A Two Hour Tour

Capitola kind of looks a little like Venice - only closer. :)

We boarded the Chardonnay II in Santa Cruz on Friday for a sail around the Monterey Bay. Steve & Barb are legendary for their luck and this was the latest winning raffle ticket from a $10 donation: a 2 hour cruise for them and 50 of their friends. Worth what, a couple of grand?

There were about 10 who had never been on a sailboat, so how could they know it was probably the best conditions possible: picture perfect weather, calm seas and just enough wind to sail the whole way.

Cool captain and crew, too.

There was a lot of good energy with all these guests who don'tsee each other very often - the brothers and friends and cousins and kids who almost all started at the same point in the Sunset.

After, there was the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk and the Giant Dipper, twice! We saw Laughing Sal from Playland at the Beach, watched surfer dudes ride the waves, and grabbed for rings on the Merry Go Round to throw in the clown's mouth to light up the eyes.

Corn Dogs and Chocolate dipped soft ice cream and salt water taffy. Yum!  And then there were the two free on-the-beach concerts with Eric Burdon and the Animals!

• House of the Rising Sun
• We Gotta Get Out of this Place
• Baby Let Me Take You Home
• Spill the Wine
• Sky Pilot
• It's My Life
• Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
• Boom Boom
• See See Rider
• San Francisco Nights ... the list is endless.

It was a rockin' good show, and EB just passed the big 7-0 and still has what it takes. Fan-tastic treat.

Great day, guys!  We have The Animals Retrospective cranked up as I'm writing this.