Editors note: Peter & Vicki are not cruising this year. They plan to return to the cruising life next year.
 

Hi Everybody!
I've actually broken this email up into 2 sections. I haven't written in so long and once I got going, before I knew it, it was another "novel". So here it goes...

5/27-5/29 Our 3 days in Solomons were hot and muggy, but interesting. We paid a visit to the Holiday Inn Happy Hour for wings and beer and did a little provisioning at Woodman's Market, a great store with excellent quality foods. They were nice enough to freeze some meat I bought so it would be ready for the freezer on the boat.

While there, we met a couple on a trawler called Pumpkin. They sold their house in CT about 5 years ago and moved aboard. They came over for cocktails the night before we left and we had a very nice visit swapping stories and info on the places we'd both visited.

We also made a run to the nearest video store and rented some movies and few episodes of season 2 of 24. On the walk to the video store, we were offered a ride by a couple a few years older than us. They stopped, asked if we were off a boat in the harbor and offered us a ride to the shopping center. It was miserably muggy so we hopped in. It turns out the woman's brother cruised the South Pacific for 7 years. So they said they liked to give fellow cruisers a ride when they could. We also decided to take the bus to the Mall across the river and spent a little time and money in a Target store. We finally got season 2 of 24. Solomon's is a real favorite or ours. We managed to anchor near the fuel dock by the Holiday Inn so we were able to pick up WI-FI which was sweet!

5/30 - 6/3 Wednesday we power sailed to Annapolis and picked up a Naval Academy mooring in Weems Creek. We had heard about this spot from other cruisers and it was a great tip. Pete went into shore with the dinghy after we arrived and checked the area out. He must be a reincarnation of a western scout, or maybe he just needs a break from all this cozy togetherness! Ha! Anyway he liked what he saw and we decided we'd go into town in the morning. We made contact with friends Roger and Sheila and other NU friends Walt and Kathy.

The following day, Pete and I took the dinghy in the beach and took a short walk up the hill to a little place for coffee and bagels. The couple who ran the place were the only folks there. He was reading the paper and commenting on the news and his wife, who was working the counter was friendly and we had a nice chat. It was one of those cruising moments that you enjoy because you don't have anywhere to rush off to. Afterwards we headed for downtown Annapolis on foot. We found a great grocery store in walking distance called Grauls and a Harvest Bread store. As we got into downtown we spied the capitol building and decided to go in and check it out.

They had a replica of a small sailboat that was made and presented to President Geo. Washington, about 22' long that had been sailed up the Potomac to be presented to him. Then a couple of days later it was sunk by a hurricane! They built an exact replica for the 200th anniversary and it was really beautiful. The interior of the capitol was beautiful and we shared the view with lots of local school children on an end of the year field trip!

Once we finished looking around, we trekked into downtown Annapolis. The shops there are very interesting, a mix of typical tourist shops and high end stores with unique gifts made by local crafts people. Now there' a politically correct term! Ha!

As for me, I was in lucky, they had a Chico's with a sale on! So I picked up a couple of tops and a nice pair of linen capris, all on sale! I haven't done much clothes shopping on this trip at all, but the summer tops were running thin, so it was about time for a shopping fix. While I did my thing, Pete went over to Fawcett's Marine and did a little shopping of his own. Once we'd both had our shopping fixes we found a nice little sandwich place and shared a sandwich and salad.

Roger picked us up near the docks about 1:30. On the way to their place we made a stop at a marine consignment store we'd heard of called Bacon Sails, actually it's Bacon Associates now. Luckily we didn't find anything we couldn't live without! Once we arrived at Roger and Sheila's we cleaned up and got ready to go to dinner. They took us to a great Thai place called Lemon Grass. The food was unusual and extremely delicious. We had a spicy fried green bean appetizer that was out of this world! Afterwards they dropped us off at the dinghy ramp and we headed back to Wind Dancer for the night.

On Friday, we decided to wait to go into town, as it was very hot and humid. So we settled in and watched 4 episodes of 24 back to back! Talk about a decadent lifestyle eh? After lunch, when we thought it had cooled down a bit, we hopped into the dinghy and headed back to town. Unfortunately we were wrong about it having cooled down! It was muggy and hot, so we walked to the Naval Academy Stadium with the intention of taking an air conditioned bus into downtown. We hoped it would be cooler than walking. Unfortunately the bus AC wasn't working, so I think it was hotter on the bus than outside! Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men.

This time we walked some of the galleries and specialty shops. I love the craftwork they have here. Much of it is quite unique, some of it reflects life on the Chesapeake and other is just very unusual. All was extremely well crafted. I kept my wallet in check and resisted the urge to splurge! Do I get bonus points for that? I would hope so! After our stroll, as it cooled down we headed back to the bus stop, this time we got a bus with working AC! Hooray! Before we knew it we were back at the dinghy beach headed for Wind Dancer.

After we arrived at WD, Roger called. He and Sheila were available for a sail on Saturday afternoon so we set a time on Saturday. By that time, we'd talked to Walt and Kathy and made arrangements for them to visit on Sunday. This gave us 2 great days with company and an opportunity to refresh our "social skills" :-)

Saturday, once Roger and Sheila arrived, we dropped the mooring and sailed up the Severn River. We'd never been up that far and really enjoyed the scenery. There were lovely homes on the water and lots of room to sail. We really enjoyed Roger and Sheila's company. Roger was so relaxed he took a little nap in the cockpit!

After we got back to the mooring, we rode with R & S back to their place for a neighborhood Margarita and Mexican food party. I'd made some Quesidillas that morning, so I brought them along to share. We had a great evening with their neighbors and some really yummy Mexican food. Thanks R & S for including us in your evening and for making time to visit while we were in Annapolis!

On Sunday, the rain arrived along with Walt and Kathy! They were real sports, wet dinghy ride and all! We spent the day in the boat on the mooring as it poured rain most of the day. Pete grilled up some London Broil and we added a nice salad and some garlic bread and all enjoyed a nice lunch while we visited. Later, we checked the weather radar online, looking for a lull in the rain to get W & K back to shore for their ride home. Luckily we got a brief break in the deluge and once Pete bailed out the dinghy, off they went. True friends are ones who'll sit with you in small confined spaces when it rains! Thanks W & K!

6/4-6/5 On Monday we left Annapolis for Baltimore. We power sailed the whole way. It was raining when we left Weems Creek. As we turned the corner and left Annapolis Harbor and the Naval Academy behind, a small squall came through. No winds, just a ton of rain and low visibility for 5-10 minutes. Then it moved east. No probs!

We found it's a long haul into Baltimore Harbor. There is lots of commercial traffic, so we kept just outside of the traffic lanes going in. The strangest sight greeted us as we got further into the harbor, dead fish. Hundreds and hundreds of small fish, probably about 5-6 inches in size just floating eye up in the harbor. The harbor was pretty smelly and very dirty. There was lots of debris and trash in the water, which is a real shame and took us a bit by surprise. We headed up to the inner harbor and took a slip at Inner Harbor East Marina at the top the harbor. It was under renovations and only about 25% full. The woman who checked us in suggested we do laundry immediately if we needed to, as they were due to dismantle the office and it's facilities anytime. We followed her advice and then got a recommendation for a place for dinner in Little Italy called Amici's. We had a very nice dinner and little wine. It was a short walk (7-8 blocks) from the marina. We passed a Whole Foods Store on the way so we knew we could pick up provisions before we left.

On Tuesday we did the Baltimore Aquarium. We also found a place for Mongolian Bar-b-que for lunch. We hadn't had that type of mean in quite a while and have fond memories of the times we ate this type of food in Japan 35 years ago. Basically you choose a meat, beef, chicken, shrimp or pork as a base. Then you choose whatever fresh veggies, mostly oriental type stuff and special sauces - kind of like a cafeteria. Once you have all your veggies and sauces in your bowl, you hand it to the cook, they add the meat you selected and stir fry it all! So if you don't like it, well, it's your own fault! I had shrimp and Pete had chicken and it was yummy and light!

That afternoon, after the Aquarium, we met up with a couple we'd met in Vero Beach who lived near Baltimore, Frank and Eileen (s.v. Spirit). They arrived at the marina about 4:30 or so and had brought a bottle of wine to share. So we enjoyed the bottle and appetizers on boat then headed back into little Italy for dinner at La Tavola. It was another great dinner! I can't imagine that you can go wrong with any place in any area called Little Italy!  After dinner we walked back to the marina together and said goodbye, letting them know they were welcome to come sail New England and visit anytime.

6/6 Wednesday - We left Baltimore for Rock Hall. We crossed the bay to visit with Ron S on CAVU at Spring Cove Marina. Ron took us on a quick trip to the store, I was in need of more bottled water! Yes, I do drink like a fish, but it's mainly water! That night we had Ron over for dinner on WD. I had Traders Joe's Picatta Sauce and added some diced chicken to it and made some pasta, added a salad and some grilled bread spiced with garlic and oil. Dessert was store bought brownie bites and some fudge we got in Baltimore. Ron brought over a DVD of his recent trip from St. Martin to Rock Hall via Bermuda. He had a great passage on a friends Island Packet. The trip looked great and was pretty benign except from one brief gale. It was great to see pics of such a good passage. Unfortunately Ron's wife Mary Ann was busy with some family commitments and wasn't able to join us. Mary Ann, we missed seeing you! The marina owner Madelyn gave us a slip for the night and I left her a nice bottle of wine and a thank you note for the generous hospitality.

6/7 Thursday - We departed RH about 6:50am headed up the Chesapeake for the C&D Canal not knowing just how far we could get. Fortunately we made great time - current was with us the whole way until we broke out of the canal into the top of Delaware Bay. We decided to anchor for the night behind Reddy Island about 5pm. There were 3 other boats already anchored there. The anchor set right away and we spent a peaceful night.

Thanks again for your interest in our journey...all the best to you and yours. Look out though, part 2 in coming...

Vicki

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Hi Everyone,
Here we go again, thanks for your patience!

6/8 Friday - A benign trip down Delaware Bay.  We awoke at 4am, hauled anchor and departed about 4:45 am. The sun wasn't up yet and there was a light haze with about 1-2 mile visibility. The nuclear power plant on the Delaware shore glowed through the haze. Made me wonder if we'd be glowing in the dark after anchoring there!

The winds were light and out of the south, as predicted. We figured we'd have a favorable tide for most of the trip down the bay. We made 7-8 knots until about 10:30 as the current began to change. Seas were flat and calm and as the sun rose the visibility improved. The trip was uneventful from a boating standpoint, with the exception of the damn flies and biting ones at that! Yuk! I swear I thought we were under attack! It's one of the crumby sides of low wind days. How they find us so far out from land I'll never figure out!

