If I had a boat...

Boats are cool, and the ocean is amazing in many ways.  I was at West Jetty View Park, at the tip of the Balboa Peninsula, in Orange County, CA when I saw these two boats.  I was immediately drawn in by them, and at first I wasn't sure why.  But now, I think it is for a few reasons.  It could be that I just like boats (though I don't own one), or it could be that these two boats are of not just different makes but different eras, or perhaps because these two represent a real contrast among life's big decisions: enjoy the journey and go where life leads you (sailboat) or just hurry up and get somewhere quickly (speedboat) paying little attention to what is going on around you.  

Lyle Lovett has a great song about a boat, the title of which I borrowed for the title of this photo, and I recommend you listen to it.  It's a great song, and I am not biased just because Lyle is from around Central Texas (where I live).  He rambles on in the song about The Lone Ranger, Tonto and having a pony on his boat, and I am not sure what all he means by it, though I am sure it is deeply meaningful to him.  Anyways, one of my favorites lines in the song is "kiss my ass I bought a boat, I'm going out to sea".  Perhaps that is the lure of boats, especially seafaring ones - that you can sail off and moor yourself on distant shores, leaving all your troubles behind.  I know people that would very much like to do that.

I have a friend whose older brother once worked for little money at a tough job up in New England, and one winter he literally had enough of the cold and snow, and so he packed everything up in his old car, quit his job and left the next morning for a new life in the sunshine.  He ended up in south Florida, working as a deckhand on various boats, gaining experience and knowledge and eventually grew to be Captain on a large luxury yacht owned by a wealthy businessman out of Chicago.  Now he runs the boat back and forth from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Nassau, Bahamas and generally just loves the hell out of it - and makes a great living too.  So, I guess going out to sea can pay big dividends...