This week marks the beginning of another semester: another 4 months to hone whatever skills we are working on at the moment. I've been slow about blogging for a couple reasons: 1) I've been trying to balance work and school and blogging has fallen by the wayside, and 2) I've had mixed feelings about sharing insight into our last sailing expedition. Originally, I had all these emotions I thought I wanted to share but ultimately, I think the experience of sailing is something that can't necessarily be described in words. Or maybe it's like being part of a small, semi-private club. Anyone is welcome to join but only those willing to put their life on the line actually will. It makes you appreciate life more and realize how tiny you really are in the grand scheme of things. I'm not sure most people really understand that about themselves. 
So I've decided to keep my emotions to myself. But I'll give some stats for the sake of having them in writing and being able to reflect on this trip and laugh years from now... after we've made a *real* ocean-crossing. It took us about 5 hours to sail to the Coronados and about 5 hours to sail back. We used our motor sometimes because we were on a *schedule* (something that we don't intend to do often.... the fate of a sailor can be murky when s/he holds himself to a schedule). We didn't get seasick. This was something I hadn't given much thought to until I woke up the first morning and it really hit me that there would be no going to land.
We spent more than 48 hours straight on the boat (except for the time we spent swimming in the water). Lola went on potty-strike, peeing only once each 24 hours in her potty-box. This is a little concerning to me, but I'm sure she'll get more accustomed to sailing and learn to potty more often as we spend more and more time on the hook (that's sailor-speak for "on the anchor"). 
The thing I wanted to see most while sailing on the ocean was a pod of dolphins, and I got my wish soon after I voiced it aloud: A pod of dolphins swam alongside our port side and then later another pod came up on our starboard and swam beneath the boat. Pretty exciting stuff.
Just outside the bay, we spotted our friend and neighbor, Justin on "What, Me Worry?" That was our first time spotting someone we know while we were our sailing. Our speed reached a maximum of about 7 knots on the trip- sailing back towards San Diego from the Coronodos. And inside the bay, heading back to the ball we were teeter-tottering around 2 or 3 knots. It's always pretty slow heading home.
I guess that's about it for now. I'll leave you with a couple more pics of Mother Culture under sail:
Poor Lola! Those dolphins are so cool, so close like that. I can't even imagine doing what you do, but I love to see it through your eyes. I think we all need moments in which we feel small, realize how tiny we are in the grand scheme. It's both humbling and... I want to say "cozy" but I'm not sure that's the right word... just... the warm feeling of being part of the greater whole, of belonging despite my insiginificance.
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