Mid-January, 2014
We had a jolly time in Jolly Harbor, Antigua with our friends Marie/John of 'Metalia' & Harbour Terrace fame. They had
digs arranged for us when we came back from the states and readied Dreamtime to spash, plus recommended Francis
as a day worker for various boat chores.
They really know how to enjoy life - lots of great food, people and laughs. We spent New Year's with them and ended up
staying in the Jolly Harbor anchorage until mid-Feb in order to meet family and attend a large party which included many
of the extended family from Europe. It was a blast and a delight to meet everyone.
digs arranged for us when we came back from the states and readied Dreamtime to spash, plus recommended Francis
as a day worker for various boat chores.
They really know how to enjoy life - lots of great food, people and laughs. We spent New Year's with them and ended up
staying in the Jolly Harbor anchorage until mid-Feb in order to meet family and attend a large party which included many
of the extended family from Europe. It was a blast and a delight to meet everyone.
February-March, 2014
Well, as usual, it's time to head up to St. Martin to take delivery on some new chain plus all the other items we need. It is
a great shop-up destination and a fun place to hang around. With our draft (4') we can come in/out the French bridge
with ease so when the north swell is predicted we can zip into the lagoon to escape. Budget Marine was our source for
the chain and they even delivered it and fed it into our chain locker - first class service. We also bought a Sterling
ProCharge Ultra 60amp battery charger as our Xantrex had given up the ghost in Antigua earlier
Here are a few shots from the Friar's Bay area as well as Anse Marcel and Grand Case. Ed is big on taking long hikes up
to scenic overlook areas so we have some nice shots from above. I've got bogus feet so I can't make those treks, rats.
We spent longer in SXM than we planned on because of a mysterious bite (spider?) Ed got on his elbow. At first we
thought he'd torn a ligament, could hardly move it, no lifting etc. but it eventually his whole arm got very inflamed and
swollen. Made a trip to the doctor for anti-inflammatories and antibiotics. After that had mostly subsided he got the
mosquito-transmitted chikungunya virus!! Boy, that really laid him low for a couple weeks after which he was in a big
hurry to get out of there so I wouldn't get it, so next up the BVI.
a great shop-up destination and a fun place to hang around. With our draft (4') we can come in/out the French bridge
with ease so when the north swell is predicted we can zip into the lagoon to escape. Budget Marine was our source for
the chain and they even delivered it and fed it into our chain locker - first class service. We also bought a Sterling
ProCharge Ultra 60amp battery charger as our Xantrex had given up the ghost in Antigua earlier
Here are a few shots from the Friar's Bay area as well as Anse Marcel and Grand Case. Ed is big on taking long hikes up
to scenic overlook areas so we have some nice shots from above. I've got bogus feet so I can't make those treks, rats.
We spent longer in SXM than we planned on because of a mysterious bite (spider?) Ed got on his elbow. At first we
thought he'd torn a ligament, could hardly move it, no lifting etc. but it eventually his whole arm got very inflamed and
swollen. Made a trip to the doctor for anti-inflammatories and antibiotics. After that had mostly subsided he got the
mosquito-transmitted chikungunya virus!! Boy, that really laid him low for a couple weeks after which he was in a big
hurry to get out of there so I wouldn't get it, so next up the BVI.
April, 2014
| When we left the states in Feb 2006 heading into the Bahamas and then down to the Caribbean we got nervous about being down in Trinidad by July for the hurricane season. We put a rush on and only spent a few days in the USVI's before sailing on to St. Martin, so we felt like it was high time to spent some time exploring the upper area of the EC from the BVI's back west through Puerto Rico. We decided to spend the remains of the winter/spring season up in the area and use dry storage facilities of Puerto Del Rey in Fajardo, PR for hurricane storage, then come back next season and go west to east back through them again. We had a small weather window to visit the Baths on Virgin Gorda. We had some great swimming and a calm night anchored off. Of course, we were one of the smallest yachts out there - LOTS of big, fancy charter yachts. We spent several days around Drake's anchorage, Leverick's, Saba Rock. Prickley Pear and Savannah Bay before heading around to the Baths, and on to the other BVI. |
| Areas around Anse Marcel and Grand Case, on the French side of St. Martin |
| Our Current Location and Updates |
June - July, 2014
| In the midst of all the yard craziness we got to visit with some of our very favorite people! Jacqui, Matt, Jackson and Gracie came for a weekend. Lots of fun showing them the house and just generally having a fine old visit. Thanks for coming!! |
| Late May found us at Puerto Del Rey Marina prepping for summer storage after a few blissful weeks in Culebra. Next thing we know we are back in Florida and ready to start on this years projects. |
Jackson is very chill & laid-back like his Dad. Miss Gracie is a ham-bone
through and through, pretty much like her Mom, lol. Love you guys!!
