Staycation: Baltimore

With the Captain catching a very early flight out of BWI this morning we had decided to make this weekend a "Staycation" and headed to Baltimore for a visit to the aquarium and a stay at a hotel with an indoor pool. We had a blast! The National Aquarium in Baltimore is really quite nice, though it was definitely crowded. Last night we checked in, enjoyed the manager's reception for dinner and drinks, then headed to the pool! The kids haven't lost too much skill in their ine out of the water, so that's good. The kids and I even headed back to the pool this morning before checking out! Good, simple fun!

A tough good-bye

Tonight we had the crew of Libre Vie over for a send-off dinner as they are making a quick move up to New York this weekend. Both being in the military and living on a boat have shown us that neighbors come and go quite frequently compared to our landlubber, non-military friends, but this particular departure will make me pretty sad.  I've never felt insane for living aboard with my family or always wanting to travel when talking to them, and they don't mind that our crazy kids attack them with hugs.  They are fun, easy going, and have a thirst for life that just automatically makes me smile.  I will miss them, but am happy that our timing at least worked out to allow us to meet them!

Make a wish!

Tonight the winds finally cooperated for a good Wishlantern launch, and the sky was perfectly clear and full of stars.  We launched 3, and the kids even got in on the action.  It was beautiful!

Ready to launch.

Up, up, and away!

Happy Weekend!

Where to begin? Friday Frank was out with one of "the boys" while the kids and I hit up gymnastics and had a Wii rally. Saturday we drove into the city to pick Frank up and enjoyed a mini stay-cation in D.C. with a trip to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. As a special treat we went into the butterfly room there and spent a while admiring and identifying the butterflies. We even got to see one emerge from its cocoon! Today was all about two things--maintenance and football! It was frigid outside today so we (Frank) knocked out flushing/changing the engine coolant. It was a pretty messy job, but we managed to wrap up just as the first football game got underway. And I'm pleased to announce PATS WIN! PATS WIN! Yep, that just about covers this awesome weekend!

Thank goodness for nap time!

Happy Birthday, Captain!

Tonight we celebrated Frank's birthday with a decadent meal of sloppy joes followed by a football-shaped ice cream cake. Nothing but class! We also tried out his new handheld VHF, with call-ups between "Big Daddy," "Beaner," and "T-Bone." It was very cute and the kids did pretty good for their first time live on the circuits! After the kiddos headed to bed he was able to try out our first "adult" Wii game, Call of Duty MW3. I guess he likes it...been playing about an hour so far!

Actual home remodeling

This long weekend was spent away from our beloved boat. We made good on one of our Christmas presents and set to remodeling my sister-in-law's powder room. The job went reasonably well considering we were without our usual tools, but alas we couldn't finish due to a damaged vanity (not our fault!). We'll be back in February to wrap it up!

Snow!

Yesterday I was waxing the boat and today we got snow!  It wasn't much, but enough to play in a little!

Katreina and her snowman by the beach.

The docks were a little slippery!

Sunny & 60?

An unexpected January warm-up left us with a tough decision--stay or go? We decided to stay put and stick with the maintenance schedule. The Captain is off buying supplies while the crew and I play at a park. Not bad for the middle of winter!

Aground!

Ok, it's not as bad as it sounds, but we were aground tonight at the pier. Extreme spring tides coupled with high winds sucked the water out of the marina and we were aground when we got home. Not too bad, not leaning on the pier or pilings or anything, but a line had to be let out and we had to step down (unheard of!) to get aboard. What to do about it? Have a "beached" party! Served up plenty of mojitos for the Captain and I tonight!

Hello, 2012!

Happy New Year, one and all!  With fabulously warm weather forecast for the weekend, we headed up to Annapolis to join in their festivities.  We had a great sail up and after a little help from the Harbormaster (mooring lines had been zip-tied for the winter!) we took over mooring ball #1 in an empty mooring field. 

VERY relaxed as we head out of the marina.

The Captain surrounded by full holiday decor.

He got a turtle from the clown.

She got a ladybug!

 As we headed into town, we welcomed our only neighbor for the night, the Lagoon 44 "Joy of Tahoe," by cutting their mooring line free, too.  In town we enjoyed a drum and bugle corps, a clown, ice cream and coffee, a trip to a park that we somehow hadn't discovered before, and a magic show--it was great!  After heading back to the boat, we were able to enjoy the bands all night.  There were 2 fireworks shows--7:30 and midnight--and they were both great!  We relaxed, reflected on all that 2011 brought us (hello, I'm home!), and pondered on what 2012 would bring.

We are ready for fireworks!

The trip home was adventurous to say the least!  We pounded in 3-4' seas and 20+ kts.  Docking was even a bit of a challenge!  We're home and it's time to relax and enjoy 2012!

A toast to the New Year (before the winds kicked up!).