December 14, 2014 Church and One year anniversary

This morning, I rode bicycle to church.  The catholic church is about a mile away.  I have been to some beautiful cathedrals and basilicas in our travels, but the special thing about this small church was that it had the name of one of my grandfathers,  St Francis Xavier.  He was always known as FX.  And the size of the church was similar to the one I attended growing up in Miller, SD.  I talked to the choir director about singing with them for Christmas.  They would love to have me join them, especially since they have several members that won’t be here.  They practice on Wednesday nights, so there is only one more practice before Christmas Eve.  And that happens to be our anniversary.  Dave was OK with me spending the evening there. 

There is a beautiful park next to the church.  The sunlight was shining through the Spanish moss and I tied to capture it on film.  The fountain, railings, and plants have all been restored to what it looked like in the 1800’s. 

the town has several squares

Dec 14 was when we left Alabama and started our cruising life.  One year and 1860 nautical miles or 2140 miles.  Dave thought that was nothing to brag about.  We did spend a lot of time in Ft Myers Beach, FL and in Wilmington, NC.

We feel very fortunate that we both want to be on this adventure.  We have met a lot single guys or couples where the wife is only doing this because the husband wants to.  But we have also met some great sailing couples.  And it has been fun to hear their stories of where they have been, or exchange tips about living aboard a boat. 

Here are a few things that I really enjoy.  Seeing dolphins from our boat, the rocking of the boat (to a degree), the sunrises and sunsets on the water, seeing new places, learning new things related to boating, rarely setting an alarm clock, meeting new people and hearing about their sailing adventures and the simplicity of life. 

We miss our son, being able to be at important functions of family or friends, and sitting on a comfortable couch or easy chair. 

I still smile every time I return to our boat and every time I see the water.  They say you should discuss whether you want to continue cruising on a yearly basis.  Our decision is to keep going.