through and through, pretty much like her Mom, lol. Love you guys!!
| ...and VOILA! Love how it turned out. |
| February Bash at the house (including live music) and to the left a group go for pizza at Al Porto |
| How about this weird vegetation |
| The Baths, Virgin Gorda, BVI |
| Below are a couple of shots of Sandy Spit, Little Jost Van Dyke and across to Canegarden Bay on Tortola. A really cool spot even though it picks up a lot of day traffic and charterers. Good holding in sand and plenty of breeze. |
| A shot from White Bay on Jost Van Dyke. We were there on a weekend and it was really hectic to say the least!! Didn't have much luck anchoring in Great Hbr or Little Hbr so we took a mooring on occassion. |
| A visitor in our slip at Puerto Del Rey Marina and Dreamtime stands by until next year. |
| After deciding to store the boat in Puerto Rico this summer we headed over to the USVI's on our meander to PR. St. John's is a National Park so we could use our (ahem) Senior Pass to get half price moorings in the various bays, what with anchoring not being allowed within the park areas. We spent a fair amount of time in Francis Bay and Leinster Bay before heading over to Culebra and Puerto Rico. Below are some shots that Ed took from above (of course) of Leinster Bay and Coral Bay. He made the trek up to the Annaberg Sugar Mill Ruins then headed over to take a peek at the anchorage at Coral Bay. |
May, 2014
| Here comes the outdoor projects. Ed tackles prepping for the Queen Palms that will be planted in place of the holly trees cut down last summer, and I will tackle getting rid of the overgrown, ugly/dirty white rockpile that is my front yard. |
| The "before" of the overgrown mess - I really got my exersize hauling off the rock and all. Believe it or not, it was FUN! I've always loved instant gratification. |
| Queen Palms in and just need to finalize landscaping with flowers and mulch - yay! |
September, 2014
During September Ed had an opportunity to take a week long, 188 mile rafting trip down the Colorado River in the Grand
Canyon. He jumped at it of course, "check off another item on the bucket list". The trip was really awesome in many,
many ways, in fact we might do a little sub-webpage sometime just to do a better write-up, but for today, here are just a
few pics he returned from the trip with.
Canyon. He jumped at it of course, "check off another item on the bucket list". The trip was really awesome in many,
many ways, in fact we might do a little sub-webpage sometime just to do a better write-up, but for today, here are just a
few pics he returned from the trip with.
| In the late afternoon the guides would find a suitable beach and the evening setup would begin. Forming a line the passengers would hand everything out of the raft and onto shore. Gathering their drybags and camping equipment, each person would find a spot and get settled. Most used the tents but Ed opted to sleep under the stars the whole time. He had great weather for it and was able to do some wonderful stargazing. |
| Ed's campsite for the night, including chair and rinsed out laundry. |
| Most days included a side trip hike to other streams, pools or waterfalls. |
| You would never think that the trip includes over 60 rapids loking at this shot! |
| Headed back to the real world |
Mid-October the weather was right for a trip up to the Smokies, Kentucky and Tennesee to see some good friends and
check out the fall colors. Plus we wanted to see how comfortable the sleeping in the back of our Ford Taurus X would be.
The way we roll on these trips is to take all the back roads and avoid the interstate highways as much as possible. By far a
more serene and scenic way to travel. Lots of stops to leg-stretch and take photos of the barns with the owner's quilt
pattern painted on the side (click on the collages to enlarge).
check out the fall colors. Plus we wanted to see how comfortable the sleeping in the back of our Ford Taurus X would be.
The way we roll on these trips is to take all the back roads and avoid the interstate highways as much as possible. By far a
more serene and scenic way to travel. Lots of stops to leg-stretch and take photos of the barns with the owner's quilt
pattern painted on the side (click on the collages to enlarge).
We toured around to one of the local wineries, Chestnut Hills,
and to a wonderful specialty cheese shop whereupon we bought
cheeses, sausages etc. for picnic lunches during our travels.
Shawn loans me the use of her kitchen and her Foodsaver
vacuum sealer so I can prep multi-packs of snacks which will be
tossed into the cooler and pulled out as needed. Thanks a bunch!
and to a wonderful specialty cheese shop whereupon we bought
cheeses, sausages etc. for picnic lunches during our travels.
Shawn loans me the use of her kitchen and her Foodsaver
vacuum sealer so I can prep multi-packs of snacks which will be
tossed into the cooler and pulled out as needed. Thanks a bunch!