We did have a bit of excitement about an hour before we arrived at the Cape May Canal. Pete caught a bluefish while trailing his lure! He reeled it in and took it below and cut the head off! YUK! Then he gutted it, and filleted it and tried to get all the bones out. We've never had bluefish that we've like, it's always tasted very oily and fishy. So we were a bit dubious about how it would taste. Once he had it all cleaned, he put the fillets in a plastic container with some teriyaki sauce to marinate. It was surprisingly good! We were amazed. It didn't taste anything like the other bluefish we've had, thank goodness.

We also saw lots of dolphins, as many as 20. They were doing their usual porpoising but with an added behavior we hadn't seen in the wild, tail slapping. We also saw crabs swimming on top of the water near the boat and a turtle.

As we approached the Cape May Canal the ferry boats were going in and out. Visibility was only about 1-2 miles. The haze hadn't really let up. As we were directly off the ferry terminal, boom! We ran aground! We came to full stop. Pete backed up and we managed to scoot over a bit more toward the dock and we were off.

We got into Cape May about 1:30pm and decided that it had been the day had been long enough. Atlantic City was about 6 hours away and the winds were about to turn. So we didn't want to be stuck for there for 3-4 days. We decided to anchor off the Coast Guard station in Cape May. Once the anchor was set, Pete set off to get some gas (for the generator and the dinghy) and diesel (for the engine) with the jerry cans we store on deck. I just stayed on the boat. Once he got back all we did was read and nap. We'd been up since 4am so we were pretty exhausted. Must have been from all the exertion of chasing and swatting horseflies across Delaware Bay! As we rested, in the background we could hear the sounds of marching CG cadets! Late that evening a couple on another boat dinghed over to visit. They were looking for a couple to play bridge with. Unfortunately we weren't the couple they needed, as we don't play. We had a nice visit. They were waiting for weather to get up to Narragansett Bay and have been live aboards for 13 years. They said they'd logged over 60,000 km on their boat. It was a nice visit. That night the promised cold front passed through and we had a little rain, and lightning. So I put the chart plotter and handheld in the oven as a precaution, as usual.

6/9 Saturday. Pete woke before me, made coffee and tried to catch the weather on the one tv station we can get here. No cable tv at an anchorage - boo hoo! Then we watched the last episode of season 2 of 24. Another cliff hanger! Now we'll need to find a video store to get season 3 soon! Pete had a headache and took a nap and we kept pretty quiet for the day. We didn't go ashore at all.

6/10 Sunday. We awoke about 8am checked the weather and decided to make a break for Atlantic City. On the whole it was a good decision, but the ride was more uncomfortable than I would have liked. Maybe I'm a bit of a sissy! The rollers were 3-5 feet and the wind was more on the nose than the forecast, so what should have been a 6 hour trip, took 9 hours. We were only doing 4 knots and sometimes less all the way. I felt queasy for the first time on this whole trip. Not a usual feeling for me at all. But I also hadn't been off the boat since Wednesday when we were in Rock Hall. Maybe that was part of it.

On the up side we saw lots of dolphins along the way and the sun broke out about 3 hours after we departed. Thank God for sunshine, it really lifts my spirits. At the entrance to Atlantic City (Absecon Inlet) saw our fastest boat speed which was over 5 knots.  As luck would have it, we were coming through the channel at the same time as two huge fishing boats that had their outriggers out. It was a bit crowded! We looked at the anchorage we tried to get into in the fall (where we'd run aground last time), and even with the private markers in place, Pete felt we shouldn't chance it. So we dropped the hook before the bridge just off Harrah's like last time. Only this time we were further in near the shore and used one anchor. We didn't want to foul the lines like last time. That CQR has really served us well on this trip. The only time we dragged was when we used the fortress anchor in Ft. George, FL. Lessons learned.

Once we settled on the hook a few more boats came in and it was time to cook! We were totally out of bread, lunch had consisted of crackers and bologna or egg salad, so it was time to bake. We lit the oven and I mixed up a batch of beer bread (Corona Light flavor :-)) and a pan of corn bread and got them in the oven. While that baked we showed and freshened up. Then I made some vegetarian chili to have with the corn bread and we had a real comfort meal.

The breads came out great and now we're set for sandwiches for the next few days. Afterward I did a little surfing on the net and checked email. Lisa gave us a call later and we had a nice chat. I am really looking forward to spending some time with her and Tony when we get back, plus soon I'll get to meet, as my friend "Sam" says, my new granddogger - Bandero a very handsome German Sheppard. We called it an early night and hoped the forecast for tomorrow would hold.

Monday 6/11 - We awoke first around 3am, checked the anchor and all was well. The anchorage was very quiet this time. I guess the water rushing by the hull last time was because the anchors wrapped and had us sideways to the current. We passed a much better night this time than last. We checked the weather about 5am and decided to head out for the last long leg of the trip up the Jersey coast. As I wrote this, we were approaching a place call Manasquan Inlet, about 6 hours from Sandy Hook. The winds have been very light and the swells are a lower than yesterday and the sun is shining! Yes!

Well, the wind never switched, as was forecasted, so we just power sailed the whole way. As we were rounding the outside of the Jersey coast headed up towards Sandy Hook we got another bite on the trailing fishing line. I reeled it in to find we had another bluefish! This one was bigger than the one we had Friday. They have nasty teeth so you have to be really careful getting the lure out. Pete held his mouth open with a pair of pliers and removed the hook. It was thrashing like crazy and too big to take down below and just cut the head off like he did with the last one.

Pete said, "I wish we had a little baseball bat". "Hmm," says I, "let me see what I can find." As all boaters know, everything on a boat should have two uses. So I dug out the hand pump we use to bail out the dinghy from the port lazarette (storage locker in the cockpit on the left side - for the landlubbers), handed it to him and said, "Why don't you whack it with this?" He did - but boy oh boy did it make a mess on the starboard coaming (deck on the right side of the cockpit for the LLs). It was literally a bloody mess! But he managed to subdue and kill our catch. I guess his killer Italian instincts are showing! Hehehe!

We rounded Sandy Hook and headed for the anchorage off the Coast Guard Station as the weather was threatening thunderstorms. After I bragged about how great our CQR anchor has been, it naturally wouldn't set. I couldn't believe it. Pete quickly switched to the Fortress and it grabbed right away. The sun was setting on what had been a very lovely, but long day (almost 15
hours). There was only one little boat near us, another us anchored quite a ways further in. Needless to say, it was bluefish for dinner again! This time I decided to dip it in some egg wash and that special water ground fine corn flour I got in NC and sauté it in a little olive oil. It was unbelievably delicious! I guess it doesn't get any fresher than catching and eating fish from your own little boat!

We were exhausted so after dinner we hit the sack for some much needed rest. We were suddenly awakened about 11:30 pm by sudden and severe thunderstorm, with lots of lightning, thunder and driving rain. Naturally, some of the hatches were open so we flew out of bed and closed everything up. Then we realized we'd left the chart plotter connected in the cockpit. Pete made a mad dash for it and we plopped it into the oven along with the hand held VHF radio and unplugged everything we could think of. It was quite a thunderstorm and kept us awake until the rain and lightning stopped! Thank goodness that lightning didn't find our mast. All I could think of was how several sailing friends had their boats damaged with lightning strikes. I sure wished we weren't the only boat in the anchorage with a mast! We thank God he blessed us with no damage and that the anchor held in the short but fierce winds.

6/12 - Tuesday we hauled anchor about 6 am and headed up under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge through a very busy NYC harbor. We were plodding through dodging ferries and tugs with barges a good part of the way. The worst area is right off Battery Park. The Staten Island ferries blow through there every 20 minutes of so which makes navigating a real challenge. We arrived at 79th St. Boat Basin on the Hudson River right off Riverside Park about 9:30 in the morning. We picked up a mooring right near the dinghy dock and just as we were settling in Tony called. He got in from Germany Monday night with his new dog Bandero. We gave him directions and got him a parking pass. Before long Pete and I were cleaned up and meeting him at the parking garage entrance! He was a sight for sore eyes! And Bandero - what a beautiful and good dog. He weathered the long flight from Germany well, and handled the Big Apple like he was born here. The crowds and people and traffic didn't rattle him at all. He's absolutely the most calm and even tempered dog I've ever seen! He was starved, and so were we so found a little restaurant on Broadway near 79th St. that was open to outside and tied Bandero up to a large flower pot. The waiter gave him a bucket with some water, and we all had hamburgers for lunch, including the dog! Tony needed to get on his way to MA so we hugged goodbye while Tony and Bandero headed back to the car for the ride north.

Pete and I took a walk down Broadway and did a little window shopping. We found some great shops and while we were out decided to take in a movie. What else could it be but,  Pirates of the Caribbean 3 - of course! Other than the fact that the beginning, which was rather dark, with lots of action and little dialogue, put me to sleep, we enjoyed it! No offense to Johnny Depp, I was probably still tired from the interruption in sleep due to the thunderstorm.

On the way back to the boat we stopped at, what I'd thought, was a little NYC Market, but oh, no. It was anything but little! It's called Fairway Market and I've never seen such a well stocked and amazing grocery store! Everything from freshly ground coffee (by one of the employees no less) to deli meats, cheeses of every kind, specialty Balsamic Vinegars, the works! We picked up a few things and made tracks for WD. As we headed back to the marina after the movie, we'd noticed it had rained. Upon arrival at WD, we found the dinghy pretty loaded with water and had to bail using the fish killing pump! Once on the boat we realized we'd left the side ports open and the hatch in the mail salon was slightly open. The rain had a field day with the interior of the boat! It must have poured buckets because several of the cushions were wet! So we spent the rest of the afternoon with the generator on and a hair dryer trying to dry out what we could. About 8:30, and once the rain had let up, we went back in to find some NY Pizza. We found a place a couple of blocks from here called Big Nick's. Their menu was no less than a book! It's a small place, with great service and very good food at good prices. Afterwards we walked for a few blocks to try to get the kinks out. This had been my first day on land since we left Rock Hall and I was glad to have to opportunity to walk and stretch my muscles.

Wednesday 6/13 - NYC  We started the day off early. Pete went in to do laundry and I did some writing. About 11am we set off on foot for Times Square and the TKTS Booth. It's about 32 blocks to 47th  St and the walk took about an hour or less. There was lots of window shopping and people watching along the way, so the time passed quickly. We went straight to the line for show tickets and it wound all the way through the Marriott walk through, doubled over. But the workers said it would on be about a 30 minutes wait. Along the way there were neon signs showing what shows had tickets available and what the discounts were. We settled on three we'd like to see and decided to take the one with the best seats available for the matinee. We wanted Curtains, Mama Mia or Chicago. Chicago had the best seats so we took a pair at 50% off and headed for a deli for a light lunch.

Our seats were just off center in the rear of the orchestra section and fabulous! The show was great. My favorite number was the Jail House Tango! I think Pete enjoyed the "scenery" of the lovely ladies in black skimpy outfits, with black fishnet stockings! The blonde was his favorite. I know most of the music by heart and it's a challenge for me to keep still and not sing! I tell you, if heaven is the place where your earthly dreams come true, then I'll be singing and dancing on their version of Broadway, if I don't screw up! Well, suffice to say we had such a good time, we decided to see what tickets they had for the evening performance tonight.

