tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75945394148651694852024-02-21T09:46:52.387-08:00Follow the Howells as we learn to sail and take to the seas for the adventure of a lifetime. Follow the Howell Family- Andrew, Summer, Paige, and Sky, on their cruising adventures as they circumnavigate the Caribbean aboard their 37' sailboat, Abby Singer.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10934326607132258854noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-14231277906535819782017-06-04T22:20:00.001-07:002017-06-05T11:12:44.912-07:0055-56. The Rest of the Story<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXc5XGNG1biAVDL-nQZ0Uq3nQ6LstJ3Y19oKTZ1MrobU70p6FPbBcCsr6SB0DpaxvS2yf-_a0f7IBSlwUuunzGlGQiYLfoaGaYctx7J1fCBTgaCPndifw2VMeaydYIcEcOISs8gikbw/s640/blogger-image-1791911535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXc5XGNG1biAVDL-nQZ0Uq3nQ6LstJ3Y19oKTZ1MrobU70p6FPbBcCsr6SB0DpaxvS2yf-_a0f7IBSlwUuunzGlGQiYLfoaGaYctx7J1fCBTgaCPndifw2VMeaydYIcEcOISs8gikbw/s640/blogger-image-1791911535.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div>I know we left you hanging and owe you a blog to wrap up our time in the Caribbean. I have started to write this blog so many times but can never make myself finish it. To be honest, it feels like the closing of a great book that you just don't want to end and by not bringing our story to completion, I can somehow keep it alive, like we didn't have to come back to reality :)</div><div>But we did and it has actually been exciting and new for a whole different reason. So I think I can finally start to put into words how amazing our last few months at sea were.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTVuQIRrnGpJtKdPo5JWWyCP5j2UAAcemanG37VnPAFHV0ExNB-HjWJ0mDyNMOHhL-9b1kT8gobVZ_BFRGRyTfoEPGzunWRvedli3Xr39K2ef6Ke95VSgGhRKZKwxG5uC_V531tY6DA/s640/blogger-image--325830768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTVuQIRrnGpJtKdPo5JWWyCP5j2UAAcemanG37VnPAFHV0ExNB-HjWJ0mDyNMOHhL-9b1kT8gobVZ_BFRGRyTfoEPGzunWRvedli3Xr39K2ef6Ke95VSgGhRKZKwxG5uC_V531tY6DA/s640/blogger-image--325830768.jpg"></a></div></div><div>As excited as we were to reach the Bahamas, we knew a big blow was headed our way and we needed to find a safe hole soon. The southernmost island of the Bahamas, Great Inagua, may be the second largest island in the chain but it offers absolutely no protection for wind from the north, exactly what was heading our way. So after a quick reprovisioning in Matthew Town, we spent the next two days island hopping to a safe hole to hide out the blow. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5bZhepiDhIen_iHpQoQxc3Ahxi4rIl2uWjHx0RAaaJZZaZVghlzaU4WNtmekqiBMjYX_dng6kDFgbWLIXVQoLemnd-LiEJP1lNzFCwGlY1XZW5cHcdwJt3BpIMBGCSw1xujGdn-6slQ/s640/blogger-image--1196075420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5bZhepiDhIen_iHpQoQxc3Ahxi4rIl2uWjHx0RAaaJZZaZVghlzaU4WNtmekqiBMjYX_dng6kDFgbWLIXVQoLemnd-LiEJP1lNzFCwGlY1XZW5cHcdwJt3BpIMBGCSw1xujGdn-6slQ/s640/blogger-image--1196075420.jpg"></a></div>On the way to our hidey-hole we found a deserted atoll in the middle of the ocean. Nothing as far as the eye could see! We enjoyed a snorkel and walk-about on the sandy spit.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bx259WSxjMxEbqW2ntzlQvZUKmjALT6kD_OkUE8oNObS5nuHhboKScmkEWU96TjiHILjBCf2809ocGuIdn6RcCexirPL6dUFoSEfDM1YnBsvsWn7Px-VsMZYSt32cXrrRJMlyOyuFQ/s640/blogger-image-390836296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bx259WSxjMxEbqW2ntzlQvZUKmjALT6kD_OkUE8oNObS5nuHhboKScmkEWU96TjiHILjBCf2809ocGuIdn6RcCexirPL6dUFoSEfDM1YnBsvsWn7Px-VsMZYSt32cXrrRJMlyOyuFQ/s640/blogger-image-390836296.jpg"></a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzbZmrJfjwL5dKJaR-bki31vMVRNIGf8U-kjUM4ihKymrKDbM6opixHojtwHnizibS6Gr46sValg05hptISG-aWFfVqQRmH0EIWqJm-yq5a7mQl3qxgJd69P4wiYQqi0nLmKYKq8PQQ/s640/blogger-image--545432014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzbZmrJfjwL5dKJaR-bki31vMVRNIGf8U-kjUM4ihKymrKDbM6opixHojtwHnizibS6Gr46sValg05hptISG-aWFfVqQRmH0EIWqJm-yq5a7mQl3qxgJd69P4wiYQqi0nLmKYKq8PQQ/s640/blogger-image--545432014.jpg"></a> </div></div></div><div>We finally found a tiny but well protected inlet in the Crooked Islands called French Wells and happened upon an abandoned mooring ball. We were so excited at our luck until we noticed that the boat wasn't rocking anymore. We quickly realized the mooring ball had broken free but we hadn't gone far and settled in the soft sand of a shallow less than 10ft from where we started.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVdjknhaZK0tj17qQ_3x6vyTvYOjFGFRVYOeZEAqs-fYA4PUCJk8Z30nW0zowGojsHKxfI1wjYl3SpYxxzu5iKjRs5m2_UgclRqPwnajn0yMbdRhFGadZHhwsf87cG4uVPwPxuZuESQ/s640/blogger-image-1368080779.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVdjknhaZK0tj17qQ_3x6vyTvYOjFGFRVYOeZEAqs-fYA4PUCJk8Z30nW0zowGojsHKxfI1wjYl3SpYxxzu5iKjRs5m2_UgclRqPwnajn0yMbdRhFGadZHhwsf87cG4uVPwPxuZuESQ/s640/blogger-image-1368080779.jpg"></a></div> Andrew (with a little help from Sky) dove to the block and quickly got us resecured. He also added an extra line to be sure we would hold strong through the blow. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVFxC3bBUU7kl8lYbt5I1Mk4YK8X4kdk9qHi1anBWowMBTdFtst25bBH8BV-31Gj1NovzLtZ3S7MMpgd-PIq2uktUACjYMFhkiVvT9jP_1UBJIqjdgESWazPWG_8urz5jVcujpkkoHvw/s640/blogger-image--728872325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVFxC3bBUU7kl8lYbt5I1Mk4YK8X4kdk9qHi1anBWowMBTdFtst25bBH8BV-31Gj1NovzLtZ3S7MMpgd-PIq2uktUACjYMFhkiVvT9jP_1UBJIqjdgESWazPWG_8urz5jVcujpkkoHvw/s640/blogger-image--728872325.jpg"></a></div></div><div>Not many 14 year olds get their own private island view for their birthday but we spared no expense for our Paige Nicole :) We made the most of our windy isolation and had a proper celebration aboard Abby. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOvaXHn3RxUYHRJc1nW5vkg995k_Mv8bZ3apwxGSbVg3E9M2EyTyJG81K0ADdPnReJRbu8wcgdvAQNZCvHZv8v4mpZr9EOdhUl0cA_aNC7GOjT_ppDF2mGJK0pRBUSCeBm6u0233ZEQ/s640/blogger-image--1132182566.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOvaXHn3RxUYHRJc1nW5vkg995k_Mv8bZ3apwxGSbVg3E9M2EyTyJG81K0ADdPnReJRbu8wcgdvAQNZCvHZv8v4mpZr9EOdhUl0cA_aNC7GOjT_ppDF2mGJK0pRBUSCeBm6u0233ZEQ/s640/blogger-image--1132182566.jpg"></a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8Nk3b3MdP58t7EiUHJEwZ__E5Zyubi4d_IObCtYO87Knfhk8eq7zdMoo9okxV1QJ5u3UqzSR1ITPx63-MYqYlq5qw1JLKZZKdKHXcEA2Gf1NuUcZyfvQX7hszHv5UtxQ0gcz4_4mZQ/s640/blogger-image-2047602371.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8Nk3b3MdP58t7EiUHJEwZ__E5Zyubi4d_IObCtYO87Knfhk8eq7zdMoo9okxV1QJ5u3UqzSR1ITPx63-MYqYlq5qw1JLKZZKdKHXcEA2Gf1NuUcZyfvQX7hszHv5UtxQ0gcz4_4mZQ/s640/blogger-image-2047602371.jpg"></a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg92rJ3PnQ9xVwqVrp64SA8ZiqiHbIBXBczEh4AfEd-rTtF_fCD1CnCvX3FHeHqu29LqATNt3uY5s1fCyJhIMvfEAjjCtBTPgySHc7r3hA5Uq3mj6gas8M1IJFbpmkXeNsqgRjkjGFFfQ/s640/blogger-image--448793154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg92rJ3PnQ9xVwqVrp64SA8ZiqiHbIBXBczEh4AfEd-rTtF_fCD1CnCvX3FHeHqu29LqATNt3uY5s1fCyJhIMvfEAjjCtBTPgySHc7r3hA5Uq3mj6gas8M1IJFbpmkXeNsqgRjkjGFFfQ/s640/blogger-image--448793154.jpg"></a></div></div></div></div><div> <i>Pancakes</i><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> and presents</i><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> and cake - oh my!</i></div><div>When weather hits and you are in the middle of nowhere it is kind of like being snowed in, without the freezing cold. We introduced the girls to Star Wars and watched a different episode every night with dinner! <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZN-61JOPZ4FvYYurgVt8meNusVxH89tVBkQbcUL0fpqsNgdAW_KnOfUz70tsXYVDd_cA6EwtzHWHkzw1E1QHT-JdmDfc6nBXrU0SJTLt25mY5XP9zE_DN6JUaFnkgc1Vpt3Gd76wig/s640/blogger-image-1061598113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZN-61JOPZ4FvYYurgVt8meNusVxH89tVBkQbcUL0fpqsNgdAW_KnOfUz70tsXYVDd_cA6EwtzHWHkzw1E1QHT-JdmDfc6nBXrU0SJTLt25mY5XP9zE_DN6JUaFnkgc1Vpt3Gd76wig/s640/blogger-image-1061598113.jpg"></a></div>They have been enlightened :)</div><div>During our week waiting out the blow we also started learning new skills, Paige editing in Final Cut X and Sky becoming quite the baker.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0Y_CWGG0_i1nalFAA_CCv0YKxmzvwP2UkSmmp1hVGooMTNI9_T91o9zWn0l2URK_d6Z51ICU9R6-wkdzh7N7G35anJcBTImeLaJw4o3wYsdwPmuXuH05fZ9f6VuT4-frddvq1y2X-A/s640/blogger-image--1479939846.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0Y_CWGG0_i1nalFAA_CCv0YKxmzvwP2UkSmmp1hVGooMTNI9_T91o9zWn0l2URK_d6Z51ICU9R6-wkdzh7N7G35anJcBTImeLaJw4o3wYsdwPmuXuH05fZ9f6VuT4-frddvq1y2X-A/s640/blogger-image--1479939846.jpg"></a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygk4sf8nO-P614Cm657vPN7opZB6tGCPgdtVO8uwVoXV7eMcJ7JLcltOUYTZoFA9KnGGZrSyw5xHcCclETupFjevkLRqBEfsynxhMKJxEEUkaD-mnHf9aq-bICrxeqY8FpjCPvRofSQ/s640/blogger-image-1475327118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygk4sf8nO-P614Cm657vPN7opZB6tGCPgdtVO8uwVoXV7eMcJ7JLcltOUYTZoFA9KnGGZrSyw5xHcCclETupFjevkLRqBEfsynxhMKJxEEUkaD-mnHf9aq-bICrxeqY8FpjCPvRofSQ/s640/blogger-image-1475327118.jpg"></a> </div></div> I really enjoyed being stuck aboard with my favorites but Andrew got a little stir crazy so one afternoon when the wind had temporarily calmed a bit, he and I ventured out. We took the 30 minute dinghy ride to the nearest dock and walked 2 miles before we happened upon a lady who was kind enough to drive us the rest of the way to town to fill up our jerry cans and reprovision a bit. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLz3YbhlvwW3Usa67gZX2nprHpYumFJotXLGHZINaW4SwlUFx9I5xz_UNpiQ-b7EnOgUCMDTS5Nd0kPe69e9vlF41c1HUuB9ldR1X20zMXITNWGzq4R9_JFl8DAjY07AhQA08HI1e2wA/s640/blogger-image--1403500620.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLz3YbhlvwW3Usa67gZX2nprHpYumFJotXLGHZINaW4SwlUFx9I5xz_UNpiQ-b7EnOgUCMDTS5Nd0kPe69e9vlF41c1HUuB9ldR1X20zMXITNWGzq4R9_JFl8DAjY07AhQA08HI1e2wA/s640/blogger-image--1403500620.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <i>The blue dot is Abby, the red line is our dinghy trail.</i></div>We were glad to get out and stretch our legs but the girls were even more happy to see us return as the sun was setting and the wind was picking up.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGsrhAD99t4UIoQ7MXUtOUX-ELCM-FRswRduiO03YkxKG1jt6aJhWfjgkY8zNRP8ikHhgIq-XWyHPl5EHHuxYSGpbLmKG4XNon8g4CUgTO91U15Mby0ZngjDdt4D959hJjj3aMsfH0w/s640/blogger-image--2091337500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGsrhAD99t4UIoQ7MXUtOUX-ELCM-FRswRduiO03YkxKG1jt6aJhWfjgkY8zNRP8ikHhgIq-XWyHPl5EHHuxYSGpbLmKG4XNon8g4CUgTO91U15Mby0ZngjDdt4D959hJjj3aMsfH0w/s640/blogger-image--2091337500.jpg"></a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGImjRuhskol_L_69vHPGtKE4jRqe1UcS_Opu8v4w-nVLW29d6-WCsgnaGoSOZiW9owzAA7e1SYjPwJHpgfqXTrNIYm5l_ajaYaFqRs7pcNR66xu2Toh77e1Fqpj6h_648lwgXd8wew/s640/blogger-image--1912897803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGImjRuhskol_L_69vHPGtKE4jRqe1UcS_Opu8v4w-nVLW29d6-WCsgnaGoSOZiW9owzAA7e1SYjPwJHpgfqXTrNIYm5l_ajaYaFqRs7pcNR66xu2Toh77e1Fqpj6h_648lwgXd8wew/s640/blogger-image--1912897803.jpg"></a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyQL6sFL1Nuila6B1FLewLOSuCktgrOKsFmG1ALuMiuEhVne1Jw51a7hN4JSUJb8iGOvwi7p3A4Nt4gHRKO70bIgcnOVg5-MZ_X8xWUq740TJNXBn9jzm34WhVWdXrBMiFmnvbFZpiQ/s640/blogger-image-1786698284.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyQL6sFL1Nuila6B1FLewLOSuCktgrOKsFmG1ALuMiuEhVne1Jw51a7hN4JSUJb8iGOvwi7p3A4Nt4gHRKO70bIgcnOVg5-MZ_X8xWUq740TJNXBn9jzm34WhVWdXrBMiFmnvbFZpiQ/s640/blogger-image-1786698284.jpg"></a></div></div></div> <i>Shenanigans aboard.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>After a week of alone time, we were eager to get to some of the more populated Exuma islands. We made our way to the east of Long Island <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHeh6BzOJElN8J8V7GlJybdn8nyE-4pHHOpVRpg80EnBwW5_LPbPRjsHFPzF8qtrFiyxy7hNlDLEZRhFJg74sROtgTjuaEruZESrv7eNrO7jbECqgDvTONlMxbiIGYn5vgqTxSu8nkPQ/s640/blogger-image-1826993939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHeh6BzOJElN8J8V7GlJybdn8nyE-4pHHOpVRpg80EnBwW5_LPbPRjsHFPzF8qtrFiyxy7hNlDLEZRhFJg74sROtgTjuaEruZESrv7eNrO7jbECqgDvTONlMxbiIGYn5vgqTxSu8nkPQ/s640/blogger-image-1826993939.jpg"></a></div>and even cut a day off our journey by squeaking through Hog Cay Cut (where Paige is pointing) at high tide - with only a few rubs on soft sand. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEXGC9diKhxbqu4hMMck_8J7qhVWGRSf13QaHbgMoVtZWodhAfz0UMHhWnKmiorWvbnAE-z7S7s7BUTZjJzs9mREPt5pbXFVNf2Wqp9uc6p-uKhSSg0yPfD7ExnVNYWOYFYKoWvMjOA/s640/blogger-image--1972036981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEXGC9diKhxbqu4hMMck_8J7qhVWGRSf13QaHbgMoVtZWodhAfz0UMHhWnKmiorWvbnAE-z7S7s7BUTZjJzs9mREPt5pbXFVNf2Wqp9uc6p-uKhSSg0yPfD7ExnVNYWOYFYKoWvMjOA/s640/blogger-image--1972036981.jpg"></a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguLE5l4V5UvF5bbGDza5-LmTuZJQLvFN22S2gn9wdilLxtZe_vhDUAR7AjKg5-pNO_Xb8O8UotN18MsQY6LWMBzBiHsd-jB9ibE2yB_IVdYxOm9i_TGFI5fSFLvztY2Encr_EDVWTrDA/s640/blogger-image-958140817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguLE5l4V5UvF5bbGDza5-LmTuZJQLvFN22S2gn9wdilLxtZe_vhDUAR7AjKg5-pNO_Xb8O8UotN18MsQY6LWMBzBiHsd-jB9ibE2yB_IVdYxOm9i_TGFI5fSFLvztY2Encr_EDVWTrDA/s640/blogger-image-958140817.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <i>Our lookouts hard at work.</i></div></div>As we rounded the bend to turn north and realized Georgetown was in sight, the excitement bubbled over! We could see the breadcrumbs of our Delorme path, we were about to complete our Caribbean loop and cross our own path from when we set out from Georgetown on our first overnight sail almost a year earlier! <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuEsE10ltmf7DLgPwm1UM9ZcfI4YSMo2vmigbzRWjdNDE_ScMxa35p5thiAzhuZ5PRD01xg1Smk6-p5GpSp2vOBy8rAfWYsElQvScO1BesyrdSU9r0yloSo_CTg41ZWewYh6pNa-uLw/s640/blogger-image-1737496727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuEsE10ltmf7DLgPwm1UM9ZcfI4YSMo2vmigbzRWjdNDE_ScMxa35p5thiAzhuZ5PRD01xg1Smk6-p5GpSp2vOBy8rAfWYsElQvScO1BesyrdSU9r0yloSo_CTg41ZWewYh6pNa-uLw/s640/blogger-image-1737496727.jpg"></a></div>We started to reminisce about our previous Georgetown experience; when we barely knew our now very dear friends aboard Take Two, and how we spent hours aboard Alley Cat taking notes of all the recommended places to stop, and how many of the people that helped make this year at sea amazing we hadn't even met yet. We were chatting, putting beer in the freezer for when the anchor was down and trying to get some tunes cranking when all of a sudden a reef jumped up in front of us!!! Well, not exactly. </div><div>We had exited the southern channel of Georgetown last year and knew it was a very narrow cut. Hurricane Matthew had rearranged some of the marker buoys, but even that isn't fully to blame. I think we just got complacent. Our attention wasn't where it needed to be and that is all it takes to change your day from best to worst day at sea!</div><div>We hit the reef going 6 knots! Andrew looked up from the chart plotter just in time to see the reef in front of us. He quickly shut down the autopilot and turned us hard over to port which probably saved us the direct hit. The rudder high centered on the reef and lifted our entire stern up, I'm sure only inches but it felt like out of the water, before we broke free and continued on, turning a large circle as the rudder was now jammed to port. Andrew was quick on the draw, I got us out of gear while he got the anchor down. It was just before sunset so we quickly radioed all in the harbor and had dinghies headed our way to help in no time. We checked the bilge, no incoming water - phew! Andrew jumped in to check the damage and it only appeared to have affected the rudder and shaft. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfL0JrHOT3NzL6lzMUbFC5XvLXD5Y1f4TnJ1_20h1MfF4sJ0dewU0yZsqIXlm-ovMHMvps5GbLuySUwgC9NvKrQ_C6L0obTz9TwVwTII8TAhOFjRzk01c9mZnm-l2GHwFno9ongVeUoQ/s640/blogger-image--291456506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfL0JrHOT3NzL6lzMUbFC5XvLXD5Y1f4TnJ1_20h1MfF4sJ0dewU0yZsqIXlm-ovMHMvps5GbLuySUwgC9NvKrQ_C6L0obTz9TwVwTII8TAhOFjRzk01c9mZnm-l2GHwFno9ongVeUoQ/s640/blogger-image--291456506.jpg"></a></div>We were able to hip tie the dinghies to either side of Abby and they escorted us to a great patch of sand off Sand Dollar Beach, just south of Chat & Chill. Andrew was super gracious to the guys in dinghies who came and helped us get anchored but I can assure you he used every word in his sailor’s vocabulary as soon as they left us to lick our wounds! You can't help but wonder how you made it all this way, this entire year, with no huge setbacks to then sail into familiar territory and hit a marked reef. It was an amazing lesson to learn! And if you have to be stuck somewhere to do boat repairs, you couldn't pick a better place or community than Georgetown!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDiC9Ow9irUb0Q6OzFo00Pgb6QfAE9lLV4LAk1Rpc9G5yamoPepKMk2jWF3QVXeH9iyNIMbS1sobEH2pSAwqW1QuNS7t7BUPBMYlAfAAKch9SLlmDMxHjXlXqpu-Ap7AAvpH803z6sA/s640/blogger-image-1889179916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDiC9Ow9irUb0Q6OzFo00Pgb6QfAE9lLV4LAk1Rpc9G5yamoPepKMk2jWF3QVXeH9iyNIMbS1sobEH2pSAwqW1QuNS7t7BUPBMYlAfAAKch9SLlmDMxHjXlXqpu-Ap7AAvpH803z6sA/s640/blogger-image-1889179916.jpg"></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <i>Georgetown sunset - January 16, 2017</i></div></div><div>We were up bright and early the next morning to join in on the cruisers net - a daily radio broadcast where anyone in the harbor can get the weather, ask for help, offer up items they no longer need or just hear what events are planned for the day. Andrew introduced us, asked for help removing our rudder and had a few guys headed our way with scuba gear in hand before the hour was up. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4KeAJvbPqGcEsov2KhrNNk9QFMrIjp1RtiTaKxCcndr2QQ2j4vNgIwOPb28TEIuHAq5oyTn5ckmeQWs7CK2WCtA320mq12E9pmwYRZLh1nF2m7mgDvV5IXz6bwgXk-7i4Zq-Agd_Ow/s640/blogger-image--1716276326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4KeAJvbPqGcEsov2KhrNNk9QFMrIjp1RtiTaKxCcndr2QQ2j4vNgIwOPb28TEIuHAq5oyTn5ckmeQWs7CK2WCtA320mq12E9pmwYRZLh1nF2m7mgDvV5IXz6bwgXk-7i4Zq-Agd_Ow/s640/blogger-image--1716276326.jpg"></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUO0fiGrX6lvqjYt1HME5WkGjFPKJBkF4sG-vuRAlk4afRWAdZUTf73mkCimkS8Op2o6bO7o5k3URjEiD8xB57HHw35ZlAeZGc6Pgg11szZjU4LwXs2T6bZzMtcws9oAYqnEx4TeQdeA/s640/blogger-image-1889298627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUO0fiGrX6lvqjYt1HME5WkGjFPKJBkF4sG-vuRAlk4afRWAdZUTf73mkCimkS8Op2o6bO7o5k3URjEiD8xB57HHw35ZlAeZGc6Pgg11szZjU4LwXs2T6bZzMtcws9oAYqnEx4TeQdeA/s640/blogger-image-1889298627.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <i>We busted it up good!</i></div>It sounds like a simple enough task to drop the rudder while in the water but it was not as neutrally buoyant as we had hoped. So after a lot of prying and wedging, we finally got the shaft free and our damaged rudder shot to the surface like a rocket. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtdJuBwI7ljk8bRLApQ_iXmKdLYZW0YobIEy4FwAMYkGoHRjBIYnsCjyCp-1_nJhFOQ0zTOIySOB8yKYh7YbnEUDc9_tTYzE8cUs2d1wxQuNXm5iGlLdn97cxaudwv4kC-vDKYOIu0xw/s640/blogger-image-1167658277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtdJuBwI7ljk8bRLApQ_iXmKdLYZW0YobIEy4FwAMYkGoHRjBIYnsCjyCp-1_nJhFOQ0zTOIySOB8yKYh7YbnEUDc9_tTYzE8cUs2d1wxQuNXm5iGlLdn97cxaudwv4kC-vDKYOIu0xw/s640/blogger-image-1167658277.jpg"></a></div>Andrew was then able to confirm that Abby had sustained NO damage. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNVEnhj_UwxILEjV-E0HhwwI6jr7doGwdDJEEcmhF-EII4leJilgtMfumDBUa7YdDhlrOO05cwrAbVwvn_HUUmE5bivN1JF1TJ8ocIkh0N16ft8xDKEQt_IIYrDgaugTLK5-oFnU7lA/s640/blogger-image-1021909476.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNVEnhj_UwxILEjV-E0HhwwI6jr7doGwdDJEEcmhF-EII4leJilgtMfumDBUa7YdDhlrOO05cwrAbVwvn_HUUmE5bivN1JF1TJ8ocIkh0N16ft8xDKEQt_IIYrDgaugTLK5-oFnU7lA/s640/blogger-image-1021909476.jpg"></a></div>The back of the rudder was split open like a book and our 1.25” 316 solid stainless steel rod was considerably bent but the hull didn't even have a scratch!</div><div><br></div><div>Now as interesting as rudder repair can be, Sky had much more important matters to deal with! She had not seen another kid (besides Paige :) for 2 whole weeks and desperately needed some fun. So she got on the radio and asked if there were any other kid boats in the harbor. Lucky for her, Anna answered and quickly arranged a beach date that afternoon with all her friends. One of the heroes who came to our rescue on the reef was crew from Seraphim. They are a family with two boys, Banks & Theron, who just headed out on their first liveaboard adventure and are following a similar path to the one we took. The boys hadn't really met any other kid boats yet and my girls took it upon themselves to break them in! </div><div>So with the rudder successfully removed, friends waiting to be made on shore and cold beers needing to be shared, we headed off to our first round of sundowners at Chat & Chill beach. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhawIjTV02JK42jamKqSeZymbqWxGeQ1Y0QPkASV5x77_5TldHLnox7kGNeVvN_ztqaX5YNarVfFGcInf09uJYEcSIbDa5qWZwA9MwmpqUk0psFdKRfrB9T0MvchWrxAOCXvcNtfOtUPA/s640/blogger-image-1819218098.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhawIjTV02JK42jamKqSeZymbqWxGeQ1Y0QPkASV5x77_5TldHLnox7kGNeVvN_ztqaX5YNarVfFGcInf09uJYEcSIbDa5qWZwA9MwmpqUk0psFdKRfrB9T0MvchWrxAOCXvcNtfOtUPA/s640/blogger-image-1819218098.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div><b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div><div><b><i>Never fear that “worst thing ever” happening to you because it may turn out to be the “best mistake ever”!</i></b> Nobody likes when things don't go the way you planned. But how well can you roll with the punches? The less flexible I am, the more painful the strain is. But if I chose to see all the things I can be thankful for in a less than perfect situation I always seem to be pleasantly surprised with the even better plan that I find in the process.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieP5pk11H7ZjXWjd-PHGVIpNxIMVMuXYPwSesrmBgv_tpvqMYjLih9LZZ9bVMZtU0rdFs2r5lMpKjiN-pbtqPDAopGHt4UPv-7xErQqomTjdPp6HusX6o0MDv3FMXsFzPHYLU0gVC3BQ/s640/blogger-image-330798590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieP5pk11H7ZjXWjd-PHGVIpNxIMVMuXYPwSesrmBgv_tpvqMYjLih9LZZ9bVMZtU0rdFs2r5lMpKjiN-pbtqPDAopGHt4UPv-7xErQqomTjdPp6HusX6o0MDv3FMXsFzPHYLU0gVC3BQ/s640/blogger-image-330798590.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <i>Missing old friends,</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSbNRrvLjtBuLVb1UJw4AL7MT5iEqeMRzYGz2TwFim_W3On_J0DNxLv95TMCRJnv28kdKzgseD8bEyKoW8Zdoa1mah3MDzh-hOefoXtxvF1YdzBSKfTUH5hGKDdrJ6kqMHnZTKIYW6Q/s640/blogger-image--1062483232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSbNRrvLjtBuLVb1UJw4AL7MT5iEqeMRzYGz2TwFim_W3On_J0DNxLv95TMCRJnv28kdKzgseD8bEyKoW8Zdoa1mah3MDzh-hOefoXtxvF1YdzBSKfTUH5hGKDdrJ6kqMHnZTKIYW6Q/s640/blogger-image--1062483232.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> but excited to make new ones.</div></i></div><br></div><div>Finally getting the story rolling has me so excited. Can't wait to tell you about the rest of the rudder repair and the fun we had in the process! </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10934326607132258854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-43411370534903427602017-02-23T16:13:00.001-08:002019-01-06T09:35:13.328-08:0053-54. New Year, New Plan<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVx6b4j9sgFD3HAahgcHfVvrNs1nYL9MOWa9ydDkraVdo7NtMDBJNpBKnyB1Osu8KxSnTqWfiXD77JlCox_cU7RBl8aLdy0CiOigsjurwXVwI6guPWbeTCDyIYi_k07CNdhxHfmsaLld99/s640/blogger-image--698222865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVx6b4j9sgFD3HAahgcHfVvrNs1nYL9MOWa9ydDkraVdo7NtMDBJNpBKnyB1Osu8KxSnTqWfiXD77JlCox_cU7RBl8aLdy0CiOigsjurwXVwI6guPWbeTCDyIYi_k07CNdhxHfmsaLld99/s640/blogger-image--698222865.jpg" /></a></div>
Everyone starts the new year with a fresh outlook, an anticipation for what is to come and a hope for dreams to be fulfilled. We spend time reflecting on all we’ve accomplished the past year and are always amazed at everything that has changed. This year may be the best one yet (I might say that every year and am rarely disappointed :) </div>
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We’ve had a few circumstances that have changed what we thought our path would be but we are nonetheless excited for this next chapter. We left the Caribbean island chain and headed west with the intention of traveling with our friends, Take Two, through the ABCs, Columbia and on to the east coast of Central America. While in Aruba a few things transpired with our commercial property which required our attention back home. We spent a few days mourning the death of our original plan and the fact that our friends would be heading on without us but finally made peace with what we needed to responsibly do. So we made a drastic course change and began our trek back to the states. It is funny how simple that sentence is to write but it is not exactly simple to do!</div>
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Our 4 day passage from Aruba to Haiti was the best passage we’ve ever had! The sea state was beautifully comfortable. <br />
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The air was getting cooler as we headed north. And on our second day at sea we had a pod of at least 50 dolphins play at our bow and in our wake for 30 minutes. <br />
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It was our longest dolphin encounter yet and they were showing off all their aerial skills. </div>
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<i>First land in 4 days.</i></div>
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We sailed to a small island off the southern coast of Haiti, Ile a Vache. The local fishing boats that were dugout canoes with sails made from plastic met us at the cut. <br />
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They skillfully sailed all around us as we made our way into the bay. The younger boys paddled their dugouts to us as we began setting our anchor, offering their services for boat work, laundry, shopping, guides to town and anything else you can imagine. <br />
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We probably had 8 little boats with close to 20 boys come by for a visit within our first hour here. They were mostly interested in just meeting us, each politely introducing themselves and practicing their English. We immediately fell in love with this little piece of paradise. <br />
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Once we were settled in, Andrew headed out to get the scoop on the local activities since we had only a few hours to figure out how we would ring in the New Year. He did not disappoint. He scored us an invite to a local’s house for dinner and the boat boys told us of their celebration going on in town so we quickly cleaned up and headed out for our first night in Haiti. A couple local missionaries, boaters and locals were meeting at the local watering hole before heading up to our host’s home for the evening. Everyone was so friendly and the girls quickly made new friends to play with. <br />
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After a few beers, we began our trek to the other side of the island. After cresting the ridge on what can barely be described as a trail, Joe met us to lead the rest of the way. He is a young 20 something with a beautiful English accent and a huge smile. He welcomed all of us to his home where he, his girlfriend and mother had prepared an amazing meal. Later he was telling me they had originally planned for 6 for dinner, after his morning walk to town it grew to 9, a few more friends made it 12 and then they included us without even meeting us. Amazing hearts- we don't even do that in the states, where we have everything at our fingertips, but here on this island with no running water, limited electricity and in a kitchen with two burners, these 3 strangers made a dinner for 16. Paige and I joined Lesley, Joe’s mom who was visiting from Europe for a few weeks, and Claudia, Joe’s girlfriend who spoke very little English, in the kitchen to help finish things up. We watched as Lesley juggled pots on the burners to keep everything warm and we spread the 16 plates around on the floor so we could dish everything up to make sure everyone got some of everything. <br />
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It was such a humbling night to be served but such sweet people and leave the evening having friends in a country that a week prior I had never intended on visiting. Our genuine Haitian experience continued as we joined the locals at their Community Center for dancing, dominoes tournament, and drinks before the countdown. <br />
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<i>Happy New Year!</i></div>
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When we left the states last year we thought we would have lots of experiences with remote areas and new people but nothing would compare with our time in Ile a Vache. We were welcomed with open arms by everyone we met. The “harbormaster” brought us a flask of Haitian Rum to welcome us to his home. The locals took Andrew on a hike to show him the island. <br />
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<i>That's Abby :)</i></div>
Visitors almost hourly checking in to see if we needed help with anything. It was beautiful, although the girls were a little tired of being stared at; it is the cross they bear ;)</div>
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We spent our last day in Haiti adventuring out to the fishermen’s island. <br />
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It is a tiny spit of land between Haiti mainland and Ill a Vache populated with thatch huts and lean-to shacks that house the fisherman during the week. We visited on the Haitian Independence Day so most everyone was back home celebrating with family, the one gentleman still there working on his boat said we were welcome to look around. So we did just that. The beach is littered with everything that blows in from the south. <br />
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The fisherman collect anything that would be useful on their skiffs and discard the rest in a big pile. If a hut falls over, they rebuild. If your fishing line breaks, you take a few hours and untangle the mess of line that washed ashore. There is one large communal fire pit for cooking, warding off the relentless mosquitos and keeping warm when the sun sets. He probably thought we were so strange collecting the beautiful shells that littered the beach. <br />
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It is so hard to imagine living their lifestyle, only having what you can catch and sell, and not knowing if you will make enough to feed your family. But at the same time I can see how simple and easy that life would be, no further concerns than your immediate needs. The smiles on every face are genuine, their happiness comes from something other than the stuff they surround themselves with and it was a perfect reminder as we head back to the land of plenty! <br />
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<i>Another beautiful little rock we explored.</i></div>
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<i> Hangin' out. Paige showing sailing videos.</i></div>
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<i> Our last night in Haiti, enjoying an evening at Reit's.</i></div>
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We were so sad to leave and Sky repeatedly said how she plans to come back someday soon to help rebuild the houses lost in Hurricane Matthew and work with the kids on their English as she tries to learn creole and French. Not a bad goal in my book!<br />
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<i>Beautiful Ile a Vache.</i></div>
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Back on the open water we were a bit nervous about the passage to the Bahamas. Although Ill a Vache was welcoming, the rest of the waters around Haiti are not always the friendliest! We even had a motor powered fishing vessel approach us with three men aboard just as the sun was coming up. We were a few miles off shore and they didn't seem to be in distress so we put the pedal to the metal and wave surfed straight through the breakers that were too big for them to make a clean break for it. Better safe than sorry! <br />
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<i>Sunset means we are closer to safe waters.</i></div>
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Our two day passage to the southernmost Bahamian island was smooth and easy. We motored most the way and the seas were so calm that the autopilot did most the work. <br />
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<i>You know if I can bake it must be really calm!</i></div>
It was so still that we even had the laptop set up in the cockpit for a movie with dinner, we’ve never been able to do that before! We were so into the Hunger Games that we thought the roar of the Coast Guard vessel approaching us was actually part of the sound track! Needless to say, we had to pause the movie and put our business pants on :) The sailors aboard were very professional, if not a little bit curious about this family sailing from Haiti to the Bahamas, a path usually traveled by those smuggling either people or drugs. <br />
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<i>Lights from the Coast Guard vessel trailing us.</i></div>
They rode alongside us for over an hour before leaving us just a mile from shore to get anchored and promised to visit again if they needed anything else - translation, “we will be by to board and inspect your vessel later.” No sooner did we have the hook down and pizza dough in the oven then they came to visit again. This time 4 of the 6 came aboard and you would think they had never been on a small boat before. They were bumping and tripping around like bulls in a China shop. The boots they are required to polish daily left plenty of scuff marks all over Abby and they broke a few items moving through the cabin, but all in all it was a fairly pleasant inspection. We passed with flying colors! And they happily used us as a training exercise for their 2 newbies onboard. <br />
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Welcome back to the Bahamas! 2017 has started off with a bang!</div>
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>We have so much to be thankful for and none of it has to be stuff. </i></b>I am repeatedly reminded of what an amazing experience this is for us and the girls. This week in particular did a great job of giving everyone a perspective check. We will always love Ill A Vache!</div>
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<b><i>We make the plans but someone bigger is steering this ship! </i></b> We miss our friends aboard Take Two so much and so many others (Aqua Vida, Vidora, Find Us, Paaion Rebel) whose paths we would have crossed again. I don't know why our plans had to change. But I do know that His plans are always better than I can dream so I am excited to see what lies ahead!</div>
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Be sure to not miss the next update! It will include us completing our Caribbean loop, Paige’s 14th birthday, another amazing dolphin encounter and we may even hit a reef! Stay tuned :)<br />
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2017/06/55-56-rest-of-story.html">55 -56. The Rest of the Story</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-34663952576909957642017-02-21T14:19:00.001-08:002019-01-06T09:33:08.081-08:0051-52. Aruba puts the “A” in the ABCs!<div>
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<i>Goodbye, Bonaire</i></div>
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As you know, we loved Bonaire. That left very big shoes for Curacao and Aruba to fill. Here’s how they measure up.</div>
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We were so sad to leave Bonaire. We pulled away at 5:30am, leaving Take Two behind, sleeping soundly. We enjoyed the sunrise and soon heard the call from our friends who had caught up with us and quickly passed us. They were headed on to Columbia while we planned to see the rest of the ABCs. Our 9 hour ride to Curacao was fairly uneventful. We had some belt squeaking from the alternator but we sailed most the day so it didn't slow us down. The sea state continued uncomfortably following us until we were in the lee of the land. We quickly got our hook down and were excited to head into town to see what there was to see. Our friends aboard Passion Rebel were anchored next to us so Andrew headed over to get the scoop on transport to town, customs and immigration, etc. They gave us everything we needed to know to catch the bus and head into town. We were ecstatic to have a dinner of Subway and Starbucks, something you probably won't understand unless you’ve been missing them for a really long time :) </div>
