The Rolling Waves

I went outside the boat with no other intention than to enjoy the scenery. We were sailing from Marina de La Paz to the islands for the weekend. The waves were deep blue and steeper than I expected. My sisters came out and then Jaime got a brilliant idea. At the bows of our boat, a metal bar about a foot and a half wide runs the length of the boat. There was another much thinner, rope-looking bar above it that slanted like an upside down V. We sat on the bar, jack-lined as we were to the boat. Holding on to the above bar, we tried to soak our feet in the water. As we went farther out, the waves got steeper. Sometimes, our entire legs up to the knees went under water. It got so we were counting the times our feet touched the water. "Ten! I got ten! No, wait, eeeleven!

What do you mean you got twelve? Hold a moment, thirrrrr....... teen!" We got bored when we hit a hundred so we switched to singing as many camp songs as we could remember. By this time, I was soaked up to my thighs. The waves were steep enough so Jaime hurt her bum bouncing up and down. She was the first to leave the water ride. Then Aeron, she was soaked everywhere, said she was freezing. I, me, the wuss in the family, prevailed. Naturally, I fell asleep afterwards. One day, I'm gonna do that again. 

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

In La Paz

When I stepped on the dock to La Paz, my thoughts were all focused on what I'd do. Armed with my purse and laundry, I caught glimpses of restaurants, people, bathrooms, then the laundry.

The laundry required tokens which you can get at the  Dock restaurant. There are a lot of times I wish that I could speak Spanish. This is one of them.

The next week was a whirl of chores, parties, and people. The most memorable was the party at Victory Cat. Earlier, I volunteered to help Victory Cat. I did dishes, looked for ingredients, vacuumed the floor, brought up appetizers, set table, and helped to lift up her door. Ruth, first mate on Victory Cat and the only one on the boat till her husband got back, made a heavenly meat mixture.

Since the grownups talked about boring stuff. We watched the movies, Shrek 1 and Atlantis.

More updates on In La Paz coming soon.      

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

The Crew, Clean, Chop Sickness

There is nothing worse than being on a catamaran in close-together chop. Every time you go on a wave, your boat and stomach pitch and roll. When you also have a cranky mother who is making noise about school work, it's nothing short of a nightmare. I'm sitting on a seat in front of our computer in said chop having second thoughts about my tuna sandwich. It's a sunny day with a beautiful, cooperative, breeze. And I want to barf. 

The only remedy to Chop Sickness is sleep. Instantly, the rolling, bucking, ship becomes the most vigorous cradle you've ever been in. Of course, if you are a light sleeper, you may need to employ the help of Melatonin to knock you out. Sadly, I can't go to sleep because I have to do............... School work. 

Being crew is a step up from swab, which is a step up from passenger. But, when you're crew, you have to do all these tiresome things called work. When I became Crew, I was doing watch with mom. The wind was good so we decided to put up the spinnaker. This would be the first time both of us would try to raise the spinnaker without Dad. Naturally, things didn't go as well as we hoped but it was alright. Mom proclaimed me crew as soon as it was up. I didn't feel like crew. My nose was running, and I was tired enough to consider sleeping on the trampoline. 

Unlike what some magazines might suggest, cruising isn't all fun and roses. I figured this out when I saw the pile of dishes I had to dry. Coming back to that general topic, having a clean boat is important. It's essential for my mother's happiness which is essential to our happiness. So remember kids, whenever you think the Goddess of the kitchen is being unfair, remember who keeps your belly round.

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

Baja bored swimming

It is amazing what you can think and do when you are hot and bored. The boat was going very slow, I was very hot, and very bored. So were my sisters. We decided to do something about cooling off.

Swimming was always the first answer. But, since we were moving, we couldn't  swim. Unless ............................... We put on lifelines. My sisters and I strapped on to the transoms and plunged in to the cool/warm water. It is the most wonderful feeling. We were going 1/2 a knot and were being gently dragged forward by the boat. Of course, there was barely room for three girls on one bar so I was kicked to the other side.

I was fortunate enough to have the longest line. I tried twisting my leg around the line like the people in an acrobatic show and ended up face first in the water. I wasn't flexible enough.

Pretty soon, I heard Jaime scream. There were shouts of, "Shark, shark!" and a lots of splashing. 

When I cleared the water out of my eyes, I saw Jaime was screaming about a butchered looking seaweed. Poor thing.

When my lips were blue, I finally got out of the water and did my best to rinse off. No use, I was up to my hair in salt.I didn't sleep very comfortable that night I can tell you.