We lucked out again! The ticket booth was pretty quiet with no waiting, as it was about 4:30 when Chicago ended. Not a lot of folks were out of work yet. So, we got another set of discount tickets, another 50% off for Curtains with David Hyde Pierce (Niles from the TV show Fraser). It's a new show and I think he won a Tony for his performance, but I'm not entirely sure I'm correct. We had a few hours to kill until show time and we spent some of it strolling the theatre district and going through a few shops. We found the 3rd season of 24 and the 1st season of MacGiver at a video store.  So now we're set when we're out of reach of  Broadway entertainment!

About 6:30 we stopped in for dinner at Bella Vita. It's a great Italian place just around the corner from the Hard Rock Café in Times Square. Actually, it's the same place we had dinner before seeing Spamalot in the fall. We enjoyed the food so much then, we figured - what the heck, let's go back! So we shared a Greek Salad and some Spinach Ravioli and a Tieramisu, all of which were delicious. I also thought the name Bella Vita would be a great boat name. I think it means good life, but I'm not sure. So if any of you out there know Italian, let me know exactly what it means!

As we got in line to enter the theatre, I happened to notice Harry Hamlin entering a limo with a black cane in his hand. It turns out he's going to be the new Billy Flynn as of June 19th. So he must have just gotten out of rehearsal. Ladies, he is a very handsome fellow, very easy on the eyes! You probably remember him from the TV series LA Law a few years back. On to the show, our seats show were in the upper Mezzanine, or the "nose bleed" section. But they were unobstructed and the acoustics were fine. The show was fantastic! The music was great and funny and the whole experience was exhilarating. It's the first Broadway show that we've ever seen with the original cast. That made it extra special. The cast had a lengthy standing ovation which was well deserved! Yay - Curtains!

Afterwards we walked all the way back to 79th St and the marina and here we'll sit in the Big Apple through Friday night. On Saturday morning we'll head into Long Island Sound and hope to visit friends on Saturday.  I guess that's all for now. We will probably hit the TKTS booth again tomorrow and see if we can get another great deal on a show. It's just too good an opportunity to pass up!

Hope you're all enjoying the onset of summer. We'll be home soon.
Vicki

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Hi Everyone!
Spring has sprung! The ospreys are in their nests on the marks on the ICW and their little chicks sometimes poke their heads up! The ducks have had their ducklings and the downy little tiny things are busy following mama around the marinas. It's a charming sight and does give one a feeling of rebirth. But I've found it's also allergy season for me! Yuk! I haven't had trouble with it in years, so it was a bit of a surprise. I guess the budding flora and fauna are a bit much for my eyes!

Hello from the Chesapeake! After leaving New Bern on 5/5 we spent a few days with Peter's mom in Hilton Head. We celebrated Mother's Day with her a week early with a nice dinner out the night before we left for home. As usual we did the drive back straight through - 17 long hours. We arrived in Milford at 2am Wednesday morning looking forward to a nice hot shower only to find that the hot water heater control unit had failed. So we were out of luck! For 2 days we boiled water for hot baths, while we tried to get a repairman and a part! Sure did make us miss the solar shower we have on Wind Dancer. So it goes.

We were able to spend some time with friends Francene and Tom on Thursday on our way to pick up some things Lisa is moving to store in Milford while she's at grad school. She's anxious to get to London for school in the fall. We enjoyed our time with her!

On Friday afternoon we finally got the hot water heater fixed! Hooray! Pete picked up Lisa and another load of her things on Saturday morning. Lisa and I headed off to Katie's Shower about 2 that afternoon. It was a great time with games, great food and lots of fun people. Katie was very happy and her husband to be, Jim, joined her for opening her gifts. Sunday was Mother's Day and Pete made a quick trip to the store for the makings for a nice breakfast. He got me a funny card and Lisa brought me a bouquet of roses. Then we enjoyed a yummy breakfast of pancakes and spicy chicken sausage. Delicious! The wedding was at noon on Sunday. Katie and Jim had a picture perfect day, clear blue skies, warm and sunny and lots of family to wish them well. The ceremony was outside right on the lake and it couldn't have been more beautiful. We all enjoyed a great reception and dinner with dancing afterwards. It was great to see such a happy couple.

We dropped Lisa in Boston after the wedding and headed back to Milford.Monday was pack and clean up day at the house and that was about all we accomplished. On Tuesday Francene and Tom picked us up for the ride to the Manchester airport. On the way I got a call from Delta saying our flights had been changed. Instead of leaving at 2pm we would be leaving at 6:15. So we had Francene and Tom drop us off and we got out the books and read, or surfed the net on the laptop. It wasn't terribly bad, just inconvenient and boring. Yawn.

We arrived in New Bern a little before midnight on Tuesday. The Sheraton van picked us up and we were back on Wind Dancer in 20 minutes. All was well aboard, so we hit the sack. It had been a long day and a busy week. Wednesday we walked all over downtown New Bern. It's a lovely town with come very nice shops, a lot of great restaurants and a very special hardware store that has everything from nails to handmade pottery and linens. As usual Peter found something we needed for Wind Dancer. Those places lure him in like live bait does a fish! As for me I refrained from shopping! Do I get bonus points for that?? There were two new families of ducks in the marina when we returned. One mama had 9 downy little ducklings following her around and another had 3 little ones. The marina people put up a little ramp in the fountain on the dock so they could get in easily. Such a cute sight, but mama certainly didn't want us to get too close.

Rain was predicted for Thursday, so we figured we'd rent a car, provision the boat and check out the local real estate and model homes. It was a productive and interesting day even though it was pouring rain most of the day. We found some great homes and the prices and taxes were a lot better than New England. It's something to ponder I guess.

We planned on leaving Friday for either Oriental (15 nm) or Belhaven (57nm). As it turned out we didn't get to either one. If I learned anything from this experience it was this, when the weather is the pits, if you don't NEED to go, then wait a day! It was overcast, rainy, and blowing in the 20's. We passed Oriental and figured we push on. The wind was on the nose, the waves were 3-4 ft and breaking and it was ugly and uncomfortable. Not dangerous or anything, just painfully slow with a lot of banging through the waves. We were lucky to make 2-3 knots an hour.

The Coast Guard had busy day too. Some poor fellow on a dive boat had a heart attack and they thought he might have the bends too. So they sent in a Marine Helicopter to airlift him off. Two other boats had problems, one taking on water and the other, I don't recall. There was one other crazy boat out there with us in Pamlico Sound as we left the Neuse River. As we watched their progress, they lost control of their jib sail and the wind shredded it. They had 4 people on deck trying to get it in control. I was just glad that wasn't us! We finally got out of Pamlico Sound into a river that leads into the ICW and anchored in Bear Creek. It gave us some nice protection from the wind. Whew! What a day!

Saturday we joined up with the ICW and sailed up the Pongo River to Belhaven where we dropped the hook. We took the dinghy in to the tiny little hamlet and did our shore walk checking out the place. It was an interesting mix of a few upscale shops and a 2-3 restaurants and some buildings that had been vacated. We had lunch ashore at a place called Just Hooked. Their fried shrimp was fresh and to die for! Yummy! Shrimp is definitely my weakness. Then it was back to Wind Dancer where Peter installed a new switch for one of the bilge pumps that wasn't working. We've been lucky, the repairs we've had to do have been pretty simple. Thank goodness Pete knows how to work on engines and understand the systems on the boat. You have to be handy to own a boat or have very deep pockets! We had a quiet night at anchor and left Sunday for the Pungo/Alligator River Canal and a ride up the Alligator River.

This part of the trip is pretty boring. It's long and though some of it is scenic, most of it is very, very remote and isolated. We didn't have cell phone service most of that day and though part of the next. We made it to the junction of the Alligator River and Albermarle Sound and anchored in an area off the Alligator River called South Lake. We were the only boat there! It was peaceful, quiet and the stars were beautiful that night.

Monday we sailed up Albermarle Sound into the Virginia Cut. We decided to try that route instead of the Dismal Swamp for the trip home. We had a great sail! Coinjock is just a stop on the ICW with 2 or 3 marinas. We chose the one with the hot tub! We were on the dock by 1:30 so we took a walk around "town". That means though some prefab houses and trailers onto the main road, where the P.O. and the American Legion are along with a Baptist Church. On our walk we passed a Veterans Memorial Park that's right on the waterway. So we went in to look around. It was a lovely setting that was erected in recognition of all the Veterans from the area that had served our country.

As we were walking around, I noticed a Sheriff's County Van near the office. Then I noticed 4 men in black and white stripped prison uniforms assisting the sheriff's officers moving some items into a van. It was shades of the movie "O Brother Where Art Thou". It's one of my all time favorites for story and music! I didn't know there were prisons or jails where they still wore stripes! I thought they all wore scrubs now! The reason I know they were scrubs in New England is because I once sang for a mass at the jail in Manchester with my friend Francene. There was a great priest who worked there and his musician was on vacation, so Francene and I subbed for him. It was quite an experience. We went through all the security with our guitars and mic stands. Once we were set up, the priest asked us if we'd sing something that wasn't religious for the men at the end. I, in my
usual fit of bizarre humor, suggested Folsom Prison Blues. He said that would be great! Well, needless to say we were a hit at the Manchester jail that day! It was my second appearance with a "captured audience". The first was when I was in college singing with a trio and we sang a concert at La Tuna Federal Prison. This was back when David Harris (Joan Baez's husband) and Joe Valachi (the gangster) were incarcerated there. What really freaked me out that time, was that as we went through the prison to the auditorium, no one was locked up! They were all roaming around out of their cells! For a 20 year old girl, it was a pretty freaky experience! But I have to admit, they were a most appreciative audience. Boy did I digress on that one! Oops!

After our walk around the area, we headed for the hot tub, then a nice warm lengthy shore side shower. It was a nice end to a good day. Tuesday morning we left early for Norfolk. We were planning on catching up with friends Harry and June who have been there all winter. The last 20 miles or so of the trip, it was back to waiting and timing bridge openings again. But the day was sunny and the winds light so the ride was very pleasant. I certainly can't complain about the weather.

We anchored off Hospital Pt. across the channel from the Marina where H & J had Gypsy slipped. They had us over for dinner and we had a wonderful evening catching up and all the crazy events that have transpired since we last saw them in October. It was terrific to spend an evening with friends. People say Hospital Pt. can be a rough anchorage, since it's right off the busy Norfolk Channel, but frankly it was much better than some places like Eastern Pt. off Gloucester. At Eastern Pt the fishing boats blow by so fast in the early morning hours they'll knock you right out of your bunk! Hosp. Pt. was a picnic by comparison.

