I was getting all my gear out today for Crabfest and noticed I have one hoop net with some tears/openings in the poly netting. What is the best way to fix this? Zip ties maybe?
I tried to find some poly netting repair line, but it seems to already come in "net form" instead of a handy short roll. Any tips?

Thanks!
-Cherie

How many of you were surprised to learn that the Sonoma Parks had changed their generator hours this past weekend?

The camp hosts came around and knocked at our door, saying it had been changed about 6 months prior... I was about to jump in the shower of our trailer when they told us the new hours were now 8am to 8pm. We had planned on running our generator to charge our equipment from 8-10pm since we were gone all day!

While leaving, the incredibly sympathetic staff at the main booth encouraged us to contact the Regional Parks office. They told us that others had complained about the generators going until 10pm, so the county changed it.

The staff recommended that we share the contact info and to get as many people as possible to contact the parks office!
If there is enough polite and professional feedback about the current hours, we might be able to get them to change it. We are such a large forum, we could easily get thousands of calls/emails in to them (however, we need to be mindful and do not want to give a bad impression of NCKA or the event....).

Personally, I think we should be allowed to run generators from 7am to 10pm - this allows us time to catch-up on some computer work in the evening, charge equipment, and cook our crab!

Please consider contacting the Sonoma County Regional Parks, and let them know that as a long-time camper at Doran, you would like to see them change the generator hours and restore them to the 7am-10pm time frame. Let them know how it impacts you and your use of the camping facilities.

Contact them by email (which is probably best):
parks@sonoma-county.org

By phone:
(707) 565-2041

Share this information with your social networks!
-Cherie

***************UPDATED MUSIC LIST*****************

Yes, you read it right - we are planning AHEAD this year for the UKULELES at Crab Fest! 
We are 6 months out and it's time to start practicing! Don't try to fool yourself by saying that you have plenty of time.... the clock is ticking and before you know it, you will be packing-up your crab pots, kayak, and ukulele and heading to Bodega Bay.

A group of us (Adele, Roxanne, Regina, and myself) are meeting about every week to learn a set of basic songs, and we thought we'd share this "master" song list & music so that our fellow NCKA'ers can learn the same songs along with us (we would like to come-up with about 10 songs total that are 2-3 cords, so easy stuff).

The best part of our plan is that we'll actually have some songs we'll ALL know, and be able to play as a group. There are a few of you out there who are highly talented, and of course you'll be expected to play some more complex tunes for our listening enjoyment at Crab Fest! But having a few easy songs in our pocket & ready to go will get more people to grove with their ukes.

So far on the music list we have:

-Tiny Bubbles
-The Lion Sleeps Tonight (2 versions)
-Banana Boat Song
-Mockingbird
-Island Style
-Boardwalk
- Hey, Soul Sister by Train
-LING FEVER by Scotty
-Riptide
-I Wanna Be Like You
-The Bare Necessities
-Here Comes The Sun



...ok, so that last one by Train is a little tougher,     but it's a cool song and has a great sound! If you have any favorites to add to the list that are in the 3 chord range, email me the music and we'll see about adding it.

Attached is the music for the songs above - print out your own copy and get practicing!

Whooyoooo! ROCK ON! 

-Cherie, Roxanne, Adele, and Regina

OK, I am debating about this and want to weigh out the pros and cons.
Our trailer has a 2-way fridge, propane and electric.

I have heard how some people get the fridge going at home with the electric and then when they hit the road, they switch on the propane and have the fridge run under gas power while traveling to their destination.

At first thought, it doesn't sound like the safest thing to be driving down the road with the propane going! But then I wondered what the risks really are.

So - do you drive with the fridge being powered via propane?

On the way back from camping Marshal Beach I ran into a few NCKA brothers! Who was it I was chatting with? It was great to see you guys!

Pakeha Cherie

I was watching a "Ted Talks" and saw this pretty cool invention:

http://www.ted.com/talks/hamish_jolly_a_shark_deterrent_wetsuit_and_it_s_not_what_you_think#t-517981

Apparently, they are trying to design a new wet suit that deters sharks. They studied which patterns were "engaging" to sharks and which ones were not, with the idea that they could prevent shark attacks at least to some degree.

-Cherie

Since we already have the "dates" for Crabfest 2015 (or at least the jetty is just about full for that particular weekend a year from now, haha) I figured we better get a thread going in anticipation of our annual ukulele jam!

Early, I know - but this gives us plenty of time to practice in time for the big event 

Attached is a file I created/scanned that has a little bit of everything...things I have collected from various classes. It includes tips for players, chord charts, tuning info, and a few songs we figured might be easy to start with. Perhaps if we give this group of songs a shot and maybe have a few jam practices with these in mind, we will have a good set of tunes ready to go.

Take a look and if you find some other good ones, post 'em.
Hey Rey - have any others you want to add?

Here's the link to our other thread which includes more music files: http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=48861.0

-Cherie

Hello my NCKA brothers and sisters!

So my son just called - he is using my old car while going to school up at Butte. It's a Toyota Rav 4, 2003, FWD 2 cyl engine.

Apparently he took it in for an oil change and was told that there is a severe oil leak coming from either the valve cover or intake. The chassey is covered in oil.  He also needs to replace the power steering fluid and have some work done on the breaks.

I need to find a reputable and trustworthy mechanic in the Oroville area that he can go to, who is reasonable cost-wise (college students don't have alot to spend on car repairs). I have no idea of where to start, and I thought I would check with you guys first!

Any recommendations either way (who to go to or NOT got to) would be GREATLY appreciated!

-Cherie