Wednesday 10th February 2010

Went for a run today – was so nice to get out in the sun and get moving, particularly after yesterday which was another day of cold and pouring rain (nah, never rains in Dana Point...). Apparently the weather is quite unseasonal, though, and there is evidence that it doesn’t rain like that very much as gutters are overflowing and people are sand-bagging their houses. We found out today that it was a close-to-record low last night (I think someone said 30 degrees F). That’s not what California is supposed to be like!!!
It was a little brisk when I set out for my run this morning (this was before I had heard that it was so cold last night) but I braved it in shorts and my much-loved boot camp t-shirt (very inspirational as when I wear it I remember that I have to go back and be around these fit people!!) and warmed up quickly, however I got a lot of strange looks from the locals who were all wearing warm clothes on their early morning walks – including scarves, beanies and jackets. I think it was obvious that I’m not a local...
The nice weather meant that it was a great day for getting jobs done. Claire and I left the boys on the boat and went shopping for a few things (Claire being very brave and driving! I’m not even going to attempt it – it’s weird enough being a passenger on what is usually the driver’s seat, and I’m constantly flicking my eyes up to the rear-view mirror and getting a shock when I can’t see anything because the mirror is facing the wrong way!). The boys fixed a few things, and tracked down the source of the weird smell that has been lingering since we first opened the boat door... let’s hope that ‘tracked down’ also means ‘fixed’...!
Weather is supposed to be nice for the next few days, so we’re hoping to get the boat out for a trial run sometime soon now that we’ve had the engine and rigging checked and given the all clear.