Wednesday H & J were moving Gypsy to another marina and we decided to stay in Norfolk for the day. We took a long walk in the morning, mailed a few things off, walked the mall and checked email at the library. Then we took the ferry from Norfolk to Portsmouth. It's just across the channel, takes about 15 minutes and only costs $1 each way. It was a bargain! The ferry dropped us off at the dock near a Mexican Restaurant that H & J recommended and we had an early dinner that was delicious! I had the best mushroom fajitas I've ever tasted and there was so much we took about half of it home and used it for luncheon omelets the next day!

We left Norfolk on Thursday headed up the York River to see more friends, Karen and Paul S. (Norwich buddies). It was a short day of about 30 nm and the weather was perfect-again! How lucky! We had a reservation at the York River Yacht Basin. It was a great stop. They have a courtesy car they loan to cruisers, so we took advantage of it and made a trip to the local Food Lion for more bottled water and drinks etc. We stowed everything and went up to take showers before Paul came to pick us up.

We spent that night with Paul and Karen at their condo in Williamsburg. Their son Brian, a major in the Army was visiting with his two children Bella and Tyler 2.5. So we had a great family evening with lots of good conversation and a great bar-b-que. We visited until almost midnight! Pretty
late for us, but boy was it a great time. The next morning Paul made us a great breakfast. About noon we said our goodbyes to Karen and the grandchildren and then Paul and Brian took us back to Wind Dancer. We gave Brian the dime tour of the boat, said our goodbyes, then they took off for a round of golf.

Pete and I dropped the dock lines and headed further up the Chesapeake for a place called Antipoison Creek. Great place, even though I did bump the bottom because I was steering to the wrong mark. Go figure - what a dunce. The anchorage was perfect for protection from the light southerly winds. Today we decided to go back up to the St. Mary's River and anchor off the college again. What a difference spring makes in the weather! The last time we were here the temps were in the 30's and we were pretty cold. Today it was hot, muggy, no wind and hazy, but a good trip nonetheless. So here we are back in the Chesapeake in somewhat familiar territory.

Tomorrow we're headed to Solomon's MD to spend a few days, do laundry and collect the mail. It's a great laid back place and we're ready for the Happy Hour at the Holiday Inn with cheap wings and beer!

Well that's about it. This is the fourth try at writing this. I lost one as I was correcting it on the net last night and the other was way too long! Sometimes instead of writers block, I get writers blah, blah, blah.. Hope you're all enjoying a great spring! We should be back home in mid to late June!

Vicki
 

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May 6, 2007

 Hi Everyone,
We anchored in Wrightsville Beach Wednesday night and it was blowing about 15-20k. The only real issue was the little power boats that blow through the anchorage and don't slow down. Sometimes I can't believe how inconsiderate people can be to their fellow boaters. Oh well. So it goes. The winds eventually settled and we got a good nights rest, at least Peter did! I had a case of insomnia! So I was up at 2am reading and couldn't get back to sleep until 5! Bummer! We did awake shortly after midnight to the sounds of dolphins breathing right off the boat! That's a really incredible experience.

On Thursday morning we hauled anchor before dawn so we could make the bridge before the restrictions began at 7. It was a good start to the day and we boogied on down the ICW pushing as fast as our little boat could go. We wanted to try to get through the Camp Lejuene Firing area of the ICW before they closed it. In the end we didn't make it. We missed one bridge opening by 5 minutes and had to wait an hour for the next opening. That put us an hour behind schedule and it was enough to make us miss our window of opportunity. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

We heard the Coast Guard issue a Securite on the radio regarding live firing. This means a 6 mile stretch of the ICW will be closed from 8-12 and 1-5. We missed the window between noon and 1pm by 10 minutes! So we anchored in the ICW just south of the Navy patrol boat and waited out the 4 hours of firing on the range. It was really something because you hear the firing, but you could feel the shock waves reverberate through the hull! We decided to just sit back, read, nap and wait for the go ahead to go through. It came about 5 pm and we looked at the proposed anchorages and knew we'd never be able to make Moorhead City before dark.

We opted for Swansboro, and it was an excellent decision! We got in about 6; the day was becoming quite overcast and cooler. We called ahead to Dudley's Marina and made a reservation on the dock. The winds were expected to pick up and it felt like the smart thing to do. The good news was the rate; 75 Cents a foot, with electric, showers, courtesy car (if we needed it), what a
deal! The people there were very helpful and nice and told us if we wanted to go out to eat, several of the restaurants would pick us up and take us back. We decided it would be good to get off the boat for a while and go for a good walk, so we passed on the courtesy car and restaurant pick-ups in favor of stretching our legs.

It was a short walk over the bridge to Historic Swansboro and it's too bad we arrived so late! There were 2-3 blocks of unique shops that exuded the sweetest charm! There were also several restaurants. We decided to grab a beer at an Irish Pub. It was a great choice! It had so much charm, a whole wall that was painted as a mural and lots of posters of pubs, doors and building in Ireland. They also had a wall full of the "regulars" beer mugs that looked like hand thrown pottery mugs with their owner's names in each cubby. The waitress was very friendly and we decided to add a nice salad as an appetizer and then head back to the boat for the main course. This little fishing village will be a must do stop on the next trip! I can't wait!

I'm looking forward to seeing New Bern. We met several people from then in Vero Beach this winter and they raved about it. I recently finished a book that took place in New Bern too, that piqued my curiosity about the place too. I'll let you know what we think. One of the advantages, we think, of leaving the boat there for a week or two is that it's pretty far up the Neuse River and will be better protected in the event of a storm.

We got to bed early Thursday night as it was about 60 miles from Swansboro to New Bern, NC and we knew Friday would be a long day. We needed to get in and on the dock by 6 at the latest to pick up the rental car to get to Hilton Head. I almost forgot! We saw the most amazing sights last night in Swansboro. Two huge barges were being pushed by 2 tugs down the ICW! They appeared to go on forever! Boy I'd hate to run into those 2 boats on the waterway. They were HUGE!

The next morning we awoke to cooler weather. It was to be our first day of jeans, long sleeves and jackets, our first cool day in many months! Boo Hoo! It was overcast all day and pretty windy to boot! On the upside we got a lot of nice sailing in!

On the way to New Bern we sailed right past where I was born, Cherry Pt. Marine Air Station. I had no idea it was situated on the Neuse River, but I recognized the county name from my birth certificate. I did find it made me feel rather sad to know that both my parents are now gone and here I am 56 years later sailing past the place of my birth. Life is so ironic. We arrived in New Bern and had to wait an hour for the swing bridge on the Trent River to open. The dock master warned me in a subtle way that the bridge tender was a bit "different". We called just before we went under the high rise bridge and told him we were coming. When we got under it, he called us to say "You know you have to be here BEFORE 4 for me to open!" Pete responded with, "Sir, this is our first time in New Bern and we were unaware of your restricted opening. We'd like to hold here for you next opening." He responded with, "It won't be until 5". We just said "Roger".

We gave the dock master a call so he'd know to expect us. He was going to bring down the paperwork for the slip and help us tie up so Pete could make it to the airport to pick up the car at 7pm. He advised us to call the bridge tender a few minutes before 5pm to "remind" him we were awaiting the 5pm opening. So, instead of Pete calling, I did. He was nicer to me. I guess we ladies sometimes bring out the "best" in some of the cranky people.

Our berth for the next 2 weeks is at the Sheraton Marina in downtown New Bern. It looks like a lovely town. We heard a lot of great things about it from other cruisers who either live here or have traveled here. I'm looking forward to checking it all out once we get back from the wedding in NH! I drove the boat into the slip and Pete helped tie up. Then it was long, hot shore side showers! Halleluiah! I think I must have stood in the shower for 20 minutes enjoying every minute of nice, abundant hot water! The facilities here are top notch. They have floating docks, cable TV, WI-FI and Friday night deck parties with live music. I can tell this will be a fun place to explore. Pete retrieved the rental car by way of a ride from the hotel shuttle. While he got the car I made a nice pot of chili. After the chilly weather, a nice warm dinner was going to be a treat! I didn't have some of my usual ingredients (green peppers - for one) so I substituted some others, celery that I needed to use up, and a tiny egg plant sliced thin and chopped up. Pete loved it! It was especially delicious and I'm so glad it came out better than that crazy batch of water logged pasta I presoaked before cooking last fall! Live and learn, I guess.

That night we watched a promotional video my sister made that she hopes to sell to the History Channel. It was a series interviews with my dad about some of his experiences on bombing raids he was in the Pacific during WWII. One of the raids had recently been declassified. It seemed appropriate to watch it an area where he was once stationed. One good thing about my dad was that he was a good story teller. He actually used to put us to bed with all kinds of crazy ghost stories and such. It was very interesting and nice to see my dad talking about something he loved - flying. My sister did a very nice job on it and I hope she'll be able to sell it. She calls it "Untold Stories of Marine Aviators". Nice job Annie :-) On the way up the Neuse River, Pete and I took turns at the helm and packed for the trip when we weren't on watch. As I was putting the finishing touches on dinner, Pete loaded a lot of our stuff in the car. Unfortunately I figured the mileage from New Bern to Hilton Head incorrectly. Instead of a 4 hour drive, it was more like 6. We opted for the "faster, but longer" route, rather than the scenic route down the coast. We arrived in Hilton Head between 12-1pm.

Pete's mom looks great and we'd had a great visit so far. It's always nice to have a chance to chat in person. There was a lot to catch up with and pictures of the trip to share. I'll try to send some photos with this, of the alligator, a movie of the dolphins and anything else I think might interest you.Have a great week and I'll be in touch once we're back on the boat!
Vicki

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Hi Everyone,
I will try to keep this short, but you know me - blah, blah, blah! But I will TRY! We left Vero Beach on Wednesday 4/25 and made it to Titusville, FL. On the way we were boarded by the Coast Guard for the first time ever! Amazingly enough, we were actually under sail at the time just a few miles south of Titusville. We noticed them board the boat behind us and sure enough, we were next in line. They pulled the inflatable along side, told me to maintain my course and 2 hearty Coasties jumped on board! They checked our boat registration, the overhead discharge value and all our safety gear. It took about 15 minutes. Everything checked out fine and the hopped back on their boat and moved up the line to the boat ahead of us!

We saw lots of dolphins and some manatees along the way, sights we really enjoy! We dropped the hook in Titusville, had dinner and watched 2 more episodes of 24. Then it was time to get some sleep.We left about 6:30 am on Thursday for Daytona. We arrived about 3 and it was blowing hard. We set the hook and took a dinghy ride to the west side of the ICW and tied up to a tree at the park. I really wanted to see and walk on Daytona Beach so off we went. We walked across the Memorial Bridge and then about 5 blocks to the beach. They really do drive cars on it! I got a real charge out of it. Eddie D I thought of you so much as we watched the cars on the beach!

