12.30.08, About 10:30 a.m., Great Blue Heron at Dana Point Harbor

Having taken care of Sadalsuud's boat insurance on Monday, I returned to Dana West Marina on Tuesday to sign the contract for Dock C, slip 004. Before leaving I stopped at the Harbor where the shops are and took advantage of a wonderful "after Christmas sale" at "The Upstairs Store" (odd name for a ground level shop)where I enjoyed a brief conversation with the shop proprietor, who, just as I was leaving, exclaimed about the awesome wingspread she was observing over my shoulder (through the window), of this great blue heron.

12.29.08 Dana Point & Laguna Part 5

And a few more images from the Koffee Klatch . . .

12.29.08 Dana Point & Laguna Part 4

And a walk up the street rewarded me with entry to and coffee in this charming little coffee house that feels like the perfect setting for great chats on metaphysics.

12.29.08 Dana Point & Laguna Part 3

Then I meandered South down the street a few steps to one of the "Pottery Shack" shops. It was sad to see a sign in one window telling me their hours were 12:00 to 5:00 after seeing one that said 50% off all Christmas items. Most of the items to be seen through the window were Christmas items and it was only 10:00 a.m. (!) but I had too many errands to run to waist two hours hanging out in Laguna just to trade dollars for items that wouldn't see the light of day for an entire year--especially since there was a parking meter to be considered.

12.29.08 Dana Point & Laguna Part 2

One more image taken from the back of the Chart house and then a few taken in Laguna. I parked in front of this restaurant that promises Steak and Jazz (only open for dinner), and photographed the outside of a few quaint but, sadly, closed shops.

12.29.08 Dana Point & Laguna Part 1

Today was the day to introduce Mr. Insurance Man to Sadalsuud. Dana West Marina requires that anyone renting a boat slip have boat insurance so I met Jim down at the boat at 8:15 this morning. After meeting with him I checked in with Sue at Dana West Marina and got the instructions to have Triple A fax the insurance information as soon as the insurance was official. Jim had said it should be all set by the end of the day.
Afterward I stopped at the top of the hill to photograph the marina and the Chart House restaurant grounds were so picturesque that I took quite a few there. There was some activity inside the restaurant---people cleaning and straightening. I saw no one outside at the tables, so the reason for the presence of the two full water glasses on one of the tables here was a complete mystery. After stopping at Starbucks for awhile in hopes my friend Margaret would get my phone message about being in town and meet me there (it's just a few blocks from her house), I moseyed back on up the coast toward home, making one stop along the way in Laguna where I window shopped at the Pottery Shack and had a cup of coffee while e-mailing Don from the Koffee Klatch. These five posts include images from this little excursion.
This particular group were all taken from the "backyard" of the Chart House.

Sunday December 28, 2008 Ruby St. Park, Laguna Beach, CA Part 4

Sunday December 28, 2008 Ruby St. Park, Laguna Beach, CA Part 3

Sunday December 28, 2008 Ruby St. Park, Laguna Beach, CA Part 2

Sunday, December 28,2008 Ruby Street Park, Laguna Beach, CA.

On our way to Dock A, Slip 56, Don and I made a few stops in Laguna. One of them was this charming little park at the end of Ruby Street.
(In case you hadn't noticed, My more recent uploads have been short on text and have only 4 images per post and multiple continuations. Perhaps I should explain, that the latest update of Picasa allows me to highlight the images I want to post to my blog and allows me to upload several at once. I think this was probably an option before the update, I just hadn't taken the time to experiment with it, actually. Anyway, Picasa uploads 4 images to a post so I decided to just do multiple posts. I figure more than 4 images in one post is probably hard on Blogger anyway.)

12-20-08 Sadalsuud at Dana Point Harbor Slip A56 Part 4

And here's a few shots of the back of the Sadalsuud wearing her little motor.