For Independence Day, we cruise on a boat with Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari. Some years back, Dave’s friends wanted him to take them out into the harbor for the Dana Point fireworks then he offered the opportunity to his clients. I’m so glad he did.

We arrive early thinking there will be traffic. There isn’t any traffic on the 5 freeway. Most of the congestion is on the beach. We park at Dana Hills High School then take the shuttle (school bus) to the harbor, all for free. Everyone is dressed in summer clothes except for those of us going onto the bay.

In the marina, people are having parties on their boats. Everyone is decked out in red, white, and blue. Older couples on the boardwalk watch the boat of twenty-somethings singing Don McLean’s long, iconic song “American Pie.” It is enjoyable to watch the watchers watching the partiers. As we walk away, the singing revs up.

So bye, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinkin’ whisky and rye singing, “This will be the day that I die. This will be the day that I die.”

We hang out upstairs at Captain Dave’s cute building with a nice view of the marina. The girl working there likes my Sea Shepherd baseball cap. A friendly couple sit with us and tell us they’re almost empty nesters. They are out on their own for the first time. He asks me about Sea Shepherd. I always tell people Captain Paul Watson saved whales in Antarctica for ten years. Then that gets the reaction of, “Oh like Greenpeace?” Actually, yes Capt. Watson was one of three who started Greenpeace, but the Earth defenders had differing opinions on how to approach Earth destroyers and then began Sea Shepherd kind of.

On the Lily, we wait for someone who is a no show. The seat is damp on the bow and I keep warm with my Sea Shepherd sweatshirt, which Captain Mark notices. With a chill in the air, I switch from my Sea Shepherd baseball cap to my Sea Shepherd beanie. The man of the friendly couple we’ve been talking to all evening notices my hat change. I wear many hats I say. He makes a comment about how I have all their gear and asks if I have the underwear too. I say no, but I will tell them to make some like Ellen DeGeneres underwear—bikini and thong. One couple left. I don’t really care about the wait. Just being in Dana Point on the water makes me happy. It’s “research.”

The man we’ve been talking to is in between jobs so he is catching up on “real news” during his time off and also watching some shows like Jane the Virgin and Game of Thrones. I don’t push my books on people, but he’s wakening up to what’s really going on in the world and then he mentions Game of Thrones. (I tried reading the first book.) I said I haven’t watched the show, but I did love Beauty and the Beast the TV show in the late 80s co-written by George R. R. Martin. That leads into my books.

I currently have the first ebook, Superfreak, in my MerSea series on sale for .99¢ at Amazon. Or you can buy all three. Amazon bundled the MerSea series so you can buy them with one click for $6.97.

Captain Mark entertains us with a story about his favorite boat that passes us going the opposite direction as we leave the bay. The boat is a schooner made of Alder that was abandoned and lost in Bermuda. It was salvaged and claimed. Whoever tugs a boat or ship in gets to claim it. Never have another ship pull your ship in with their lines or they can claim your ship. Ya know, cause I got yachts lining the marina. Which reminds me of Dweezil Zappa’s song “I Want A Yacht.”

I want a yacht. What about you? Nothing less will ever do. 

I’m a little concerned the fireworks will bother the fish and marine mammals, but the show isn’t too loud. Dana Point has managed to keep tall buildings out of their town. The noise doesn’t have anywhere to echo or bounce off which is good.

Kudos to whomever designed the show. There are some fireworks I have never seen. There are the smiley faces and big blooms. Tight clusters of stars float almost like a bunch of fairies. Then five lined up dots sit in the sky. So if you think you saw a spaceship, it might just be fireworks.

Earthquake update

I didn’t feel the 6.4 earthquake on the morning of Fourth of July. I was too busy walking. But tonight on the 5^th as I took a break from writing this post and gardened I felt the long earthquake. It was a 7.1. Now yesterday when I talked to the lady from the friendly couple on the boat ride, she said the earthquakes are good because they loosen up the tension so we don’t have a big earthquake. I said that’s the same thing Renaissance Man says, but the news always says different. After the boat ride and earthquakes, I feel like I’m sloshing around like a mermaid in the sea. Just another day in California.

Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari • 24440 Dana Point Harbor Drive • Dana Point • CA • 92629 • dolphinsafari.com • 1-949-488-2828