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<i>Floating bridge, Christmas ready.</i></div>
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We saw the infamous floating bridge and all of town was lit up for Christmas celebration. <br />
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<i>Paige enjoying the view w/ some Starbucks.</i></div>
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It is not a particularly beautiful town, more industrial than our liking but it is always an adventure to use public transportation so the night was a fun excursion. Our outing also showed us where Napa was so Andrew could get on the belt issues before they became a problem. <br />
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<i>Boat projects in exotic places :)</i><br />
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<i>Andrew showing us how he really feels ;)</i></div>
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This is something that would easily be handled stateside but it seemed the belt we needed was a bit elusive and after 3 trips to Napa (via bus and some hitchhiking) he found what we thought would work but promptly broke as soon as we were underway to Aruba. We spent a few hours relaxing and swimming at the beach before leaving Curacao behind and hitting the open water again. Maybe we didn't give Curacao a fair break because we were coming off such a high in Bonaire; but, because of its industrialness and lack of pristine swimming areas near our anchorage, Curacao ranks at the bottom of our ABC scale.</div>
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We had a beautiful night sail to Aruba. We all witnessed the green flash as the sun set and had a meteor shower (my first ever). Around 3am during Andrew’s watch we were surprised by the Aruban Coast Guard cruising up to our side rail. They had been traveling in complete blackout until we were within 25 yards of them and they throw on the floodlights, that will wake you up! Now for those of you who have never done a long passage aboard a private vessel let me just explain that at most times we are wearing as few clothes as possible because it is hot and sticky and you may be jumping in the water or be sprayed with water at any minute (our friends always radio over and say “tell Summer to put pants on, we’re coming over” :) So a sneak approach like the Coast Guard’s found Andrew in only his boxer briefs, I’m sure they had a laugh about it later! We radioed back and forth the info they requested and they made sure Aruba Port Control knew we were coming in before leaving us very awake and with enough adrenaline to finish the last 3 hours no problem! <br />
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<i>Rainbow greeting at the immigration dock!</i></div>
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Customs / Immigration was very friendly and welcoming to us and we found a nice anchorage to call home. We were treated to more Starbucks, Subway and wifi, always a treat. We quickly got the lay of the land and made some plans for our Christmas celebration. I mentioned in the Bonaire blog that we did our first Christmas aboard Take Two. That was our big shindig. We had a great meal of lobster linguine with apple crisp for dessert. We decorated Christmas cookies,<br />
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opened presents and played a super fun game that we all highly recommend. Here it is:</div>
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All you need are some small treats or prizes, a main prize and some saran wrap. You put the main prize in the center and begin wrapping with the saran wrap, adding in little prizes as you go. You could make the ball as big as you want. We only used one box of saran wrap and it offered plenty of entertainment. Sit in a circle and one person begins unwrapping the ball (no ripping) while the person next to them tries to roll doubles on two dice. You keep any candy unwrapped during your turn but when doubles are rolled, he passes the dice to the next person and you pass the ball of fun to him. Continue until the center prize is unwrapped. We had 7 kids and 4 adults playing and everyone had a blast! <br />
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Our Christmas in Aruba was a little more low key but just as special. Santa found us in the Renaissance Marina and was very good to us. <br />
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Boat Christmas is very much about less being more and we really like it that way. After a lazy morning we headed to the kite beach to make some memories! <br />
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Andrew kitesurfing, Paige & Sky windsurfing and me supervising made the perfect afternoon of fun. <br />
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<i>Selfie proof I'm there too ;)</i></div>
Andrew even met a friend who took him to the other side of the island the next day for an even better session. </div>
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Some of the perks of staying at the marina meant full access to the resort pools as well. <br />
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We spent many a morning doing school poolside<br />
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and playing bingo in the afternoons. <br />
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<i>Sky's winnings!</i></div>
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We had lots of visitors while we were trying to get work done, I guess the snacks we brought were a hit :)<br />
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Our Christmas was pretty memorable and puts Aruba in second place in the ABC race :) </div>
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So to recap for anyone planning a trip to the ABCs: Bonaire- loved it! Beautiful water and sea life, great food and town life, and some of the best people we’ve met. Aruba- great vacation spot, lots of amenities but all the crowds that come with that. Friendly people, beautiful beaches. Curacao- great for the Dutch town experience but beaches were not convenient to the free anchoring position. Either get the permit to move around or plan on bus trips to town if you want to see anything.</div>
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This is our one year anniversary aboard Abby and what a year it has been! We could not even imagine all the amazing things we would see and do or the beautiful people we would meet when we pulled through the fog into St Augustine at 11:30pm last Christmas Eve. <br />
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<i>Christmas Eve 2015</i></div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkDzUIYSdcAJIq3bOSD91ex9VjwdcEXorAMDL6gpLKhWX_x5f8jUWt8zf-3O1pK7Ek62PApiG-L2hXhD7Nl4dhuKIEwXqNp4-b4PWynxaAWlQ3VYwJmu4iRcUYH4T4vZZyAWwCE9ai4WA/s640/blogger-image--2111999061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkDzUIYSdcAJIq3bOSD91ex9VjwdcEXorAMDL6gpLKhWX_x5f8jUWt8zf-3O1pK7Ek62PApiG-L2hXhD7Nl4dhuKIEwXqNp4-b4PWynxaAWlQ3VYwJmu4iRcUYH4T4vZZyAWwCE9ai4WA/s640/blogger-image--2111999061.jpg" /></a></i></div>
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<i> Christmas Eve 2016</i></div>
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Now on to wondering what the next year will hold!</div>
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>If you have one horrible, awful, really bad passage, every subsequent passage is a vast improvement! </i></b> Our tolerance level is pretty high now, I guess. I still don't like them but it's definitely not that bad.</div>
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<b><i>One year can change everything. </i></b> We knew we were embarking on a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel the Caribbean. We knew the scenery would be spectacular and the experiences unforgettable. We did not know that it would wreck us - in a good way. Slowing down the pace of our life to truly see each other. To learn what matters most to us. And to see each other through challenging times so we could celebrate the strength and growth on the other side. Not all the discoveries were what we expected and not all were pretty. But we not only survived an entire year on a 37’ boat but we came out loving each other and loving this simple life more than we ever imagined!<br />
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These two make us laugh!</div>
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Our next blog will update you on some big changes in our plans as we move into 2017. Hope you had a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!<br />
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2017/02/53-54-new-year-new-plan.html">53 - 54. New Year, New Plan</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-66296114603175101662016-12-27T21:13:00.001-08:002019-01-06T09:31:37.125-08:0049-50. Bonaire Makes Everything Better!<div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DmgwReVV9H2P1bOeVo1jQlCKmiZYwtwxT1-xplwlbz8IAE7MwYZfL1VjjWgkLtl8SLrPo5M50Jyic6HjWY9KBrwGwE51Ai7fUXlw_NNYl4d0Un5uJ1aebN35KU6X3JHcY1VMa-5be7tQ/s640/blogger-image-488383722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DmgwReVV9H2P1bOeVo1jQlCKmiZYwtwxT1-xplwlbz8IAE7MwYZfL1VjjWgkLtl8SLrPo5M50Jyic6HjWY9KBrwGwE51Ai7fUXlw_NNYl4d0Un5uJ1aebN35KU6X3JHcY1VMa-5be7tQ/s640/blogger-image-488383722.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> <i>Beautiful sunset as we head out to sea. Photos taken moments apart.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Why do passages have to be so difficult?! I’m not a complainer usually and I understand that if I want to see any new place via sailboat that I will have to sail there. We’ve only done two other long passages, Bahamas to Turks & Caicos and Turks & Caicos to Puerto Rico. They had their moments of beauty and awe but as a whole i’m just not a fan. And after 11+ months aboard my opinion has changed little and I knew the passage to Bonaire from St Lucia would be our furthest to date. I was prepared for this passage to change my mind. I did all the prep work; we were stocked with quick easy food and plenty of snacks, the boat was clean and secured, we planned our weather window and were super excited to meet back up with our friends on Take Two in Bonaire. So you can understand the anticipation in the air when we pulled away under a beautiful double rainbow!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Our friends had given us info about their passage, how confused the sea state was when pulling away from the island chain and where to expect some rough seas due to underwater terrain so we knew there would be some rough water but we thought we were ready. We were not!</div>
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The 4 days at sea all blur together due to the monotonous rocking and rolling and ever increasing sleep deprivation :) Twelve hours into our journey the seas had chosen their state and we weren't about to turn back so we pressed on, every night willing it to be different in the morning. <br />
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<i>The photo doesn't do the waves justice!</i></div>
Andrew and I could only manage two hour shifts because the waves were too much for our auto pilot and we were hand steering the entire first 36 hours. Our boat’s max hull speed is 7 knots, which means that is about the fastest she should ever go. But on my watch on evening two, the wind and seas picked up so much that I wave surfed four waves in a row at 11 knots before calling Andrew up to help slow us down a bit for safety. So one bright spot of the uncomfortable passage is we were making great time! <br />
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<i>Notice the time stamp! That is a 7am beer after a long night on duty :)</i></div>
Up to this point in our sailing life we have never used jack lines (safety straps running the length of the boat that you strap to before leaving the cockpit so if you were to fall while on deck, you wouldn't fall overboard). But Andrew had enough foresight to get them rigged before we left St Lucia and they were literally life savers. Luckily there were only a few times we needed to leave the cockpit during the 4 days but it was sketchy to say the least! We broke the shackle on our boom without even knowing it, we just happen to notice it hanging on by a thread during a sail adjustment before a major catastrophe. We also lost our boom and, which secures the boom. It was a rough ride on the rigging as well as the humans aboard. We all welcomed a bit of a reprieve on our last day when the seas settled a bit, a pod of dolphins followed us all afternoon <br />
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and Bonaire came into view. Even once we spot land, there is still 8+ hours to go which is sometimes the hardest part of the journey; to see your destination so close and still so far away. Finally at 12:30am, 82 hrs after leaving Rodney Bay, St Lucia, we pull into the mooring field of Bonaire. Jay and Tanya from Take Two were sweet enough to meet us at the mooring ball and help get us secured and settled for the night. I was never so happy to squeeze a friend’s neck. I think it goes without saying that we slept like rocks that night. When we finally awoke ready to face the day, we got our first glimpse of beautiful Bonaire, <br />
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<i>Abby has the red sail cover and bimini.</i></div>
the classic Dutch, pastel coloring of the buildings and a cute seafront village right along the moorings. Take Two had us over for an amazing brunch of sweet and savory pannenkoeken (crepes) and we celebrated having arrived! </div>
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Later that afternoon we ventured to town to check in with customs / immigration and see what there was to see. The very first person to greet us in Bonaire was Cliff, the immigration officer, and he will always be the face of Bonaire to us. After getting the official stuff out of the way we began chatting with him and he asked Sky what type of things she liked to do and did she enjoy seeing nature, etc. Which she very much does. He said he had noticed her birthday coming up the following week when doing our paperwork and he would like to show her a special part of Bonaire as a gift if she was interested. He offered up his day off the following week to give us a private tour! So in our first hour on land our immigration officer fell in love with Sky and offered up a special tour just for her. Maybe the passage was worth it and Bonaire would be awesome! Take Two joined us ashore for dinner at Cuba and gelato at Gio’s and Bonaire was off to a great start! When we checked into the marina the next day, Quinton at the desk said, “ Don't worry if people smile at you or offer to do something for you. They don't want anything from you, that’s just how we are in Bonaire.” I thought it funny that we require a disclaimer as an American that friendliness shouldn't cause alarm, they aren't scoping us out to rob us, they are just decent humans who smile and say “good morning”. Novel idea, right?!</div>
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We found ourselves feeling right at home in Bonaire. Great little restaurants and shops, <br />
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<i>Almost too pretty to eat!</i></div>
a beautiful grocery store that rivals anything in the states, the prices were great and the people were friendly, not to mention the amazing sea life and crystal clear, turquoise waters. <br />
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Days melted away swimming and snorkeling off the back of the boat. <br />
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<i>Nothing like a cruise ship pulling in to interrupt your afternoon swim.</i></div>
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Andrew got straight to work installing the water maker. <br />
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And we enjoyed little excursions to town for ice cream at Luciano’s. </div>
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Before we knew it, it was time for our day of fun with Cliff to celebrate my baby turning 11.</div>
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He picked us up bright and early and off we headed. <br />
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We hiked into the bush maybe 100 yards before we came to a hole in the ground 5’ wide. A ladder was secured to the wall of the cave for us to climb down into. It was warm and humid and otherworldly. Not like caves for tourists in the states; caves that you could fall and injure yourself or knock your head on a rock as you army crawl through to the next opening. It was beautiful and there is nowhere else in the world as quiet as deep in a cave. <br />
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Our second leg of the adventure was into another breathtaking cave where we entered at one end and hiked our way through to a separate exit. <br />
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Cliff said this cave connects to another cave system and he had been 4 miles into the cave trying to find the junction when it got so deep with guano and mud that they had to turn back. He’s a little crazy ;)</div>
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Our final cave was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. After hiking down into the hole until it was almost black, we found ourselves at a clear pool. We took care not to stir the sediment as we floated onto our bellies and swam into the dark. Some of us were more willing than others to embrace an afternoon swim through a pitch black cave, with bats flying overhead and having your brain play with you on what else might be in the water with us! But after some heavy coaxing from daddy, Paige joined us inside :) And even she can't deny the awesomeness! At one point in the swim there was an optional swim through. You could dive down about 10’ and swim 20’ into a separate room. We had 3 underwater flashlights with us and every once in awhile they would all disappear to one side or the other and you would experience utter darkness and perfect stillness, until a mean friend would sneak up behind you to scare you to death :) <br />
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My Sky said it was the best birthday ever! She didn't know Cliff was just getting warmed up! </div>
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He then took us to the other side of the island where we saw a flock of wild flamingos, very cool -hadn't seen that before. <br />
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And we spent the rest of the afternoon at the windsurfing haven. We enjoyed lunch at a great beach bar <br />
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and everyone tried their hand at windsurfing. <br />
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It was a huge hit! </div>
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We all headed home exhausted from our fun, but it wasn't over yet. Sinterklaas was scheduled to arrive that evening with his helper Black Pete. And we definitely weren't going to miss that! <br />
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After a quick clean up, we met back in town and Cliff had more excitement up his sleeve. <br />
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Sinterklaas invited Sky on stage, presented her with a gift (courtesy of Cliff) and he and his entourage sang her “Happy Birthday”. <br />
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She is guaranteed to never forget it! Oh the conversations we had over dinner! <br />
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What a day! Thank you will never be enough.<br />
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<i>Sky & Cliff.</i></div>
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The beauty of Bonaire continued to woo us. We enjoyed a few date nights out with Jay & Tanya, we celebrated both Thanksgiving and Christmas with our friends who are now very much family! <br />
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Everyone loved windsurfing so much that we had to do it again. <br />
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We got to sail on Take Two to another side of the island and enjoyed some awesome snorkeling and freediving. We just couldn't get enough of this amazing piece of paradise! </div>
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The weather was right for us all to move on but it was very hard to say goodbye. <br />
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Sky made Cliff a little “thank you” and we did all our last minutes items to get ready for another sail. But I think all the Abby Singer crew left a piece of their hearts in Bonaire!</div>
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<i><b>Things learned aboard this week:</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Bonaire was so worth it! </b></i> Bonaire offers the beauty underwater of the Bahamas, fun little restaurants and shops like St Martin, easy shopping similar to (but even better than) Grenada, and amazingly welcoming locals like we’ve met in so many of the wonderful places we’ve traveled. I wish I could keep this little island a secret but it is just too good not to share:)</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">I still hate passages though.</i></div>
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Our friends head to Columbia as we check out the rest of the ABC islands. Come along for the journey.<br />
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2017/02/51-52-aruba-puts-a-in-abcs.html">51 - 52. Aruba puts the "A" in the ABCs!</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-58771214424705851362016-12-08T13:07:00.001-08:002019-01-06T09:28:31.523-08:0047-48. Back to the Boat!<div>
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The past two weeks have flown by. Our last update left us unsure we were ready to be back aboard Abby. We are pleased to report that we very quickly re-acclimated to our boat home and have had an amazing few weeks we can't wait to share.</div>
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<i>A beautiful view down Grenada's coast.</i></div>
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The day after we got back to Grenada we went on a “Cutty tour”. Anyone visiting Grenada should do the same. Our guide’s name is Cutty and he loves his country! We spent 8 hrs with him showing us all around the island. You may wonder how, after being here for 2 months there is anything left to see, but Grenada’s natural resources are so vast that it takes an experienced eye to point out all the variety. <br />
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Cutty would pull off the side of the road and have us step to the edge of the lush greenery, he would crumple a cluster of leaves he just pulled from the nearest tree and say “do you recognize that smell?”<br />
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We each took turns sniffing and would find ourselves intoxicated by the smell of cinnamon, all spice, clove, lemongrass, ginger, turmeric, mint and could even detect the subtle differences between the lemon and lime trees based on the smell of their leaf. We tasted the bark off the cinnamon tree and learned how it is harvested,<br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">we picked passion fruit,</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgznfyRMSQYzq1PhtQFT4qhMuwZy55mdxxe-EM3GSGBfM_94i3B0MbcRgitUMwWM9r8ZJRQJhgh1fxogKmBaZFQnRVfrexyNzi8sj7fVvPJbQBhan3bBVIwOfZJxhb_yuy0LuWdCbJZWOTl/s640/blogger-image--307690698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgznfyRMSQYzq1PhtQFT4qhMuwZy55mdxxe-EM3GSGBfM_94i3B0MbcRgitUMwWM9r8ZJRQJhgh1fxogKmBaZFQnRVfrexyNzi8sj7fVvPJbQBhan3bBVIwOfZJxhb_yuy0LuWdCbJZWOTl/s640/blogger-image--307690698.jpg" /></a></div>
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papaya, cocoa plant, and fresh sweet banana, <br />
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and fell more deeply in love with this beautiful country. <br />
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<i>Finding red berries for jewelry making.</i></div>
We loved our private tour of the Grenada Chocolate Company and, of course, the free samplings at the end :) <br />
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Cutty arranged a beautiful meal at Rivers Rum before our tour of their traditional rum distillery. The Rivers Rum tour was a highlight of our day. The big water wheel was turning, powered by the flowing water channeled down out of the mountains. <br />
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The wheel powered the crushing machine that squeezes all the sugar juice from the cane. The sugar flowed down a pipe to it’s first holding tank <br />
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while the crushed cane moved on a conveyor belt to a large discard pile. <br />
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They later use the discarded cane to fuel the fire used to heat the rum in it’s final stage, loved how nothing was wasted. The entire process hasn't changed much since the 1800s, the sugar moves from vat to vat while fermenting, and finally into large holding tanks where it reacts to the yeast in the air <br />
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before moving to the final stage where it is heated. </div>
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They were ingenious in the design of the factory, minimizing the labor needed to move the product. After learning all about the process of traditionally making Rum, we got to sample some of their product. Since we all did the tour it seemed right to have everyone sample the goodness. <br />
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Notice the disapproving looks of the tourists as the girls cheered their Rum punch :)<br />
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The entire day was an amazing lesson in the beauty and diversity of Grenada, the perfect way to say goodbye.<br />
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Pulling away from La Phare Bleu Marina was bittersweet. We were excited to get back on the water and moving again but it was hard to say goodbye to all the staff who had become like family. <br />
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Andrew was a ball of nerves being at the helm for the first time in three months. We headed around the southern tip and up the west side to stop for the night and snorkel the sculpture garden in the morning.</div>
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The sculpture garden is a seemingly random selection of statues that have been placed on the ocean floor to help promote coral growth and support the natural reef in the area. <br />
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There are multiple circles of people holding hands, various mermaids, <br />
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abstract art, and a man on bicycle, playing poker and typing. It is eerily beautiful but my honest first impression was how creepy it was <br />
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to see people with barnacles and coral growing all over their face, like a scene from Pirates of the Carribean. <br />
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But we checked it off our list and continued our trek north. <br />
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<i>Boat life: Paige reading as the sun sets, Sky prepping seeds and beads as the sunrises.</i></div>
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It was cool to pull back into Tyrell Bay, Carriacou again; our first time to return to a port we have previously visited. The familiarity was comforting. We had a few repairs we needed to tend to before heading west so we were scheduled to be hauled out overnight while in Carriacou. <br />
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We were the last hauled at the end of the day, spent the night in the slings being super productive <br />
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and were dropped back in the water first thing in the morning. </div>
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After checking out of Grenada and its Grenadines, we sailed into St Vincent & the Grenadines and flew our “Q” flag. One night in Union Island, a quick snorkel in the Tabago Cays, dinner with our friends aboard Grateful in Bequia, before an amazing sail up the East coast of St Vincent. </div>
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We spent the day outrunning storms. <br />
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<i>Sunshine on the left, dark storms on the right. That's how quickly your day can change!</i></div>
It was beautiful until we had thunder and lightning, which is my favorite thing in the world but Andrew says is no good on a boat :) We were very thankful for our new dodger Andrew sewed while in Grenada. It kept us realitively dry in the cockpit when the skies opened up. <br />
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We finally rounded the southern tip of St Lucia as the sun set and were treated to the most spectacular bioluminescence we’ve ever seen! We were safely on the ball between the Pitons enjoying dinner when the strongest gust front we have ever experienced blew in from behind the mountains, luckily it was short lived. <br />
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<i>Beautiful rainbow as we left the Pitons.</i></div>
We were so happy to find ourselves back at Marigot Bay and Capella Marina. And even more overjoyed to meet back up with some La Phare Bleu friends aboard Corpse Pounder and Nightingale Tune. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKSX_42MN9LCHgohkdvSfjORAC8MGT5euYyk6hPP9J8TbB8oa7fjYK_DF1j2ouxCkRtOM-TbPTBMoqFNupCGISzHOoz9kU_HWYdy1wY0nsH757NDXB0qsl2GcDtRbZjWueoyRwRyQJZUF/s640/blogger-image-660781609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKSX_42MN9LCHgohkdvSfjORAC8MGT5euYyk6hPP9J8TbB8oa7fjYK_DF1j2ouxCkRtOM-TbPTBMoqFNupCGISzHOoz9kU_HWYdy1wY0nsH757NDXB0qsl2GcDtRbZjWueoyRwRyQJZUF/s640/blogger-image-660781609.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i>Our favorite little Corpse Pounder!</i></div>
The girls and I relaxed by the pool <br />
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while Andrew was busy installing our new solar panels. It would have been easy to stay indefinitely in the beautiful resort paradise <br />
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but we were excited to pick up our new water maker in Rodney Bay. It was like Christmas morning with Andrew opening our new toy, reading part of the instructions :) and dreaming about where we would install it. <br />
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We did one last large provisioning run to prep for our trip west and some last minute wifi for weather, etc. Then it was time to head out into the deep blue. <br />
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>We were pleasantly surprised by falling comfortably back into life aboard. </i></b>I was being very honest last time when I mentioned the apprehension at being back. We had such a great visit home and life aboard is not always easy but we found our groove fairly easily. Go Team Abby Singer!</div>
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I’m saving the story of our crossing for the next blog but I can tell you it had each of us in tears at different points in the very difficult journey so be sure to catch the next leg of our adventure - Bonaire.</div>
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<i>This beautiful double rainbow appeared as we pulled away from St Lucia.</i></div>
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<i> I took it as a sign of good things to come </i></div>
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<i> but in hindsight I think it was meant to remind me we weren't alone out there :)</i></div>
