We are sorry to be so late in wishing you a happy holiday. It seems like time just flew by this year. Bill and I continue to live on our boat full time, enjoying the moving around and exploring of new sites. Last spring we spent two months in the Bahamas and were again amazed by the beauty and interesting scenery that we saw there. We spent six weeks of our time acting as harbor hosts for the Exumas National Sea and Land Park. We met many new cruisers and enjoyed visits from many of the same boaters that we had seen last year at the Park. I assume that someday we’ll tire of this way of life, but for now, we love it.
We left the boat in northern Mississippi for the summer and spent almost three months driving 7000 miles through the eastern US and Canada visiting friends and family and flying to Amsterdam to visit our “European family”, daughter Becky and her husband Mike and their two wonderful children, Finn (8) and Stella (6).
This summer was a very special time when we could reconnect with many of our friends that we have not seen for several years. I hope that if we missed seeing you that we can get together soon.
Our daughter, Beth, lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We had never realized what a beautiful area that is. We spent a week in the summer of 2011 and then another week this last summer. The scenery is magnificent and there was a never ending list of fun and interesting places to visit or events to go to. Both of our daughters are very happy in their “grown up life” and they are blessed with wonderful friends nearby. Unfortunately we are not geographically close to either one, so each visit is really special for all of us.
After our “drive-about” we returned to the boat and cruised east along the Tennessee River just past Chattanooga. That area of Tennessee has lots of mountains, good rivers for travelling, and beautiful scenery. We spent several days visiting two couples that have become great friends in our boating life. After visiting them, we spent five days in Chattanooga, one of our favorite cities to visit by boat. There are many art museums, outdoor art displays, an amazing aquarium, excellent biking paths, many historic railroad places to visit. One of the new additions to the city since we were there about six years ago is the Delta Queen Hotel. It is the former Mississippi Riverboat which we have passed on the rivers many times. It does not pass current government regulations for cruise boats, so they have made it into a hotel. It made a beautiful sight just across the river from where we were docked.
Our boat insurance requires us to stay north of 32 degrees latitude during most of the hurricane season, which they call June 15th until Nov. 1st. After November 1st we usually head south to spend the winter months in the Florida Keys at Marathon. This year we will only be in the Keys for one month so that we can get our boat painted on the outside. It will be done starting Feb. 1st in St. Petersburg, FL and will take about three months, so if you are in the area those months, give us a call 401-225-2923 and we’ll try to get together. We only have to remove all outside pieces and they will do the sanding, painting, and repairs. Then we’ll put the many stainless parts, electronics, and other parts back on the boat. We are still debating what color or colors we want it painted, but hopefully in the next three weeks we’ll have a brainstorm. We’ll send you pictures of before and after in a future letter.
Have a happy and healthy year. Love,
Bill & Mary
