I woke up today on a houseboat.
It was a whirlwind decision to swap our Austin condo with a couple who had a floating home in Berkeley on San Francisco Bay. Bill and I decided to take a road trip so we could bring all of our writing equipment, manuscripts, etc.
This is a photo-journal of our arrival and first days in California.
Here is the houseboat sitting in a marina full of other houseboats, sailboats, and cruisers. There is a family with three children down the next dock. Their boat slip walkways are covered with bicycles, scooters, and skateboards. We see them leave with their parents for school each morning as if it’s the most common thing in the world to come and go from a houseboat.
We are still pinching ourselves at how lucky we are, and amazed at the jaw-dropping beauty all around us.
The marina sits at the feet of USC Berkeley with the Berkeley Hills in the distance.
Here is the sunroom of the house and the view out the windows. The house is very steady, just like any home, until the wind guts at very high levels. The first time that happened, I was sitting at my computer working on my novel. I grabbed the desk as if I was going over. The house immediately settled – silly me.
The owners have traveled all over the world and have artifacts from Indonesia, China, Africa, India, etc. placed all around the home. This is the Moroccan sunroom where I write each day.
This is the former front of the old houseboat with its curved glass and very tall door. It is now the back wall of the sunroom.
A cute sea lion came to visit our second day here and posed as I took his/her picture.
I have always loved the water and this is a writing dream for me to float on the ocean and create my next book. Here are the views from my writing desk.
And, the view from the bedroom.
Every night so far, we’ve seen the sunset from the deck over the marina and bay.
A beautiful ending to each day.
More about our San Francisco sight seeing and houseboat adventures in next week’s blog.
In the meantime, Happy Reading,
Manning