Pete had been there before, so he wasn't as impressed as me. The winds were really blowing and there wasn't a boat in sight offshore! No surprise there. The surf was really up, but the color of the water was gorgeous! We walked the beach for about half an hour and then headed a few blocks off the boardwalk to find a place for dinner. We found a place that had Bar-B-Que and had a good dinner. Then it was a bit of a long walk back to the boat and a wet and wild ride back as it because the wind was out of the south about 20 knots and we were banging into the chop. Oh well - such is life on a boat, when you want to get ashore for a while.

On Friday we left for St. Augustine, but we were making such good time that we kept right on going and stopped at an isolated anchorage at Pine Island. Only it turned out to be not so isolated, as 4 more boats arrived and we had a "crowd" :-) Three of them were Canadians. We had the thrill of going though a front in St. Augustine. The winds kicked up, it poured rain and the visibility dropped just as we were going through the harbor entrance, but it only lasted about 10 minutes. Then the sunshine began again, and it cooled off a bit.

On Sat. we headed for Fernandina Beach, FL on the FL/GA border. We saw lots of manatees on the way. There were even some people giving one fresh water from a hose off a dock! What a sight that was! We got in about 4, fueled up and filled the water tanks and decided to take a mooring. They charge $5 to land the dinghy, and that included showers, for $10 more you could get a mooring. Such a deal - Pete couldn't pass it up! As we'd headed north that day, we heard about the wild fired in SE GA. It was evident as the day went on that they were affecting our weather. We went ashore for a walk and a little shopping and had appetizers and drinks at an Irish Pub. As we headed back to the boat, it was getting really smokey and it made for a very unusual sunset. When we arrived at the boat, the stern was covered with "no seeums" So we made a mad dash for the companion way and the screens, but those little devils love Peter, he must be tastier than me as he was quite bitten by the time we got inside.  We settled in to watch another 2 episodes of "24" and finished the first season! Man that show leaves you hanging with every episode and twist and turn! We HAVE to find season two when we get to a major stop! I'm dying to know what happens next!

On Sunday morning we awoke to a fine layer of ash all over the boat! Residue from the GA wildfires! The forecast was good so we decided to go outside to Brunswick, GA enabling us to bypass Jekyll Island and the shallow spots. We departed a bit before 7am. The weather was great, seas were smooth and winds were light, so light that we kept the motor on. As we got closer to Brunswick we overheard the Canadian boats that had anchored near us at Pine Island. They were headed to Charleston, an overnight sail. Conditions were so good we changed course and opted for the overnight passage. We figured we be in Charlestown about 10-11am on Monday.

It was TERRIFIC! There were lots of interesting wild life sightings along the way. We sailed through a huge school of rays! There must have been 40-50 of them in groups of twos and threes traveling together that passed us for over 15 minutes. It was really quite a sight. We managed to get a picture of one. There were also lots of dolphins, two in particular who swam right alongside the port side towards the stern for quite a while. I got 2 great movies of the dolphins swimming next to the boat. Pete saw a turtle and one of the other boats reported being followed by a shark for a while! Glad that wasn't us! We sailed through a Right Whale habitat off Fernandina, but sadly never saw one. It was sad to trade the aquamarine waters of FL and the Keys for the greenish blue of the Atlantic! Boo Hoo!

At about 8pm we started our watches with Pete taking the first 2 hours. I came on at 10 and the full moon and stars gave out a lot of ambient light and made for a lovely sight. I stayed on until midnight, as I'd awakened Pete shortly after my watch began because I'd sighted 2 large container
ships and wanted a second set of eyes until I was sure which way we'd pass each other. All and all, it was an easy night. It was a power sail trip the whole way, with the exception of about a 2 hours period late in the afternoon. The winds were very light and to make Charleston by early afternoon we wanted to keep a minimum speed of 5 knots or better.

Pete and I have done overnights before, but never one this long just with just the two of us on our boat. So it was a new experience. We had a full moon lots of stars and company on the radio all night. About 6 hours from Charleston, the other boats decided to push on even farther and go into Georgetown, SC. Pete and I stuck with our plan for Charleston, but we felt so good when we got there that we decided to  continue along on the inside. It was quite a lovely sight entering Charleston Harbor from the sea, just past the break water you get a great view of Ft. Sumter. I made Pete promise that we'll spend a couple of days here on our next trip. It's such a lovely place with lots of history and things to see and do. My kind of town! We made it to Minim Creek by 6 that afternoon.

Just before we turned into the creek we saw 2 huge alligators! The plan had been to coo steak on the grill that night, but Pete changed his mind once we saw the 'gators! We were the only boat anchored there and it was buggy, but not too bad. This morning our destination was Barefoot Landing in N. Myrtle Beach. It was an easy day. We were on the dock by 3:30. As we crossed the Wydah River that leads into Georgetown we overheard the 3 boats we had been traveling with on the radio. We were actually ahead of them! We chatted a bit on the radio and they said they were heading to Barefoot Landing too. So here we all are! Pete wanted to get in somewhere early so he could change the oil in the engine and this worked out just right.

Once we settled on the dock, I took a walk to a convenience store for some bottled water and soda. We went out for dinner and then did a little shopping at the Outlets. Tomorrow we hope to make it to Wrightsville Beach and maybe farther. We want to be in New Bern, NC on Friday afternoon. Then we'll grab a rental car and drive to Hilton Head. We'll be able to visit with Pete's mom for a few days and then drive our car back to NH for a wedding. So, as usual - things are busy and the logistics of boat travel is an ever evolving drama.

It's in the 80's here and I hope the swimsuit weather keeps up all the way home! I LOVE It! Well, time to get to bed. As usual I've rambled on a LOT longer than I meant to. Have a great spring wherever you are. I'll try to send the movie of the dolphin with the next email.
Take care

Vicki

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San Diego trip

On Easter Sunday April 8th, Patrick drove us to the airport in Ft. Lauderdale to catch the flight to San Diego. Thanks goodness he's an early riser by nature, because we had an 8am flight and needed to be there by 6:30! He was a very gracious host to offer his dock and the ride to the airport.

As we boarded the plane for San Diego I was a basketful of conflicting emotions. The memorial service for my dad was a difficult experience. Enough said. The best part was being with my sister Ann, and my brother John and his children. John has the best kids. We enjoyed a great afternoon with them after the ceremony and reception. His youngest, Jack (6) and I went for a swim in the hotel pool and immediately became "swim buddies". I taught him some kiddie songs and we sang our way through San Diego. Someday maybe I'll make a good grandma!

We arrived back in Ft. Lauderdale just before midnight on the 11th of April. We caught a cab to Patrick's place and boarded quietly so as not to disturb his neighbors. Thursday morning we got our expected call from Bonnie and Ed and they took a cab right over. Naturally the weather wasn't the best when they arrived. We had thunderstorms and rain, but it only lasted until about 11am. We visited, got them settled in their cabin and gave them the familiarization tour of Wind Dancer, in particular the "head" procedures. Then we dropped the dock lines and headed down the canal to join the ICW for a short ride back to Oleta State Park, north of Miami. The sun came out as we headed down the waterway and they enjoyed the million dollar views of the mansions on the water as we motored by.We arrived at Oleta (near Baker's Haulout) in the early afternoon. We dropped the hook, put the outboard on the dinghy and headed for shore and a walk along the beach. Pete and I were delighted to be hosting our very first visitors! It was great timing for me too, as it really took my mind off all of the craziness we went through in California.

We had a nice dinner that night of, guess what, MORE quesadillas. I guess when I find something I like to make on the boat, I kind of beat it to death! Bonnie and Ed got me up to date on the "neighborhood news" and the latest happenings at Northeast Silk Screen (their business and where I'd worked for them for many years). I know they really enjoyed the great weather we were having. It was all swimsuit and shorts kind of stuff - definitely nothing like the current New England Weather!

On Friday, Bonnie, Ed and I took the dinghy ashore and went for a swim while Pete did some "boat chores". We just stood in the warm water, pretty much the only folks on the beach and watched schools of fish swim by as they were hunted by an osprey. It was blissful! Once we returned to Wind Dancer we hauled anchor and headed for the South Beach and the Venetian Causeway. We got in about mid-afternoon and took the dinghy ride up the Collins Canal and tied off at the Publix wire. From there we stopped at the Visitors Center, got the bus information and the woman working the counter was kind enough to give us a pass for 10 bus rides! So we headed to the nearby bus stop and waited for the bus. Somehow we managed to get a bus that drove in slow motion, all the way through South Beach! The idea had been to take the ride to see the overall area and check out the art deco architecture. We were able to dwell on it for quite a while as our bus driver must have been on "downers". She was the SLOWEST DRIVER EVER!

When we finally disembarked from the bus, we walked down Lincoln Ave Mall and tried to decide on a place for dinner. Bonnie spied a German restaurant and down we sat to enjoy a delicious meal together and people watch. Afterwards we headed back to the boat with a quick stop at Publix for ice cream and a few provisions. We had a relaxing evening on the boat and played dominoes that night. We taught them Mexican Train and had a great, if late night!

On Saturday morning we had a light breakfast of fruit and yogurt and hauled anchor for our next destination, Hurricane Harbor on Key Biscayne. We figured it would be a great lunch stop and we could enjoy a swim before heading across the bay to Coconut Grove.As we left the Venetian Causeway and joined up with the ICW, Pete gave Ed the helm and he steered us along into Biscayne Bay. They both looked pretty relaxed!

We had a great day on the way to Hurricane Harbor, sunny and hot with a nice little breeze. We arrived, dropped the hook and had a light lunch while we watched two young dolphins play in the anchorage. Afterwards, Bonnie and Ed and I went for a nice swim. About three pm we hauled the anchor and sailed across Biscayne Bay for Coconut Grove. We picked up a guest mooring at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club. It was our third time there since mid January. I guess you could say we really like the place! Saturday the 14th was our 34th wedding anniversary so we all decided to celebrate with drinks and appetizers at Monty's (no Happy Hour since it was Saturday - boo hoo!) and then dinner at Mo's. We had a nice stroll thru "the grove" and Bonnie admonished me regarding the "short walk of a few blocks to Monty's". I guess one's perspective changes regarding distances, when you're used to getting everywhere you want or need to go by foot. So future visitors be forewarned - bring your good walking shoes - ha! :-) After dinner we went back to Wind Dancer to watch a few episodes of "Scrubs" and then to bed.

Sunday was departure day for Bonnie and Ed. We decided to rent a car to get them to the airport, it was cheaper than a taxi ride. Coconut Grove is one of the few Enterprise places that are open Sunday, so you can get a one day rental easily. When we woke up, the lovely weather we had been having was GONE! It was replaced by howling winds, rain and tornado watches. Not the best scenario for our friend's last day. After a few phone calls the decision was made for B&E to catch an earlier flight, as the Nor'easter that was bearing down on New England might make catching the last flight out problematic. So we loaded their bags - nice soft ones that were small and stored well (they DO follow directions well) and headed for the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. Timing was tight so we had quick goodbye hugs and they were off.

