Father's Day Trip to the Beach & Redwoods

I had a great day and the rest of the family was very, very... giving.  It was planned out days, weeks in advance.  I woke Amy up at 0430 and the kids at 0500 to go... 

CRABBING! 

I've been waiting awhile - there's been scouting trips...

But down here it's the real ocean, not a big bay like Puget Sound.

The lack of discretion can be bad :(  

Hence the scouting :)

So I reserved a boat (bigger than Pa's crabber), purchased 2 traps (back in like March), and some salmon heads.  Off to Bodega Bay!

 It was about 49 degrees and a little foggy and windy - but look, no white caps - Yeh!

We set our 2 pots in the vicinity of others and on our way back in we had a sea lion swim up.

After making it back to shore we parked the boat and trailer and went exploring up the coast towards Austin Creek Rec Area to see some Redwoods.  We made a bunch of stops along the way to burn energy and kill time -- the pots needed to soak awhile...

 Yes, they're in swimsuits...

 How's the water look, Emmett?  As long as the water is warmer than the air...

 Big, big trees - lots.  Keep those pots soaking.

 Whoohooo!!!  20 crab - 3 keepers

Could use a few more pots.  California is odd when it comes to crabbing - no limit on pots, write whatever you like on the buoys (your choice of color), size is 5 3/4, and limit is 10...  Somehow, there's still crab out there to be caught :)

 The wind had picked up and Amy did the buoy snagging, pot pulling and measuring.  I drove - whitecaps here and there.  Kids had fun, too.  I did.  Not a dry stitch of clothing.  Warmed up in the campground showers afterwards and put on dry clothes that Amy had recommended we bring :)  Lots of fun today and Amy and the kids were amazing - thanks guys.  Luv ya