Bring on 2019!

New Year's Eve is a time of year that leaves many of us reflecting on the past year and setting intentions for the upcoming year.  For me, the theme of 2019 is change.  Original, right?  I know, I know!  But this change has been about a decade in the making and isn't even that much of a surprise.  It's just time.  The exact timing is still up in the air a bit (still working on that whole "my desires vs. the Navy's needs" thing to the very end!), but this is the year.  This year I walk away from the profession I've known for my entire adult life and walk towards my family, better care of myself, and perhaps a bit of adventure!  It is time.

~Jo

Merry Christmas from s/v Lehe Paine!

It's been a wonderful day!  We excitedly opened presents, we relaxed, and we had beautiful weather for our return home (one of us has work tomorrow, boo!!!!).  Merry Christmas!

Christmas in St. Michaels, MD

I am SO happy that the weather cooperated this year and we were able to get underway for Christmas!  After waiting for the tide to rise (ok, it wasn't torture--we had brunch at Ketch 22!) we got a late start to getting underway yesterday.  Not much wind, so we motored and made it well before sunset.  We dropped the hook right off Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum!  I love the view! And we slightly broke with tradition and let the kids have their Christmas pjs tonight as it's cold and the girl didn't have any warm ones.

After a bit of excitement touching the bottom as the tide went out and un-setting the anchor trying to use it to pull ourselves to slightly deeper water, we were all settled in again and decided to make a run into shore for some lunch and BEER!  Eastern Shore Brewing is so much fun for the whole family!

 

And now we're settled in for the night, ready for Santa to come find us!  The kids exchanged their gifts--he got her chocolate and Diet Coke, she got him Hot Pockets--and the goodies have been set out...

Winter Solstice Celebration at the Naval Observatory

My job is pretty intense some days, but also very awesome!  Nights like tonight are certainly in the "awesome" category. We throw a little Winter Solstice party for some of our neighbors that don't get to make it home for the holidays and our special guests.  It's an evening of food, drink, music, friendship, and, if the skies are clear, sky viewing!

The lobby of Building 1, decked out for the holidays!

Our famous library, with books dating from 1428-2018!

Frank takes a look at the moon through the 12" telescope from 1895.

I get to come to this fantastic place every day!

Lighted Boat Parade 2018

I will miss this tradition!  We love heading up to Annapolis for the Lighted Boat Parade!  It was a little different this year as they wouldn't let us use a mooring in the main mooring field.  We had to go up near Truxton Park (the turn-around for the parade route) and grab a mooring there.  We still had the best view!

Happy B-day, Swab!

This week we celebrated Swab's 11th birthday.  Crazy to think he moved onto this boat when he was 15 months old.  We have a little tradition here--the birthday kid "goes to bed" while the rest of us decorate the boat for them so that when they wake up on their birthday, it's all about them!  The birthday kiddo gets to pick our dinner (hibachi for this guy!) and then we open presents and have cake.  Simple, yet simply perfect.

Thankful for a few days off (and mostly good weather!)

We took advantage of a few days off of school and work to head to the waters around Annapolis for Thanksgiving.  For some reason I love the challenge of cooking "the feast" in my galley!  This year we had deviled eggs, turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, and spiced wine--and lots of dishes!  

After two nights in the Annapolis mooring field, we shifted Back Creek and dropped the hook.  It was high time we visited Davis' Pub and explored Eastport.  Weather was pretty nasty Saturday afternoon so grabbed breakfast at the Boatyard Bar & Grill, then we watched movies and played board games once the rain started.  Honestly, it was awesome! 

Once we got home, it was a race against the sun to get the Christmas lights up.  We did it!

Wye time...again!

Can't help it, we just like the Wye River.  It was a chilly sail under clear skies, but we warmed the boat up by using the oven to bake a tasty chicken pot pie.  It was so peaceful on the hook and we got to do a little bird watching, too.  The sail must have worn the Captain out, though--he crashed on Swab during the movie!

Head Conversion

One of our boat show purchases arrived and is installed!  We love this new AirHead composting toilet!  We removed the old, heavy holding tank and all the nasty old hoses from the forward head and are left with this sleek new look.  We will be doing something with the space where the old holding tank was, (I'm thinking wet locker/storage) but for now the job is done.  We've left the aft head as a conventional head/macerator/holding tank.

A haunting sail to the Wye River

I have to admit, this is my favorite time of year!  I love the weather, the sailing, and the decor!  We always decorate in a way that doesn't interfere with sailing and the spiders have been my favorite for years!  Sadly, they are on their last legs and this will be there last season, but I'm going to enjoy them while I can!  We sailed over to the Wye River today for a very peaceful weekend escape. I always love coming here as there are plenty of places to drop the hook and birds to watch.  The weekends are always too short!