Category Archives: Locations

Places around the world

Happy Hermosa Beach, CA

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I needed a boat break in the midst of all the boat work.  So, I headed to Hermosa Beach, California to visit my family during the Christmas break.  It was a very short trip but well worth the miles!

Both of my nephews were home for the holidays so we had lots of family time. We enjoyed many walks along the coast, strand, green belt, and beach.  

When the sun is out it is not just pretty but gorgeous!

We took another walk along the coast near the Point Vicente Lighthouse which is reported to be haunted by a lone female spirit.

We passed by an information center that told us about the gray whale migration and gave us stamps.  And a beautiful peacock was roaming the streets on our way home.

My sister’s dog Luke is part shepherd and husky and requires several walks a day. So, we visited lots of fun little parks.

Cameron’s 22nd Bday

Cameron turned 22 on 29 December!  We celebrated him all day and took him to play Top Golf in the evening.  Can’t say that I was any good at it, but it sure was fun!

My trip was super short so I was only able to see one friend…Deborah.  We went to a new restaurant called Tiki Kai which was so cute!  It had marvelous decor and atmosphere.  The food was excellent but ridiculously expensive for small portions of food.

Kimberly’s Bday

My sister’s birthday was on New Year’s Day!  We celebrated her all day long too. We started out by watching the Rose Parade which was rained upon (only 10th time in 150 years). 

Since it was raining, we decided to go see Song Sung Blue (movie) but it was such a sad movie.  It had great acting, a good story line, fabulous music, and overall aa great movie — but super sad.  Then off to dinner at Tin Roof Bistro. 

Featured Image: Cole, Kimberly, Troy, me, Cameron

I go through moments where I really miss land life and my family.  These moments are coming more frequently.  Unfortunately, we are sailing further and further away making these trips really difficult.  But I will keep flying back to stay grounded and fill my cup up! 

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events. I was in Hermosa Beach the last week of December 2025.

Don’t miss all the quirky things to do in Whangarei – check out our last blog post.

Quirky Things in Whangarei

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In addition to the marvelous marina, tasty restaurants, and fun shops there are a few quirky things you need to see when you visit Whangarei. This of course is in addition to all of the cool things to see and do in Whangarei.

Let me share with you a few of my favorite quirky things.

Camera Obscura

This is a really cool and free thing to do on a sunny day.  Visitors can access this beautiful piece of architecture which is located at the foot of the Te Matua a Pohe bridge.

Camera Obscura (Latin for dark chamber) is a lightproof box or room with a hole on one side.  Light from outside passes through the hole and strikes the surface inside.  As reflected light travels in straight lines the world outside appears upside down and back to front.

This is a beautiful phenomenon to enjoy.

Standing outside the Camera Obscura you would see the Hook bridge as shown in the bottom left photo. 

Inside the Camera Obscura the same image is shown upside down (right image). It was a cloudy rainy day when I visited so the photo is not great.

Locals and tourists have the pleasure of seeing dozens of beautiful pieces of art around the Hatea walking loop.  

This anchor and beautiful quote and the large magic 8 ball are a few of my favorites.

Can You Hear Me Now?

We love this piece of art.  It is a great way to hear your partner when he mumbles 🙂

Claphams Clock Museum

This is such a quirky little museum! 

The Claphams National Clock Museum may be small but it is packed with hundreds of clocks and time pieces. 

Guests will find ancient sun, sand, and water clocks, antique clocks, and wacky unbelievable clocks.  There is something to entertain everyone in one of the largest and most historically significant collection of clocks in the Southern Hemisphere.

Glass Blowing

Right in the heart of Whangarei is Grinter Glass. Visitors walk into the showroom showcasing stunning glass works. 

The glass blowing artists work just behind the shop. Tourists can get up close and personal while watching the experts blow glass creations.

Who needs standard men/women figures when you can do something fun like this:

 

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events.

We were in Whangarei from late October 2025 to January 2026 working on the boat and enjoying this beautiful, quirky town.

Be sure to read about the beautiful and unique bridges of Whangarei. 

Christmas in Whangarei

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We have the extreme pleasure of celebrating Christmas in Whangarei.  Our first  stop is the Crane Road Christmas Tree Farm with our friends Kara and Sharron.

They have several hundred trees growing here.  You can purchase any tree with a tag on it. Of course I found several smaller trees that I’d love to bring back to the boat.  Alas, they were not for sale.

Before you shop, the helpers give you a very long stick with a Santa hat on the end.  You use this stick to notify the helpers once you have selected your tree. 

Santa made an early trip to Whangarei so we all took photos with him. Sharron and Kara in the back with me, Santa and Matt in the front.

Christmas on the Boat

This was almost the first Christmas where I did not decorate.  Almost.  The boat is in complete chaos with workers coming in out sanding, grinding, and painting.  There is barely any spare spots for decor.

However, I just couldn’t let the holiday come without my old friends.  So, I brought out a few decorations and Matt hung our Christmas lights outside.  It made me feel so much happier!

Cookie Baking Day

As per tradition, I spend several days preparing (6) different cookie dough recipes.  My family started the cookie baking day tradition when I was little.  It has been great fun and a challenge trying to continue it while on the boat.  But I was determined to do it again this year – even though we are on the hard and our salon/galley is a complete mess.

Candy Cane Kisses, , peppermint snowballs, chocolate mint cookies, gingerbread, and toffee. Total of 700 cookies not counting the sugar cookies.

Kara and Lyndsey came over to help me decorate the sugar cookies. All 200 of them!

Town Basin Christmas Light Competition

Each year the Town Basin Marina hosts a competition of lights between all of the boats.  There are several prizes for best overall boat, best foreign boat, best local boat, Judge’s choice and more.  This year I was asked to be a judge.

We started early to get in the spirit…

It was really nice to see the marina boats step up their game. A lot more boats participated and of those they really went out with lights. animatronics, and blow up holiday decor.

It would not be Christmas without Matt being silly.

Christmas at Kara’s House

We had a lovely group of people celebrating at Kara’s house.  We served up a delicious feast, played loads of games and had a jolly good time!

Super grateful for the lovely people that found their way to enjoy Christmas with us.

Our blog posts run 6 weeks behind actual live events.  We celebrated Christmas throughout the month of December 2025.

Be sure to check out all the quirky things to do in Whangarei in our last blog post.