rum and Flor de Cana), Chianti (pronounced she-an-ti), more espresso (and more Bailey’s) and finally Pineapple Champagne from Maui for our midnight celebration. Midnight is quite a long way from sunset in the winter, so we didn’t last long past our New Year celebration. We’re usually in bed (in sleeping bag?) around 9-10pm when camping. But I was up with the sun, as usual, and managed to catch the first sunrise of the New Year. Sunrise at Refugio is quite a sight to see because the beach faces south so that the sun rises over the ocean.


The local dolphins greeted us on the New Year’s morning and then we returned to our campsite for breakfast burritos, extreme bocce ball and naps. Clarke got in one more brief SUP session and before it got too dark and we all headed to the point for one last walk. Someone had built a little grass shack out of the fallen palm fronds so we took turns climbing inside. Dinner was another new recipe (Our Best Bites’ sausage tortellini soup) which had to be cooked in two pots because I didn’t have one pot that was big enough. To be cute, and to save on dishes to wash, each couple got one pot to share. We finished the evening by packing up everything since the storm was set to hit about 10pm. There were no clocks handy, but I’m pretty sure Celso’s weather forecast was spot on and we woke up to a very wet campsite. Sparing no time for breakfast or even coffee we headed our separate ways; Jess and Celso to drop Celso off at his boat in Ventura and Clarke and I attempting to race the storm (at 50 mph) south to Costa Mesa to return Hale Pua.

We did manage to outrun the storm long enough to be able to unload Hale Pua and repack Ravy without too much rain. Bill met us at VW Surfari and we chatted a bit more about the awesomeness of Westies before we headed home. Of course, after 30 minutes of driving, I realized we’d left two cubbies full of stuff in the Westy but we weren’t up for turning around. We called Bill and arranged to pick up our stuff later this week. Arriving home before the storm (but just barely) we unloaded Ravy and enjoyed the Christmas tree smell that still permeated our home.

Here are more pictures from our vacation.