Coconut Grove SC to Vero Beach

Pete and I headed back to the boat for the night. On Monday we did laundry and dropped the mooring by noon then headed for Ft. Lauderdale. We arrived in the anchorage near the Coral Ridge Yacht Club just before sunset and dropped the hook. Pete managed to set us close enough to the club so we could catch the Wi-Fi and we we all set.

I hate to be heading north. Already I miss the sands and palms trees of the Keys and the crystal clear waters of Hawks Channel.boo hoo. On Tuesday we left headed up the ICW for Lake Worth and Palm Beach. The day was a bit chilly when we started off, but warmed up nicely. We anchored in the same area as last time and planned to leave for Ft. Pierce in the morning.

The trip to Ft. Pierce was uneventful, warm and sunny for most of the way and we arrived by 5 pm and on Thursday 4/19 we made the short 15 mile trek to Vero Beach. We plan on staying here for a few days to provision and chill out. Tuesday 4/24 - Well looks like we'll be leaving Vero tomorrow and heading further north. I figure it's about a 4 day trip to Fernadina Beach from here. If the weather and wind is right, we'll go outside there to either Brunswick, GA or Hilton Head. Only the weather gods know for sure!Hope this note finds you all well, enjoying spring and delighting in your family and friends.

I'll leave you with a quote I got on a gift from Cousin Carol. She send me a lovely necklace with a sailboat on one side and a quote from Walt Whitman on the other.. It's from "The Untold Want"
"Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find." I guess that's us!

The Photos:
1 - Me, John's kids Ryann, Jack and Nick, my brother John and sister Ann in San Diego
2 - Bonnie and Ed at Oleta
3- Dolphin at Hurricane Harbo
4 - Bonnie and Ed having a good time
5 - Just north of Jupiter Inlet on the way to Vero, beautiful water!

Vicki

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April 21, 2007

Hi!
I know I'm behind on the updates, but things got pretty hectic for a while. Pete and I went to San Diego for my dad's memorial service 4/8-4/11, but that's an epic tale in and of itself. For this update, I'll just take you as far as 4/7, there will be more coming tomorrow!

On Sunday April 1st, we departed Hurricane Harbor for the north side of the Venetian Causeway to show Elaine an anchorage she would enjoy near the police station. Then we took a dinghy ride up the Collins Canal, left the dinghy at the tie up spot by Publix and took a stroll through South Beach. We found a restaurant that was a little off the beaten track the six of us had a nice dinner out. On the way back to the dingy we stopped at Publix and bought all the fixings for ice cream sundaes, a pretty daring move for boaters! Suffice to say we had a delicious dessert on Bliss and spend a restful night at anchor.

Monday we decided to head for a spot Elaine's friends recommended called Baker's Haulout. That's actually the name of the inlet nearby. It's one sailboats can't use due to  the bridge height. There's an anchorage across from the inlet at Oleta State Park. What a little piece of heaven it was. You'd never think you were just a few miles from Miami! There is a nice sandy beach, warm water (of course) kayak and bike rentals. To top it all off, we ran into our friends Mary Ann and Stu on Salty in the anchorage. Sing another chorus of "It's a Small World After All"! We introduced Salty and crew to Bliss and headed to the beach for a swim. It was pretty hot and we needed to cool off. A short while later our dinghy motor quit so Elaine towed us in her dinghy. Pete worked on it and found the carburetor flow was stuck. So, as always my wonderful, mechanically inclined hubby saved the day (or rather the motor)!

That night all three boats joined together for a great potluck aboard Wind Dancer! Salty brought the salad, Bliss brought some great beans and I made London broil on the "Barbie". I also tried another trick that unfortunately didn't work. I soaked rice before cooking to save on propane. It probably would have worked, except for the fact that I used both white sticky rice and brown nice. I guess they each need different amounts of water and different cooking times! So we ended up with a bit of a sticky partly undercooked mess. Luckily we had enough wine to make it palatable and at least it makes a good boating story.

It was nice to catch up with Salty again and introduce them to Elaine, Patrick and Pat and John D.
Earlier in the afternoon, Pete and I took Oscar (Salty's Golden Retriever) ashore for a nice walk without his "parents". It was kind of nice to be able to "borrow" a dog for while :-) and not have the responsibility of having one onboard full time.

On Tuesday Bliss and crew left for her home base in Ft. Lauderdale at the Coral Ridge Yacht Club. The Dieselman's were leaving on Thursday and it was time to do the laundry! We decided to spend another day at Oleta and join up with Bliss on Wednesday afternoon.  So Tuesday we had a great day of swimming and relaxing and chatting with Mary Ann and Stu. That evening we were invited to a pot luck ashore with three other boats. We had already defrosted our dinner for the night so we just joined up for cocktails and conversation. The other 2 boats were Canadian Trawlers. One of the captains was a 5 star chef and did the cooking, so they had a really amazing meal on the grill at the park. We probably should have just thrown our dinner overboard and joined them!

One couple were SCUBA divers and advised us that there was a sunken 30 foot boat near where we anchored and that they'd stand by when we departed in the morning just in case we needed assistance. Luckily we had no trouble pulling anchor on Wednesday morning.

We left Oleta about 10 am on Wednesday for Ft. Lauderdale.  On the way out, we realized we came into the harbor around the wrong buoy! We went right over the bar - but luckily we didn't "bump". Next time we'll be certain to go in the other way.  We had to pass under several bridges on the way to Ft. Lauderdale and the most problematic were Hallandale and Hollywood. They are working on the Hollywood bridge so they never open as scheduled and there was a long wait. At the Dania Bridge which is just south of  Port Everglades (the inlet to Ft. Lauderdale) the sailboat ahead of us lost it's engine just as it started to go under the bridge! We called the tender and let him know there was a problem so he wouldn't close it on the poor fellow.  He made it through ok.

We passed under a few more bridges before arriving at the anchorage just off Coral Ridge YC. Elaine told we could anchor there, no problem. She was kind enough to register us as her guests at CRYC and we enjoyed full use of their facilities and hospitality. They have a lovely pool, which I enjoyed immensely! We had cocktails at the club's Happy Hour on Wednesday with Elaine and crew and then dinner on Bliss. It gave us a chance to say farewell to John and Pat D and wish them a safe trip home. It was nice traveling with friends!

The next day Friday, we decided to walk a bit and visit a large mall nearby. We haven't been to one since Vero Beach. Elaine joined us for lunch at the Food Court then we went our separate ways and found Pete a tie, some slacks and a new pair of shoes for the trip to my dad's memorial service in San Diego which was scheduled for April 10th.

On Saturday Pete and I decided we needed a long walk so off we went in search of a place for breakfast. After about 30 minutes we stumbled on an IHOP. We hadn't been to one in years so in we went! It was a totally new experience for me, as I now qualified for the "senior" menu! ARRRR! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN! I don't feel old??? Nevertheless breakfast was good and we continued our walk for another 30-45 minutes afterwards before heading back to the boat.

Saturday we spent a leisurely day at anchor, with a swim in the pool and last minute boat chores to ready the boat for our departure for San Diego. Elaine's friend Patrick offered us the dock behind his home on a canal in Ft. Lauderdale while we went to CA and a ride to the airport in the morning we can't thank him enough! Patrick you're a prince! Almost forgot! I finished 3 books in the last few weeks, Wicked, A Bend in the Road and The Freedom Writers Diaries. Wicked was a very unusual book about the life and time of the wicked witch of the west (from the Wizard of Oz). A Bend in the Road took place in New Bern, NC and has piqued my curiosity enough that we plan on stopping there on the way north. The Freedom Writers Diaries was the most moving. It's about a teacher's impact on a group of students at a Long Beach High School and the way she changed them from gang members to caring individuals who weren't at war with each other. It's a true story and one of the most amazing books I've read on this trip. Lisa sent it to me along with Wicked and honey, I can't thank you enough!

Hope you are all getting warmer up north and that life is good! The photos are in this order: Bliss underway in Biscayne Bay, Dolphins in Hurricane Harbor, Hurricane Harbor home, Sunset in Marathon at Boot Key, Hemmingway's home in Key West. Hope they come through ok!

Vicki

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Hi Everyone,
Well the trip from Marathon to Pumpkin Key was a heavy duty sailing refresher!

We planned our departure from Marathon for 6:45 am on Thursday morning. According to NOAA's crystal ball forecast the winds were supposed to be easterly at 15-20, the keywords being "supposed to be". We made the first opening of the Boot Key Harbor bridge. The tender was a talker with a sense of humor. He was friendly to all of us who passed through and refers to the engine that opens the bridge as the squirrel cage. He remarked that he hadn't fed the "the squirrels" yet as we departed. There were about a dozen boats that headed out for points north and we were the first under the bridge. Once we cleared the channel, we headed south to clear the shallows off Sombrero Key and then made our turn north.

Unfortunately, the winds were ENE instead of E so we had the wind pretty much on the nose with about 2-3 foot chop. The winds were about 16-20 so it was an ok ride. We debated going in at Channel Five and picking up a mooring at Lignumvitae Key, having lunch then waiting for high tide for Steamboat Channel, but since we were moving pretty nicely at the point and it was before noon, we decided to push on with our original plan: to take the cut through to the inside at Angelfish Fish Creek, a very narrow passage that goes through the mangroves that's a bit tricky and on to Pumpkin Key. We were planning on meeting some sailing friends Pat and John D and Elaine S on Friday.

With the winds on the nose and the choppy sea we did not make good time. We should have been at Angel Fish by sunset if all went well. Unfortunately, the God of diesel engines decided to give us a reality check and a sailing refresher. About 8 miles ( 1:45 min) for the cut, the engine died, totally. We quickly adjusted sails and fell off in the direction of the reefs that protect Hawk Channel from the Atlantic and the Gulf Stream. Pete gave me the helm once we got the sails set and went below to see if he could fix the problem. I had noticed a change in pitch on the engine, just after he throttled up to try to make Angelfish before dark.

Well, everything went to hell in a hand basket pretty fast. As we tacked the jib over (front sail for the landlubbers) the sheets (ropes to the landlubbers) caught the handle bars on the bike on the port side and lifted it into the shrouds (wires that hold the mast up LL). Pete went up on the foredeck and I tried to steer to ease the pressure so he could get it loose, finally. Then he went back down to mess with the engine (mess is a technical term meaning fix or destroy, depending on the outcome). He tried everything, and for 3 hours we tacked back and forth (finally tossed the bike overboard, the second time it hung up in the shrouds - that's Pete when he hits a high level of frustration!). He kept trying to get the engine up and running -  BUT NO LUCK. By this time it was already dark, we were blessed with an almost full moon, thank God. We had to decide how and if we could enter the channel.

Pete kept the  first reef in the main (reef=shorten sail) and furled the jib. I had a high powered light to shine on the channel markers and in we went. I have to admit I was a wreck. We'd been through the channel twice before, in daylight and light or no wind and knew the entrance and exit were tricky with rocks and shoals on either side. Well, God bless my honey. He got us though without a problem and we sailed on over to Pumpkin Key arriving about 10 instead of 7:30. We dropped the hook, with the mail sail lufing (flapping in the breeze so it's not loaded with air for the land lubbers) and once the anchor bit, we dropped the main halyard (the lines that hold the sail up. It was a first: anchoring at night under sail with no power to back down to be sure the anchor set. Never were we so glad to settle in for the night.

