Finn invades the Bay Area.

I busted my wrist at work last week, so I'm a bit gimpy on the keyboard.  Finn's going to let the pictures do the talking for his big trip to the Bay Area....

  

Finn apparently was not as thrilled as I was about the pints of Racer 5 at the Bear Republic Brewery, but he warmed up to the scene at the Navarro Vineyards in the Anderson Valley.

Navarro Vineyards has a staff of sheep and chickens to weed the vineyard and poop on the grape vines. Check out the CBS news piece on them and Gracie the sheep dog-complete with critter cam (titled "Sheepish" Labor)

Navarro Vineyards and the lavender garden.  Yep, Mrs Finn was going nuts.

After the buzz wore off, we headed up to Grandpa How's place in beautiful Irish Beach, about 45 minutes south of Mendocino.   Finn got stuffed in his survival suit to brave the elements. 

The gnarly surf rocked the little dude to sleep. Or maybe it was one too many Racer 5's.

  

Finn had a gas hunting for abalone shells with Grandpa How along the rugged coastline, and got pinched by a stinky crab claw.

  

On Easter Sunday, Finn scored some nice eggs with his cousins, and we scored some nice weather, a killer Easter supper, and a hot tip that the crab boat was coming in to the Point Arena Pier:

The cooler filled with crab quickly turned to this:

Monday crab feast.

Ok...backing up a little to the crab pickup day on the pier...I couldn't help but notice that a stand up paddle surfer was on the outside along with 2 other surfers.  Not even isolated Point Arena is immune to the stand up invasion.  I'm still not quite sure why that pisses me off, but it does.   They do have some serious huevos to go out however-that is some cold, gnarly, sharky water.

Kickin' it in Tiburon.

On the tail end of the trip, Finn wanted to see his Pop's old stomping grounds in Tiburon, located just north of the Golden Gate.  Mrs. Finn booked us a bargain room at The Waters Edge hotel, which just happens to be built on the piers Mr. Finn and Uncle Matt used to scramble under and go fishing as young juvenile delinquents.  This is also the site where Matt and I thought the best way to get a fish home when you forgot your bag, might be to put it in your pocket headfirst.  Have you ever tried to get a fish out of your pocket? No really, have you?  It's not pretty. Ask Matt.

Give us a break, we were 9 or so. Maybe 10. Ok 13.

Finn had a great dinner with his Gaga at the best damn place in Tiburon, Sam's Anchor Cafe, and quickly decided that he was finished visiting and traveling for a while.  After a short flight back to Leucadia and reuniting with the wookie dog Jake, Finn was back at Stone Steps watching momma Finn surf during this last spectacular Leucadian weekend.

Bronzing at Stone Steps.

The Finn Speed Round-the last 2 weeks in 60 seconds...

Finn's giving me some heat for not keeping up with the blog action, so here's a quick update before we leave manana to see the family in the Bay Area....

Gaga (grandma) cruised down for a visit and was able to celebrate Finn's 6-month birthday with us. Momma Finn busted out a surfy beachy cake from VG's, and Finn had fun smearing it on everything in site.

Then we all cruised to the new San Elijo Lagoon Nature Center to walk off the tonnage resulting from the VG-fest. The Nature Center is a little sparse on the interpretive side, but the green building techniques and architecture really steal the show. Check it out if you geek on that stuff like me and Finn do.

Ok, then on to Pelly's Fish Market in Carlsbad for some beers and Halibut sandwiches to go for dinner on the bluff along Coast Highway, followed by a side trip down to Seaside to check out the swarm of kitesurfers trying to kill the few diehard surfers still in the water.

Mayhem at Seaside.

Last but not least, my mom got to see Finn wear my 37 year-old hot pants and matching bumble bee shirt that must have been all the rage in San Francisco, circa 1971. Finn looked a bit like a Lakers Girl with some mean plumber's crack, but I think he successfully pulled off the look.

Nice crack! (Sorry Finn)

Oh yeah, Finn busted another move by holding onto his bottle when I was feeding him over the weekend. Smart little monkey he is.

If only I had a prehensile tail...

We'll be back soon with a full report of Finn's first flight, his big trip north, and other shenanigans...