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

The Baja sailing race

Today, we are going into Turtle Bay after 3 days and nights of motoring and sailing. I had my second taste of night watch. It was exactly like I thought it was, boring. Unless your on helm, there's nothing much to do except watch movies and prepare tea. If your on helm, all you do is look at the radar and contemplate your navel. In other words, sit and do nothing.

I prefer the helping watch. My favorite is when the sun comes up and turns the sky gold and pink. There's a freshness to the air that you can't get at sunset.

Before the race began, there was a Halloween party. We won 4th place in the Unique division. We went as signal flags that spelled, ADIOS on the front and SEEYA on the back. There were about 7 kids there. Naturally, we all split in to a kid pack, away from the adults. There's something special about being in a kid pack at an adult party. Just as we can't drink beer and say nasty jokes, they can't race around the parking lot playing ball with people they never met. We get to be free and open without committing to friendship. Its instant and unquestionable, the kids in one group.

And thats very special, belonging anywhere.

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

The Wild Wild Life

My wildlife expierences have been sooooo satisfactory. Let me give
you a list:
I've walked by bears,
Ridden past a million sea lions,
And seals.
Not to mention more seals.

I've had 2 orca whales go under my boat,
And 2 humpbacks go alongside it.
Plus, a humpback jumped straight out of the
water right in front of us!

I've seen 500 pelicans dive around us.

But the most incredible experience besides
the whale is when dolphins rode for
half an hour in front of our boat,
under our boat, and along our boat.
A whole pod!

Yet with all this stuff in the sea,
We have only caught 2 fish.

Whats up with that?

Anyway, speaking of eating,
Mom's sourdough bread is getting better.
She says, 'That's wildlife! Yeast is a really nice beast.'

As we're heading to Mexico,
it's getting hotter and I'm getting
my first taste of night watch.
What you do is stuff yourself full
of sweet stuff and tell your parents
it's because you have to stay awake.

Other than that it is boring. It is not a wild wild life.

~ Mera #2 sailing kid on s/v Don Quixote

Blog test

I realized that I am relying mostly on mom's expertise to get
me to my blog. She's made this convenient little link at our
g-mail accounts. I have no idea how to get to my blog without it.
This blog is a test to see if I can blog to mom's website through
this way. I am terribly sorry if anyone thought this one might be
interesting.

Walk the walk

Grandma Nancy managed to drag us on a "2" mile walk.

 It was actually 4 miles! She said it just slipped her

mind! The trail is long, flat, and very curvy. The sun was

 hot and unrelenting. The road was dusty and dry.

Yade yade yada. Grandma also said that it was a

pleasant  LITTLE walk. After that, she did what she 

calls shopping. Even though there was a mall, 

she just took us around to big stores and stuff .

It was over soon. Speaking of soon, we are 

going  to leave her house soon on a plane to Tahoe. 

Squaw Valley. My grandparents. I'm sorry that this is

 such a short blog but I don't really have much to say. 

More updates on my family trio coming soon.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

swimming fun

When I first saw the La Conner swimming pool,

I almost didn't believe it. It was a huge pool with

a diving board, a slide, a buoy swing, a climbing

wall, and lots of floatys.

 

When I entered, the

water was cool and refreshing. First thing, I tried

the slide. It was a blue and swirly masterpiece.

Only 2 swirls though. I climbed up the too long stair

and stared at the loud, blue, gaping hole in front

of me. Also a few shrieking kid's fat buts.

When it was finally my turn, I grabbed on to the bar

and swung in. I shot down the slide on my shoulder

blades and ankles. I couldn't keep my mouth open.

I was shrieking the entire way. When I reached the

bottom, it was like a cannonball. SPLASH!!!

I inhaled water and emerged spluttering in front

of the ladder. And I did it again.

 

Finally I got tired of it and moved on to the diving

board. First  try I slipped and landed stumoch

down on the water. Wincing I got back up on to the

ladder. I didn't want to dive anymore.

Next up, the buoy swing. When I caught it and swung,

 I was so

suprised, I forgot to get my legs up and dragged

through the water. Undiscouraged I tried again

and did much better.

Last but not least, the

climbing wall. OK. I take that back, it is the

least. You can't hold on to the handles.

I got as high as my ankles and fell backward.

Time to move back to the slide.

