Balboa Peninsula - Pirate Surprise

LtoR: Tamara, Felicia Betsy, Karen on the Balboa Island Ferry

To break up our Mahjongg marathon weekend at Balboa Island, my friend Tamara took us for a bike ride with a surprise.  We set out on our bikes through the alleys of Balboa Island to the Balboa Island Ferry where a nice ferry crew operator took our picture.  The ride over to Balboa Peninsula takes about five minutes,  just enough time to collect the $1.25 fare (the extra quarter is for the bike) and admire the boat traffic on the Newport channel. We unloaded at the Balboa Peninsula Fun Zone and then took a leisurely pedal on the bike path that hugs the Pacific. We paused to admire the beach version of hockey (think guys in shorts and rollerblades on blacktop),  a remote controlled dune buggy, and street musicians.  Then we took a side detour to the surprise: the pirate house of Newport Beach.

Pirates, wenches, an alligator and the Statue of Liberty.

 It's a street scene straight out of Pirates of the Carribean. About thirty life size fiberglass pirates and wenches surround the house, climb the walls, nap in hammocks, and brandish some impressive weapons.  At the nearby dock a crew of pirates play poker. 

Safely surrounded by pirates. 

San Diego Fleet no more

Samuel and Steven at San Diego Fleet's 5th ever game

On Saturday, March 9, 2019, Steven and Samuel and I attended the fifth game of the freshly formed San Diego Fleet.  Football had returned to San Diego after the NFL Chargers left us for Los Angeles.  Did it matter that the Fleet was playing in the old decrepit Qualcomm stadium?  Did it matter it was Minor League football?  No and no.  For less than $30 each, we sat close to the action, and what action it was.  The Fleet won with a field goal against the Salt Lake Stallions with three seconds to go.  I was standing up, hollering with everyone else.  And to be honest, I hate professional football.  But the Fleet, I loved.  I loved their logo (a warship, so fitting for this Navy town) and slogan (All Hands on Deck).  I loved being so close to the action.  I loved not paying a bjillion dollars for a ticket and only getting a nose bleed seat.

I became a fan.

On April 2, 2019, the Alliance of American Football (AAF), the fresh new minor league that included my new favorite San Diego Fleet, suspended operations.  A key funder had backed out.

The City of San Diego will make out all right financially and the Fleet's wide receiver Kameron Kelly just signed with the Steelers. So it's not all bad news, but it's a bad break for San Diego fans.

R.I.P. San Diego Fleet.