Tuesday, November 16, 2010

I might have gotten a little crazy in iPhoto with my editing. The light was so harsh most of the day and so I never knew what settings to have my camera on. I should have just left it on Auto and been done with it. But I thought since I was out on a sail boat on the San Francisco Bay, I had get all fancy and act like I knew how to use my camera. Lesson learned.

You guys are nice. You know the only reason I posted that photo is because it was the one I liked best, right? Anyway. Sailing. Our friend Joaquin has been interested in learning how to sail and so on a whim, he and Ryan concocted an overnight excursion complete with arranging to have my sister fly in from Salt Lake to watch the kids. Ryan called Brianne at 6pm Utah time and she was at the airport an hour later. Love it. And love her for spending what I KNOW was an exhausting (but I'm sure somewhat fun) 36 hours caring for my children. Sisters are the best.

So, Joaquin arranged a driver for the weekend, and so we really were living the high life. The boat was amazing. Our skipper, Mike, was from London, so we got along great. The weather could not have been more perfect. We were out there all afternoon, so we got all kinds of different light and weather. My pictures are horrible...I couldn't tell how they looked out on the water. I've got to read a book about photography already. We left from Sausalito and sailed out UNDER the Golden Gate Bridge. How many people get to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge in their lifetime? Not many. But, I did. And then we headed over along the piers and around Alcatraz. By the time we were heading back into Sausalito, the wind had really picked up and we were truly sailing--like the boat moving fast and we were sideways. That's called heeling. I learned a few things out there on the water.

I wore stripes. And my Sperrys. I think my nautical outfit helped me steer better. In fact, I'm sure of it. I kept on my heading and didn't even come close to hitting any of the carriers passing.

After the boat, we headed to Casa Madrona to freshen up for our fancy shmancy dinner atMurray Circle at Cavallo Point. I wish I would have been brave enough to get my camera out during that dinner, but it wasn't really the place to be shooting photos of my meal, you know? We sat by the fire pit after dinner and stared across the bay at the beautiful city we are lucky to know so well. It really is an amazing place and every time we are down there, I can't imagine not being close enough to enjoy it on a whim.

One of my most favorite life experiences so far. Really.




(The beige building behind the boats was our hotel)


(And who would have known that my inaugural wearing of the Sperrys would have been on a SAIL BOAT--the very thing for which they were invented?!?!! I mean, I just got them because they were cute and looked perfect with all my striped shirts...)

(He's my skipper :) )

8 comments:

Missy said...

That sounds just about perfect. Every bit of it. I'm sort of obsessed with the photo of the Golden Gate right behind you.

I thought I was original in my "run across the golden gate bridge at 2 am". Um, I think SAILING under it on that monster of a boat with a real British captain and dining at such a restaurant and staying in THAT hotel takes the cake.

Hooray for fun weekends. Glad you are enjoying them!

PS: I think that top photo would be pretty great blown up in b&w

Unknown said...

This really looks amazing. How long were you sailing?

I was there at the very same time-- on our way home from a getaway in the city. But we were just driving through Sausalito (with a phone app telling us the home values), dreaming of living there and doing THAT. How lucky.

k. said...

Jen.

1 - These photos are not terrible. What were you talking about last night? They're great.
2 - This sounds like the most fabulous of days.
3 - You look gorgeous.
4 - I wish you leaved east so we could play more often. You know, more than once every three years.

k. said...

leaved? oh man. Baby brain.

Lived.

Farrah said...

Okay, kudos to Ryan for organizing and pulling off something like that. That's like milestone anniversary quality event. Also, I'm confused - you had a driver? Like a car and driver? Like you didn't drive to Sausalito by yourselves? Or is that some kind of boating term I'm not familiar with?

rr said...

what if we lived in d.c.?
it's now an immediate possibility.

Anonymous said...

This is seriously amazing. What a a great experience! You've totally sailed under the Golden Gate. So awesome. And Jen, it looks like you've lost weight. You look so good.

Bri said...

It was fun. We built a fort and went to the park. I think Lilly might have stuck some of your old clothes in her dresser drawer after I went through the stuff I wanted.
I'd be all, "No, I don't want this. Lilly, do you want it? It's cute." and she'd be all "Yeah, I want it. It's cute" and then march it to her room.

She is fun. Caleb too.