We made it up to Crossville TN where we visited with some of our "besties", Shawn and Joe formerly of s/v 'Libertas', and
enjoyed the Cumberland Plateau area of TN. What a beautiful spot.
We took in the sights by the dam within the Cumberland Mountain State Park and drove around to check out the
Homestead homes in the area. Homes which were constructed during the presidency of FD Roosevelt in the 30's as one
of the huge public works projects he instituted. The homes were made primarily of locally mined sandstone known as
Crab Orchard stone. The architecture and stonework is amazing.
enjoyed the Cumberland Plateau area of TN. What a beautiful spot.
We took in the sights by the dam within the Cumberland Mountain State Park and drove around to check out the
Homestead homes in the area. Homes which were constructed during the presidency of FD Roosevelt in the 30's as one
of the huge public works projects he instituted. The homes were made primarily of locally mined sandstone known as
Crab Orchard stone. The architecture and stonework is amazing.
After our stop in Crossville TN we headed over to Bowling Green KY where we had a nice picnic lunch in a really nice
park and visited the Aviation Heritage Park which included awesome jets/planes piloted by some very special
Kentuckians. We also had a great tour of the Corvette Manufacturing Plant while we were in Bowling Green, however
we didn't take any pictures. (We also didn't see the sinkhole by the Museum although we saw it on TV later!)
We then headed down the road to the Mammoth Cave National Park to take a tour of a portion of the longest cave system
known in the world. Took a couple of hours and was very interesting but not as mind-blowing as what we remember of
Carlsbad Caverns which we toured a looong time ago around '84.
park and visited the Aviation Heritage Park which included awesome jets/planes piloted by some very special
Kentuckians. We also had a great tour of the Corvette Manufacturing Plant while we were in Bowling Green, however
we didn't take any pictures. (We also didn't see the sinkhole by the Museum although we saw it on TV later!)
We then headed down the road to the Mammoth Cave National Park to take a tour of a portion of the longest cave system
known in the world. Took a couple of hours and was very interesting but not as mind-blowing as what we remember of
Carlsbad Caverns which we toured a looong time ago around '84.
| (not my photo) |
| One of the permiere stops on our trip was our 4 night stint in the Cherokee Nat'l Park at Cardens Bluff Campground which is located on a bluff overlooking Watauga Lake, TN. In late October with it's chilly evenings (high-30's to mid-40's while we were there), the campground was pretty deserted. The Nat'l Park Svc closes the park right around Halloween, so we had our pick of campsites. We thought #25 was best! |
| Cumberland State Park Dam |
October, 2014
| A driving trip was next up on our agenda, the Blue Ridge Parkway. We spent a couple of days in the Asheville, NC area enjoying a bit of downtown touring and catching a brew and a burger at the Asheville Brewing Company before heading up into the mountains on a loop to Hot Springs and back. We also visited the Folk Art Center (on the parkway) and spent several hours and $$ there, it was fascinating and there was much to see. In fact, the quality of the handcrafted goods was such that we also stopped at the Southern Highland Craft Guild the next morning before heading south on the Parkway. A couple of vistas from the parkway and a commercial photo of the Folk Art Center (below). |
| While in Bowling Green we also visited the Kentucky Museum on the campus of Western Kentucky University. They had a myriad of displays ranging from hand-crafted fine furniture to textiles, historical exhibits and even a Duncan Hines exhibit, he being a famous son and all. |
December 28, 2014
Well, Christmas has come and gone and now it's time to get ready for some boating and beaches.
We joined Ed's Mom for Christmas and did the whole shebang; huge batch of cornbread dressing, 12# turkey and all the
rest of the trimmings including homemade cranberry relish and ambrosia plus pecan pie and 3 types of cookies! What a
wonderful day!
During mid-December we had the pleasure of hosting Linda and John (formerly 'Kool Kat') for a few days and really enjoyed
having a chance to catch-up. We invited Nancy/John from 'Silver Seas' to join us for dinner since we've all know each
other for years. Great time. My sister and her husband made a quick visit as well, we're always happy to see them.
We joined Ed's Mom for Christmas and did the whole shebang; huge batch of cornbread dressing, 12# turkey and all the
rest of the trimmings including homemade cranberry relish and ambrosia plus pecan pie and 3 types of cookies! What a
wonderful day!
During mid-December we had the pleasure of hosting Linda and John (formerly 'Kool Kat') for a few days and really enjoyed
having a chance to catch-up. We invited Nancy/John from 'Silver Seas' to join us for dinner since we've all know each
other for years. Great time. My sister and her husband made a quick visit as well, we're always happy to see them.
| I've also been playing around with some fabric projects and generally having fun with that. What are they you ask? Handcrafted trivets which double as decorative wall hangings in between uses. |