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/12/47-48-back-to-boat.html">49 - 50. Bonaire Makes Everything Better!</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-65928157138715690172016-11-18T11:03:00.001-08:002019-01-06T09:25:16.116-08:0044-46. What a Difference a Day (at home) Makes!<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><span style="color: rgb(69 , 69 , 69); font-family: "uictfonttextstylebody"; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "uictfonttextstylebody"; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb_idmmNNm44hMiVEEY7a8ilHnayGK-NCJje8dQxn7JoGJBnrknw8XsSNKP0udoo74V0Lt5gAjh9h4ybgd9kECVZvwKyzKxLtVEVJvQh_OgPXLS8P-Q9odbNW6k1RxdnRHGwABJQa8KfS8/s640/blogger-image--189321495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: #444444; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb_idmmNNm44hMiVEEY7a8ilHnayGK-NCJje8dQxn7JoGJBnrknw8XsSNKP0udoo74V0Lt5gAjh9h4ybgd9kECVZvwKyzKxLtVEVJvQh_OgPXLS8P-Q9odbNW6k1RxdnRHGwABJQa8KfS8/s640/blogger-image--189321495.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: "uictfonttextstylebody";">Friends and family are everything! They show you who you truly are and remind you where you came from. We are so blessed to have a beautiful family and some amazing friends back home who haven't let the distance separate us and in some cases our friendships have even grown stronger since we've been away. After 8 months of our voyage we needed a little pick me up from those who know us best. So before we head west for the next leg of our amazing adventure aboard Abby, the girls and I desperately needed a visit back to the states for some squeezes with some very important people. We were even more ecstatic when Andrew agreed (reluctantly, at first) to join us for our journey. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">First order of business when arriving in the states after 8+ months away -<span style="color: #454545;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhgS69hLSlD3rgrv3IQ1TM-YmwLRh9pVCsn8rhH3RWEQUo2jgbC2rrXf-XirtsRUN_c-2LzUV1aFzwieG5MwrQZa7wc50CkdaGruSvX0zQ7J04Yk8gej9uDAqlZ3qZWkredQIz9l35n6C/s640/blogger-image-1586513983.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhgS69hLSlD3rgrv3IQ1TM-YmwLRh9pVCsn8rhH3RWEQUo2jgbC2rrXf-XirtsRUN_c-2LzUV1aFzwieG5MwrQZa7wc50CkdaGruSvX0zQ7J04Yk8gej9uDAqlZ3qZWkredQIz9l35n6C/s640/blogger-image-1586513983.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">a proper Chick Fil A meal :) </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">We left one of our warmest weeks in Grenada to be surprised by the chilly 60 degree weather in TX. Our thin island blood was not ready for that! But we were so excited to see our cousins in TX that we didn't mind snuggling on the sidelines to cheer Jaxon on at his soccer game. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrteEJCsF-7kLUbY1kJhuKwG86w1WN1cC4JIeYHLN4oZP_ReKUj9Z3m94aA4z7F4HzPkXqTahcSSwabLn142_rpgarYnCjrSrjTDJxz8hcmuM8_-CqMQceIM2Rv77cJwIOzDKuJ-RLfU0/s640/blogger-image--2090502081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrteEJCsF-7kLUbY1kJhuKwG86w1WN1cC4JIeYHLN4oZP_ReKUj9Z3m94aA4z7F4HzPkXqTahcSSwabLn142_rpgarYnCjrSrjTDJxz8hcmuM8_-CqMQceIM2Rv77cJwIOzDKuJ-RLfU0/s640/blogger-image--2090502081.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">We had a great visit with my best friend and sister, Manda, and all her boys, Nathan, Aiden, Jaxon And Collin. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidcuuSld0Ld5SIKlU3p-o6bKleJAPSgAXy8BG-fRILUaf6adPEfYkRlewqDRTuky_0FckYdfg_UVA4wdFqi4cT1HiZPoPLDiYLdyncSu_V8oDArQoD2AUTZ8YUr2dC5hB8Sg1NODmj3cZ-/s640/blogger-image-2037594058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidcuuSld0Ld5SIKlU3p-o6bKleJAPSgAXy8BG-fRILUaf6adPEfYkRlewqDRTuky_0FckYdfg_UVA4wdFqi4cT1HiZPoPLDiYLdyncSu_V8oDArQoD2AUTZ8YUr2dC5hB8Sg1NODmj3cZ-/s640/blogger-image-2037594058.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EIOAsBGPTM_auT_6WZauK_PNuIU2Vp38rRHP3x8xR-mAHmZryAHT3ss5lkvytaU9yxQdPu0BHRsTgSPWixVvxURy1QpgW7Q1jKEi_VrZxBXOPjzRGEXHMM5WetONpOD08SDQ7L1pRtvs/s640/blogger-image--711162080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EIOAsBGPTM_auT_6WZauK_PNuIU2Vp38rRHP3x8xR-mAHmZryAHT3ss5lkvytaU9yxQdPu0BHRsTgSPWixVvxURy1QpgW7Q1jKEi_VrZxBXOPjzRGEXHMM5WetONpOD08SDQ7L1pRtvs/s640/blogger-image--711162080.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">We got to visit their school, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIoP2Ef1lx2w7UVDgg9p9zHL0qgp7vkeUJKEholwTaN5zePoXGqtt0gdXPe8PgGfB7vV1P0MGN78LLmmJAGGTuAFFbhA5rcL3HxVCyaTl7wRRXWSP5Saz0gplrQTNT2MFzBYXIXQZI3r7/s640/blogger-image--726861621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIoP2Ef1lx2w7UVDgg9p9zHL0qgp7vkeUJKEholwTaN5zePoXGqtt0gdXPe8PgGfB7vV1P0MGN78LLmmJAGGTuAFFbhA5rcL3HxVCyaTl7wRRXWSP5Saz0gplrQTNT2MFzBYXIXQZI3r7/s640/blogger-image--726861621.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhmZRcpu4nQ_m7ndJW-ABe9VsmsX-abnLFushk-WuSe6miWylYC39KwidEF6Y3qNEgwFl4m3_l80ymwFSdsZ9zXLcPCYETNF2VigR6U_1KeH3QRql049mZyacTAFTGkmxQwVMVF8y8rQq3/s640/blogger-image-1554311504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhmZRcpu4nQ_m7ndJW-ABe9VsmsX-abnLFushk-WuSe6miWylYC39KwidEF6Y3qNEgwFl4m3_l80ymwFSdsZ9zXLcPCYETNF2VigR6U_1KeH3QRql049mZyacTAFTGkmxQwVMVF8y8rQq3/s640/blogger-image-1554311504.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> <i>Dress up day at preschool.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">do a little shopping (for warmer clothes) </span></div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECSdqT5ruEMFJzbOKD7zDT85MLvZC6dENxJiRzXA9ufVHV_VwaYcUrI507algvjyVrXFkGIUH48VuukksAUVHqQQ-zjtnwipsglZe-nkDnk6eNb9osxv3NGuLTizrT5SOqK524_fRGHZx/s640/blogger-image--829279269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECSdqT5ruEMFJzbOKD7zDT85MLvZC6dENxJiRzXA9ufVHV_VwaYcUrI507algvjyVrXFkGIUH48VuukksAUVHqQQ-zjtnwipsglZe-nkDnk6eNb9osxv3NGuLTizrT5SOqK524_fRGHZx/s640/blogger-image--829279269.jpg" /></span></a></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">and eat some yummy meals. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfiRz4u-P3JngCayM-_Qx5DReaB26SfwupNkI6mJKbCojg3CAqhAWJOFBO4SCK0-UZFIQSr42CR2dxsb3CI2xV6mZlsJbiVSYRvpNQmoR6GYEFAC9oafCvBawvjYg0jFEguZKiYowg7sjH/s640/blogger-image--1929424152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfiRz4u-P3JngCayM-_Qx5DReaB26SfwupNkI6mJKbCojg3CAqhAWJOFBO4SCK0-UZFIQSr42CR2dxsb3CI2xV6mZlsJbiVSYRvpNQmoR6GYEFAC9oafCvBawvjYg0jFEguZKiYowg7sjH/s640/blogger-image--1929424152.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmI8Si3FIxtaV6bl6r4rRDk1SaX_fsNuJ51_0pRDDI-zckvONdZr5mtEXuk5hJtFpKvvuk-jZI_B1NI1_ouuko-6x7ktgvmO5slk58s7HiO0hltbwrInXjEjdOJIzZlZZr6ZqJhnTXCwq7/s640/blogger-image-751978623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmI8Si3FIxtaV6bl6r4rRDk1SaX_fsNuJ51_0pRDDI-zckvONdZr5mtEXuk5hJtFpKvvuk-jZI_B1NI1_ouuko-6x7ktgvmO5slk58s7HiO0hltbwrInXjEjdOJIzZlZZr6ZqJhnTXCwq7/s640/blogger-image-751978623.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Then the party blew up! The rest of the Shannon gang from OK showed up and my parents treated us to an amazing stay at The Great Wolf Lodge with an indoor water park and lots of fun activities. The kids chatted nonstop catching up with each other and mom & dad were in heaven having all their munchkins in the same place at the same time. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19ty1Z-k280OrCa38ldrsCLhn7qYj1dVFG3hMt1C74yX23CR2N94GKU2Pt23dlGESPwUEpoaVeSZOVw8IBOvokBAlOjuryFg1jm5OwdeeUBFshiMRI_M7ofCVtv5tL8c8gOkfynuK2RmX/s640/blogger-image--1995076871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19ty1Z-k280OrCa38ldrsCLhn7qYj1dVFG3hMt1C74yX23CR2N94GKU2Pt23dlGESPwUEpoaVeSZOVw8IBOvokBAlOjuryFg1jm5OwdeeUBFshiMRI_M7ofCVtv5tL8c8gOkfynuK2RmX/s640/blogger-image--1995076871.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTM8w7o5c26ViaMmTMFzkTehW0mVDZXx6io9-ThHlGA1ohcYQqqhowA8Zsin7DU-I7sEoGovmN7-c83G1XwOFjrWNQMi69u_yvqwr91LXSyW4_U32cAylqpEo4RuCsBip1-1lrC_4DnkQ/s640/blogger-image--2075387496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTM8w7o5c26ViaMmTMFzkTehW0mVDZXx6io9-ThHlGA1ohcYQqqhowA8Zsin7DU-I7sEoGovmN7-c83G1XwOFjrWNQMi69u_yvqwr91LXSyW4_U32cAylqpEo4RuCsBip1-1lrC_4DnkQ/s640/blogger-image--2075387496.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">We even rocked out at the dance party. The kids got their groove on but you know Andrew & I wouldn't let them have all the fun! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHStcwB8Q_11EPdmsclIvoCbQCol8_pUwQKfmOdb4cbuGYJQEF2bkdrgJ2WBBAhDPLTxuivpaEsXFakNDYxpgYRWW2l9oksmlGDM0cksdEWl3zufhrTd6SzCzsRLL1KOZDoE2KuxIXXn4/s640/blogger-image--2100946878.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHStcwB8Q_11EPdmsclIvoCbQCol8_pUwQKfmOdb4cbuGYJQEF2bkdrgJ2WBBAhDPLTxuivpaEsXFakNDYxpgYRWW2l9oksmlGDM0cksdEWl3zufhrTd6SzCzsRLL1KOZDoE2KuxIXXn4/s640/blogger-image--2100946878.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">It was an amazing time of making memories all together. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2l9maMGdo7bc79CrorQOlT5bGWU9MfpKjIThMpZz3q9t1zsMPRJDkz-ZZmSex6pzfJ2HPgTbydgWX3oxnLrr0m0rG1rPNvR_ymx3eyQSYdmW1Ybm0teq4ApmlxOp5pqaO7HY3dSdiYib/s640/blogger-image--504576538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2l9maMGdo7bc79CrorQOlT5bGWU9MfpKjIThMpZz3q9t1zsMPRJDkz-ZZmSex6pzfJ2HPgTbydgWX3oxnLrr0m0rG1rPNvR_ymx3eyQSYdmW1Ybm0teq4ApmlxOp5pqaO7HY3dSdiYib/s640/blogger-image--504576538.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVTMsXoVfLh219AamhA8ttX0S7mgpUJDuTg-aYe0tJjiOiu98fC0aY8EHcQCWKm8Lglt1jgpl6Ig0R9nV6aTmonuEhN2uA3914ee2H6voIVnkXxMOcKNGe7CdiPCUMqEvWfXeL8m91KwM/s640/blogger-image--64328332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVTMsXoVfLh219AamhA8ttX0S7mgpUJDuTg-aYe0tJjiOiu98fC0aY8EHcQCWKm8Lglt1jgpl6Ig0R9nV6aTmonuEhN2uA3914ee2H6voIVnkXxMOcKNGe7CdiPCUMqEvWfXeL8m91KwM/s640/blogger-image--64328332.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> <i>Oklahoma sunsets.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Then we headed to OK for some quality time at the lake house (my home all my life), with a stop over at Ryan (my brother) & Rachel's to spend a night with Cina, Lilly & David. It was a quick visit but so worth it to hear the girls giggling together</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5S_OE5HmCiPg2YLBE5hO4pHCDTCKksGkuWBscSinzTe8PnSPuElxPlFkGva2I6SEYnqQoPaeUxdQxzXeWuY0pfx8YpLWRej6i0gMbHSTYQKp8pvWsBUdeCJMcfsWRfKwrJhp_z7pSInF/s640/blogger-image-2100973414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5S_OE5HmCiPg2YLBE5hO4pHCDTCKksGkuWBscSinzTe8PnSPuElxPlFkGva2I6SEYnqQoPaeUxdQxzXeWuY0pfx8YpLWRej6i0gMbHSTYQKp8pvWsBUdeCJMcfsWRfKwrJhp_z7pSInF/s640/blogger-image-2100973414.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">and Andrew even got to visit his old street luge buddy (Rusty, it doesn't mean you're old, just that we've known each other a really long time). And for inquiring minds, yes, Andrew street luged. You should ask him sometime about how often he kicked Rusty's booty on the hill or crashing into a briar patch at about 50MPH. But back to the amazing family visit ;) It's crazy cool to watch my kids play with my old toys in the same space where I grew up. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguTg8esILzAQq7ZYm_7OEA4m2wbJDykGdMx_Y-wQmEFbEmUXd3URjE6PIWq9o8MG8M5vxajPALGbZFW6EPQG19SssG_mn9VVzIjPmefJpDgNC4Rbn_mFDgBzyi_6nXrjsf0YV4rCsZIk_P/s640/blogger-image--1796084877.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguTg8esILzAQq7ZYm_7OEA4m2wbJDykGdMx_Y-wQmEFbEmUXd3URjE6PIWq9o8MG8M5vxajPALGbZFW6EPQG19SssG_mn9VVzIjPmefJpDgNC4Rbn_mFDgBzyi_6nXrjsf0YV4rCsZIk_P/s640/blogger-image--1796084877.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRz6w10DitBtx87pCcpT9KyfVPYBJMT9v769HAfU8Lx9QmhGSSHmP2VBTeiYe5CWTIcxfbWD4VRq1KvQ2Q5fb-qMnsDEuXRzMNkzsYnjr86PAEUV2aKmbdY7_as-w5pKLI-tKSTCOxZZ0W/s640/blogger-image-1242153117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRz6w10DitBtx87pCcpT9KyfVPYBJMT9v769HAfU8Lx9QmhGSSHmP2VBTeiYe5CWTIcxfbWD4VRq1KvQ2Q5fb-qMnsDEuXRzMNkzsYnjr86PAEUV2aKmbdY7_as-w5pKLI-tKSTCOxZZ0W/s640/blogger-image-1242153117.jpg" /></span></a></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">I think planting and watering flowers with Grandpa, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWvz4wvtnZoh2lv6LXROg0tO8omhN6QmdvjwKYjQw6IbufQPdjOYjuAxRCrqo5utGZ5wosG_8jpopzZkCpWMA-KkFGu35O_-oNdspomc_5YQuH1ls1Eszz95OLNiRsE3rNgNfFGR3WW3j/s640/blogger-image-2063119119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWvz4wvtnZoh2lv6LXROg0tO8omhN6QmdvjwKYjQw6IbufQPdjOYjuAxRCrqo5utGZ5wosG_8jpopzZkCpWMA-KkFGu35O_-oNdspomc_5YQuH1ls1Eszz95OLNiRsE3rNgNfFGR3WW3j/s640/blogger-image-2063119119.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1JgU8GmedWOvoBVeDeibcCNtdTGc8NZDP4Tc2vS78DhqWOElQRXpmwW52Gi2SkK1srM7dY-CsWfA0brquw-9VBrjjYRb1TaCkLZnYLuYRW_qTo9-7RXvC9rn5qTwplsVo1bmPXMaDfeJ/s640/blogger-image-1180102132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1JgU8GmedWOvoBVeDeibcCNtdTGc8NZDP4Tc2vS78DhqWOElQRXpmwW52Gi2SkK1srM7dY-CsWfA0brquw-9VBrjjYRb1TaCkLZnYLuYRW_qTo9-7RXvC9rn5qTwplsVo1bmPXMaDfeJ/s640/blogger-image-1180102132.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">catching snakes, </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEXm_GdpLfEWl2lRm3-MIk1gA2BiKA5nL_Cy6bmR5jJL2kMeJG4lZEfrz32vIPhunjQuOt4Rb9StRmQwtkx8zTnLsHBHBqnZeUwOQfB3BPkdHOZbhGIIQfnbVVl9VqWXQcofHngRKWL2w/s640/blogger-image-771121181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEXm_GdpLfEWl2lRm3-MIk1gA2BiKA5nL_Cy6bmR5jJL2kMeJG4lZEfrz32vIPhunjQuOt4Rb9StRmQwtkx8zTnLsHBHBqnZeUwOQfB3BPkdHOZbhGIIQfnbVVl9VqWXQcofHngRKWL2w/s640/blogger-image-771121181.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">playing with the dog, </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMu9X8UK2dfWvOOqMoo4oEheVi6_vQh5pK_uT-D1F7XNJjTQ_Hzz0SgrFvHx78pjYIcP8b2kUF4bKT6C_QyoO2WeFVp4okHqbwzZ6TfXMuu-eMSEA1YG-SsL2nAf_Sd6FYoDPN9hBqzMQM/s640/blogger-image--1080875190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMu9X8UK2dfWvOOqMoo4oEheVi6_vQh5pK_uT-D1F7XNJjTQ_Hzz0SgrFvHx78pjYIcP8b2kUF4bKT6C_QyoO2WeFVp4okHqbwzZ6TfXMuu-eMSEA1YG-SsL2nAf_Sd6FYoDPN9hBqzMQM/s640/blogger-image--1080875190.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">and cooking with Grannaw </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvs4hFHo6RlYilGggh7JQsiHoJmRIZT0MxLPwnvhJlVtIJ5nHPb0YiqKyONbQjSXkj7gGSXYpDEp4_rIxFtILaVX_ElOCWFPYfLXgnB5Le9sd5wXEbUitpME-c92F-Ga3Ntda03ehIIgMF/s640/blogger-image-941485266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvs4hFHo6RlYilGggh7JQsiHoJmRIZT0MxLPwnvhJlVtIJ5nHPb0YiqKyONbQjSXkj7gGSXYpDEp4_rIxFtILaVX_ElOCWFPYfLXgnB5Le9sd5wXEbUitpME-c92F-Ga3Ntda03ehIIgMF/s640/blogger-image-941485266.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">kept Sky busy enough she didn't even miss chasing crabs on the dock every morning. </span></div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-xMv_myoNfQfGKmNrCfj-_GC7H-6pg2knO-Z61xn8oNl5Q1hy_gq_NkrKUhMfdo_hw9WHJWvmUWELlggz7Dz0V_xqoywDSRNabN455flZwoX4KGwmtYboi9hbKShTQbOMl9ubeBTObWH/s640/blogger-image--69469090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-xMv_myoNfQfGKmNrCfj-_GC7H-6pg2knO-Z61xn8oNl5Q1hy_gq_NkrKUhMfdo_hw9WHJWvmUWELlggz7Dz0V_xqoywDSRNabN455flZwoX4KGwmtYboi9hbKShTQbOMl9ubeBTObWH/s640/blogger-image--69469090.jpg" /></span></a></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">But way too quickly it was time to say "goodbye" to our OK and TX family and move on to the next stop - NC. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Highs & Lows of our TX/OK visit</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Andrew:</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> Low - the reality of being back in the hustle and bustle that is life in the states.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> High - time together with the whole family, watching all the cousins together</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><b>Paige:</b> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> Low - our time was too short!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> High - getting to be with everyone together</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Sky:</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> Low - our time was too short! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> High - the water park and sleeping over with Cina.</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Summer:</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> Low - our time was too short! (That makes a majority vote for longer visit next time!)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> High - getting to have time all together as well as have one on one time with each family. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> It might be my favorite visit home yet!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgezL-cWy00zrjJwuAC7w_TYyIPrmfw-ImaCKtSf5v18EnjN9tZmEXYxE3uksL0_7-YVwLWAjRvrF53mfGy12ZvV-Ot3yP94kqzjlRzqGxGJ4aMguRhxqYIlJVdWagLi7wf16-hHPZWxtFa/s640/blogger-image--842766414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgezL-cWy00zrjJwuAC7w_TYyIPrmfw-ImaCKtSf5v18EnjN9tZmEXYxE3uksL0_7-YVwLWAjRvrF53mfGy12ZvV-Ot3yP94kqzjlRzqGxGJ4aMguRhxqYIlJVdWagLi7wf16-hHPZWxtFa/s640/blogger-image--842766414.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">The pace slowed down a bit as we visited Grammy and Poppaw in their mountain top hideaway. </span></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUKCC-wC-0PxeyDICjj1z14OVNC2p7mdj6PN_7vHxFPPA0uNxqB_MjYn-CmTPV04gYk58qAeORxWoFnmTN_iIjhzfpq01uEdEGFqfBhaSbN_hdKTOo4BjbAwjWFj9r8WTsE-3s1Ah0ZJNe/s640/blogger-image--1144363060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUKCC-wC-0PxeyDICjj1z14OVNC2p7mdj6PN_7vHxFPPA0uNxqB_MjYn-CmTPV04gYk58qAeORxWoFnmTN_iIjhzfpq01uEdEGFqfBhaSbN_hdKTOo4BjbAwjWFj9r8WTsE-3s1Ah0ZJNe/s640/blogger-image--1144363060.jpg" /></a> </span></i></div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfMUgMvCW_gSrmxC366dq1iX4MEdiJJopcTZ34C-4oBW0_E7acJDezo2LdypwvwgHF2x93s_ZOtQybW46V0J6JIWg9bb8vC6NaNcfNJGNz5Eo1jvsWnED071NB2h2SPGFtEJdMM6WOurLJ/s640/blogger-image-1362761632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfMUgMvCW_gSrmxC366dq1iX4MEdiJJopcTZ34C-4oBW0_E7acJDezo2LdypwvwgHF2x93s_ZOtQybW46V0J6JIWg9bb8vC6NaNcfNJGNz5Eo1jvsWnED071NB2h2SPGFtEJdMM6WOurLJ/s640/blogger-image-1362761632.jpg" /></span></a></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">The fun changed to playing with daddy's old toys, hikes in the woods and chasing the illusive stink bug. Grammy made some new friends for onboard Abby </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">and the girls always look forward to tractor rides with Poppaw. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">We enjoyed some beautifully cool and relaxing mornings on the deck and evenings visits with friends. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR4TVKhKPAlQe_Ly_Lb9izVQjTXkQU73UBg8L05xw-uZGCk7At_x97NXxO-XRRMElSVxilZDNUEy9TTs59hw_PbjEpRtzfpIDubrZehIXR4HhRE8Mc_8mIroOzt1IMhlLdS4MDlwEis6Jq/s640/blogger-image-76670918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR4TVKhKPAlQe_Ly_Lb9izVQjTXkQU73UBg8L05xw-uZGCk7At_x97NXxO-XRRMElSVxilZDNUEy9TTs59hw_PbjEpRtzfpIDubrZehIXR4HhRE8Mc_8mIroOzt1IMhlLdS4MDlwEis6Jq/s640/blogger-image-76670918.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Thank you to Jen & Will and Amy & Darren for making the trek out to see us. It was so great catching up! But just as before, our visit too quickly ended and we were on the move again. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Highs and Lows of our NC visit</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Andrew:</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> Low - juggling getting work and ordering done with quality family time</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> High - relaxing with fam and having a wide open space to practice flying his new drone </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5HdmYPcis6INZLajaxz63LN47sXKw0OpauEc3P5Q6FTXp-rmbzqemk9l3DaPC0OPLCOk7C-XppN_rsmymmjXyO6JV4ohqxPvIn5qb3oHCVL-MfUCBlUTe212_ybYZ5X2LT14gzZZgQFA/s640/blogger-image-1523598130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5HdmYPcis6INZLajaxz63LN47sXKw0OpauEc3P5Q6FTXp-rmbzqemk9l3DaPC0OPLCOk7C-XppN_rsmymmjXyO6JV4ohqxPvIn5qb3oHCVL-MfUCBlUTe212_ybYZ5X2LT14gzZZgQFA/s640/blogger-image-1523598130.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> (thanks Mom & Dad Shannon)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><b>Paige:</b> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> Low - Stink Bugs!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> High - hanging with Grammy & Poppaw, getting to see Jen & the kids</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Sky:</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> Low - Stink Bugs!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> High - a Megan sleepover</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Summer:</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> Low - not getting to see Andy G while in town</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> High - the food! We had a customized menu to fit in all our favorites. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> I tease Andrew on how spoiled he is but I think we all benefitted from that one ;)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgNy6cNxNtSwuG0GILmJQJw1aWWoQMQF5exz8YlVRjTy5WYDrtDcW740eX3Auxl_RHmw6AsBhulpKEwyXGiucEE_o7k_u5K1bdq3wfLObtmBkkRXL1qfIfHmJuDiUPiKP7X_9A8HdDJ91/s640/blogger-image-1450021051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgNy6cNxNtSwuG0GILmJQJw1aWWoQMQF5exz8YlVRjTy5WYDrtDcW740eX3Auxl_RHmw6AsBhulpKEwyXGiucEE_o7k_u5K1bdq3wfLObtmBkkRXL1qfIfHmJuDiUPiKP7X_9A8HdDJ91/s640/blogger-image-1450021051.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">This time we were headed home to FL. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehOZwYqIIuya-D3qMBe6K96lZbtZydKzo2iosNa4r88aTFL-U2bNgAc4RtZMZVra29s3864fGNrZJbGN90tRapuEoeoQNj9RfuLHLZ-V2V5ai-gvGOPRdpuUhvPUd_oeLquuGX7CMgyxb/s640/blogger-image--325830900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehOZwYqIIuya-D3qMBe6K96lZbtZydKzo2iosNa4r88aTFL-U2bNgAc4RtZMZVra29s3864fGNrZJbGN90tRapuEoeoQNj9RfuLHLZ-V2V5ai-gvGOPRdpuUhvPUd_oeLquuGX7CMgyxb/s640/blogger-image--325830900.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">The girls were so excited to surprise their friends who didn't know we were coming, I was excited about a few surprises I had up my sleeve and Andrew braced for the crazy that he knew was about to unfold. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">There is no way to do a proper blow by blow of our time in Jax! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Our days were filled with dance performances, dinner with friends, </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ39bbia99NDgG_IDaANKqol2rMslb64aYspCG9MZtLrPzBE2x0cs22castcGY6aCmzqd2yGeulJwe3726pJce8P6H3zdyFy-trXL-XK-qUJqCCHlbFYxxnxET1RtGjdz30SI_YnthL1lO/s640/blogger-image-172820636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ39bbia99NDgG_IDaANKqol2rMslb64aYspCG9MZtLrPzBE2x0cs22castcGY6aCmzqd2yGeulJwe3726pJce8P6H3zdyFy-trXL-XK-qUJqCCHlbFYxxnxET1RtGjdz30SI_YnthL1lO/s640/blogger-image-172820636.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">birthday parties, sleepovers, school plays, dance class, surprise visits, and we even managed to squeeze in a bit of family time </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxwhkMTcQRnv_-TLb_NEkos8-MFMzWG6w5I5-mKC4bIlfhHWQb_2tsrioHQEaxZ2F6C9WuDXuqAcz3JELTG7LSxS1W-o6anLX06Aa3bzr2D6blMIuQ__2-KwUMhNOX01-539C2NyLnWAn/s640/blogger-image-1719757922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxwhkMTcQRnv_-TLb_NEkos8-MFMzWG6w5I5-mKC4bIlfhHWQb_2tsrioHQEaxZ2F6C9WuDXuqAcz3JELTG7LSxS1W-o6anLX06Aa3bzr2D6blMIuQ__2-KwUMhNOX01-539C2NyLnWAn/s640/blogger-image-1719757922.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> <i>A little pampering :)</i></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">and a date night. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">It wasn't all play. On the work side we had meetings with the lawyer and accountant, repossessed some vehicles, had a business meeting with our partners, the girls had dental check-ups</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBFLbPDMN3zT5bNpuRS5AIDpsUvamdiiZ6Qkph-p_Kd321DO_X9ae2chf6raCmnEa5bSY0ir1v3JJr_rq-oxKL_2bFZxjtOHWkMD4BsBVkUChi8IE7IAacLfHUmjOVEbV25uBR-2_lMvrx/s640/blogger-image--1087207178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBFLbPDMN3zT5bNpuRS5AIDpsUvamdiiZ6Qkph-p_Kd321DO_X9ae2chf6raCmnEa5bSY0ir1v3JJr_rq-oxKL_2bFZxjtOHWkMD4BsBVkUChi8IE7IAacLfHUmjOVEbV25uBR-2_lMvrx/s640/blogger-image--1087207178.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">and we elected a new president for the US of A! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSvh2mdvGVqqTFfGeS_hYUyMicnn_HwoiCq92i-0-FGONmwETxY-FN0hXPUtXi8rLg76yErF628nlgP147QhD_-tgvGdn6o1SwF-MKvP8IVTqERKCtfPm0t28NtkIs4DgkIxUouoVrW9s/s640/blogger-image--2079891860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSvh2mdvGVqqTFfGeS_hYUyMicnn_HwoiCq92i-0-FGONmwETxY-FN0hXPUtXi8rLg76yErF628nlgP147QhD_-tgvGdn6o1SwF-MKvP8IVTqERKCtfPm0t28NtkIs4DgkIxUouoVrW9s/s640/blogger-image--2079891860.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">It was a whirlwind! And it felt like every minute was filled.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Here's some of the highlights: The girls couldn't wait to surprise all their dance friends but they didn't know they were going to get to see a performance. The Scott Jones Dancers were amazing as usual and we were excited to cheer them on! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Paige was booked up visiting her local friends </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12lBthunzzKSD6YZRh6WZRlAqo6224ZqbYtUnpzBxAFNEiLzvzNM6bz392vcej8pshJWpbUo0siIkndhakwEvzTLuAbD5kLivGiBD2LMQcaIHHujfhNS6LA34S5uIetq4EcR9KXbIbDGP/s640/blogger-image--79185228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12lBthunzzKSD6YZRh6WZRlAqo6224ZqbYtUnpzBxAFNEiLzvzNM6bz392vcej8pshJWpbUo0siIkndhakwEvzTLuAbD5kLivGiBD2LMQcaIHHujfhNS6LA34S5uIetq4EcR9KXbIbDGP/s640/blogger-image--79185228.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> <i>So fun surprising friends!</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhz4LaNNLCSYtGEh3xlMofaHW1QVg1Xz55jtyeyxuNwMnDRryAb-cL7z0ZVrRTO6qCuDfb0862J3eCRTgkKY4hOdMggPU9bJua28n8HHielKxn3DCD-wXUE6jJQcWkPXZn2omy1drRF2e/s640/blogger-image--657600862.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhz4LaNNLCSYtGEh3xlMofaHW1QVg1Xz55jtyeyxuNwMnDRryAb-cL7z0ZVrRTO6qCuDfb0862J3eCRTgkKY4hOdMggPU9bJua28n8HHielKxn3DCD-wXUE6jJQcWkPXZn2omy1drRF2e/s640/blogger-image--657600862.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> <i>So hard for them to take a normal pic ;)</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhEouAgMSXqKQqElm6IBkCevTQ8d1jURue5OR7o84Ni8QFoUgbaJYFlZvgtjLV-3VjdgBzz5Afqx3MnEDGCLNKjMK8e7TwSrKtHTTOAS1AA-pqvYPDGevXqY87ESRavMBCZP5rpgWWja3/s640/blogger-image-229536466.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhEouAgMSXqKQqElm6IBkCevTQ8d1jURue5OR7o84Ni8QFoUgbaJYFlZvgtjLV-3VjdgBzz5Afqx3MnEDGCLNKjMK8e7TwSrKtHTTOAS1AA-pqvYPDGevXqY87ESRavMBCZP5rpgWWja3/s640/blogger-image-229536466.jpg" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> <i>Celebrating Mia's 14th with some dress up!</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaG9Wo6D6-cK-FJwxus2rmdhmGHzlQ3aX8Y6oBYmPDSog8iGkVzuXeOe-TJpZSgs7vgxYCK8NkxX-zOMBGy6D-6qu6aHVlZjxud-L2jpYotJIfwnCbEePW5713a73hYWedV2BBPZjGMXJY/s640/blogger-image-826934101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaG9Wo6D6-cK-FJwxus2rmdhmGHzlQ3aX8Y6oBYmPDSog8iGkVzuXeOe-TJpZSgs7vgxYCK8NkxX-zOMBGy6D-6qu6aHVlZjxud-L2jpYotJIfwnCbEePW5713a73hYWedV2BBPZjGMXJY/s640/blogger-image-826934101.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">and Sky tried to make the rounds as well </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizkbRVCZuKf93TUscpMfYys0M-RtGqABt4RGdnoxoYZs9WOQbCmF5yNbebv7NegA93kKsR1Vo6PMEekfvbUYM2tWHC02Zsi0gKh4lEvE2WoT-L94Tshh69IiZARVK6zQBp7Zd-_Z5KIkXF/s640/blogger-image-1436378245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizkbRVCZuKf93TUscpMfYys0M-RtGqABt4RGdnoxoYZs9WOQbCmF5yNbebv7NegA93kKsR1Vo6PMEekfvbUYM2tWHC02Zsi0gKh4lEvE2WoT-L94Tshh69IiZARVK6zQBp7Zd-_Z5KIkXF/s640/blogger-image-1436378245.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">but we surprised her by picking up Kaylee, from Aqua Vida, whom we haven't seen since Guadeloupe back in July and was luckily visiting family in Tallahassee. We were sad when we arrived in Grenada after the Aqua Vida crew headed back to the states and we knew they wouldn't return to their boat until after we left Grenada so this was a perfect opportunity to squeeze in a great visit that she never expected.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">And the last surprise we had in store was courtesy of Aunt Samantha. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">She arranged for cousin Kat and new baby Elsie to appear and blow the girls' minds! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">After a few more sleepovers to absorb all the baby cuteness </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RgHM2ldw16laSYKm_u6J_q28MMTOmFFeVasodLRxEnKYVHcFaW7y2dsqfNFzhjgG_Zn_zWNRE8n4pcczmQ4HtFdHubtC9mp6dBkzblkizRdOKQbEzk8KU4e9gHei35Eqcc4oUrYLdAWn/s640/blogger-image--342225092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RgHM2ldw16laSYKm_u6J_q28MMTOmFFeVasodLRxEnKYVHcFaW7y2dsqfNFzhjgG_Zn_zWNRE8n4pcczmQ4HtFdHubtC9mp6dBkzblkizRdOKQbEzk8KU4e9gHei35Eqcc4oUrYLdAWn/s640/blogger-image--342225092.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">and an election watch party unlike any we've had before, this visit came to an end as well. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Highs and Lows of our FL visit</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Andrew:</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> Low - being reminded of the things left undone, which feels like shortcomings</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> High - Kyle time! Andrew got to see all his best buddies while home but especially appreciated Kyle, who dropped everything to come stay a few days with us to make sure Andrew was able to accomplish everything on his list. That's love!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><b>Paige:</b> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> Low - our time was too short! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> High - friend time, meeting Elsie, dancing</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Sky:</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> Low - being reminded she's the youngest</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> When we are on the boat the responsibility levels are very high and the freedoms are also</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> great. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> Back in the states she said she felt like "just a 10 yr old" and didn't like how that felt </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> "very little".</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> High - the Kaylee surprise and quality time with Elsie</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Summer:</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> Low - being exhausted the whole time because we had quite the "to do" list and very little time to do it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"> High - we successfully squeezed everything in, I think. All the business, all the fun and we didn't bite each other's heads off while doing it! This trip was an amazing success!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">I can't believe 3 weeks went by in the blink of an eye! One of the hardest parts of being on our amazing adventure is not knowing when you will see your loved ones again. We soaked every moment out of our time together, and squeezed every neck as much as possible. I just hope it is enough to last us until we meet again. </span></div>
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<b><i><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Things learned aboard this week:</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><b><i>It is hard to be away so long but it is even harder to say goodbye.</i></b> I was looking so forward to visiting everyone and it being the shot in the arm I needed to make it through the next leg of our journey. I never took into consideration that all those "hello agains" would tear my heart out when they had to be "goodbyes" again. We love everyone of you who we got to spend time with on this visit and can't thank you enough for being special in our lives whether we are back home or on the water.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><b><i>Even though we still have lots of loose ends undone back home that vie for our attention, this voyage is still the best decision we ever made! </i></b> While on land it is easy to get caught up in land life concerns and if we had to do it over again we would maybe plan a little differently for what we did and didn't complete before leaving. But even with all those variables we still know that our time out here, together as a family on an adventure, is more valuable then anything we would be working on back there.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwN2pTR8XKwON0j8HW2Fu4Ru7Vv-Ls-uK6ZGleRyt0BN1u0JG8JpEzX1jesvoWgtxMqWwql9M_IYvpPpYg1N5Ms6z95UmbANc9N_MDHiUAqL3fSz2fvXBra08_NcQ1y6QpugcJBZ8lTNd4/s640/blogger-image--261447548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwN2pTR8XKwON0j8HW2Fu4Ru7Vv-Ls-uK6ZGleRyt0BN1u0JG8JpEzX1jesvoWgtxMqWwql9M_IYvpPpYg1N5Ms6z95UmbANc9N_MDHiUAqL3fSz2fvXBra08_NcQ1y6QpugcJBZ8lTNd4/s640/blogger-image--261447548.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">As our feet stepped off the plane and we breathed in the fresh air, we could feel the weight lifting. Grenada smelled great, the humidity was refreshing and it felt like coming home. But as we turned down the La Phare Bleu driveway Paige said, " I don't know if I'm ready to be back." Suddenly the reality of our very tiny boat and the challenges of living aboard came rushing back to the forefront. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">I'm not sure I'm ready to be back either....</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRiXh_dcwep6IfRBCddn9osAwYBw5NoEIzQ2drGWpc0nXZGBanP7x9Ik2M1OWXg4pDUbtZa2jf-co_1UknVPmYcqDDdaqQInOR1P0iO_M-pgI0gw1-rrktnK9jrKk8Z42n16nY81WJal8v/s640/blogger-image-2095638719.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRiXh_dcwep6IfRBCddn9osAwYBw5NoEIzQ2drGWpc0nXZGBanP7x9Ik2M1OWXg4pDUbtZa2jf-co_1UknVPmYcqDDdaqQInOR1P0iO_M-pgI0gw1-rrktnK9jrKk8Z42n16nY81WJal8v/s640/blogger-image-2095638719.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/12/47-48-back-to-boat.html"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">47 - 48. Back to the Boat!</span></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-58168537668857192912016-10-29T20:19:00.001-07:002019-01-06T09:13:34.896-08:0040-43. Fun with Hurricane Matthew (twice) and Other Grenada Excitement<div>
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Grenada - where all southbound cruisers go to be out of the hurricane belt; </div>
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-safe zone, as designated by most insurance companies; </div>
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-south of 12 degree latitude; </div>
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-Hurricane Matthew’s projected target </div>
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-<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">and where we experience our first hurricane aboard Abby. </span></div>
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There was a flurry of excitement as everyone at the dock prepared for what looked to be a direct hit from the first storm to cross our path this hurricane season. Andrew led our crew in prepping and protecting our dock lines, <br />
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getting us tied to the hurricane mooring lines below the dock, <br />
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and removing or securing anything loose on deck. <br />
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Our home at Le Phare Bleu did an excellent job preparing all of us for what to expect as Matthew got closer. <br />
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<i>Hurricane briefing by Deiter, owner of the Marina.</i></div>
After all the preparations we were treated to a pre-hurricane rainbow as we relaxed by the pool. <br />
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<i>As the sun went down, the wind picked up.</i></div>
And in proper camp fashion, we did the only thing left to do when you’ve done everything to get ready; throw a hurricane party!<br />
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We felt the first blows of Matthew in the early morning hours. Andrew and I got up just to check the dock lines but we found everything safe and secure. With things really beginning to churn by 7am, the whole marina was up and surveying their surroundings. <br />
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But all our preparations had paid off and the only excitement we had was when one of the breakwater barges broke free from their lines and the marina crew rushed out in dive gear to get it re-secured promptly. We saw sustained winds over 40 knots but the worst had passed us by noon. We watched some movies aboard, cooked some goodies and the girls joined the Take Two gang for a Mexican Train Dominoes tournament. We heard of a few boats dragging in different anchorages nearby but no injuries or major damage. We were so blessed that Matthew chose to change his path and head a bit more north. Little did we know that he had his sights set on our land home in Jacksonville, FL. We have lived in Jax 15 years and never experienced the force that Matthew brought with him. We were lucky to have no damage at our home or business and only a fence down at our beach property. Many of our neighbors and friends were not so lucky and are still picking up the mess that was left in Matthew’s wake. But enough about the hurricane, now on to other fun.</div>
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Our first adventure post hurricane was a float trip through the beauty of Grenada’s countryside. We had quite the group with 21 of the LPB family ready for fun. <br />
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<i>Photo credit - Disco Fish</i></div>
The guides weren’t sure what hit them when our bunch of crazies arrived. We explored the grounds and found guava, cocoa, turmeric, cinnamon, lime and some other fruit I don’t even know what it was while we waited for the tubes to get aired up. <br />
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Once we hit the water everyone had a blast splashing and racing down rapids while the guides did their best to keep up and keep us safe! <br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We floated to a large pool area where one of the guides does a few flips from the overlooking cliff (I’m sure it is to get tips) but Andrew and Eli couldn't let him have his moment of glory and had to join in the fun. </span></div>
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It was a great way to see more of the country and make an awesome memory with everyone.</div>
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We had the best 1st year birthday party ever for Jack from Corpse Pounder. <br />
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The celebration was poolside with yummy food and face painting during happy hour. <br />
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But the best moment was Jack enjoying his cake. <br />
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He wasn't shy about getting dirty and was disappointed when it was taken away from him :)</div>
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It may sound like lots of play and very little work but we do put in the elbow grease when needed. The girls cleaned all our interior headliner with vinegar to cut the mold. <br />
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<i>When your arms get tired, the feet work just fine.</i></div>
We had quite a bit of growth on our lines after 1.5 months at the marina that needing scrubbing off. <br />
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And Andrew sewed a new dodger for our cockpit from scratch. <br />
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It will help keep the sea spray out of our eyes as we continue on west.</div>
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Paige even had a few babysitting jobs with her new boyfriends on Vidora and Corpse Pounder.</div>
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<i>Lukie </i></div>
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<i>Jack Jack</i></div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVF2A-UPySMlz3pDY56IJqO0dnI_Nb-k6SzIS71N9OXWExkR1MBGxOuBZz2PSzf5CU203_5-r-uahlT6rZ27KtQejtPOD3CQ47YeqrmOeKeKPstll271VCVfRJq2LawQl302VCV3stb493/s640/blogger-image--1849211332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVF2A-UPySMlz3pDY56IJqO0dnI_Nb-k6SzIS71N9OXWExkR1MBGxOuBZz2PSzf5CU203_5-r-uahlT6rZ27KtQejtPOD3CQ47YeqrmOeKeKPstll271VCVfRJq2LawQl302VCV3stb493/s640/blogger-image--1849211332.jpg" /></a></i></div>
