Village West Marina

We got to Willow Berm just before 11 and quickly prepared for departure and got underway. We arrived at the fuel dock at Village West around 2 and took on 110 gallons of diesel, then pulled around to the guest dock. We are now on the patio at Bob's, waiting for our lunch. It is pleasantly warm, bordering on hot. But after the cold day we had yesterday we'll take it.

SUP'n

We rented a stand up paddle board and did some paddling around the secret cove. Very fun. Only saw one turtle and a couple fish though.

Shh... it's a Secret

We're at our friend Al's secret spot. We got here yesterday around mid day and were expecting him around five. Around 4:30 the boat to the right in the picture came in and anchored next to us. They'd heard about this place from someone at their marina. :( dang it. Well at least they are quiet, though they said their kids are coming tomorrow.

We are really enjoying the lack of bugs here. I couldn't believe all the bugs at Three River Reach.

Fourth of July 2012

I can't remember if I already posted the below photo. This group of boats had the fire hose and luckily decided not to spray us.

The fireworks last night were excellent. Thank you Baron Hilton for providing fireworks in the delta every year! The fireworks were set to music, broadcast on 95.5. We just happened to hear this in the VHF shortly before the show so we were tuned in and ready to go. Unfortunately, the big party we were near did not stop their DJ (yes DJ) until partway through so it was hard to hear the radio at first. At some point they clued in and quieted down. As soon as the show was over they cranked the tunes back up and set off their own fireworks. Much later, they had a luce band going. We finally fell into exhausted sleep around two, with the band still going. We talked to some other folks today who were there as well and they said they woke up at 2:30 and the band was still going, and sounded horrible. LOL. C'MON PEOPLE give up and go to sleep already!!!

We came in to Willow Berm this morning for a lay day. The current was running pretty strong and luckily a nice fellow in the neighbors' boat gave us a hand or we would have given up. Matt could not get the bow around to come into the slip so decided to back in. Which is great except the dinghy was getting swept to the side and ended up wedged between the boat and the dock. Again, thanks to the neighbor for all his help in fending off UTTER disaster.

We've got the batteries charged up, water tank full, boat clean, grocery list made and we're ready for tomorrow. Plan is to hit Lira's grocery store in Rio Vista (EXCELLENT grocery store) bright and early, pump out then head out for the last few days of the week! I think we've ALMOST recovered enough from the lack of sleep for the past few days to have the energy to start again! Hopefully the next few days will be much quieter than the previous few!

We have several pictures to post once I'm on a computer. The iPhone only lets me do one at a time. So more photos in a few days.

Mandeville Madness

We cruised through the crowds at Mandeville after taking the dinghy to
Herman and Helen's for breakfast and gas. This houseboat looks to be larger than the home I lived in in San Jose when I was a kid! There are dozens of boats anchored out and many many more to come! One boat had a fire hose set up with a huge pump in the water and we heard them discussing whether or not to spray us! Luckily they decided NOT. Some kids on a huge two story houseboat (one more boat and less house looking than the one pictured) did lob a few water balloons at us but we were out of their range! Things are definitely much quieter on Three River Reach. We found out one group of boats near us is a bunch of retired executives from Standard Oil. So far they seem sedate. We are currently sitting on our sun deck, enjoying the beautiful sunny day

Three River Reach

We found a decent spot on Three River Reach that looks to have a good view of the fireworks area. This photo is looking towards the San Joaquin River from our boat. Not too crowded. The boat in the foreground is expecting three more boats to join him in the next 24 hours or so.

Crossing Over

We are on the Antioch Bridge, entering the Delta. No cows on the bridge today! There are a couple of boats headed up the river; probably more competition for fireworks viewing spots so we need to get out there and get the anchor out.