Well, we learned a lot and the most important lessons were we were out of practice with our sailing skills and our night-time sailing skills. There's something to be said for taking longer passages with proper wind and not having to rely on an engine. Well - it was more than enough adventure for us for one very long day. Tomorrow we'll meet up with our friends and see if Pete can figure out what's happened to our engine.

Friday am - Pete awoke first and started working on the engine problem again. It was much easier to do at anchor than healing over at 15 degrees with lots of wind and chop. I slept in a bit, as all the excitement last night pretty much wore me out. When I awoke, Pete was on the radio with another boat in the anchorage. Kairos made the trip down from Marathon yesterday with us. They are a bigger boat (Island Packet) and had more engine power and got in by 7. He called to tell Pete that he was surprised to see us in the anchorage this morning. So Pete told him how we lost the engine and had to sail through Angelfish Creek. He was IMPRESSED! Once I got moving we pressed on to breakfast and continued to work on the engine. Our friends called about 10 saying they'd be at Pumpkin Key by about noon to meet up with us and we could discuss whether to stay there for the night or go elsewhere, depending on how the engine fared.

After a couple of hours work Pete found that the inlets to the fuel filters were clogged with a yucky sludge. He cleaned it out and bled the engine and WHOOPEE! She RAN! It was a glorious moment. Just after we got the engine started our friends arrived on Elaine's boat Bliss - what a great name for a boat! We tried to raft, but her deck was quite a bit higher than ours and the winds were kicking up, so we broke the raft about 10 minutes after setting it and they went over to anchor and have lunch.

Pete and I decided to make lunch, pack it in the fridge and try to get the inside of Wind Dancer's interior put back in place after shuffling things about to work on the engine. It took us about 30 minutes to put things in order and make lunch. Then we cranked the engine up - and she did purr nicely - and headed up Biscayne Bay for Hurricane Harbor on the south side of Key Biscayne. We kept the motor on at idle and sailed the whole way - we just flew - and it was great! Sure did make up for yesterday's trauma.  We were doing a good 6.5 knots and up to 7 the whole way. Bliss caught up with us about half way here and led the way into the anchorage. So here we sit, surrounded by astoundingly gorgeous homes with lovely yachts on the dock enjoying the scenery! LIFE IS GOOD!

Once we dropped the hook Elaine and her friend Patrick went in for a swim and Pete and I joined them. It was heavenly and we look forward to another swim in the morning. At 6 Patrick picked us up in Elaine's dinghy and took us over to Bliss for cocktails and catching up. We had a great time! Then it was back to Wind Dancer for dinner: salad and chicken artichoke quesadillas. Dinner was a hit and we managed to polish off a bottle of wine or two. We had a great time catching up with everyone. Boaters always have great stories to tell and it was great fun to have company for dinner. We enjoyed every moment.

It's blowing pretty well tonight and it's nice to be on the hook in a protected anchorage. Elaine took a great picture of us under sail. I'll send it on once she sends me a copy. Hope life is good to you wherever you are!

Vicki
 

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Hi everyone,
Well it's Friday afternoon here in Marathon and I'm sitting at the Overseas Bar and Lounge using their free wi-fi sipping on a frozen margarita. It's still blowing over 20 knots here and in the wrong direction for us to leave. Looks like we may not get out until the middle of next week. We need the
wind to switch to south or west. Maybe we'll get lucky.

Last time I wrote I told you about the cruisers net that we have here every morning. Well on Wednesday, I was feeling pretty ragged and thought a haircut would be a good pick-me-up. So I asked if anyone in the harbor cut hair on the morning net. That's how I met Judy and her husband Gene. They are on a 37 Great Harbor trawler. She said to come on over to their boat and for $10 - no tip, she'd do my hair. Well, I must admit I felt I was taking a bit of a chance. But then I figured it would always grow out so, what the heck.

I got the best haircut of my life and had a great visit on a really cool boat. They like to sing, so we're setting up a "sing the sunset down" get together on the deck on Sunday - weather permitting. So you just never know where things will take you, once you step outside your comfort zone.On Tuesday night they had Karaoke here at the Overseas and that was quite and EXPERIENCE. As many of you know, I'm a bit of a "ringer" since I've sung professionally off and on over the years. I just wanted a distraction to keep my mind busy. Well, it went well and I won a drawing for a $5 gift certificate for the bar. So all in all it was a good night.

Today we got Christmas and birthday gifts from Lisa in the mail! YIPPEE! We love getting presents while so far from home. It really made our day. We also took the dinghy out Sisters Creek to the ocean side and went to the beach for a few hours. It was still blowing, but it was nice to sit on the sand, soak up a few rays and get our toes wet. We saw three dolphins playing off the beach. I am still amazed each time I see them. Well - this is a quick note. Thanks to all of you who wrote with sympathies and condolences. Your thoughts and prayers are helping a great deal. Can't thank you enough for the kind words. Have a great weekend and remember... Dance like nobody's watching...and love like you'll never get hurt.

Vicki

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Hello from Marathon in the Florida Keys, about 50 from Key West. It's been a difficult week. I've had trouble sitting down to write this because my dad passed away (3/14). He was a WWII war hero, from what I hear. As a dad and husband though he left a lot to be desired. I'm not sure when Family # 2 will have the memorial service. My sister is in touch with them, and I'll know when she knows. No need for cards or flowers, to those of you who might be so inclined. I just want to move on to a better place in my own head...enough said.

When I last wrote we were in Islamorada, about 30 miles or so from here. When we left there we only traveled a short distance (on the ICW side) to place called Lignumvitae Key. The park service has 5 new moorings there, nice and heavy duty. They are free for a one week stay. We only spent the night. It was a short 5-10 mile trek. The tricky part was going through Steamboat Channel which was reported to be shoaling in. We planned our transit to go through at high tide and fortunately had no issues with the depth. Depth on the other hand, here in the Keys and the ICW in general, is a different concept than depths in our regular cruising area of New England. Deep water here is when we have 2-3 feet under the keel (5.5 feet or more) instead of the 100-300' feet in New England. It's amazing how well you adjust to that kind of change. We felt we were in deep water when we came through the Hawk Channel on the ocean side of the keys where the water is 9-15 feet deep.

Hawk Channel on the ocean side of the Keys and is protected from Atlantic and the Gulf Stream by a series of reefs. It is much wider than the magenta line (the route on the GPS/chart plotter) that we follow through the ICW. I guess I digressed a bit there...Anyway, we Monday night 3/12 as the only boat on a mooring on Lignumvitae Key.  It was so peaceful. The only other boat we saw was anchored off the ICW about 2 miles away. The night was clear and filled with tons of stars. Nights on the boat, under clear starry skies are the best. We could have easily stayed there a couple more days, but the winds were due to switch the next day to give us a downwind sail to Marathon
so we only spent one night.

The sail to Marathon went well, though the seas were a bit on the lumpy side. Sailing downwind, (wind from astern for you landlubbers) is not my favorite point of sail. The winds were pretty brisk that day, gusting to over 20. We made it in to Marathon early in the afternoon and got the last spot on the seawall (dock) as it was predicted to blow like crazy for a few days, that was last Tuesday - and the winds have not stopped since! We spent 2 days on the dock and moved to a mooring on Thursday.

Marathon is an interesting place and a huge harbor. You can take your dinghy through Sisters Creek to Sombrero Beach, which is lovely. They have a large live-aboard population here and because of that they implemented a "cruiser's net" every morning. For the land lubbers, that is a radio "meeting" at 9 am everyday. Here's how it works. Everyone tunes their VHF radios to channel 68 at 9 am. One boat hosts the calls. They ask if there are any new arrivals and then welcome them to the harbor. Then they ask who's leaving and wish them well. They give the weather forecast and ask if anyone has any problems they need help with. They also have a "treasures of the bilge" which is a  "buy sell or give away" announcement. They ask for comments or questions from those listening. This past Sunday they organized a Pot Luck on the deck at Marathon City Marina that drew about 100 or so people from the harbor. It was a great time. We met some of our "neighbors" and enjoyed some good food.

On Sat. morning on the "net" we asked if there were any musicians who'd like to get together to jam. A fellow on the boat next to us (retired FAA, believe it or not) responded and came over the next evening with his wife and a friend form another boat. We had a wild time singing silly songs and getting to know one another. It was an evening that really lifted my spirits and I'm very grateful for that. As I am writing this (from a cruise/biker type bar here in Marathon) I can't help but think how our life in the past few weeks has swung from a three course lunch on the Grand Canal in Venice with Tony, to a good old American hamburger in a partially (cough) smoky bar in Marathon. It's almost too much from my brain to absorb.

The folks here at the Overseas Bar/Grill/Liquor Store, are really nice though. They donated food and beer for the cruiser pot luck on Sunday and don't mind us coming over to use their free WI-FI. Tonight is Karaoke night - so you can bet Pete and I will be here. Frankly, the busier I keep myself
for the time being, the better I think I'll be emotionally. Yesterday, we took the bus from here to Key West. When we went by Harley from Key Largo, we were only able to spent an hour or so there. This time we were able to see some of the sights. We toured Hemmingway's home which was fantastic. Our guide was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor in his presentation.  We learned a great deal about his life and enjoyed seeing all the photos in his home and the room where he did all his writing. Then we headed over to Papa Hemingway's favorite watering hole, Sloppy Joes, for lunch. Afterward we walked to the southernmost point in the US, saw the Southernmost House - now a hotel and even stepped into a few galleries during the day. We caught a bus home about sunset and were back on the boat by about 9:30 last night.

We plan on staying here a while longer and then we'll start heading northbound again. Marathon is an easy place to be, inexpensive, laundry and showers shore side available and a cruiser friendly community. Earlier today we had a call from Pat D. She and John and Elaine S. are going to come out for a visit this week and wow - it will be great to have company!  P, J & E we're looking forward to seeing you!

 can't think of much more to say so I'm going to close this. Hope all is well with you wherever you are and that if you're up north, that spring will arrive soon.
Much love

Vicki

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Hi Everyone,
Sorry it's been so long since I've sent an update, but things have been busy. We left Miami on 2/22 for Germany to visit Tony. It was a long trip, but we had a great visit. Tony and his girl friend Virginia met us in Frankfurt. We got to ride in his new BMW which was great on the Autobahn. He and Virginia looked great. Once we got to his place we unwound a bit then took the trolley to the Hof Strasse in Heidelberg. It was really great to stroll down the cobblestone streets. We climbed up the hill to tour the Castle and then back down for a walk on the bridge over the Neckar River and some 32% beer in a local pub.