<i> They're supposed to be babysitting, looking very responsible?!</i><br />
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Sad to say but it’s almost time for everyone to head their separate ways for the season. We weren't ready to break up the party without one last big bash. <br />
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<i>Photo credit - Sea Biscuit</i></div>
So we planned the boat crawl to end all boat crawls. What is a boat crawl? Similar to a progressive dinner where you visit each other's homes for drinks and snacks<br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">but we add a bit of caribbean trivia,</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWozR0MbK3DaAElTSdhEbq7HLllUwTEhtrjjg9q3yt8CczQ7ZD1gJIyzDTae6VaAbdTP4Iqes5Wg6ltynin4QgeCCWYtQU-7MrByV0ng78VBV1cZ5G5zl3mV1TcdO68u91aVqqkT668gZ/s640/blogger-image-1184387017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWozR0MbK3DaAElTSdhEbq7HLllUwTEhtrjjg9q3yt8CczQ7ZD1gJIyzDTae6VaAbdTP4Iqes5Wg6ltynin4QgeCCWYtQU-7MrByV0ng78VBV1cZ5G5zl3mV1TcdO68u91aVqqkT668gZ/s640/blogger-image-1184387017.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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a swim from one location to the next <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-U-yPqS2KRQjp71SJWw8IuVHjEAPue5vjzZuUTR41wljvvlKCIME3KLNht3S02g2lCedMDWoqAZzr55JipjsdQdPdOuEP4cWVA-Lfj5nXxpqNsyLuU8fws_hLJ-a02Fpv9BqDPVgX1qVU/s640/blogger-image-960431882.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-U-yPqS2KRQjp71SJWw8IuVHjEAPue5vjzZuUTR41wljvvlKCIME3KLNht3S02g2lCedMDWoqAZzr55JipjsdQdPdOuEP4cWVA-Lfj5nXxpqNsyLuU8fws_hLJ-a02Fpv9BqDPVgX1qVU/s640/blogger-image-960431882.jpg" /></a></div>
(closely supervised by our safety boat and accompanied by our friendly accordion player), <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabkGwAapNzPm5exSD_wBKVY4cwAZDEiN0g2_HS-hnso5Kaob8-2wPAInQLd8V0cuGWvdV6Ce8-oJSbJFPTWi4ELMS6n7NdsQZqf_-KLecUwKOGtwCBJw5SMmVHl9GUQDF1X_xdBdOfkv7/s640/blogger-image--965292963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabkGwAapNzPm5exSD_wBKVY4cwAZDEiN0g2_HS-hnso5Kaob8-2wPAInQLd8V0cuGWvdV6Ce8-oJSbJFPTWi4ELMS6n7NdsQZqf_-KLecUwKOGtwCBJw5SMmVHl9GUQDF1X_xdBdOfkv7/s640/blogger-image--965292963.jpg" /></a></div>
the best spread of drinks and munchies, <br />
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and if you are feeling adventurous you can wrap the whole thing up with a jump off the high dive. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfdOYLZht1eH3zUuDV8R-J90865DGxf_wd8RkXfW7-JAUexvgQNrSs-GEpF4FNEwNbX9uya50AyZ2BHlz4udRxVNkOZce01kPUzOfOQldqn-ybHCaGK4YkqoxJXYzfuJVSV7qVceeHZ6W/s640/blogger-image-875041288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfdOYLZht1eH3zUuDV8R-J90865DGxf_wd8RkXfW7-JAUexvgQNrSs-GEpF4FNEwNbX9uya50AyZ2BHlz4udRxVNkOZce01kPUzOfOQldqn-ybHCaGK4YkqoxJXYzfuJVSV7qVceeHZ6W/s640/blogger-image-875041288.jpg" /></a></div>
There is no better way to bid adieu to our time in Grenada and all the amazing people we have met here and all the memories we share. <br />
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>You can do your best to be prepared </i></b>but when it comes to an act of God, all you can do is leave it in His hands. So thankful no one we knew was hurt and that everything else is just stuff.</div>
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Sorry for the delayed update but the next one should be close behind. We are rapidly approaching our departure from Grenada and blazing our path into even more uncharted territory as we head to the western Caribbean.</div>
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Stay tuned!<br />
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/11/44-46-what-difference-day-at-home-makes.html">44 - 46. What a Difference a Day (at home) Makes!</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-73407455621274681822016-09-25T14:29:00.001-07:002019-01-06T09:10:35.052-08:0037-39. Camp Grenada<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Qh0QtLmcoMRWM5KWC_Y5R3t3nilAMptIAinjCzdkM5k5l1QR56Xcf4YlRluRHmrmuwNSTQdrPVp-dKd4dn0BzgaVwpWLYYyPAczDIdrEI17ZTkq7jIRZd6t2YwzP6Yd-Bgx6DqQlxRdB/s640/blogger-image-1956969609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Qh0QtLmcoMRWM5KWC_Y5R3t3nilAMptIAinjCzdkM5k5l1QR56Xcf4YlRluRHmrmuwNSTQdrPVp-dKd4dn0BzgaVwpWLYYyPAczDIdrEI17ZTkq7jIRZd6t2YwzP6Yd-Bgx6DqQlxRdB/s640/blogger-image-1956969609.jpg" /></a></div>
Having been here for a month now, I have determined that Grenada is the ultimate summer camp! We have scheduled activities, group transportation, collective meals and free time and even the communal bath house where you can enjoy your neighbors’ conversations while showering or using the toilet! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgem_zt8wJNqasd70lJcw4ok6IUF72XICxg4sD7yoXM8EhEnvl0TbUt4lIdrR45aTvZyBUPU8xZ16Ane8jteB_Y6KNbeOIu-pHJ_-YJMzzwgRW6JfTFGFBa1_B_YhP5PGlViLjCqsviAttg/s640/blogger-image-486111649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgem_zt8wJNqasd70lJcw4ok6IUF72XICxg4sD7yoXM8EhEnvl0TbUt4lIdrR45aTvZyBUPU8xZ16Ane8jteB_Y6KNbeOIu-pHJ_-YJMzzwgRW6JfTFGFBa1_B_YhP5PGlViLjCqsviAttg/s640/blogger-image-486111649.jpg" /></a></div>
<i>The Lightship houses a great bar, live music on the weekends and the shower rooms.</i></div>
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But the best part of being at camp is always the new friendships and the memories you make together that link you forever. Our fellow boaters and staff here at Le Phare Bleu are that exactly! They have become our family away from home. <br />
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<i>Proper hurricane prep :) - photo credit Beth Lawson</i><br />
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Each morning the ladies (and sometimes Bruce) get together to workout. Classes range from yoga, boot camp, water aerobics and everything in between. <br />
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<i>Before</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuiTCphYh49N-_XIkYY3LnkTtXhujYQbyBkRaX9QV8CeP-XM2KRn09dA8VhHnjRBCS4t7lgtzYXrPSg-LC5x0MXAfWnnGLIGutNO3hKptqRYbPA_9-yw6Nkpuxlkx2MYUCMFK2NOmxJ1d/s640/blogger-image-1456346122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuiTCphYh49N-_XIkYY3LnkTtXhujYQbyBkRaX9QV8CeP-XM2KRn09dA8VhHnjRBCS4t7lgtzYXrPSg-LC5x0MXAfWnnGLIGutNO3hKptqRYbPA_9-yw6Nkpuxlkx2MYUCMFK2NOmxJ1d/s640/blogger-image-1456346122.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i> After - photo credit Living La Vidorra</i></div>
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My girls and I usually follow the morning sweat fest with a quick dip in the pool before heading back to the boat to get some schooling done. <br />
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<i>Onboard</i></div>
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<i> On shore - sometimes we have guests</i><br />
Andrew uses his quiet mornings on board while we are away at class to catch up on his politics, courtesy of the great wifi from the marina. Once we take over with school he moves on to whatever project he is tackling for the day, unless someone is sneaking away to do some lobstering and then he’ll drop everything to join. <br />
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Early afternoon is spent finishing up school, doing any chores around the boat <br />
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<i>Scrubbing out the cockpit.</i></div>
or prepping stuff for dinner but we always try to be in the pool by 4, if not sooner :) The kids play with their friends while we chat it up with ours <br />
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and their is usually a milkshake shared by the girls while Andrew enjoys a beer. Then back to the boat at sunset to cook dinner and we usually watch a movie or play a game together as a fam. </div>
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That’s what a typical day looks like. </div>
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The exceptions are: </div>
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Every Tuesday we shuttle taxi into town to provision; aka- grocery shopping, with friends. The girls and I grab a quick lunch out before spending a few hours at the store. <br />
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<i>The loot.</i></div>
Then the process of finding everything a space on the boat begins! Those days don't see much proper schooling; the meal planning, shopping for the best price and critical thinking practice for storage is enough “real world” skill honing, in my opinion!</div>
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Thursday afternoons Andrew and I try to sneak away for cooking class. It is a fun way to get some time together while expanding our sometimes boring menu :)<br />
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We have to fit a laundry day in somewhere!<br />
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And every week has one other activity squished in somewhere, whether it be a kids’ outing or hiking the waterfalls, we definitely stay busy.<br />
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Last week we joined our friends aboard Higgins to celebrate Oliver’s b-day at the inflatable waterpark. <br />
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The kids had an amazing time and it was a great way to meet lots of other cruisers.<br />
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Over the weekend, we had a proper 40th b-day for yours truly with all our friends on the dock. We had an amazing potluck dinner, <br />
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everyone joined in with some music and singing, <br />
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and a good time was had by all!<br />
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<i>Happy Birthday me!</i></div>
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<i> New boat art hand painted on my card by Beth from Morame.</i></div>
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But I think the highlight of our week was 3 days later when we celebrated Aaron (from Take Two)’s 14th birthday by hiking the Seven Sisters Waterfalls. Hiking is not my favorite pastime but when the reward is so great it is definitely worth it. <br />
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The bottom two falls are tiered right into each other. It was a great place for everyone to swim, jump and play while the birthday boy, his older brother, Andrew and I headed to the top of the mountain where the 7 falls begin. Our guide recommended we hike barefoot so our swimming wouldn't be encumbered. So we traipsed through the muddy jungle, up, up and up until we could hear the rushing water. Each fall presents a different challenge but we were up for it. <br />
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The first was too slippery due to recent rain so we moved on to number 2 where we had to use the foothold for our back foot to push far enough away from the wall to miss the shallow shelf at the base of the falls. <br />
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It was only about 12-15’ high but my heart was still pumping pretty strong for our first jump (our guide kept asking if I was sure I was okay to do it? He clearly didn't know who he was dealing with :) and there was no way I was hiking back down the way we came, so the water was my best option). Fall 3 was very shallow, chest high, so the guys were slapping out. I tried for a jackknife that really turned into more of a cannonball that everyone laughed at <br />
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but I got the last laugh since I was one of the few who didn't touch bottom. Fall 4 was a long trench with the water rushing through so we shimmied between the walls to make it to the bottom. <br />
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Since my limbs aren't as long as Andrew’s, my flexibility came in pretty handy! <br />
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Fall 5 was insane enough for me to bow out (I held the GoPro instead). It was very shallow for the first 10’ closest to the falls and you had to parkour jump off the wall before shallow diving into the pool. <br />
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<i>The guys showed quite form! </i></div>
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That brought us back to fall 6 where our entire party waited below to cheer us on. Our guide explained how to safely jump and land the 35’ drop and demonstrated it perfectly. <br />
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Now we were up! Andrew took the first jump with the GoPro to capture us from below. <br />
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<i>View from the top before Andrew jumped.</i></div>
Eli, who had already jumped this fall once showed no hesitation and flew off the edge. <br />
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Aaron wasn't sure he wanted to end his short life this way and but when he realized I wasn't backing out he had to save face and jump. <br />
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He actually had the best form of all of us! Now I’m left alone at the top of the falls, knowing there is no other way down. Once the pool was clear, I stepped up and jumped; the peanut gallery below didn't even have a chance to count down :) <br />
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What a rush! Pretty sure there is no better way to celebrate turning 14, or 40 for that matter. It was such a beautiful day and so much fun with our friends from Take Two.<br />
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<i>Anytime he sets up time lapse we should be suspicious!</i></div>
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<i> Happy Birthday Aaron!</i><br />
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The girls and I have also started doing a few dance classes a week, just to keep us from getting rusty ;) It is so fun to share a love of dance with them. They’ve even had one of their friends join in the classes. She has never danced before but is enjoying working hard to learn a few steps and doesn't complain too much about being sore :) </div>
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Paige is working on a few new songs on her ukulele <br />
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and Sky has captured and releases every crab that lives on our dock! <br />
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So I guess you can see that we stay pretty busy! </div>
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>Time is moving so fast! </i></b>I can't believe we’ve been gone 9 months now. The girls are growing so much. They’ve become so independent and smart, luckily they’ve stayed sweet ;) And Andrew keeps taking me on dates and outings for just us two, reminding me regularly that it will be just us, too soon. Then we have the big 4 0 - now that just can't be right, I’m pretty sure I’m still in my twenties! <br />
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<i>Birthday love from my girls :)</i></div>
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Today, like everyday, is another day in paradise. But they say we have weather headed our way. Next week we will share how our hurricane prep went. We are hoping the latest storm doesn't turn into anything mean but we will be prepared for it anyway!</div>
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/10/40-43-fun-with-hurricane-matthew-twice.html">40 - 43. Fun with Hurricane Matthew (twice) and Other Grenada Excitement</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-40597062572179270742016-09-07T14:57:00.001-07:002019-01-06T09:09:26.294-08:0035-36. Look At Those Digits!<div>
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This week can be summed up in the numbers. 36 weeks aboard totaling 8 months. Arriving below the 12 latitude safely in Grenada. We saw hundreds of starfish, 50+ turtles (the girls stopped counting), Sky and crew collected close to 100 hermit crabs. And we reconnected with 2 of our favorite boat families - Take Two, after 1.5 months apart and MickBeth, after 4 months apart (the only reunion we are missing is with Aqua Vida, fingers crossed). So now, on to the details.<br />
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<i>Cool </i>s<i>hipwreck off of Bequia.</i></div>
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We loved Bequia but were excited to see if the Tobago Cays were as magical as they sounded. We danced our way through the 6 hour sail south, never even having to crank on the engine. <br />
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Sailing into a cluster of uninhabited islands is pretty exhilarating. You wonder how it must have felt to be the first to lay eyes on these after a long passage across the Atlantic. Reefs were everywhere and I can't imagine making it without our trusty GPS. <br />
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<i>We're under the furthest east island inside the horseshoe ^</i></div>
We anchored on the shallows inside the horseshoe reef next to Baradel, with nothing on the horizon to the east but ocean. Andrew wasted no time getting in some much needed kiting while the girls and I snorkeled. <br />
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<i>Baradel behind Andrew.</i></div>
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Because we were in a protected marine park, the life is abundant and the creatures are not shy. Turtles were feeding all around us <br />
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and trunk fish followed closely behind small stingrays enjoying the freshly stirred sand. <br />
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The flounder tried but even with the best camouflage couldn't hide from us ;) <br />
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Can <i>you see him?</i></div>
We even saw a few new creatures we’d never seen before. <br />
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<i>Crazy box crab.</i></div>
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<i> Scrawled filefish</i><br />
But our favorite find was the field of starfish! <br />
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They were everywhere and all different colors, sizes and even a few with extra legs. <br />
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Our fun continued back on the boat with the girls trying their best on back dives. <br />
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<i>Not quite mastered ;)</i></div>
And when an unexpected storm blew in, we took advantage of the fresh water rinse and had a free shower :) <br />
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Needless to say, we worked up quite an appetite. I was so excited to finally get to try Andrew’s infamous teriyaki kabobs and they are just as good as they look!</div>
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Our supplies were running thin and forced us to move back to civilization at Union Island. Clifton even has a cute little designated dinghy cove<br />
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with very little margin for error, luckily our driver is highly skilled! </div>
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Union Island has a tiny island outside of Clifton named Happy Island that we had seen on the Internet before we left the states. <br />
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So we fulfilled another on the wish list of anchoring near Happy Island. It is a manmade island constructed from the discarded conch shells that used to litter the coastline of Clifton. The island has been built over the last fifteen years and now has a great little bar as well as a home for it’s owner. <br />
Locals, as well as tourists, arrive by dinghy or taxi boat to enjoy the sunset and a few cocktails. And, if they’re as lucky as we were, they are entertained by an animated game of island dominoes - quite a treat! <br />
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Sky even made some friends and spent the afternoon collecting all the hermit crabs on the tiny island just to release them again at sundown, but it kept them busy for hours! <br />
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At this point in our trip we have such mixed emotions- We are so excited and can hardly believe we’ve made it this far. We are quickly running out of islands to explore and don't want to be done yet. But we are so close to Grenada and we can't wait to see our friends. So even though Carriacou sounded like a nice island, we stopped over to sleep and pushed on to Grenada. <br />
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Our sail down the east side of Grenada was great! We had a strong current pushing us and we motor-sailed at 7 knots which is our fastest passage yet. And to top it off, we caught a good sized mackerel! <br />
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Our friends aboard Take Two were watching our progress south and before we had the hook down, we had an invitation to dinner. After 1.5 months apart, we had a lot of catching up to do! There were lots of hugs and excited chatter all evening long. So much fun we didn't even stop to take a pic.</div>
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Every morning there is a cruiser’s net on the radio where every boat in Grenada for the season can ask questions, offer up items for trade and hear about any activities that are scheduled. We introduced ourselves and mentioned which bay we were anchored in as did all other “new arrivals”. After the net, a familiar voice hailed us. We were pleasantly surprised to find MickBeth (who we last saw in Turks & Caicos) at a marina in the next bay over! We hurried over to enjoy a day by the pool with the girls <br />
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and loved it so much that we moved in :) </div>
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Our new Marina home, Le Phare Bleu, is amazing! We are enjoying Hobie cats, <br />
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<i>Andrew sailing the Hobie through the Marina.</i></div>
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<i>kayaks,</i></div>
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lots of pool time, <br />
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water, power, some great local entertainment on the weekends, <br />
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and some yoga / exercise classes with some of the other boat girls. We’ve even done our best to get back on a bit of a schedule for school now that we are still for a bit. </div>
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We are often asked, “what do you do all day?” Well, Grenada has events every day for cruisers, we ended our first week here exhausted from trying to do it all! But here’s a few of the things we’ve enjoyed so far. The girls from MickBeth had to head back to Canada for school, so we had a proper going away party with a day at the beach, <br />
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cupcakes on board Take Two <br />
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<i>Made by my Sky Sky.</i></div>
and a great fireworks display! (that may have been for the guests of the private island across from us but we enjoyed anyway) </div>
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<i>Always sad to see our friends go. </i></div>
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We also headed out to the weekly event known as a “hash” which is a hike through a different part of the island every weekend. There is a runner trail and a walker trail but mud on both :) On our way there, we happened to see a local jumping off a bridge into the river below and Andrew just had to do the same! <br />
So with the whole bus watching, he had no chance of backing out at the last minute and took a flying leap :) <br />
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Our first hash was fairly tame and a great success. Paige and I hung out in town <br />
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while the rest of the gang enjoyed a walk through the countryside. We were treated to a local food fest after and met lots of new friends.</div>
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<i>Sky enjoying a fresh mango, picked while on the trail.</i></div>
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Another weekly event is Friday dinner at Container Park. True to the name, Container Park is a bunch of shipping containers transformed into an international food court and on Friday nights additional vendors come out to share their wares. Grenadian local fare, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, and Indian are just a few of the options. Followed by local baked goods, homemade ice cream and smoothies and you can wash it all down with some of the locally brewed beer. It makes for a pretty uniquely awesome evening of food and fun.<br />
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<i> International foods shared with international friends. </i></div>
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<i> Germany, Scotland, Canada and America represented at our table.</i></div>
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Andrew and I have also taken some cooking classes, learning Creole Chicken and the Grenadian national dish, Oildown.<br />
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Andrew had a fishing lure tutorial with our friends aboard S/V Grateful.<br />
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And if that wasn't enough to wear us out, both girls traded their long locks for some shorter and hopefully cooler hairdos.<br />
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So that is how we fill our days in Grenada, never a dull moment.</div>
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>There is such a thing as too much fun! </i></b> Kids may not agree but with all the possible activities of kids movie night, cooking class, yoga, hikes, farmers market, dinner with friends etc, etc…we really can run ourselves ragged. And when the crabbiness hits from being overly tired, we take it out on the ones we love. So we are having to learn how to pace ourselves :)</div>
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<i>Relaxing at home. Enriching the girls' lives by introducing them to Indiana Jones!</i></div>
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When we first got here I couldn't imagine being somewhere for a few months straight, waiting out hurricane season - how boring! But now I’m concerned we won't be able to fit it all in! <br />
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Stay turned to see what this week holds.<br />
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/09/37-38-camp-grenada.html">37 -39. Camp Grenada</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-40552646270112844232016-08-19T10:42:00.001-07:002019-01-05T13:50:41.382-08:0033-34. Happy Birthday, Abby Singer<div>
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<i>Celebrating our third year with Abby.</i></div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpWoowiQ-cjKI2Z1ZavNjlRcC2miJdYNe6Chs6ag5k6cJO5dPHcuWQk3C9V4NsLnnCSRJeJg1Adso4nSZe1L7STGAg9CyVXSOyGDgcF6ZINf6qGtX7t5jKLbktR-1ZzLubt8BL-9nEQpf/s640/blogger-image--1101269151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpWoowiQ-cjKI2Z1ZavNjlRcC2miJdYNe6Chs6ag5k6cJO5dPHcuWQk3C9V4NsLnnCSRJeJg1Adso4nSZe1L7STGAg9CyVXSOyGDgcF6ZINf6qGtX7t5jKLbktR-1ZzLubt8BL-9nEQpf/s640/blogger-image--1101269151.jpg" /></a></i></div>
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<i> Pic from our first day aboard 3 years ago on our maiden voyage home with Abby.</i></div>
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If you had told me three years ago, when my hubby talked me into spending almost twice our budget on a sailboat when we'd never even sailed before, that I would be living on her full time now for over seven months <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">and traveling all through the Caribbean, I would have laughed in your face! But our life is one adventure after another so I guess I shouldn't be surprised, just really grateful. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">So, Happy Birthday, Abby!</span></div>
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We’ve had an action packed week! </div>
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3 islands, new anchoring scenarios (including a drag), bucket list experiences, lots of marine life and mosquitos - lots and lots of mosquitos! </div>
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Although we were sad to leave our new friends in Rodney Bay, the beautiful amenities at Marigot Bay and Capella Marina quickly eased the pain :)<br />
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<i>Girls in their natural environment - they wish!</i></div>
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We spent our days relaxing by our private pool (not really private but we were the only ones there :) </div>
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<i> Our dnghy access to the pool</i>.</div>
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And spent our evenings watching the Caribbean Olympic coverage. It is exciting to recognize so many foreign flags and feel a connection to the island athletes, as well as our American competitors.<br />
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We made new friends aboard Warvall.</div>
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<i> The girls made a Lego cube tower.</i></div>
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Even though Rodney Bay has lots of amenities, Marigot Bay has the beauty! <br />
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<i>That's Abby in the center of the pic.</i></div>
It is a palm tree lined cove where the original Dr Doolittle was filmed. Beautiful little restaurants and the kindest marina staff we’ve found. When we asked for a recommend on where to watch the Olympics they quickly had staff turn on the outdoor tv at an already closed restaraunt just for us, pretty great customer service! </div>
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We didn't want to leave but the Pitons were calling our names.</div>
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<i>My goofy girls with the Pitons as our backdrop.</i></div>
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At many anchorages we have had “boat boys” approach the boat. They are usually there to "help" you pick up a mooring ball for a small fee. Some have fruit or fish they are selling, others want to sell their services as guides to local attractions and a few are just begging for a hand out. But nothing could prepare us for the aggressive behavior of the boat boys at Soufriere, St Lucia! Two small boats sped out to meet us before we were in the cut. They took turns zigging in front of our boat at full speed. Meanwhile, we have our sails up and have to turn on the engine and drop our sails to be ready to avoid them if necessary. They were yelling back and forth at each other and paid no attention to us telling them both we wouldn't need their services. We stayed polite for the first 20-30 minutes of their pursuit but it took being pretty forceful to get them to leave us alone. We spent an hour just motoring around the bay, looking at all our options before deciding to drop the hook in front of the Hummingbird and one of the locals grabbed a line tied to our stern (back of the boat) to tie to a tree on shore. <br />
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This sounds if-y and we’ve never tied to shore before but it is pretty common this far south. It freaked us out a bit to be in 100+ feet of water and approaching shore when you sail over the shelf floor and the depth jumps to 40 feet and decreasing rapidly! We quickly drop the anchor then put her in reverse to swing her bum around and now we are probably 20’ from shore where everyone is swimming and having fun watching us. It proved to be very comfortable but as night fell we found out why we were the only ones there. The karaoke blasting until 3am might have been enough to keep away others but that wasn't our issue. As the sun went down, out came the mosquitos in force! There was no escaping them and we know all the scary diseases they can be carrying onboard with them. I slept completely under the sheet with my visor on to make a tent over my face. We all got eaten up but Paige took the worst of it. <br />
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<i>Talk about winning the bad parent award!</i></div>
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We woke early to move away from the bugs and with the heavy, overcast skies, had the entire snorkeling area to ourselves! <br />
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<i>Quite the view!</i></div>
We saw lots of fish, some great swim throughs and the largest patch of fire coral I’ve ever seen. <br />
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After seeing all we could underwater, we settled in between the Pitons to enjoy the sunset. <br />
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It was amazing. <br />
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It felt like the horizon stretched on forever and glowed an amazing red long after the sun went down! </div>
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Andrew checked hiking Petit Piton off his bucket list while the girls and I waited for him safe at sea level. You’re not “officially” supposed to climb it but he had no trouble finding a guide willing to take him up.<br />
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<i>His guide even hiked with no shoes!</i></div>
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With rain falling sporadically and the last summit a bit sketchy, Andrew's guide did not want to continue, but Andrew would not be deterred. And the reward was great! While at the summit the clouds broke and gave him spectacular views in all directions!<br />
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Having accomplished what we came for and not feeling particularly comfortable in Soufriere because of reports of crime, etc, it was time to move south. </div>
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To break up our longer sail to Bequia, we decided to Q flag it in St Vincent, which means flying our quarantine flag, not being able to go ashore and not checking in to St Vincent. We found ourselves in a similar situation as at the Hummingbird with depths of 100+ feet until within 50’ of shore where they immediately jump to less than 20’. Dropping our anchor was no problem. But waking at 3am to find the winds gusting to 30 knots and us dragging right off the shelf so now our 50lb anchor and 100’ of chain are just dangling in the depths below the boat, not securing us to anything, was much more excitement than one would usually like to wake to. Needless to say we were up repeatedly through the night to double and triple check our holding. The sun wouldn't rise fast enough for us to pull anchor and be done with that night!</div>
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But Bequia was a beautiful respit from our crazy. The girls always love when we leave before they’re up so they only have a few hours of passage left when the wake. We had a beautiful sail and multiple pods of dolphins visit us; we haven't seen dolphins since our passage to Puerto Rico. <br />
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<i>Dolphins swim right under the bow.</i></div>
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We even entered the harbor under sail only which can get a bit tricky with current and wind adding to the excitement. But with the help of a friendly local, we found the perfect spot to anchor in white sand under the clear turquoise water, reminiscent of the Bahamas. <br />
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We loved our time in Bequia. The people were friendly and welcoming. Visiting in off-season was nice because we hear it is a mad house when all the tourists and charter boats are in port. We found a few great places to watch the Olympics and enjoy some great food, Bequia Marina and Maria’s Cafe. </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i>Andrew was securing the boat in this.</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27rNaQZ6EL-BWpbBKRxQUgFV8LW0j8xRjSscmOGKJTjXOHJlG6IVhtxKfX3zKwLn56eNzfHC1JNDBuI8bXXrgOJES3T68RDrkYg96v9079vwMU8gVheqsLbjLfB8hPWyP7LZ9m0mGPva-/s640/blogger-image-188951700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27rNaQZ6EL-BWpbBKRxQUgFV8LW0j8xRjSscmOGKJTjXOHJlG6IVhtxKfX3zKwLn56eNzfHC1JNDBuI8bXXrgOJES3T68RDrkYg96v9079vwMU8gVheqsLbjLfB8hPWyP7LZ9m0mGPva-/s640/blogger-image-188951700.jpg" /></a></i></span></div>
