It was the day I dreaded since June 2020 the day we would return to our homeport of San Diego ending our Pacific northwest adventure. I woke up with a sick feeling and felt really sad to be ending our cruising days for a while. Jeff was aware but far less emotional then I was. I kept reflecting on all the adventures we had up north and the endless cruising, wonderful climate and great people we met along the way and to me even though we were returning home to friends and family it felt like not only the end but a possibility of being stuck and never cruising again. I unlooped the spreader line from the stern, launched the wand and then the bow morning line and just like that we were on our way. It was so nice spending a week in Catalina and unwinding before returning to San Diego. The 75 mile cruise was sunny and filled with fishing boats all seeking out tuna. We spotted whales, dolphins, a flying fish and several schools of tuna jumping out of the water. The sea was putting on a show for us as we made our way. The coast came in and out of view with the marine layer and before we knew it we were staring at La Jolla. The Hyatt hotel in Mission Bay, our old marina, came into view next and as we made the hard turn to port tears filled my eyes. Cruising into Mission Bay we were both in disbelief and kept saying to each other, "Can you believe it?" It was a parade of boats both entering and exiting the bay and the anchorage was filled with mooring balls and our go to spot at the entrance was taken by two boats rafting up and several sailboats. We made our way toward the opposite end through the mooring field and found a nice opening between the moored boats and several anchored boats. It was September 1st and boats were positioning themselves for the Labor Day holiday weekend. We were glad to get any spot. As the hook hit the bottom and we finished up our routine we hugged each other and without speaking acknowledge our wonderful achievement. I was in a dark mood and drinks began to flow. The aft deck provided the view as we watched the sun set over the pacific. There was much work to be done and after the holiday we head to the boatyard to begin our long to do list to ready the boat for our cruise south to Mexico in November.
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