Saturday we all drove to Bamberg to visit my cousin Del and her husband Paul. They showed us around Bamberg, which was lovely. Then we had a real German dinner of Bratwurst and sauerkraut with German beer, of course! We drove up to visit a large castle nearby then went back to their place for hot chocolate and conversation before heading back to Heidelberg (about 2.5 hrs away). It was a very nice visit and we all enjoyed every minute.Sunday, Virginia made us all delicious omelets for breakfast. Then Tony, Pete and I left for Hahn for the trip to Venice. Hahn is the airport that Ryann Air uses near Frankfurt. It's the "Southwest Airlines of Europe" - cheap and prompt.

We took a bus from Treviso Airport to Venice and hopped on the Vaporoetto (water bus) for our apartment. Tony found us a great 1 bedroom apartment on the Guidecca Canal overlooking the main islands of Venice. He used a site called Booking.com. It was a 5 minute walk to the apt. which was in a converted monastery. We had a top floor with canal view through cathedral arched windows. The accommodations were fabulous. Tony had a sleeper sofa and we had our own bedroom each with canal views. Once we got settled - we each traveled with only a back pack for the 3 days, a big first for me, the one who likes to take everything I own everywhere - we took a ride on the Vaporetto to the other side and started strolling the streets in search of a restaurant for dinner.

As luck would have it we found a great local place and had the best dinner of our trip there! Lasagna to die for, pasta as thin as paper that would melt in your mouth. We spent the next two days sightseeing in Venice: The Grand Canal, Piazza San Marco and San Marco Basilica, Correr Museum, the Rialto Bridge, the Doge's Palace and the Bridge of Sighs, and the glass blowing island of Murano. We spent a lot of time just wandering through the streets and finding great places to have a meal or a snack.

I had a brief attack of Vertigo on Tuesday morning, but it didn't last long and didn't interfere much with our sightseeing. I suspect I may have a touch of swimmer's ear. Oh well. Our last day was Wednesday. We packed up our backpacks, checked out and took the Vaporetto to the Rialto area for the day. We had a late lunch on the Grand Canal and headed back for the bus station for the flight home. There are some sights and sounds I recall that I'll pass on. At Tony's place it rained at night and we could hear the pinging of the rain on the tiled roof, along with the pealing bells of the local church during the night. In Venice I remember the fog horns and boat horns going off early Tuesday morning when the fog was so thick we couldn't see out the window. Fortunately it burned off as the day progressed.

I recall the bumping and banging of the Vaporettos as they slammed into the pier at each stop and the way they just kept piling people on at rush hour. Made me wonder where the life jackets were and what the capacity of the boats were!

We got back to Tony's on Wednesday night and proceeded to repack for the trip back. He took us to the airport in Frankfurt on Thursday for the flight home. We loved riding in that car. I was especially distracted by the GPS screen. Don't ya just love modern technology? We flew from Germany to JFK, took a bus, then a train from Grand Central to Katonah and Mary B. picked us up. She made us a great dinner and we got to visit that night with her and Phil. The next day we left for the reunion weekend in Vermont in memory of our friend Tommy G.

Sadly Lisa couldn't join us, we'd hoped to see her for the weekend but things just didn't work out for her to make it. Lots of Norwich friends were there (that's Pete's alma mater). Some of Sam's golfing friends were there too, as were her kids and their spouses and we all had a great time at Paul and Karen's Grey Bonnet Inn in Killington. Nothing like good friends, good food and good times. We all missed Tom, but were happy to be with Sam and the kids.

We left Vt on Sunday headed back for CT. We dropped off Phil at the Hrtford airport for a business trip on the way back. Pete and I attended a family member's wake (for Cousin Frank's mom) on Sunday afternoon and the funeral on Monday before leaving for the airport. Mary drove us to JFK on Monday and we got back to Miami by 10pm that night. We had some weather delays leaving JFK due to snow and ice. The boat was fine when we got back and we spent the next 2 days provisioning and getting our act together. We had another nice dinner with Cousin Mary, who was nice enough to take us grocery shopping! Thanks Mary! We left Coconut Grove Thursday for Boca Chita Key, then on to Tarpon Basin Friday night. We were able to get a lot of nice sailing in too. Yesterday we got to Islamorada. We saw 2 sharks, 2 rays and 3 dolphin on the way. The water was so clear, we could see the shark swimming right by the boat!

So that's it for now. I tried to keep this short, but as usual, I wasn't too successful. Hope all is well wherever you are.

Vicki
 

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On Tuesday the wind and rain abated somewhat, but NOAA was predicting the "possibility of thunderstorms and lightening" as the day progressed. Those NOAA broadcasts really drive me nuts. Pete takes them all with a grain of salt, since he figures they have to cover themselves and give out the worst case scenarios and warnings. If you took every little possibility they mention in their broadcasts, you'd never leave the dock! So, with this in mind, we and two other boats left our comfortable little slips to head towards Key Biscayne and Miami via the Hawk Channel. There was little wind, the skies were overcast and as we departed the Pennekamp Channel a light rain began. We motored along for about 2 hours or so and that's when the thunder started and shortly thereafter a bit of lightning. In my usual fit of "taking care of business when I feel things may be taking a turn for the worse" I went below, wrote down our position, heading and time and began to unplug the electronics. All I could imagine was a lightning strike hitting us and the loss of a lot of valuable electronics. So I put everything that would fit in the oven -- the hand held GPS,  the Chart Plotter, the cell phones fit, the laptop did not! So I put in under the covers in the V-Berth. Why did I do these crazy things you may ask. Well, if any of you have ever seen the lightning demonstration at the Boston Museum of Science you'll understand why. The metal casing actually protects what's inside. Pete was his usual calm self and I was ready to start rewriting my will! Just kidding on that last bit :-) At that point we were about 30 minutes from Angelfish Creek, a cut that goes through to Key Biscayne. We decided to take the cut and head over to Pumpkin Key and
anchor. It would shorten the day and we would be moving away from the thunderstorms, rather than in the same direction. All in all a good plan!

The passage through Angelfish was uneventful - thank goodness. There were 2 or 3 boats anchored in the creeks that branch off from the cut awaiting a window to cross to the Bahamas. Once in Key Biscayne, it was only about 30 minutes to Pumpkin Key. We picked a nice spot and dropped the hook and thanked God to be away from the thunderstorms. As the day progressed, the skies brightened up a little. We just hung out and read the rest of the afternoon.

Wednesday we awoke to a bright sunshiny day with gorgeous blue skies and nice warm temps. Swimsuit weather was back - YES! So we decided to spend the day on the hook, catch some rays and just relax. Later that afternoon, our friends Frank and Eileen arrived and anchored nearby.  We got together for cocktails that evening on Spirit. They were headed to Pennekamp for a few days and we filled them in on the area. It was a nice visit. That night the skies were clear and jam packed with stars. It was really lovely. Thursday we headed back to Miami to anchor off the Venetian Causeway (near South Beach) so we could attend the Miami Boat show. Our boat buddies Stu, Mary Ann and Oscar (woof) were already there so we anchored in the same area. There were several other boats in the anchorage that we knew from Vero. Sing along now...It's a small world after all!

Mary called us when we were on the way in to invite us to dinner. "No need to cook", she said. "You're traveling, just join us and we can catch up." It was a great plan! The last time we saw them we were in Vero Beach, so we had lots of "cruising tales" to swap. A cold front blew in on the way to Miami and the temp dropped rapidly after we arrived.

On Friday we took the dinghy up the Collins Canal, tied up and walked to the Convention Center for the Boat Show. The vendor area (at the convention center) was immense. I've never seen so many vendors and such a huge venue. It was difficult to find things, but we did manage to get some information on new dinghies, davits, and HF radios. We spent about 3 hours there then took the bus to the "Strictly Sail" portion of the show at Miamarina. To our surprise, there weren't that many sailboats there. We checked out the Catalina's and the Beneteau's and one of the Island Packets. We had really wanted to see a Catalina 42, but unfortunately there wasn't one on display. Nevertheless, we enjoyed window shopping. We got back to the boat late and crashed. That night the wind began to howl and things were a bit boucy in the anchorage.

We spent Saturday wandering around South Beach. That night we had dinner with 4 friends from New England who were attending the boat show. We all met at Quinn's on Ocean Ave for a lovely dinner. I had my first Mojito and now I'm hooked! What a refreshing drink! Pete and I had rented the movie Miami Vice when we were boat bound by the weather in Pennekamp. The drink was mentioned in the movie, so I gave it a try. YUMMY!

It was great to have an evening out with friends. Phyllis, Dan, Mary Beth and Paul were great company! I think I probably jabbered on and on, as I often do when I haven't seen familiar faces in a while. Hopefully, I didn't drive everyone nuts and Pete might have gotten a word in edgewise, somewhere. Sorry gang! After our outrageously delicious dinner, they drove us back to our dinghy and we braved the winds and harbor chop to get back to the anchorage. It was a great evening, thanks for including us in your plans guys!

On Sunday Pete got up early and went in to do laundry. Yes, folks, he does laundry, windows, fixes whatever goes wrong on the boat and is an all around terrific guy! Best husband I've ever had! When he got back to Wind Dancer, we made a plan for the day. We headed in to the Boat Show to pick up some dinghy pants for me because the ride back was getting wetter and colder. The dinghy pants really helped too. We had a late lunch at a Chinese restaurant and decided to take in a movie. We chose "Breach" . It was excellent and disturbing. Afterwards it was back to the anchorage and tucking in for the cool night, brrr, but no complaints compared to what New England has been though lately.

That brings us to yesterday (Monday 2/19). We left for Coconut Grove and the temps were beginning to warm up. As we crossed under the last bridge we were able to sail until we hit Dinner Key Channel.  We arrived during the last day of the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. There were bands playing in the nearby park and there tons of amazing art everywhere. We had a really terrific afternoon strolling through the booths, making a few small purchases, listening to music and enjoying the return of good weather. All in all a really nice afternoon.

Today we spent the morning getting things packed for the trip to Germany on Thursday. Pete did a lot of maintenance to prep the boat for our departure: changed the oil in the generator, put the dinghy on the foredeck etc. He really is a jack-of-all-trades, thank goodness! In the afternoon we walked through "the grove" did a few errands and hit the library to check email. Late in the afternoon, Cousin Mary called and invited us to their daughter's Water Polo Match. Chris, Mary and Nicholas picked us up about 5:30 and we went to the meet. It really nice to be part of a family event and it reminded us of our kids athletic events over the years. Times flies.

Tomorrow, we'll see if we can do a little more laundry, finish packing and make arrangements for a cab to the airport. We are really looking forward to seeing Tony and some of Germany. He's arranged a quick trip to Venice for the three of us which we are really looking forward to. It will be our first trip to Italy but hopefully not our last! We'll also pay a visit to my cousin Del who lives a few hours from Tony. So it will be an exciting and fun filled week with Tony. I do have news to pass on about both of the kids.Tony is getting out of the Air Force this summer and in the process of pursuing his masters and Li