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<i> While we watched this :)</i></div>
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And enjoyed the highly recommended Mac's Pizza.<br />
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Yummy!</div>
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But most importantly, we got to do laundry! Trust me when I tell you, on land we took for granted the convenience of washing whatever whenever! We have not done laundry since Guateloupe, before I went back to FL, we were all down to the last sets of essentials and it is really sad when you compare smells on the shirts to pick the least stinky. But no worries, after six loads, every item onboard is fresh and clean thanks to the help of my girls! We even cleaned Abby’s hull. <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So we are clean all around. </span><br />
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<i>Sky scrubbing the rudder.</i></div>
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<b>Things learned aboard this week:</b></div>
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<b>Just being reminded, there is good everywhere! </b>Even in the sketchy areas where the reviews warn of theft and boat boardings, we have found wonderful people. We try not to frequent places where safety is an issue but we also aren't guided by fear. If we have to visit somewhere a little shady, we use wisdom to not make ourselves a target. But even among the begging and aggression of some, we always meet those who are genuinely ready to help. Soufriere, which is notorious for theft and a recommended "no stop" had one of the nicest customs officers I've worked with. And St Vincent, also with a bad rap, had people on shore waving us off as we approached a shallow shoal and the guy on the paddle board selling fruit tried to recommend a safer place to anchor. Had we heeded his advice we may have avoided dragging - live and learn.</div>
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<i>Love some sour sop for breakfast! ;)</i></div>
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We are heading into the Tobago Cays, islands we never knew existed until a few months ago, which is really cool to discover new parts of our world. Can't wait to tell you how it goes.<br />
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/09/35-36-look-at-those-digits.html">35 - 36. Look At Those Digits!</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-40750248076566625122016-08-09T13:27:00.001-07:002019-01-05T13:48:26.183-08:0031-32. It's Not Rio…But It’s Pretty Awesome!<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGU3l2SbL83MxTmF_wbAvD6mWojpFEnpfGPCkt88Vc00YJd56uq2vX8S6kyu0oMNLuNA_P4Sy1CbrLjtKdXFpLDuaHNUVy_hEElGa-wlXCmH7GcAvo4tNZ5oeUtk9eLZ3x8xQWUB6ChvV1/s640/blogger-image--1802637925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGU3l2SbL83MxTmF_wbAvD6mWojpFEnpfGPCkt88Vc00YJd56uq2vX8S6kyu0oMNLuNA_P4Sy1CbrLjtKdXFpLDuaHNUVy_hEElGa-wlXCmH7GcAvo4tNZ5oeUtk9eLZ3x8xQWUB6ChvV1/s640/blogger-image--1802637925.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Many of you know our ultimate goal on this trip was making it to Rio for the Olympics. Getting a later start than we had originally planned and having way too much fun on our journey south meant too much ground to cover and too little time to get there. For a very long time now I’ve been holding out hope that we would just leave the boat somewhere and travel to Brazil anyway but after much consideration that proved to be very cost prohibitive. So here we are in St Lucia instead and when it comes down to it, it may have worked out for the better. (That’s not to say there weren't a few tears while watching the opening ceremonies on a screen instead of feeling the boom of the fireworks firsthand.) But after those few moments of disappointment, I could look around at the faces of my fam and feel the thankfulness overflowing in my heart. We are having an amazing journey to places we may never see again and making relationships with people who have changed our lives forever. So we will gladly cheer on Team USA from various tiki bars in the southern Caribbean!</span></div>
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Now to recap the adventures of the last two weeks :)</div>
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Before leaving Dominica we bought some fresh tuna from a street vendor.</div>
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Looks a bit shady, right? But you can't get more fresh than swimming a few hours before it hits your stomach and it made the most amazing sushi!</div>
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Our sail to Martinique had some rain,</div>
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some sun,<br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">some fishing</span></div>
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and some fun! <br />
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We anchored in St Pierre, a beautiful little French town on the northwest coast of Martinique.</div>
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<i>Can't beat the view from my galley port! -St Pierre, Martinique</i></div>
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The locals host an amazing produce market every day and even more vendors on the weekend. We bought local cucumbers, lettuce, tomato, green beans, carrot, avocado, peppers, lime, and some spice packs of chili powder, curry and a mix we used in a great chicken and rice dish. I can't believe we didn't take any pics of the market but I think I was too busy supervising Andrew’s negotiating, French numbers are not his strength ;)</div>
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St Pierre is not far from the Canal des Esclaves / Canal de Beauregard and was on Andrew’s list of “must sees”! <br />
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The canal was built by slaves to bring water from the mountains down to the coastal towns for plantations and distilleries. <br />
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Work on the canal began in 1772, taking 17 years to complete and it was used as a water source up until 1956. <br />
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Words will not be able to do it justice and I’m not sure the pictures even depict how extraordinary a feat it must have been to build, bringing rocks up the mountain on their back, with sheer faces to work on and fall off! <br />
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But the views are unparalleled!</div>
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<i>Resorting to selfies to prove I'm here too!</i></div>
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The hike is fairly simple.<br />
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A slow and steady incline but flat easy path along the cap of the canal wall. <br />
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A fear of heights might have been challenging but you know I live with dare devils. <br />
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The top of the canal wall is 18-24” wide and sometimes the only place to stand on the sheer mountainside. <br />
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We hiked for 1.5 hrs to the falls at the start of the canal <br />
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where we could jump into the very cool pool at the base of the falls for a bit of refreshment before heading back down the mountain. </div>
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There is a beautiful little restaurant about 20 minutes from the top where we enjoyed/ inhaled a vanilla creme brûlée, chocolate creme brûlée and coconut flan so fast that I didn't have a chance to snap a picture! <br />
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It was the perfect day for a hike <br />
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with bright sunshine, the occasional sprinkle to cool us off <br />
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and we made it back to the boat just before sundown.</div>
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We loved our stay in St Pierre but needed to make it further south. Once the dinghy was hauled and secured we remembered we needed some ballyhoo for fishing bait so Sky offered to swim ashore to get it at the market. <br />
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The locals thought she was so cute that they gave her the ballyhoo for free.</div>
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<i>Pulling into Fort de France, Martinique.</i></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Fort de France is a large city with a beautiful park on the bay. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <i>Abby is anchored just above Paige.</i></span></div>
We played, enjoyed McDonald’s fries and free wifi and had some great provisioning at a proper grocery store before heading on to St Lucia.</div>
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<i>Local kids training for the sailing races that were the following weekend.</i></div>
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The first and probably most popular bay on the north of St Lucia is Rodney Bay. <br />
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The shores are lined with resorts and restaurants. Legend says the British hid their entire fleet here from the pursuing French by tucking into the bay and tying palm fronds to their masts. It is a great hurricane hole with lots of amenities close by. We enjoyed tying up to the dock for a few days of A/C and were pleasantly surprised to meet a new kid boat, Time Chaser. <br />
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<i>Girls with Time Chaser crew.</i></div>
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The girls have been missing friends since parting ways with our buddies Aqua Vida and Take Two! They disappeared to the pool with their new friends while Andrew got us checked in and I got us settled in. Having an Island Water World marine supply within walking distance is pricey, yet productive and Andrew can always find a new project. It’s even better when he can find good local help to handle one project while he works on another! <br />
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Andrew tackled a new refrigeration system while Vision refinished all our teak hand rails and trim.<br />
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He worked tirelessly for 2.5 days, to get done in time for us to leave in good weather, and had a smile on his face the entire time. He even introduced Andrew to a new fruit, sweetsop, and gave us the biggest mango we’ve ever seen! <br />
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It wasn't all hard work though. We took Time Chaser out on the Hobie cats for Andrew to do a little sailing instruction while the kids had one of their own to go crazy on! <br />
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The girls and I snuck away for a movie night. <br />
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<i>Secret Life of Pets! Note the cows in front of the theatre.</i></div>
And we had a great night of Indian food with our friends from Alley Cat. <br />
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<i>My crazies working on their best Zoolander looks.</i></div>
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We haven't gotten to experience much of St Lucia’s natural beauty yet but we are enjoying ourselves and can see why some people stop here and don't even continue south.</div>
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>Having a destination is important but experiencing the journey is what life is all about! </i></b>Had we not planned on Rio, we could very easily still be at our home dock in Jax, working on various boat projects. Having a goal/ deadline is what got us off the dock and for that I am thankful. But I would not sacrifice the places we’ve been, the things we’ve learned or the people we’ve met over the past 7 months to be in the Olympic village right now; and I think that says a lot because I really wanted to be there! So don't get so caught up in pushing through to the end result that you miss out on the awesome that is happening right here and now. As my friend Tanya says, “Take a cookie when the plate is passed” because you may not get this opportunity again!</div>
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We are getting our first taste of the beauty that is to come in St Lucia. We’ll keep you posted!<br />
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/08/33-34-happy-birthday-abby-singer.html">33 & 34. Happy Birthday, Abby Singer</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-50919260084395734702016-07-31T15:55:00.001-07:002019-01-05T13:40:31.898-08:0029-30. Fish Out of Water (Falls, That Is)<div>
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The Abby Singer crew is back together after our week apart. We both have very different adventures to share, mine from a week of wrapping up business at home in Jacksonville and the rest of the fam with daddy on duty and in charge of food, entertainment and moving the boat down island with his trusty crew’s assistance.</div>
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We’ll start with me because my week is not nearly as pretty to look at. I spent 30 hours of my week emptying the rest of our 10,000 sq ft warehouse, </div>
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filling a 15 yard dumpster </div>
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and giving away 160 martini glasses, 3 boxes of books, hundreds of sheets of cardboard, HDPE, corrugated plastic, and plexiglass <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">and spending another 6 hours on a trip to Savannah to repo one of our production vehicles. </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Luckily I had some great company for the Savannah run. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> <i>Samantha and I enjoying some Sorry Charlie's - downtown Savannah.</i></span></div>
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That didn't leave much time for anything else but I did manage to get the taxes compiled and squeeze in a bit of fun. I enjoyed some R&R (brother-in-law’s band), </div>
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saw family friends in from NC on vacation, </div>
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got squeezes from the Wolff gang, </div>
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and of course had to stop by the studio to catch up and bring back the recital video for the girls! </div>
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<i>Which they watched the second I got back!</i></div>
It was a blur of a week but I was anxious to get back to my sweeties on board Abby.</div>
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While I was away…</div>
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The morning after I left, Abby and crew headed to the islands just south of Guadeloupe called Iles Des Saintes. <br />
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It was meant to be a calm sail for the newly 3 man crew to ease into being one man down. But sometimes the weather has a different plan! The venturi effect between the islands is strong and with winds gusting from 25 knots, it kicked up seas 6-8’ with 4 seconds between them. We call that bashing and it is not fun! We took the largest wave ever over our bow and had 2” of water in the cockpit and a drenched Paige. So once safely in Des Saintes, they headed to shore to treat themselves to a well earned gourmet meal,<br />
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unfortunately Sky was unable to keep her eyes open long enough to enjoy.</div>
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<i>She can truly sleep anywhere!</i></div>
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Even though the anchorage was quite rolly, <br />
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the gang made the most of it and headed off to snorkel and hike with some new friends. They made it to the highest point on the island of 1000’ and were treated to some amazing views. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">In attempts at a better sailing experience Andrew planned to head out at 4am to sail to Dominica, hoping to capitalize on the calm of the morning but it was not to be. A squall developed over them and Abby took the strongest winds we’ve seen yet underway. I hate hearing about how challenging the two passages were without me but I’m pretty thankful I missed them! After a hairy journey, they made it safely to Portsmouth, Dominica where they were greeted by their friendly boat boy, Titus.</span></div>
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Dominica has 9 active volcanoes, the highest concentration in the world. It's beauty is legendary and has long been on our list of “must see” locations. It did not disappoint! Joined by our friends aboard S/V Grateful, Andrew & the girls jumped in the boat of their guide for the day and headed up the Indian River. </div>
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They saw the local wildlife, <br />
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some amazing birds, lots of beautiful flowers </div>
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and the sets left behind from the filming of The Pirates of the Carribean. </div>
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<i> I wish I was there for that! </i></div>
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<i> And the amazing paella they shared with my gang :)</i></div>
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Being in Dominica during the rainy season makes days aboard hot and steamy so after 24hrs straight of rain, </div>
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<i>Note the friendly little water spout dropping from the sky!</i></div>
and to avoid some serious cabin fever, Andrew rented a car to spend some much needed time exploring ashore. </div>
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First stop, Soltoun Falls. Even the parking lot was treacherous, precariously placed atop a cliff with 2 car lengths to turn around in. Andrew said the girls were so freaked out about the parking experience that they were hesitant to even get out. But a little coaxing got them down the path and visiting their first waterfall. </div>
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<i>Soltoun Falls, Dominica</i></div>
Having warmed up to the experience they headed on to their next stop, Emerald Pool. They arrived at dusk and even though it appeared to be closed, there was nothing keeping them out so on they marched. They were rewarded with their first swim in the pool of a waterfall and some beautiful scenery on the hike down. </div>
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<i>Emerald Pool, Dominica</i></div>
Now Andrew was on a mission. He wanted to see the best & biggest waterfall Dominica had to offer and the Google search led him to Victoria Falls. Bright and early the next day they headed out for the 2 hour drive to the southeast side of the island. Now, let me explain to you that navigating the island roads in Dominica is more than a little tricky. The maps they provide leave out important details, the roads are not well marked because they would really prefer you use a guide to visit the various locations, lots of the bridges were completely washed out by Tropical Storm Erika which hit the island hard last fall and have now been replaced with single lane, temporary bridges and there are many places where the roads are coned off down to one lane becaus the entire underside of the mountain under the road is washed away. So when we talk of adventure just know that getting there is indeed half the fun :)</div>
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The hike to Victoria Falls was pretty intense <br />
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but the girls pushed on, excited by their expectations, <br />
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but nothing could prepare them for the grandeure of the falls themselves. <br />
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They told me about the roar of the water crashing and the rush of the wind as the falls came into view. It literally took their breath away. <br />
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Andrew was the only one brave enough to the actually enter the pool at the base of the falls. <br />
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Now to the business of wasting time until my flight arrived later that evening, Andrew hadn't told the girls I was coming back yet so he tried to be non-chalet about filling the next few hours. They headed to Sari Sari Falls, which was really more of a spring, and they found another filming location where Jack Sparrow runs away from the cannibal tribe.<br />
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Then daddy suggests getting a snack at the airport, perfectly normal right? So the girls enjoy some candy bars while Andrew has a beer and who happens to wander off a plane? ME!</div>
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It was so nice to be back with my family and I was even excited to see Abby. The girls knew I would come bearing gifts but I was able to surprise them with the unexpected treat of chicken nuggets from Chick Fil A for dinner - their favorite. <br />
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<i>Don't ask how I got them here ;) </i></div>
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We had originally planned for me to meet back up with Abby in Martinique so to get to visit Dominica was a special treat I was glad to not miss and the girls unknowingly saved some great exploring for me to join in. I got to experience first hand the road conditions and exciting challenges of moving around the island, I don't think I could have fully pictured it had I not. </div>
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Our trip to Trafalgar Falls was magnificent. </div>
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To come into the clearing and see not one but two huge waterfalls was awesome and the fact that it was an easy hike was a bonus :) </div>
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<i>Our best attempt at Where's Waldo?</i></div>
The water is so cool and refreshing on a hot Carribean day. </div>
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Trafalgar Falls, Dominica</div>
I could have stayed all day watching the water cascading over the rocks and swirling at our feet, but there was more to see and do! </div>
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After winding our way up the mountain roads, we found our way to Titou Gorge. </div>
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Now words will just not be able to discribe this experience and we hadn't quite figured out the new GoPro yet so we don't even have a proper video. </div>
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Picture a narrow gorge sometimes only 5’ wide with a 40’ sheer rock face on either side of us. <br />
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75 yards into the crevice are 2 waterfalls that feed the 15’ deep pool you swim up to see the falls. <br />
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The closer in you get, the stronger the current gets. The water is ice cold. That combined with the dark cave like setting was almost enough to keep Paige from joining us in this adventure but with a little encouragement, <br />
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and sometimes some pushing from behind, we all swam into the deep, dark, rushing water. <br />
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As we got closer to the falls you have to let the water push you against the wall <br />
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and crawl with your hands and feet around a sharp turn <br />
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where you find yourself in a safe little cavity to view the waterfall. <br />
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It was an adrenaline rush to say the least! Once you’ve seen enough or are shivering uncontrollably- whichever comes first, <br />
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you jump in and let the current push you back out the mouth <br />
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where you can stand under a sun warmed shower to come back to temp. </div>
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Andrew was speaking with the man who supervises the falls and got the scoop on how to actually scale the first waterfall and get to see the second. So he and I headed back in for a second time because he is not one to back away from a challenge. </div>
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We found the footholds he had described<br />
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and with the help of the water forcing us to the wall basically spidermanned our way to the pool below the falls. <br />
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Andrew did his best to find handholds to make his way up but when the current got too strong, he lost his grip and has a few good strawberries as battle wounds. <br />
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But determined, he pressed on and his second attempt was successful.<br />
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<i> View of the second falls.</i></div>
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With the adreneline wearing off and the chills setting in, he jumped off the falls and we floated back out. What a rush!</div>
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The weather was right to move down the coast a bit and we found a great place to drop the hook and get a little water time in. Roseau is not much to look at on the land but underwater we found it’s hidden beauty. A few exploratory dinghy rides in the rain brought us to Pointe Guignard where fallen boulders helped to shelter the reef and housed some great fish <br />
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and squid.</div>
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But the real find was Champagne Reef off the southwestern coast. We saw our first spotted eel who even came to inspect the GoPro up close. <br />
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We feed corn to a school of sergeant majors & blue tang, <br />
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found a shy puffer fish, <br />
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lots of sea cucumbers and Andrew accidently bumped into an albino nurse shark hiding under the reef.<br />
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The volcanic activity under the surface forces gas bubbles out any small crack in the rocks and feels like swimming in fizzy champagne. <br />
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<i>Champagne Reef, Dominica</i></div>
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We topped off our day by having lunch in the sleepy town of Soufriere where the main activity on a Sunday afternoon is hanging out in the hot pools on the beach. The hot pools are no joke! The smallest, hottest section was so hot I couldn't even dip my toes in it and some of the heat vents are under the pebbles on the shore line making them hot enough to scald your feet if you stand still too long.</div>
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<i>Sky building little rock towers on the hot pools, she left a total of 9!</i></div>
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Dominica was everything we had imagined and more and on the top of our list of places to visit again. It was beautiful, magical, welcoming, and untouched. It was a hard place to leave but the weather was right for us to head to Martinique.</div>
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<i> Last sunset in Dominica :(</i></div>
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<b><i>Things learned aboard (and on land) this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>Stuff does not equal happiness. </i></b>I walk through my house in the dark, remembering every step and nuiance, same as the day we left. But I am a fish out of water. This is not my home, I don't need these things. I realize now the entire purpose of our journey, to teach me what truly matters most in life. </div>
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<b><i>Change is good and absence does make the heart fonder.</i></b> As I left, I think we all were a little scared of how everything would work out. But they all did fine without me. And not just survive but really came into their own as members of a team. <br />
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<i>They ate well while I was away!</i></div>
I live to take care of them but they were enpowered to take care of themselves and rely on each other and their relationships are stronger because of it. I felt missed and loved and welcomed back, not because they couldn't do it without me but because the team is not complete without me.</div>
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This feels like a ...to be continued… because our adventures just keep going in Martinique!</div>
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Can't wait to put this week together to share with you all! </div>
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<i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Love this pic of my beauties just lovin' life!</i><br />
<i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></i>
<i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/08/31-32-it-not-riobut-its-pretty-awesome.html">31 - 32. It's Not Rio... But It's Pretty Awesome!</a></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-3138251703812717832016-07-14T08:50:00.001-07:002019-01-05T13:35:42.516-08:0028. How do you say in French? -Guadeloupe<div>
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<i>Good bye, Antigua.</i></div>
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No better place to write the blog than a 4 hour international flight with no movie :) right?</div>
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This last week aboard has been busy with some everyday living and some once in a lifetime experiences. I love when they happen simultaneously, it totally screws with the girls’ perspective!</div>
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After some great days touring Antigua (last blog), there were a few boat items that needed our attention. </div>
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<i>Dinghy rub rail repair.</i></div>
The girls took this opportunity to attend a local sailing school. <br />
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Antigua National Sailing School was a perfect way for them to hone their skills and understanding of sailing and boat handling. </div>
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The spent the first day in a boat a bit smaller than a Sunfish, with an instructor, taking turns on the tiller and sail trim. </div>
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The second day in class they were joined by the Take Two kids and gave their instructor a run for his money :) When we increase his class size by 6, a lesser coach might panic, but Tony and his crew were up for the challenge and made it a great day for everyone. Andrew was even able to help them out by doing some sail repairs for them so there were plenty of boats available. </div>
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Sky was able to go to a third day of class and got a Pico Laser all to herself and a friend. It is mind blowing to watch your ten year old, with no prior experience (except living aboard), sail out the channel around the bend and out of sight to a local beach for a day of fun before reversing the entire trip at the end of the day. She said her favorite part was tipping the boat for the fun of it and having to right it by herself! Over dinner we were discussing how we thought it was an experience she would never forget and she said, “What’s the big deal? I learned to sail in Antigua.” I think someday she’ll get it :)</div>
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After my best effort at prepping the cabin for our trip to Guadeloupe, we headed out early Friday morning. </div>
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Andrew and I enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and a perfectly comfortable morning sail with no UFOs anywhere in the cabin :) The girls played Go Fish with goldfish crackers :)</div>
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and were so busy with their games we could barely get them to look at the beautiful new country we were sailing by. </div>
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We arrived in the seemingly sleepy town of Deshais before 3pm but were surprised to find most of the town closed for the afternoon. I don't know what you would call a siesta in French but the smaller towns all seem to abide by the few early hours of work, long break in the afternoon and restaurants opening around 7pm for dinner; we’ve learned to adjust our schedule accordingly.</div>
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<i>Found an afternoon ice cream snack overlooking the anchorage :)</i></div>
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We snorkeled Pigeon Island which is quoted as one of Jacque Cousteau's favorite dives in the Caribbean and swam with some of the biggest parrot fish we’ve seen yet! </div>
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In desperate need of water and laundry facilities, we found our way to Rivière Sens. We were a little freaked out about Med-mooring, which is when you grab a mooring ball at the bow of the boat and back into the dock to tie up stern to. Abby is notoriously bad at backing up but we had Sky piloting the dinghy, Paige on aft lines, Andrew at the helm and me handling the ball and we looked like pros! When Abby’s ability was lacking, Sky would use the dinghy to bump her the direction we need her to go. I used my mad mooring skills to grab the ball while on the move and Andrew snugged her up perfectly for Paige to get both stern lines to the dock hands and cleated off - a well oiled machine!</div>
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Now the countdown was on to get everything taken care of before it was time for me to fly home. We got the salt cleaned off the boat, water tanks filled, showers for all our stinkiness and a bit of wifi fun. </div>
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We had no idea that Guadeloupe holds a 9 day national sailing race and one of the legs was scheduled to happen right outside our marina! Andrew thought we needed to see what all the fuss was about so I hurriedly packed a picnic lunch and we planned to use the dinghy to follow the race and have a little fun. But instead Andrew made a few friends on the dock and got our entire family invited aboard the President of the race’s Jury Boat, a 40’ catamaran. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">So we had the best seats in the house, enjoyed some great hospitality and made some new friends, all with very few words spoken between our English and their French :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> <i>Andrew, judge and president watching the race.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">The celebrating continued back at the dock where we were surprised by the arrival of Aqua Vida.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> <i>Sky & Kaylee couldn't wait to see each other.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> <i>Wasting no time building forts on the bow and being silly! </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">And we met the sponsors of the second place boat (in the lead for the series) and served rum all around. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">As the afternoon wound down we asked our new friends for some recommendations for local restaurants. One friend said “just a minute” made a quick phone call and next thing we know he is scheduling our pick up at 8pm to join him for dinner at his home! So us, the Aqua Vida crew, and 2 drivers joined our new sailing friend, his wife Peggy, daughter Noallee, and son Davie and their friends for an amazing meal at his home </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">followed by some drinking, a little dancing, music playing and froozeball. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">What an amazing day!</span></div>