 

The rest of my time at the pool was pretty

much the same. At the end, I was so waterlogged

I couldn't see straight. I took that as the cue to

leave.

peace

One of the most peaceful places I've ever been
is called La Conner. My grandparents, Nancy
and George Conger, along with Nancy's mother,
Helena, live there. Their house is a quiet, pleasent,
soft place. The windows are big and rather thick,
making the light that goes in, glow. There are two
floors. The master bedroom, kichen, bathroom1 and 2,
office, lounge, garage, living room, and porch are
on that floor. There is a carpeted stairway leading
downstairs to the T.V. room,baththroom 3, Helena's
room, guest room, and basement. Outside there is
a big grassy yard with a lot of plants and flowers.
The yard wraps around the back and side, with a
cement pavement for the cars in the front.
Grandma Nancy is one of the best cooks I know
and Grandpa George always has something to say.
He's like mom. More updates on my family trio,
coming soon.

 Oh crap, I don't know what to say, ummm.......... We are finally in Seattle!

Pretty good line uhh?

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

A certain pain in the arse

Dear Readers,

For the last 8 nights, I have had to sleep with my older sister. My
sister loves privacy, so you can imagine she wasn't happy when she
found out. Hence the name, "A pain in the arse." The reason for this
fiasco, is that my grandma came over to visit. You don't fly down on
a $260 plane and stay for only 3 days like she used to. Oh no, she
had to stay for a week and a quarter. Well, anyway during the time
she stayed, we managed to go to 2 ridiculously expensive restaurants,
all expenses paid, of course. But, on her second to last night, after
we ate and drank, she soaked her shoes and had to go home in her
crocs. It is my opinion she had a little to much to drink. Crocs, by
the way, are fabulous but ugly looking shoes. My grandma had freaked
because the age limit, I mean the weight limit was 25. She ended up
bringing 14 pounds of luggage without needing anymore. Go figure.
When grandma came, she had 15 needle threaders and when she left, she
had 2. I am constantly watching the floor now because of this
blunder. They are sharp!

Well, your devoted writer, over and out.

MERA

Rapids and What?

Dear readers, 

I have been having an interesting week. Let me tell you about it.

 On day ladedadeda, we went to Squirrel Cove. I heard there were rapids but 

hearing of them and actually seeing them were two whole different things 

entirely. The rapids were a strip of water that ran 30 yards across each way

from the lagoon to the cove. The rapids were not what you'd call mild, but they 

weren't too dangerous either. Not wild but strong enough to pull you along them

till you got to the end. Behind the rapids was a big heated lagoon, almost as big

as the cove. The second day at Squirrel Cove, Dad dropped us of at an innocent 

looking island. It seemed from his view we could climb across to get to the rapids.

It turns out, after a lot of climbing, that we couldn't get across from the island to the rapids

so we had to swim there. Jaime wrapped our backpack into 2 blue inflatable floatys and

balanced the backpack on our boogie board. The we swam to the other side.

Not a short distance I can tell you. We reached the rapids only to find that the rapids

were too low in water to ride. So we had to wait. Finally after a lot of waiting, Our parents

arrived and we went home. That same night, an old man named Carl got stuck

on the other side of the rapids and had to wait to get out. His friend panicked

and had the whole lagoon in an uproar to search for him. Meanwhile, the old man

drifted out only to find that his boat was gone, currently tied to our boat but

he didn't know that. So he searched for his boat, we searched for him and

it was a while before we got it all cleared up.

THE END

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

Desolation Sound

The mountains are beautiful up here. Right now we are heading to Squirrel Cove. It is really fun.

So far we have barely seen any boats. It's like everyone fled straight to Desolation or home.

It is still cold! I can't believe I went on this long planned trip only to find that it's cold.

On our way back down near California, Mom said we might go to Disneyland. I hope.

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

Nanaimo

We are in Nanaimo. Just yesterday we went to a huge water area. It had 3 waterslides, a

 wave pool, a lazy river, a play lagoon, and 2 diving boards. It only cost 2.47 per child and 5.50 per

grownup. Serendipity, I could have picked any other brochure but I picked the huge water world.

Over and Out!

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote

What's Happening

My school vacation is over. Now, I am back to whining in the morning and
(if i'm not lucky) snoring over my workbook at night. And get this,
every morning we exercise for an hour!
We have dinner in the middle of the day now. After that we have
siesta or more commonly known, nap-time.
In the middle of the day, the heat is the worst so we rest at that time.
At night or 6:00 we have supper, a light snack. Sometimes daddy makes
homemade smoothies.

Right now we are in Reid Harbor. I have a lot of new schoolbooks.
This year we are doing country projects.
Well, actually these two years. The first year we are doing the
imaginary country project. We have to find its border line,
climate, trade, and academics. AND, everything else. Next year, we
are studying a real country.