Happy Holidays

A post by Mark
Hi all,

I started writing this about a week ago – I think on Christmas Eve – finally getting around to finishing it… we’ve been busy (all good stuff).  Here goes…

Merry Christmas from Naples FL. While our original plan was to be in the Bahamas for Christmas, we are very happy to be in Naples – visiting with Oma and Opa (Julie’s parents) and Grammie (my mother). We arrived around the 15th – its been nice to have a home-base for a while. We have been really fortunate – Jerry and Janet Belle (friends of my in-laws) have been super generous and have let us keep our boat on the dock in front of thier house. We can’t thank them enough!

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been able to get a lot of jobs done around the boat.  I rebuilt the fresh-water system – so now its working better than it ever has!  I also rebuilt a few winches and completed a few other small projects.  Its much easier getting things done when you have regular access to a car!  We also got to enjoy time at the pool, Willie had fun at the neighborhood dog park, and we all have had a good time.

Until about 3 pm today, we through we were leaving for Key West tomorrow – but at 3, we got the updated weather forecast for the Keys – not good.  Big wind (25 to 35 kts) and waves (up to 7′) forecasted for next Mon to Wed.  Also, the forecasters are saying that it won’t be safe to head from the Keys to the Bahamas until next weekend (at the earliest). So, while we could leave tomorrow (Sunday) and be safely at anchor in the Keys before the weather hits, we figured we’d have more fun here than hunkered down at anchor next week.   We’ll head South once the weather clears…

Wishing you all a Happy New Year –

Mark