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But now back to work. Paige joined me for a morning of 7 laundry loads. How do we have that much dirty clothes aboard our little boat?! We hadn't done laundry since Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda so we were well overdue. It may sound like a chore but it was the perfect mother/daughter set up. She was asking me about how you do laundry, what temps for what, what dryer settings for what. She talked about living on her own and all the things she would need to call to get advice on. She’s growing up so fast and I cherish these opportunities. It’s a conversation she may never remember but I know it’s one I’ll never forget! </div>
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So here we are, D-day. We did 2 sail changes, purged anything we’ve been traveling with that needed to go home, changed the sheets, cleaned the boat, did everything but provision, to get ready for my absence. </div>
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My fellow crew I left behind are all worried about how they will fare without me but I know they will do just fine :)</div>
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The flight home has been oddly cathartic. I’ve spotted all the islands we have traveled through over the past 5 months, identifying them from the air without even looking them up :) Memories from each play like movies in my mind and I am overwhelmed at where we are and how far we’ve come!</div>
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<i>Bimini - where it all started 5 months ago.</i><br />
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>Reflection is good.</i></b></div>
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It may surprise some of you but Andrew used to be high strung :) He does everything with enthusiasm! I hope this never changes because it makes him who he is. But over the months we’ve been at sea he has become more patient, more communicative and much more flexible to live in a small space with :) Things that would have frustrated him to no end have began to roll off him like water. Fuel issues again- no worries, I’ve done it all before; Daddy, I pulled the handle off the hatch again- let’s be more careful next time; I don't want to cook tonight- lets go find something local. I’m more appreciative he’s mine everyday.</div>
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We call Paige the only adult on board because she is always responsibly cautious. She always remembers to close the hatches in case of rain, tends the lines aboard so none drag and wrap the prop and is tense when she thinks we are heeling too far. But we are seeing her adventurer come out! She jumps off high cliffs, is eager to try new things and is motivated to learn the languages of places we visit. It is so exciting to watch this new side of her already confident beauty coming out.</div>
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Sky seeks excitement and loves adventure just like her daddy. She loves all creatures, nature and a good challenge. But the most interesting development in her is watching her absorb the history of the places we travel. If you ask her, she would tell you she hates history. But ask her about the Tianos, the forts in Puerto Rico or why the different Carribean flags are designed certain ways and she will surprise you. And any day she sees 25 baby barracuda she counts as a good day :)</div>
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So Abby and crew are headed off without me, to Dominica and beyond, while I head home to tend to some business. I wonder what this week will hold.</div>
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<i>Lunch aboard Abby, French style.</i><br />
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<i><a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/07/29-30-fish-out-of-water-falls-that-is.html">29 & 30. Fish Out of Water (Falls, That Is)</a></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-365390443403011382016-07-04T15:25:00.001-07:002019-01-05T13:32:28.904-08:0027. Exploring We Will Go - Montserrat and Antigua<div>
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Happy Independence Day from the Abby Singer crew. Hope everyone is appreciating some family time and most importantly the freedoms our independence affords us. </div>
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We have been busy covering many miles by land and sea this week and can't wait to share our adventures with you. </div>
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We were sad to leave St Martin’s yumminess, but were pleased to bring a bit of it aboard with us. </div>
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<i>Best vanilla yogurt ever!</i></div>
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And were looking forward to what the Leeward islands had to offer us. </div>
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We sailed for 24hrs from St Martin to Montserrat. </div>
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The sail was pretty nice even though I still can't seem to make everything stay put during passage, much more tying down and locking shut is required. </div>
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The girls were pleasantly surprised to wake up anchored next to some of our favorite neighbors, Take Two. After a nap and check in, we were treated to a guided tour of the island with some amazing locals, Moose & Cecil. <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They spent the day showing us the beauty of their home; </span></div>
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the devastation by their volcano; </div>
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<i>The entire area of the picture is uninhabitable. </i></div>
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<i> And the dirt area in the center is burying an entire city.</i></div>
and the hope that exists in the hearts of their locals, to stay and rebuild and thrive even in the face of a relentless giant. </div>
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Eruptions of the Soufriere Hills from 1997-2010 buried two-thirds of the island, including their capital city, in pyroclastic flow. In those 10 years and multiple eruptions, they have only lost 19 lives, which seemed remarkable. </div>
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The view from the observatory is breathtaking </div>
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and the 15min video they showed us explained the life of their volcano but it wasn't until we saw the destruction first hand that you could imagine the lives that had once thrived in this beautiful island paradise. </div>
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<i>Beachfront</i> <i>Hotel - reception, restaraunt & swimming pool.</i></div>
The population went from 15,000 to 5,000 due to the voluntary relocation offered by the government, but those who stayed are pretty amazing. </div>
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Moose (pictured) has rebuilt his business, Mooses Burgers & Beers, 3 times and Cecil has continued his custom leather work even though the tourist traffic is minimal these days. </div>
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The exclusion zone covers miles of the island. Entire towns abandoned and “left to nature”, as Moose describes it. The capital city of Plymoth is completely buried under 15ft of ash, only the roofs of the tallest buildings are left to suggest the thriving city by the sea. </div>
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<i>Photos on left taken after 1997 eruption. Photos on right taken after 2010 eruption.</i></div>
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<i> Photo credit- theAtlantic.com</i></div>
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Even though the threat of another eruption never subsides, the beauty of Montserrat is undeniable. </div>
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The greens are greener and the flowers more vibrant all because of the fertile volcanic soil. They are a completely self-sustained island and fresh fruits grow everywhere, uncultivated. </div>
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<i>Fresh mangoes, picked from the tree</i></div>
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We crammed every inch of fun into 24hrs before departing in the best weather window available </div>
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to head to Antigua. Our sail around the southern tip of Montserrat gave us a spectacular view of the Soullifere hills. </div>
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We had a pretty rough ride to Antigua and were happy to drop the hook in a calm little anchorage after 10hrs of rocking and rolling, complete with sugar canister flying out of the cabinet and making quite the mess :)</div>
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Antigua is beautiful in an entirely different way. It is an island rich with history but still feels a bit untouched by humanity. The wind and rain seem to alternate on schedule here and, with rough seas, we decided the best way to see the island was to rent a vehicle and go exploring. </div>
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Luckily Andrew has some mad skills at driving on the left side of the road and even dodge some compact car sized potholes- I’m sure it is the constant gasping and flinching from me and the girls that make him so efficient :) </div>
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We toured the sugar plantation at Betty’s Hope </div>
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and the oldest working Georgian style boatyard at Nelsons</div>
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learning bunches about the history of this island that was once the home of the British Carribean fleet.</div>
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<i>Look carefully, one of our crew is disguised as a British sailor.</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We also went to Devil’s Bridge which is not particularly historic but really cool. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">It is a rock bridge about 5’ wide and maybe 40’ long over the rocky shoreline and crashing waves. If you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, you may be get a little wet as Andrew found out for all of us :)</span></div>
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We are having a blast learning about the places we are visiting but I think we are all ready for some beautifully clear water and the fun that comes with it!</div>
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week</i></b></div>
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<b><i>The people watching is great. </i></b>Not necessarily learned, but willing to admit :)</div>
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We have lots of little windows to peer from where people can't see you. I may be doing my dishes when a new boat arrives at our anchorage and I have the perfect vantage point to see how they do. If it is particularly entertaining I will alert Andrew & the girls, who are not as covert as me, and they scope it out from the cockpit. </div>
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<b><i>I am a fair weather sailor. </i></b> I don't care for the really long passages or heeling the same direction for long periods of time. Neither of these dislikes are because they are particularly uncomfortable but mostly because they both equal large messes when we arrive at our destination. And even though it usually only takes a few minutes to restore order, I tend to get a bit crabbier as the mess escalates during travel. We have another 12hr passage coming up to Guadeloupe so we will see if I can properly prepare ahead of time to keep the cabin clean and my heart happy :)</div>
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<i>Nelson's Dockyard </i></div>
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The beautiful places just keep coming! Can't imagine what next week will bring. <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/07/28-how-do-you-say-in-french-guadeloupe.html">28. How do you say in French? -Guadeloupe</a> </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-84451643564909581542016-06-25T08:03:00.001-07:002019-01-05T13:29:34.100-08:0025 & 26. Boat Work in the Exotic Location of Saint Martin<div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Well, we’ve licked our wounds for almost two weeks now so I guess it is time to share our passage story :)</span></div>
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Many of you may have seen Andrew’s account of the engine breakdown on the Abby Singer Facebook page but I will give you the “cliff’s notes” here. We left you last week just as the engine had died and we realized we would be sailing the rest of the way to St Martin. No problem, we do live on a sailboat - right?! </div>
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<i>Last you saw us.</i></div>
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Sailing started out quite nice. We colored pictures, read our books, ate the soup in a cup I had planned as our main meal and made it through the night smoothly. </div>
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About mid-day we could see land, unfortunately that was about the same time the wind died as well. Let me tell you, there is nothing more frustrating than seeing where you want to be but bobbing around trying to keep your sail full, moving at a whopping 1-2 knots! The afternoon felt endless! Everyone was trying to keep their spirits up but watching hours tick off the clock and no time being reduced on the “time to destination” window was agonizing. </div>
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Andrew tried several attempts at getting Abby started by bleeding the lines, re-seating seals and anything else he could think of but she was not having it. The closer we got to land, the stronger the east wind pushed us off. We would sail for 45 minutes or so and turn to tack and make minimal progress up wind. Everyone in the caravan that had left BVI was anchored and set and calling on the radio to find out how we were doing. The sun set on us and we reckoned with arriving in an unknown anchorage in the dark. Friends in our destination gave us accurate descriptions of where we were headed but you just can't make sense of it in the dark. Even when the bay came into view we still needed 3 or 4 more tacks to clear the rocks on our starboard (right) side. And wouldn't you know it, just as we turn for our final approach, the wind shifts, blowing us out of the cove! So add 2 more tacks to gain more ground. It was the day that wouldn't end! But our amazingly diligent friends on Aqua Vida & Singing Frog jumped into their dinghy as we entered the bay at midnight to make sure we arrived safely at anchor. They guided us in and helped us set the anchor properly. They even delivered a home cooked meal of spaghetti complete with a fresh French baguette from a proper French bakery - our sailing family is truly one of a kind. So our 19hr trip ended after 31 very long uneventful hours at sea. And we awoke the next day to beautiful St Martin.</div>
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To check in to St Martin is all computerized and very easy, just fill in the blanks, but I did feel like a dumb American when I didn't know how to find “United States” in the French drop down menu :) Luckily the guys working the counter were gracious enough to to help me and one of our first purchases was a French/English dictionary. We quickly learned that St Martin had all the resources we would need to get the boat back in tip top shape and do a few other projects as well. </div>
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But first things first, must have latte & yummy pastry to start the day right.</div>
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The project of polishing the fuel and locating the blockage that had caused all our drama was lengthy but never out of Andrew’s scope and the girls kept busy by discovering some of our neighboring sealife </div>
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and using the boat as their play gym.</div>
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Andrew got acquainted with our fuel tank and smelled of diesel for days.</div>
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We did squeeze in a few sights and some yummy meals among all the work.</div>
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<i>Large barge squeezing through a tight bridge</i></div>
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<i> Local sail school for kids</i></div>
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<i> My crazies at Pineapple Pete's</i></div>
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And the girls got to do a bus trip all over the island with friends from other sailboats.</div>
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<i>This horse follows his master around like a puppy, no lead lines or anything.</i></div>
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Before we knew it, our boy’s birthday was upon us!</div>
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We loved on him the best we could and tried to let him know how much he means to us, but it is hard to put “everything” into words :)</div>
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<i>Birthday fun!</i></div>
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And if that wasn't enough celebration for us, the locals had a Billfish Tournament at our marina on Father’s Day. It was quiet the weekend!</div>
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Why are we at a Marina? Good question. </div>
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The wind was predicted to kick up pretty strong over the weekend and we wouldn't be comfortable at anchor so what do we do? Start another big project! </div>
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Our salon (living room) floor has been plywood since we left Jacksonville. One of the last projects we did at home to get the boat ready was replace our main water tank, which required us to cut our beautiful teak and holly floor. It was painful to see it go but the water tank was a necessity; it allowed us to put an all new battery box in for powering the boat and freed up lots of storage space and we hardly notice it any more. But to make good use of our time here and with some good deals cut by the guys at Island Water World, it was the perfect time to beautify Abby.</div>
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<i> A tiny hatch under the galley (kitchen) floor said "do not cut", </i></div>
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<i> You know Andrew had to cut it!</i></div>
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Now she is looking better than ever!</div>
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>There are a lot of reasons to celebrate Andrew Paul Howell;</i></b> Birthday, Father’s Day, but the best reason in my book is because he’s one of a kind and he’s all mine!</div>
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<i><b>Our girls are so good!</b> </i> Our already very small home is a lot smaller when we have a big project going on down below. All of the seatee (sofa) cushions get moved to and from the girl’s bed every morning and night to keep them out of the way and the doors to the cabins are all kept shut to keep the dust or fumes or whatever out of them while we work. They have found ways to entertain themselves and stay out of trouble, mostly :) and have gotten along remarkably well. </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Yay for good girls!</span></div>
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Our time in Saint Martin wasn't particularly exciting but very productive! Excited to head on south and get back in the water, doing what we love. </div>
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But sad to say goodbye to the beautiful pastries!</div>
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We’ll keep you posted.=<br />
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/07/27-exploring-we-will-go-montserrat-and.html">27. Exploring We Will Go - Montserrat and Antigua</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-42117774144418069682016-06-15T06:29:00.001-07:002019-01-05T13:19:09.432-08:0023 & 24. Goodbye, BVI!<div>
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<i>View from Hog Heaven, Virgin Gorda. </i></div>
This weekend is “dance recital week" back home, our favorite time of year! The girls and I spend all year honing our skills and working on routines to showcase what we love. As many loved ones as we can sucker into coming to the performance are treated to the best show in town. Tonight I would have everything packed from spare tights, extra bobby pins and plenty of makeup, to costumes of all sizes and colors and all the lineup sheets and anything else we would need to make the day run smoothly. We would get to bed as early as possible to wake up with the sun and head to the theater to claim the perfect spot in front of the mirror and have one final rehearsal before the show begins. Instead, tonight we are on the open water between Virgin Gorda & St Martin. Our last night passage was way back on April 19, heading into Culebra, PR. We have been so far and seen so many things since then. Even this week we did things we’ve never done before. So, even though we are sad not to be back in Jax where the anticipation is stirring and we wish all our family at Scott Jones School of Dance the best of luck; I can't imagine not being here and having this adventure with my family. This year the twinkle of lights in our eyes are the millions of stars in the dark ocean sky and the only glitter we need are the tiny bioluminescence dancing on our wake!</div>
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<i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Anegada sunset</i></div>
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Our trip to Anegada was perfect! We originally hadn't planned to even visit this beautiful little island in the northeast Carribean, but I am so glad we did. </div>
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<i>Dance party on the way to Anegada.</i></div>
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We anchored at the back of the mooring field and took a long dinghy ride around to the southwest beach for some kite surfing and beach fun. </div>
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Andrew did a few tutorials with the kids and had a great little session, even in light wind <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">while the kids were quick to make their mark on the sandy shore. </span></div>
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<i>Castles and holes and moats, oh my!</i></div>
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The fun continued as we ventured to the northside of the island to the Anegada Beach Club, </div>
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via their free shuttle, <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">to a perfect piece of paradise. </span></div>
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A sweet swimming pool,<br />
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complete with beach bar </div>
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and a beautifully unpopulated beach that stretched out endlessly. <br />
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Andrew was able to work on kite handling with the oldest Take Two boys before wearing himself out jumping and rolling and freaking out the snorkelers that were unlucky enough to to be in his wake :)</div>
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They even had strong enough wifi for me to video chat with all my family- bonus!</div>
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With a chance for the kids to do more kiting and me to do more pool laying, we headed to Anegada Beach Club for a second day. Just as beautiful as the first w/ the hint of a storm brewing over the horizon. What we didn't realize was that the storm was right over the mooring field and kicked up winds sustained at 50knots! Poor Abby was left all alone and so she tried to go on a walk about and almost ended up on the sandy shore behind where we left her. Some nice local fisherman from Neptune’s Treasure and Jay from Take Two chased her down, reined her in and got her re-anchored in her proper spot. </div>
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<i>Abby's Adventure</i></div>
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To receive a call at the beach club on the other side of the island that your boat has dragged was quite un-nerving, as you can imagine. Andrew raced off to make sure everything was alright but they guys had it all under control when he got there. So, not only does Neptune’s Tresure have the best smoked fish dip I have ever had but they also have some salt of the earth guys working there that refused any sort of payment for their help, just our gratitude.</div>
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As if that wasn't enough Anegada excitement, on our way back to Virgin Gorda our engine cut out. So after an hour of bobbing around in the waves while Andrew tried to fix the problem at sea with no luck, we sailed in through the cut and had the help of a local dinghy to get our hook set again in Leverick Bay. <br />
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<i>Leverick Bay sunset</i></div>
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We really enjoyed being at Leverick Bay. The girls entertained themselves and stayed out of trouble, mostly, while we tackled some projects.</div>
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<i> I'm sure work is getting done, never mind the beer under the arm ;)</i><br />
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After multiple days of hard work and Andrew being very productive getting the engine repaired, jib bags sewn and our new main sheet traveler installed; </div>
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it was time for some new fun! We headed over to the Bitter End Yacht Club to try our hands at Hobie Cats. </div>
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Having never sailed a Hobie before, we thought we would start with a challenge and entered the Beer Can Regatta. They had a great course set up and every time you cross the finish line you can grab a beer or other drink of your choice. We finished second in 3 out of the 4 races we ran and Andrew drank at least a six pack, but who’s counting? We had a blast! </div>
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So much fun that we had to do it again the next day! </div>
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We got two Hobies and split up with the girls. Andrew’s was the go fast ride and on mine I operated the sails while whichever girl I had was in charge of steering. They would zip through the mooring field and into open water and would have to count down if they wanted to turn. I had Sky first, who did a great job and wanted to push the speed as fast as possible. Paige just wanted to tip over right up until the moment we did :) Andrew was so far out of site he didn't even know we needed assistance, luckily a near by charter boat came to my rescue and helped me right it and we were on our way again. We even got the Take Two gang in on the action and they quickly kicked off the grown ups and were racing girls against boys, some healthy competition. </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">While the girls and I watched the feeding of the tarpon at Saba Rock, Andrew actually met the designer of Hobie who was in town on vacation and at the bar enjoying a drink. We got a chance to thank him for all the fun we had just expereienced.</span></div>
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<i>Feeding the tarpon & Elvis the Eel at Saba Rock</i></div>
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We also rented our own safari bus (fancy name for pickup truck with benches) </div>
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and toured the entire island of Virgin Gorda. </div>
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We hiked to the highest peak. <br />
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We toured the abandoned copper mine. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDzcObHUy1IrJoybSClV44307LOkGvcKXa-cxow0wIhK1FEUrxKFuj3QP_mfY1zjl06XbSg2ihDiv4AAKiSbe8Bsbi0P7Hpyn-Lsrmq8HnL2qYfI445WsUfx5Mq_1Yy8mPJ3JstHwsyor/s640/blogger-image-137086563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibEM-yazPM3Ja_T0ZlbHc3vZXs1QlDO2Yy3mbaJYxCivwp1HhHqS4LY4PGBo709Hw2-WsSmp9jJiGAymkTKJ0ZAj5wUgarNX-5BeIRhWtKxk0y8BRgSai-HkGEx0wnengQPxgky8kwBEj9/s640/blogger-image--1997912168.jpg" /></a> </div>
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Enjoyed some local flavor at the Island Pot. And had our own private bay to play in at Spring Bay. </div>
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<i>Look closely and you will see the king of the mountain enjoying the view with a beer.</i></div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnWQz4E0fakNM7XJXVprMOq-OouhNGyt3IJyCfc-P3qoFIWlZJmkxOsaLhMv56G5_y8tMDP5tBelD7ZoAYCV7ZOiy4PusGn-pdNU2ds3kO7jAm70q80c2y4uPFd4hiHFxBALXkEFfmpX5/s640/blogger-image-111029662.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnWQz4E0fakNM7XJXVprMOq-OouhNGyt3IJyCfc-P3qoFIWlZJmkxOsaLhMv56G5_y8tMDP5tBelD7ZoAYCV7ZOiy4PusGn-pdNU2ds3kO7jAm70q80c2y4uPFd4hiHFxBALXkEFfmpX5/s640/blogger-image-111029662.jpg" /></a></i></div>
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That sealed the deal - Virgin Gorda is my favorite island. Not to live on, like Culebra; but to visit and vacation to. It has such a wide variety of landscape and unique features, you can never see it all. </div>
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So after soaking every minute out of our month in BVI and even squeezing in one last sleep over, </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Fort building & fun w/ Sky's latest partner in crime, Kaylee.</i></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">it was time to head out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> <i>Goodbye, Leverick Marina.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">So we are off to St Martin. The trip started like all the rest, One Direction on the radio and spirits high. It took a while to get our sea legs on and a night time passage always turns Andrew’s stomach when he looses the horizon, but all was well. But just to make sure we pack all the fun we can into this expected 19hr trip, the engine cut out at midnight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">So ahoy, we sail!</span></div>
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<b><i>Things learned this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>We have mad Hobie skills! </i></b></div>
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<b><i>The cruising community is like a weird little family:) </i></b>Our support of each other is vital. It is great to feel close to people even when you've known them such a short while and to share a meal w/ perfect strangers and come away friends :)</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We made it back to civilization since I was able to post this blog, but you have to check back in next week to see how we made it and if anyone was thrown overboard when our 19 hr trip took 31 long hours to complete!</span></div>
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/06/25-26-boat-work-in-exotic-location-of.html">25 & 26. Boat Work in the Exotic Location of Saint Martin</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-72664484071841517942016-05-31T14:58:00.001-07:002019-01-05T13:17:06.895-08:0021 & 22. Fun in the BVI Sun<div>
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<i>Our own private cove. Virgin Gorda, BVI.</i></div>
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Our weeks are just flying by and mushing together and before I know it, it has been two! </div>
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The BVIs are so beautiful! Each island has something different to see or do. You would think we would get tired of snorkeling and exploring but you are never seeing the same thing twice!</div>
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<i>Sailing between St John, USVI & Tortola, BVI</i></div>
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It has taken us 2.5 months out of the states but I think we have finally fallen into a bit of a boat life schedule. Being with another kid boat, who has been at this for 7 years, has helped :)</div>
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<i>Coffee by Sky. Cutest barista ever!</i></div>
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Mornings start slow and everyone can do whatever they want until around 10am. That’s when school starts. We spend a few hours getting the basics covered; math, language arts, history, science, reading & spelling - not every subject on every day but we do our best :) Then after a bite of lunch, we get to head out on the adventure of the day and the fun of being with a friend boat means we are getting to share these amazing experiences with someone else! We don't spend every moment of every day together but there are some days when our surroundings are just too outstanding that the schedule goes out the window and we spend all the sunlight hours exploring and then get to enjoy a dinner together getting to know each other better. </div>
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Last we left you, we were heading off to explore the Channel Islands, off Tortola. </div>
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Norman Island offered up great snorkeling right under our boat and anchoring close enough to each other that we swam between boats.</div>
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<i>Norman Island Sunset</i></div>
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<i>Sky pulling anchor. No longer considered a child, just part of the crew :)</i></div>
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<i>Snorkeling at The Indians off Peter Island</i></div>
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At Peter Island we got to tube and wake board behind the dinghy and were treated to the most amazing sunset I may have ever seen.</div>
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<i>Peter Island Sunset</i></div>
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<i> Beer commercial :)</i></div>
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Salt Island has the Wreck of the Rhone, a UK mail ship ship that sank in a hurricane in 1867. You can snorkel and clearly see the rudder and huge propeller with drive shaft in 25’ of water. </div>
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Andrew & Eli free dove and swam through the wreck multiple times. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We also saw our first school of squid, but we couldn't get close enough to make any ink ;)</span></div>
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<i>Abby looks so small, just past the blue catamaran</i></div>
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After a final morning dive at the Rhone, we grabbed lunch at Cooper’s Island before heading to the Baths at Virgin Gorda.</div>
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<i>Cooper Island Ice Cream</i></div>
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Virgin Gorda may take the cake as the most beautifully unique island we have visited yet.<br />
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<i> I love these rocks! </i></div>
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<i> But everyone who looks through my pictures says “why did you take that picture?!” </i></div>
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<i> Boo on them, these rocks rock!</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">An entire day was lost climbing in and over all the bolders at the Baths and Devil’s Bay, imagining what it would be like to wander through and maybe find a hidden treasure left by pirates. </span></div>
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<i>My little mountain goats</i></div>
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We found cliffs to jump off and<i> </i>precipices we couldn't quite reach </div>
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<i>Should we or shouldn't we?</i></div>
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and went to bed exhausted at the end of the day.</div>
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<i>The Baths, Virgin Gorda Sunset</i></div>
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The wind was working against the swell and we woke to a very uncomfortable roll. We moved to a new bay for a bit more comfort but didn't realize we had chosen a clothing optional cove. It’s optional most everywhere, just most will be a bit more discrete if you have kids aboard; but not these vacationers! We were treated to stand up paddle boarding - nude, yoga on the beach - nude, BBQing at the grill - nude; can we say ouch! It was all Sky could do to not stare constantly :)</div>
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<i>Sorry, no pics available</i></div>
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We were happy to move to Leverick Bay and a few nights at a marina, plugged in, with AC and ice maker running - sometimes you just have to pamper yourself, right?</div>
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It’s so crazy to bump into friends of friends who happen to be at the same marina at the same time as you. It was great to finally meet the crew of Aqua Vida, friends of Renewal. We enjoyed a night of local flavor and fun getting to know each other at Rada’s (Indian/Carribean fusion) on the north end of Virgin Gorda - the owner's daughter's boyfriend picked us up in the back of his pickup :)</div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Even though we are surrounded by an unending playground, there is still work that needs to be done onboard. </span></div>
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Andrew keeps the boat scrubbed</div>
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& repairs the rig when needed</div>
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<i>Love when we have the correct spare onboard!</i></div>
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while I try to keep everything in it’s place below deck.</div>
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<i> All of this came out of the aft head and most of it found a new home all in an afternoon- whew!</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">There is a seemingly constant flow of things coming onto the boat, the trick is getting equal amounts to exit. Whether it is eating up all the groceries you stored, passing on books you’ve already read or continued purging from crazy things you once thought you couldn't live without! </span></div>
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<i>Andrew finding new places to stow things. Big man in a little box!</i></div>
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We were so excited to receive a huge gift of water & provisions from some new friends coming off of a week of chartering but then the question is where will you put it ;)</div>
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But the biggest challenge is when we pick up an extra body. We usually make space with the exchange of one of our own :)</div>
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<i>Just kidding - we love a sleepover!</i></div>
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>As much as I try to be carefree about pretty much everything in life, I really like things to have a place. </i></b>Those who have been to my house or boat may laugh at that because I can’t ever seem to get everything in it’s place all at the same time. But you have to realize, I live with 3 other beings whose only goal in life seems to be removing said item and setting it anywhere but where it came from! I think I’m getting better at walking around with blinders and not driving my fellow passengers crazy until it is the designated clean up time :)</div>
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<b><i>WE ARE DOING THIS! </i></b>Still feels unreal. I am seeing places that I never even knew existed until I turned the page in my chart book. Time is flying by in a blur and Facebook keeps offering up my memories from this day however many years ago, I just need everything to slow down a bit so I can take it all in. </div>
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We only have one more week to see everything we want to in the BVIs before our cruising permit runs out. We are expecting more fun as we head on to Anagada!</div>
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/06/goodbye-bvi.html">23 & 24. Goodbye, BVI!</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-86100698008867779692016-05-14T12:52:00.001-07:002019-01-05T12:03:09.194-08:0019 & 20. Virgin Islands - Spanish, US, British, Oh My!<div>
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<i>Abby enjoying the view in</i> <i>Culebrita, SVI</i></div>
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Guess I had too much fun on Mother’s Day and didn’t get the blog out last week :) <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Our apologies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We had a great last two weeks, some sad good-byes and some unexpected meet ups; lots of ground to cover so here we go!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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We started our week with a surprise trip back to mainland Puerto Rico to visit some friends we have spent our entire journey trying to catch up to. The Renewal crew is the first boat family we met as they cruised through Jacksonville last fall. </div>
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<i>Girl trip!</i></div>
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The girls had so much fun catching up with each other and comparing Bahama stories. </div>
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<i>Treats from Sweet & Naughty</i></div>
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We had a fun sleepover aboard their boat </div>
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and perfected the new sport of dinghy-pulled SUP :)</div>
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And if that wasn't enough excitement, the girls from Take Two were able to join in the fun as well! The perfect Girl Getaway!</div>
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Don't feel too sorry for Andrew while we were gone. He got our solar panels permanently installed </div>
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and rewarded himself with meals at every one of our favorite restaurants and beers with friends! So he wasn't suffering too much.</div>
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We had to have a final Sweet & Naughty visit.</div>
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And to say goodbye to our new favorite stop so far, Culebra, to see what else was out there!</div>
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<i>Goodbye, Culebra!</i></div>
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Boy, are we glad we did! We met back up with Dean & Kim at Culebrita, a small island off the coast of Culebra with no inhabitants except the amazing wildlife. </div>
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We had daily visits from turtles, </div>
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great snorkeling and curious mountain goats that came out to inspect when Andrew tried a kitesurfing session. Andrew also did a dramatic rescue of a fellow cruiser’s dinghy which expanded his free diving skills to 50’! Impressive, I know.</div>
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But the highlight of our visit to Culebrita was a trip to the baths.</div>
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A beautifully protected, natural pool with little fish and crabs all around and water crashing over the wall to keep the water fresh and refreshing.</div>
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It was the most beautiful way to end our partnering with Dean & Kim and Dream Catcher. They have been our unexpected sail buddies and best friends since Staniel Cay, Bahamas and we love them dearly. They have been with us for most of our best moments and we are so sad they will be heading back to their land home. But we a thankful for all they have meant to us on this journey & look forward to seeing them next season.</div>
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Before we all got too sad, we headed out to the next exciting chapter of our journey, the US Virgin Islands & British Virgin Islands.</div>
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<i>Paige & St Thomas</i></div>
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Our first order of business in St Thomas was to enjoy some Pizza Pi, a great floating food truck who’s video we had seen probably a year before and couldn't even imagine ever making it here, but we did!</div>
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<i> Pizza Pi - Christmas Cove, USVI</i></div>
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I had a perfect Mother’s Day enjoying St Thomas. </div>
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<i>Picture Andrew sitting beside me as I read Paige’s. </i></div>
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<i> Sky made me a coupon for help around the boat. Sweet babies!</i></div>
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Brunch with my happy little family complete with amazing live music. </div>
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All the laundry done with the help of everyone :) And a run around town on the safari bus, $1 gets you anywhere but ride at your own risk.</div>
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<i>Everyone is laughing because I just about fell out getting this pic!</i></div>
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We completed the day by watching Andrew’s latest work as Director of Photography in NASCAR: The Rise of American Speed on CMT.</div>
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<i>At least most of us did :)</i></div>
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St Thomas is a magical island to sail by with it’s mountainous terrain, lush hillsides, peppered with cute little bungalows and the airport runway right on the coast. But to be completely honest, it wasn't our most favorite place. The anchorages were all rolly and super uncomfortable. We had to drop the anchor 8 times, that’s a record! And on one of the pulls we brought up a huge rock with us, <br />
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<i>that’s not supposed to happen. </i></div>
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The people were friendly enough but it was a little more touristy than we like and lots of ex-pat transplants that change the dynamic of the island vibe.</div>
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We moved on to St John and had a completely different USVI experience. <br />
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<i>Swimming with these cute guys never gets old!</i></div>
Meeting up with our friends aboard Take Two in a semi-private mooring field with turtles, fish & rocks for jumping from was definitely more our speed! </div>
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Happy kids makes for a happy boat and having lots of friends around always delivers the smiles, giggles & endless entertainment.</div>
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Just before this rainbow, Andrew thought he was so funny when he pushed me out of the dinghy. I said this is the sign that it will never happen again! :)</div>
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On to Jost Van Dyke, the BVIs, and new stamps in our passports!</div>
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We are loving the British Virgin Islands!</div>
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Hanging with friends. Andrew got a great kiting session in. </div>
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We’ve had beach time, boat time and island ice cream. <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We even got some schoolwork in. </span></div>
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Although we are living in paradise we still have heated arguements, personality conflicts and questioning what we are doing. But most of the time it is as magical as it sounds and we appreciate how amazing this opportunity is!</div>
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<i>Never seen a rainbow right at the horizon line! Pretty cool.</i></div>
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">I have two of the best girls in the world. </i>I am overjoyed that I get to be their mom. And I had the best mom to help me prepare for the job. Also pretty thankful for my mom-in-law, who raised an awesome leader for our family.</div>
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<b><i>I hate conflict! </i></b> But I am thankful for a partner who is willing to work through our differences and keep at it until we find the resolve on the other side. And a sister that will listen when I just need to throw a fit :)</div>
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We are just getting started in the BVIs. We have lots of pins on our map of places of interest, can't wait to see what all we’ve seen this time next week.</div>
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/05/21-22-fun-in-bvi-sun.html">21 & 22. Fun in the BVI Sun</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-67774621813030064222016-05-02T08:40:00.001-07:002019-01-05T12:00:48.448-08:0018. The Beauty of Puerto Rico<div>
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This week has been action packed and flown by! We celebrated 5 months aboard and 2 months away from the states, the longest Andrew or I have ever been away!</div>
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We still haven't visited the starfish, as promised last week. But we did start off with an amazing snorkel and a visit to one of the world’s most beautiful beaches! </div>
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Playa Flamenco is ranked third among the top ten beaches of the world and did not disappoint. The waves roll in continuously, perfect for body surfing. The water temp is cool and refreshing on a beautiful sunny day. We were lucky enough to visit it with our sailing friends and usual partners in crime, Dean & Kim, Dream Catcher crew. </div>
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<i>Photo credit - Dean Martin :)</i></div>
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And unexpectedly bumped into our friends from Massachusetts who got a surprise extension to their vacation. Sky had just finished saying how much she wished Lila could be there because she would love the waves!</div>
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We, of course, continued our daily visits to Sweet & Naughty and really love bumping into familiar faces at the Dinghy Dock.<br />
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<i>Photo credit - Simon Clavet</i></div>
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You’ve not truly dined until you have shared the space with quarreling roosters! Took me back to the days my dad would take me to the cock fights and I would collect feathers :)</div>
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<i>Always exciting @ Zaco's.</i></div>
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We unknowingly picked the perfect window to visit the mainland. We stop checking the weather when we do not have a sail planned so we did not know it would be rainy all week in Culebra but we missed it by loading onto the ferry and heading to the mainland of Puerto Rico.</div>
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FYI - when you pick the cheapest rental car in a foreign country you may end up driving a 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer, with 170,000 miles on it, scratchy windshield wipers and no power to the DC outlet! But it did get us around fairly safely :) Thank you Rental World, Fajardo, PR.</div>
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What is the first thing you do when you’ve been away from the states for 2 months? </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Visit McDonalds, of course!</span></div>
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We had fun seeing the countryside and the girls’ voices would reach fever pitch with every chain, fast food restaurant they recognized! </div>
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We enjoyed a perfectly sunny day exploring two of the most impressive Spanish forts we have ever heard of. </div>
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Castillo San Felipe del Morro (El Morro) is huge! </div>
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<i>Photo credit - Wikipedia.</i></div>
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Construction on the fort began in the mid 1500s and continued with regular updates and re-fortifications until as recently as WWII. </div>
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The Spanish used the fort to protect the Bay of San Juan and successfully fended off multiple attacks by the Dutch & British. They also put up a good fight against the Americans during the Spanish/American War but we took control of it in 1898.</div>
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<i> Girls demonstrating how the canons were used :)</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> <i>Lighthouse added by the US in 1908, we destroyed the original when we attacked.</i></span></div>
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Unfortunately, American improvements did not honor the amazing architecture and went for more practical fortifications when they added the massive concrete bunker for spotting German submarines during WWII.</div>
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<i>Just under the flags. We also added a putting green and swimming pool :). </i></div>
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We found it pretty amazing that El Morro has protected this area for so many generations. They don't build them like that anymore!</div>
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<i> Me taking a picture of Andrew taking a picture of Sky taking a picture :)</i></div>
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<i>Looking onto the beautiful city she protects.</i></div>
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After hours on the grounds of El Morro, we were exhausted & famished! We found a little corner cafe and rested before heading to San Cristobal.</div>
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<i>Note the colors of the buildings. </i></div>
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<i>Photo credit - Wikipedia</i></div>
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Castillo San Cristobal is considerably smaller than El Morro and construction began 100 years later but held many similarities. Some of the differences we found interesting were the series of underground tunnels woven beneath the fortress. One area was used to hold prisoners for deportation and had drawings of ships on the wall thought to have been sketched by a captain held in the early 1700s. </div>
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The Americans took advantage of the underground areas when they took over and added command headquarters and reinforced doors for an entirely secure and unpenetrable base.</div>
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<i>Looking down the coast, El Morro in the distance.</i></div>
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<i>Sky always makes a friend.</i></div>
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<i>Crazy girls, always pulling something behind daddy's back.</i></div>
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<i>A long day of exploring wore my baby girl out!</i></div>
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After a speedy trip through Walmart and a not so speedy ferry ride, we were back in our beloved Culebra. The rainy weather helped us stay onboard long enough to unpack, re-sort the frig and figure out how our new freezer works! We splurged on a Norcold cooler style freezer that we will keep on the floor of our salon. We have a built-in freezer on Abby but it requires us running the engine 3 hours a day to charge it for it to just hover around 32 degrees. The new freezer allows us to store the ice we make and as much food as we can fit at a rock solid 15 degrees or colder if we choose! </div>
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Pair that with also pulling out the generator for the first time since we left so we could run the AC and those rainy days don't look so bad ;)</div>
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<i>Geni hard at work and a great pic of our anchorage as well.</i><br />
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It would be very easy to get sucked into this magical little island and never want to leave but we started going through my notes on the BVIs and there is just too much still out there to see! Hopefully this is the week we get a few new stamps in our passports, if weather permits :)</div>
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Sometimes not being aboard is a really nice break! </i>A few nights in a hotel felt like the spoiling of a lifetime :) Abby is super comfy and we all have just enough space to not drive each other crazy. But what a treat to have unlimited air conditioning, dry non-humid sheets, continental breakfast served w/out effort on my part, wifi at our fingertips, and cable! Sometimes it's the small things in life...</div>
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/05/19-20-virgin-islands-spanish-us-british.html">19 & 20. Virgin Islands - Spanish, US, British, Oh My!</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-40274242704861122032016-04-24T18:41:00.001-07:002019-01-05T11:56:59.708-08:0017. There's No Glamour in Passages<div>
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So, think of all the things you did from Sunday 10am through Wednesday 11pm . You got ready for your day and maybe went to church and out to lunch with some friends. Then watched a ball game and made sure the kids’ homework was ready for school. Monday morning everyone was up early and headed to work or school, followed by dance classes or sports practices and dinner. Tuesday may look very similar to Monday. Wednesday, you made it to hump day! Maybe you celebrated with a family dinner or have a kids’ club you have to make it to. Think of all the things you did in those 4 days. Then picture us, on the open ocean that entire time, bobbing and rocking constantly. Unending motion - while sleeping, eating, always moving. Sound sickening? It can be! But it has it’s highs as well. You may want to remind me that we signed up for this and you’d be right. But I don't think anyone goes sailing for the love of passage making, at least I didn’t. You do it for the amazing places that the necessary evil of passage making can take you!</div>
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Day 1- </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We left Blue Haven Marina in high spirts. We said goodbye to our friends from Canada </span>and headed on our way. We even saw a large sea turtle as we left the channel which always makes our day. </div>
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<i>He was this big!</i></div>
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We knew we would be heading into a storm that evening but nothing too terrible. As the grey loomed in the distance, we began to brace ourselves and batten down the hatches. The girls questioned why we would knowingly head into a storm and we explained how this weather window was working out for us and had hoped it would be better to encounter rougher weather at the beginning when we were fresh instead of at the end of our journey, exhausted. Nobody was feeling their best but Andrew gets the award for being the first to toss his cookies since we left in December :) </div>
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It was a beautiful night with moon shining on the water and air temp very comfortable but by the middle of my watch, around midnight, it was sucking! Seas had transitioned from 15’ swells with a valley(period) of 100’(12 seconds) to 10’ swells with valleys of only 20’(8 seconds) and disorganized which means rolly and uncomfortable. The girls both had pallets in the salon and were thankfully able to fall asleep. </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Day 2- </span></div>
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<i>Off the eastern coast of Grand Turk - 4/18/16</i></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Because Andrew did the bulk of the night watch, I got the amazing sunrise all to myself. </span>Shortly after day break my blue eyed, bleach blonde beauties joined me up top and we were ecstatic to cruise through the waves with an entire pod of dolphins. While the adults played at the bow, the babies would swim right alongside the girls until they felt too close for comfort and would dart away and jump completely out of the wave before returning to do it all again. So fun!</div>
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Not to miss out on the action, Andrew was quick to catch two big barracuda who seemed to be very fond of the cedar plug lure that is meant to attract tuna, not them!</div>
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<i>Look out for those teeth!</i></div>
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Everyone was eating like birds but at least it was all staying down & it made for light galley work ;)</div>
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We kept the same 5-6 hour night watch schedule as the previous night. I’ve had a few people ask what we do when we are on watch. If the auto-pilot is working well with the seas, you can read a book or just relax. But I stare at the gauges! It has the same affect on me as compulsively doing sudoku or playing Tetris. When you close your eyes you still see the numbers filling in the boxes or the blocks dropping into their slots. When I close my eyes after a watch I see 120 degrees floating in my compass!</div>
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Day 3- </div>
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<i>North of DR - 4/19/16</i></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Everyone is feeling much better! We are getting our groove on. </span>We celebrated passing our previous mark of longest passage ever by reaching the 49th hour. </div>
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<i>Enjoying some fresh rice krispy treats.</i></div>
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And even had a little jam session in the cockpit.</div>
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<i>Check out the lean happening, 4 days of that makes you feel a little lopsided :)</i></div>
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We had two full days of great wind where we didn't use the engine at all. It was a beautiful sound to hear the hum of the prop as it spun in the water and to have both sails up and full!</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Day 4- </span></div>
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<i>NW of Puerto Rico - 4/20/16</i></div>
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Started like all the others, beautiful sunrise & smiling faces. We had a traumatic moment when one of our red and white cockpit pillows accidentally fell overboard. With both sails up, you can't just turn around and go get it. So we sadly watched as it floated into the distance. It felt very much like the scene in Castaway when Tom Hanks realizes Wilson is gone and he can't get to him. It was a disappointing loss :(</div>
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But everyone’s spirits were lifted when Puerto Rico came into view! </div>
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We tried a bit more fishing </div>
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but the Puerto Rican fish don't seem to like us, not even a barracuda. We did catch an awful lot of seaweed though.</div>
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<i>Andrew’s top secret fish alarm that shakes the can of pennies when we have a fish on.</i></div>
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The last few hours are always the hardest. You can see where you want to be but it takes so long to get there! As we finally rounded Culebra, Andrew decided he wanted to sail in since we had the engine on most of the day. When the wind died in the lee of the island, Abby decided not to start, she was tired! Luckily I was able to continue sailing while Andrew bypassed the starter solenoid and got her jumped from below. (We won't mention who said we should keep the engine running for safety :)</div>
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We made it into the cove by Dewey, Culebra safely and had the hook set in the water by 11pm, 85hrs after leaving Turks & Caicos. </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We did it! </span>We were so excited to be here!</div>
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<i>Culebra - Abby on anchor in the background.</i></div>
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The town looked even better in the daylight! Such a quaint piece of heaven on earth. We quickly made our way to the airport to get checked in by customs.</div>
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<i>Waiting on customs - Free WIFI :)</i></div>
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After a very professional check-in process, the CBP agent spent an extra 20 minutes with us going over the map, pointing out the "must see" stops and even making recommendations for when we visit the mainland. His service was above and beyond and unlike any check-in experience we’ve had or heard of. He set us off on a great foot to enjoy his island!</div>
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<i>Girls thought it was funny to have hen and chicks roaming the airport outside the customs window <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">:)</span></i></div>
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You can walk pretty much everywhere you need to go and we quickly found our way to some of the highly recommended stops in town. </div>
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Zaco’s Tacos was a great little dive where no shoes, no shirt = no problem. They had amazing food and service and even served up some local beer on tap!</div>
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But the highlight of our first day here was finding the new local candy store, Sweet & Naughty. Claude & Simon run a great little shop where you can get ice cream, Icees, candy, popcorn, fudge, freshly spun cotten candy, and homemade when ordered doughnuts. Tell me you can't find something to love! And you can enjoy it all while swinging at their groovy bar under the watchful eye of Jaba.</div>
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There’s also a great local place called The Dinghy Dock where, you guessed it, you can dinghy right up to the restaraunt and hang out. </div>
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Not only did we enjoy our lunch there, but met some really fun new friends there as well. One couple told us about some amazing upcoming stops to not miss in the Virgin Islands and passed along a good book (I’m always happy for hand-me-downs) and another couple vacationing here from Mass told us of a great local snorkel spot and we met up with them the following morning to swim with the sea turtles.</div>
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<i>No one should be this cute while goofing off!</i></div>
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We had a great day hanging with Mark, Cheryl, & Lila. We saw 8 Hawksbill sea turtles ranging in size from shells as big as a dinner plate, up to 3-4’ in length. They are magical to float by, looking as if they have not a care in the world. Just munching down on some sea grass and gliding by to catch another breath.</div>
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We spent the rest of the day together grabbing some lunch and hitting another great beach for some wave surfing.</div>
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We even saw the leatherback turtle nest roped off on the beach.</div>
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Their family has a beautiful home with the most breath-taking view of Manglar Bay. <br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They were even gracious enough to let us do some laundry while also meeting the local pet peacock.</span></div>
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This week has been so spectacular that I can't even imagine how next week will compare. But I can tell you we are beginning tomorrow by snorkeling near a starfish breeding ground so that's a good way to start!<br />
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<i>God art.</i><br />
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<b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Just because something is difficult, doesn't mean it isn't awesome as well. </i>I will never run a marathon or climb the peak of a mountain but I imagine the feeling we had on completing this passage with happy hearts still in tact is similar to the high you get from those accomplishments. There were moments we hated and moments we loved and we made it through all of them. And just like childbirth, once it's all over, the details begin to fade away and all you are left with is a sense of pride and a sweet little treasure. That is what this week has been for our family.</div>
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The crew is waiting to see who stops by this week and what new adventures we will have. We'll keep you posted!</div>
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/05/18-beauty-of-puerto-rico.html">18. The Beauty of Puerto Rico</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-64562503145949271772016-04-17T05:58:00.001-07:002019-01-05T11:54:07.881-08:0016. Vacation Week in Turks & Caicos<div>
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When we docked here last Saturday, I never expected to be so lucky as to spend a week in this beautiful resort, with these views to die for, hanging with friends that keep smiles on our faces! </div>
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It has been vacation week for the Abby Singer crew and it has been amazing! </div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We straight away started the adventure by renting a car and going exploring with Dean & Kim (Dream Catcher crew). </span></div>
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How do you fit 6 bodies in a Honda Fit?!</div>
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We did a few errands and found an great, off-the-beaten-path, Mexican Restaraunt, Mis Amigos. </div>
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We met the amazing owner, Tina, and heard her family stories of their years at sea.</div>
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Trophy Black Marlin horn landed by Tina’s father.</div>
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We were totally surprised by MikBeth arriving at Blue Haven Marina a few days in. The girls were even more ecstatic to have some partners in crime to roam the resort with. They’ve spent every moment of everyday together :)</div>
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We even got to enjoy the weekly fish fry. </div>
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Great food.<br />
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Local merchants.</div>
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Live music.</div>
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All wrapped up with the always fun Junkanoo!</div>
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These locals really know how to party!</div>
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Even though we’ve had a massive amount of recooperation, we’ve also accomplished a lot in preparation for our next big crossing. Andrew fixed the leak in one of the water tanks.</div>
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Filled all our water & fuel tanks and cleaned the decks.</div>
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I spent my mornings prepping meals and snacks and getting the cabin better ready for our passage. </div>
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It doesn't sound like much but took the better part of 4 mornings with runs to the market, making salsa, tuna, and omelette bags, along with portion packing cheese slices, rearranging the fridge & freezer and packing up the loose canons that are first to dislodge when we heel in good wind :)</div>
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We just enjoyed a magical last day here in Provodenciales, TCI. We snorkeled the Coral Gardens. </div>
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We saw tons of parrot fish, various angel fish, rays & 2 sea turtles. We spent a few hours on the reef before enjoying lunch at a highly recommended beach dive, Somewhere.</div>
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We are now as prepped and ready as we will ever be, getting ready to shove off heading for Puerto Rico. We will take all the prayers we can get as we will be doubling our last and longest passage :)</div>
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<b><i>Thing learned aboard this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>Sometimes a forced vacation is just what you need!</i></b> So blessed to spend the extra days waiting for the weather window in such an amazing place. The belongers (locals) are so friendly, the food is amazing and our company couldn't have been better :)</div>
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<b><i>The unknown is scary but exciting!</i></b> Even though the prep for this next passage is important, the attitude going into it is what will make the most difference, I think. Instead of letting the change of plans happen to me and responding, I'm hoping that having an improved perspective will be a good influence on everyone aboard. </div>
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You will have to wait until next week to see if it worked ;)</div>
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Photo by Paige - finding beauty in the small things.<br />
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/04/17-there-no-glamour-in-passages.html">17. There's No Glamour in Passages</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-85210802503526411002016-04-11T07:12:00.001-07:002019-01-05T11:51:58.799-08:0015. New Stamp in the Passport - Turks & Caicos<div>
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This week has been a whirlwind of activity. Our days at Emerald Bay Marina were crammed full of projects in preparation for leaving the Bahamas. </div>
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We moved to Georgetown because every respectable cruiser goes to Georgetown. </div>
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It is a cruisers' haven where all paths cross; boats traveling north, south, jumping off to Turks & Caicos, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and beyond. We looked forward to some down time to enjoy hanging with fellow cruisers at the infamous Chat & Chill Beach, a great beach across from the city that has volleyball courts, hammocks, swings, horseshoes; just a great place to “chat & chill”. </div>
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Chat & Chill Beach - Georgetown, Exumas. 4/4/2016</div>
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The kids loved our time here because there are lots of kid boats. We met back up with the crew from Take Two and made new friends aboard Alley Cat, Neptune II, Singing Frog & Paisley. </div>
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That's my little monkey in the tree waiting for her turn to swing on the rope.</div>
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Alley picked Paige up and off they went to a friend's boat. Kind of like watching your baby drive away in a friend's car for the first time :)</div>
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Along with the fun, Andrew & I stayed busy every minute we were there. He continued with boat projects.</div>
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Finished the hand sewing on our new main sail. We were able to give away a few items onboard and the ladies stole me away for a massive provisioning run (Georgetown is the first proper grocery store we’ve seen since Nassau). </div>
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Our new friends aboard Alley Cat are finishing up their two year journey & were happy to share all their tips of travel for the Caribbean islands to come. I spent 5 hours taking notes and marking places of interest in my guide book. </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> It is so helpful to hear from someone who has already been there & done that.</span></div>
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Andrew did get to enjoy a hike to the top of Monument Hill.</div>
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Sky & the Take Two guys.</div>
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Open mic night at St Francis Resort was a blast! Lots of cruisers singing & playing instruments and, when the weather forced us to cram into the small dining room, it turned into a sing-along with the kids from Paisley leading with the ukulele on some oldies but goodies. </div>
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For the first time ever, we saw bioluminescence along the shore as we launched our dinghy. They look just like fireflies in the water. If you scoop your hands slowly through the water, they stay on your skin until you dip it back into the water. It was the perfect ending to a great stay in Georgetown.</div>
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Thursday morning we were all set to head out to Rum Cay. The wind was light enough for us to get the new main sail switched out.</div>
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Flying the new main for the first time. Sewn entirely by the Abby Singer crew!</div>
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And Andrew re-calibrated the autopilot before getting underway. </div>
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It was a great morning to be on the water! We soon heard friends from other boats (Dream Catcher, MeNorah, Neptune II & Take Two) that were heading out as well, which always makes you feel like you made the right choice when reading the weather. </div>
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I am standing straight, the boat is heeling that much! Makes lunchtime a challenge :)</div>
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We were about half way through our day sail to Rum Cay when Andrew said everything was looking good for us to continue on and bypass our original stop. The weather was right and the boat was ready but I wasn't! I had big plans on things I wanted done to make our first passage more comfortable, snacks prepared, easy meals, cabin secured. I had planned on using the night at Rum Cay to do all those things but when the wind blows, you go. </div>
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We spent 48hrs at sea (our longest passage ever) to make passage to Providenciales in the Caicos Islands. The hours at sea seem to stand still and fly by all at the same time. The rolling seas and heat of the sun make you wish for nightfall. And when sitting night watch all alone with no one but the bioluminescence and millions of stars to keep you company, you wish for sunrise. Before you know it 2 days have passed and you did it, you survived. The cabin was a mess from the pallet on the floor for the girls who were trying to help with night watch, dirty dishes left in the sink until I finally bit the bullet and stayed below long enough to get caught up. My bum is bruised from banging around the galley during meal prep and clean up, but proper planning and paper plates should eliminate this in the future :) It is hard to imagine passages being second nature or spending weeks at sea during an ocean crossing but that will be the norm soon. </div>
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Even though I had some frustrating moments because of our course change, it really was quite pleasant. </div>
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We colored, read books and watched the big rollers come in, enjoyed the solitude of the evening sky and the beautiful sunrises and sunsets.</div>
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Sunrise - 4/9/2016</div>
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We are a baby boat in this Marina!</div>
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An unexpected reward for our great passage is a beautiful stay at the Blue Haven Marina & Resort. </div>
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I'm working on this blog poolside while the girls explore. We are just minutes from the third largest reef system in the world. The sun is out and the breeze is blowing! </div>
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We love the crew on Dream Catcher, Dean & Kim, our travel buddies and great friends.</div>
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The guys eyeing the 80'+ catamaran that is anchored in our bay.</div>
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I think I could stay here forever or at least longer than our week long cruising permit will allow but there is more out there to be seen and I have to find out if we can ace this passage thing :)</div>
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<b><i>Things learned this week aboard:</i></b></div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Expect the unexpected! </i>Whether it's the surprise gift of a guide book being passed on, fishing tips from a pro accompanied by a new lure, or a weather window opening (or closing) among your best laid plans; expect the unexpected and be flexible. Just because something doesn't go the way you planned, doesn't mean it didn't work out for the best. And who wants to be so rigid and locked into the way things are "supposed to be" <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">that you miss an unexpected adventure waiting around the corner!</span></div>
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My PaigeE Paige has been missing her friends back home. We are thankful for wifi so she could chat with her besties! We love and miss you Maggie, Mia, & Olivia. Thanks for making my girl's week!</div>
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Up next: another long passage. Will we make it? We can hardly wait to find out ;)</div>
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/04/vacation-week-in-turks-caicos.html">16. Vacation Week in Turks & Caicos</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-19466812655603280232016-04-03T22:12:00.001-07:002019-01-05T11:49:32.373-08:0013 & 14. Swimming Pigs / Crazy Kids!<div>
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Oh, to fit two weeks worth of excitement into one blog :) </div>
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One of my favorite parts of the week is when I look back over all the pictures to help me decide what to write about, I’m always surprised at all we’ve squeezed into one (or two) week’s time! </div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We last left you waiting to experience Rocky Dundas. It did not disappoint!</span></div>
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Rocky Dundas is a hollowed out rock island that you can slip into at low tide to explore the cave formation. It is pretty cool but the surge inside can be strong. We got some amazing pictures but it wasn't without a few heart palpitations :)</div>
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We also heard about a sweet little pool called Rachel’s Bubble Bath. </div>
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It is a cove that backs up to the ocean and when the waves roll in they are forced over the rock wall, making the pool foam and bubble like a natural bubble bath. </div>
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It is a sweet little secret place that isn’t even on the charts and is just passed around by word of mouth. </div>
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Our next stop was Staniel Cay. </div>
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It is probably the most well known of the Exumas. </div>
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We anchored between Big & Little Majors and we're happy to wake to the sound of the wild roosters, even if it was 4:30am. </div>
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One of the main attractions of Staniel is the swimming pigs. It was something on our checklist of “Bahama to do’s” but it was much more fun than I had anticipated. </div>
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The pigs are huge & they swim up to anyone they think will feed them. Most of them are really gentle and I can't imagine anywhere else that you can interact with them in this way.</div>
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The girls loved finding a little piglet in the brush to love on.</div>
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Thunderball Grotto is the best snorkeling we have experienced! Paige is getting more comfortable in the water and even swam in on her own and was greeted by hundreds of fish of all colors and sizes. </div>
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We both agreed it was so amazing we would love to go back again! </div>
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With a weather system pushing in fast and us needing to find a better anchorage and protection, we moved to Black Point Settlement. It is a quaint community on Great Guana Cay with just over 300 locals. They love the cruising community and offer up great amenities like laundry facilities, free wifi at some local restaurants, provisions available when the boat comes in and even homemade Bahimian coconut bread. The locals are so friendly and welcoming, it is a tight-knit community where everyone is family. At 9pm the light turns off at the basketball court and all the kids run home. It is what I imagine life in the 1950s was like, when it was safe to walk the streets at night and you didn't worry about where your kids where. </div>
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We had our first official sundowners with friends from 5 different boats also in our anchorage (Sojourner, Dream Catcher, Radio Waves, Panta Reigh, Godspeed), on our own private beach, under the full moon. </div>
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We had a blast cheering on the Black Point basketball team to victory in their annual game against their rivals, Staniel Cay. </div>
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The kids had fun playing with all the local kids at the beach. </div>
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We had a beautiful Easter celebration with the small community church </div>
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and enjoyed an amazing lunch with our new friends aboard Take Two- family with 5 kids all around the girls’ ages, so all the fun they could handle!</div>
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I even learned to make bread! My sweet new friend, Tonya from Take Two, didn't know what she signed up for when she agreed to teach me :) Items made from scratch in my kitchen are few and far between but we were a success. Everyone onboard was a huge fan of my homemade pizza!</div>
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And Andrew finally got to kite for an afternoon.</div>
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We didn't bring the camera but this is our best interpretation of the fun :)</div>
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After almost a week with the Black Point Settlement, it was time to move on. We used a beautiful weather window to head south with 2 other boats, Godspeed & MeNorah. We didn't expect to whip into rescue mode but when MeNora’s engine went down, we threw out the tow rope and helped them to safety. </div>
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After making sure Will, Raven & MeNorah were safely settled, we moved on to our beautiful anchorage for the night with our own private cave off of Rudder Cay.</div>
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We snorkeled the mermaid & piano statue </div>
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and found an amazing reef that looked like a bustling fish city complete with turtle, shark, angel fish, a huge puffer, topped off with an osprey who was mad that we came so close to his rock! But our favorite part of our stay in Rudder Cay was Howell Hole, our own little cave.</div>
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Now we are enjoying a few Marina days. That means unlimited showers, great washing machines, a pool to cool off in and bugs! The no-see-ems and flies are horrific this close to land, we’ve been spoiled being at anchor. But we are having a great time hanging with old friends.</div>
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And meeting new ones.</div>
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Literally the only picture I have of the girls with their new friends from MikBeth because we never saw them!</div>
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Andrew has tackled many of the projects still remaining.</div>
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Sail construction</div>
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Boat cleaning - we took over the dock!</div>
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Testing the solar panel placement before install.</div>
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And we are preparing for our longest passage to date to cross to the Turks & Caicos. </div>
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<b><i>Things learned this week:</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Perspective! </i>We have had some significant perspective shifts in the short 3 months of living aboard. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">1. Remember me complaining about being hot? It is amazing how your body acclimates to the heat. You appreciate the suttle difference the shade of a tree creates, when the sea breeze picks up or being able to jump out your front door into a sea of blue!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">2. Free flowing water is so nice :) I knew we would be conservative on the boat because you can only carry so much fresh water and it really hasn't been that difficult. But oh how refreshing a long shower can be!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">3. We are quick to make friends. Back home the girls (mostly Paige) would maybe be a little timid at first with strangers, even though she is very friendly. But when you may only have a day or two with friends aboard another boat, you don't waste time being shy. It is great to watch them just jump in and enjoy every moment they have together!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">4. Manners are slowly dying, and they shouldn't. It was such a pleasant surprise when all the children at Black Point were so respectful when speaking to adults and each other, and it shined a huge light on a weak spot in America. I'm having to remind my girls to use "please" and "thank you", especially with each other. But, as the bible says, "A kind word turns away wrath." So we are working diligently to get our politeness back in full swing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">5. The price of goods is a bit shocking on the budget. Even more surprising is what I'm willing to pay for, even if it is outrageous. Sometimes you just have to have some Simply Orange OJ and the $9 price tag for the small bottle doesn't even deter you! Oh well, it's only money, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Next week's blog may come to you from a new country for us, so keep your fingers crossed for good weather and we will do our best to keep you updated!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/04/15-new-stamp-in-passport-turks-caicos.html">15. New Stamp in the Passport - Turks & Caicos</a></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-51124712262712778042016-03-18T12:40:00.001-07:002019-01-04T21:11:30.705-08:0012. Too Much Fun in the Exumas<div>
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I can hardly put into words all this week has held! We left Nassau and started our tour of the Exumas, visiting Highborne, Norman, Shroud, & Warderick Wells. I write as we travel while the experience is fresh in my mind so I apologize in advance if it makes this week a long update, just trying to fit in all the excitement :) </div>
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Well, we’ve never claimed to be weather experts, there is definitely a learning curve. So we departed Nassau heading east to the Exumas (small island chain southeast of Nassau) with a stiff 20 knot apparent wind on the nose and a choppy 5’ sea. The first 2 hours were spent burying the bow under waves and contemplating turning back to wait for Sunday which forecast was calmer all around. But we finally got in a more comfortable rhythm, timing our speed and sail with the break of waves to keep us from hitting most the big ones. It’s not that the waves are that big but if you hit the top edge of one just before the next with a deep enough and wide enough valley for us to fit in followed by another considerably sized roll you get the down//up/down that will lift you from your seat and soak you with warm sea spray. </div>
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By missing most I mean hitting one of these harmonics every 3-5 minutes as apposed to one ever minute. When you have 5 hours of this in front of you, you really question if it is fun or torture :) Paige repeatedly said this was crazy! So I made lunch and then took the helm while everyone had a turn resting and hiding from the spray. You eventually are completely soaked but the sun is warming you and you no longer flinch with each splash. It was a fairly straightforward day, holding 135 degrees on the compass. We went through a field of coral heads that Paige on the boom and Andrew on the bow navigated me through but other than those, wide open blue. When we pulled into our anchorage at Highbourne Cay, Paige said we could salt our salad with the salt on my face :) All day in those conditions you whisper to yourself, “I hope our anchorage is worth this, I hope our journey pays off” and the west side anchorage at Highbourne did not disappoint. </div>
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We shared our beautiful private beach with a dozen other boats and were treated to magnificent sunsets! </div>
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Sunset Highborne Cay, Exumas</div>
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When Andrew & Sky dove to check the anchor they were greeted by the friendly, neighborhood 8' shark. Sky excitedly exclaimed, "SHARK, SHARK!" nervously watching as he swam away while she made her way back to the boat :) </div>
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We spent a day exploring and enjoying the beach with lots of new and old friends we’ve made along the way. Andrew got his first spear fishing lesson and we snorkeled the reef. But we couldn't resist the urge to move on. </div>
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Norman Cay has this amazing inlet completely surrounded by land, only deep enough to enter during high tide. So we accepted the challenge and headed out. We passed a fishing boat along the way that had a “fish on” so we decided to throw in our line as well. It hadn’t been in the water for 2 minutes when Andrew & Sky saw 2 mahi jump after it. So Sky landed her first catch, her excitement was contagious!</div>
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Just as we finished cleaning the fish and cleaning the mess left from cleaning the fish, we rounded the bend into the mouth of the inlet. It is not inviting!</div>
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"We go through where?!"</div>
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So after a failed first attempt and a dinghy ride to scout out the path, we finally made it into the cut and it was all we had hoped! </div>
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After dropping anchor with only one other boat inside, we set out on the dinghy. We visited 4 little coves, each prettier than the last, before settling on the flats in the entry.</div>
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Paige busied herself rescuing as many sand dollars as possible from drying out on the flats.</div>
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While Sky hunted for conch and shells and anything else she could find. </div>
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It was amazing to look at the cut we had just entered dry out and shallow denying any others entry. </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Note the difference between high & low tide!</span></div>
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It was all ours and it was amazing!</div>
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Sunset Norman Cay, Exumas<br />
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Having learned how to navigate with the tide in Norman’s Pond we departed at high tide. Our next stop was Shroud Cay. The ocean lays flat on the west side of Shroud for miles of 6-10’ shallows more clear than your backyard pool! </div>
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Abby's shadow on top of out anchor chain. Look at the left side to see our anchor buried deep.</div>
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Sky and I checked the anchor and she dove to touch it - pretty proud of herself :) and Paige saw a sand dollar on the ocean floor and had to work up a lot of courage to dive down to retrieve it.</div>
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The attraction at Shroud is hard to discribe. You wait for high tide to take a dinghy ride into the unending mangroves hoping the path leads to somewhere. It would be easy to get confused among the different finger outlets along the way. But if you have a great captain who studied the charts before heading in, you are amazed to find the most breathtaking beach!</div>
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Paige said it had Bahama sand, the kind you could spread in your house like soft carpet.</div>
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The little spec in the center of the water is us! </div>
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Paige & I are behind Sky. These shallows go on forever!</div>
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Words cannot describe how it feels to be the only people in the world appreciating it’s beauty at that moment in time.</div>
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Next stop - Warderick Wells. We had lots of fun snorkeling, Sky & I swam with a huge eagle ray, the girls climbed the mast & practiced their dinghy handling skills while I stole a little reading time and we were excited to meet another kid boat. </div>
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Sky & Andrew hiked to Boo Boo Hill to leave our token for King Neptune and see the blow holes.</div>
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Sunset Warderiick Wells, Exumas.</div>
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Next stop will be Rocky Dundas. We'll let you know if it is as amazing as they say!</div>
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<b>Creatures we've seen this week:</b></div>
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Massive eagle & speckled rays</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Queen Conch</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hundreds of Sand Dollars</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Our friendly Ramora</span></div>
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Inking squid</div>
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Barracuda</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Nurse Shark</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Mahi Mahi</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Sea Turtle</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Cushion Starfish</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Giant hermit crab</span></div>
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Countless Conch</div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Too many gorgeous fish on the reefs to name!</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">School this week:</b></div>
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How mangroves survive & thrive in this region</div>
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Dinghy driving</div>
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How to stear the boat with a fish on the line</div>
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How to filet a fish</div>
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Using a spear (attempting to catch lobster or anything unlucky enough to swim in front of us- while not in the national park, of course)</div>
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How to save a sand dollar</div>
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Identifying fish on the reef</div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Things learned aboard this week:</i></b></span></div>
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<b><i>We are crazy! </i></b>When all guests aboard say how they couldn't imagine living in such a small space, when on an open and rough rolling sea your own daughter says so, when sitting at anchor we bob so much that I nauseatingly watch the moon dance in and out of the companion way and about a million other times each day I realize that we are truly mad! But to quote Alice in Wonderland, "all the best people are." You would have to be to leave a perfectly good home and safe life to try your hand against the whim of the sea. But oh the sweetness of the moments of payoff!</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">18 years ago I made the best decission of my life! </i>Happy Anniversary, sweetheart. So happy it is you by my side through this crazy adventure and every one to come!</div>
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/04/13-14-swimming-pigs-crazy-kids.html">13 & 14. Swimming Pigs / Crazy Kids</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594539414865169485.post-89308324328838790952016-03-13T08:26:00.001-07:002019-01-04T21:08:57.474-08:0011. TMI About My Dinghy (and Atlantis, too)<div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We have had an exciting week in Nassau! </span></div>
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We made lots of new friends heading the same direction we are.</div>
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Dinner at the Poop Deck w/ friends.</div>
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Spent time at the local Starbucks using their wifi to video chat with family & take care of business. We got our BTC (Bahamas’ cell carrier) service connected and picked up a few precautionary prescriptions to have on board in case of emergency. </div>
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But by far the most exciting “chore” was picking out the new outboard engine for our dinghy “Slow Dancin”. We sold our small outboard while in Ft Lauderdale in favor of keeping our larger 15 horse 4 stroke engine because it had enough power to move our family around with ease. Us moving it around with ease never quite happened :) Loading it onto the back of the boat for long passages required all hands on deck with Paige wrangling the dinghy alongside the boat with Andrew aboard to manhandle the engine, Sky manning the winch and me controlling the boom and hoisting the engine. We would pull it off the transom, Andrew would hug it tightly while Paige walked the dinghy to the back of Abby where we then used our over engineered swim ladder as a lever to pull it up and strap it snugly to the back of Abby’s rails. Sound like a lot of steps? You should try doing it in rolling seas! So Andrew was waiting patiently to get to the Bahamas where the 15 horse 2 stroke engine he dreamed of was readily available, and promptly bought it. It was an exciting day when they delivered our new and shiney outboard to the Marina fresh out of the box and took the old heavy monster away to consignment. Andrew, with Sky’s assistance, got it onto the dinghy no problem and we have been enjoying her ever since. </div>
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That may be all you ever wanted to know about dinghies but we had a few more exciting moments this week: Like the time we were crossing the channel to Atlantis and decided to tow Slow Dancin instead of hoist her aboard only for her to break free mid-channel. The glass bottom boat following us was treated to the entertainment of watching us try to catch her and me almost falling in while quickly climbing on into it before she drifted away again. But we got her secured and continued on our way.</div>
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Or the time we dinghied back across the channel to run some errands in some rough seas and all were completely drenched before reaching shore! Lesson learned - we now always travel with the rain gear when dinghying in :)</div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">But enough about that, now on to our Atlantis adventure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">It truly was all the girls had hoped for! The super friendly marina staff treated us to golf cart rides to and from the resort anytime we needed them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Sky made a friend on our first day there that she spent every moment with and they kept us updated on any ride or area we hadn't experienced yet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">The entire facility is huge so if you visit Atlantis definetly plan on walking but the grounds are beautiful and their is a new pool around every corner. Surprisingly I had one of my favorite meals there, an amazing chicken curry wrap so not just your average waterpark fare. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We had so much fun having fun with our girls! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We met our neighboring boats at the Marina and even got parked in by a mega-yacht for 2 days! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> The photo doesn't even do the size justice only capturing less than half of La Pellegrina.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We loved spending time with our new friends from Canada all day at the water park and it spilled over into evenings of ice cream, hanging aboard Abby and a true Bahimian Junkanoo with costumes and instruments and lots of dancing :)</span></div>
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Paige said it was the best birthday ever. </div>
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The girls didn't want to leave! But Andrew and I are ready to leave the bustle of the large city and head to the Exumas this week for some quiet and seclusion.</div>
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<b><i>Things learned this week:</i></b></div>
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<b><i>Money doesn't buy you happiness.</i></b> We were by far the smallest boat in the Atlantis Basin and may have felt a little white trash :) but in speaking with the captain of one of the huge yachts who has been captaining for 15 years he said most of the families he works with fight all the time and spend their days yelling at each other and hating being confined onboard together. So I will gladly take my little boat and my wonderful family and the amazing adventures we have together. But if you plan on coming to Nassau you’ll need to have at least some money because it is one of the most expensive places we have traveled to. But the people and places are beautiful so well worth the visit. </div>
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We will be checking out the Exumas this week so stick around to see what we are up to.</div>
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<a href="http://howell2sail.blogspot.com/2016/03/12-too-much-fun-in-exumas.html">12. Too Much Fun in the Exumas</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13967750252091600320noreply@blogger.com6