So much to be thankful for

We have small holiday traditions aboard Lehe Paine, but that doesn't make me look forward to them any less! We moved six miles south to Fernandina Beach, Florida (yay, we are in FL!!!) for a change of scenery, fuel, water, laundry, and some provisions. And by provisions I mean a trip to La Sureña, a Latin grocer and restaurant that serves up amazing food alongside shelves of Latin favorites and piles of fresh produce. Frank and I also snuck off for a beer while the laundry was drying and I was surprised to have mine delivered to the table in a glass from a brewery in Illinois that's only 46 miles from where I grew up!

We had some epic sunsets at this anchorage.

As the forecast started shaping up for a blustery day on Tuesday and good sailing conditions Thursday, we opted to spend Tuesday aboard with the oven cranking for our Thanksgiving feast. I honestly love the challenge this small galley presents me. This year's menu was deviled eggs, turkey breast, gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing, roasted brussel sprouts and carrots, and cranberry sauce. The meal was accompanied by a French Rosé in honor of Katreina and dessert was purchased from a local bakery (so I guess I cheated a little). The guys said they wanted to eat at 1600 and don't you know, I had that meal on the table at 1605! I'll take it! The real treat was getting to video chat with Katreina and her host mom while I was cooking so that Katreina could show them an American Thanksgiving.

Another successful feast from the galley!

And Thursday afternoon, we were off! We had a pretty fabulous two nights running offshore down the coast with the exception of about four hours of big swells and a good breeze that was dead on the stern so we gybed and gybed and gybed through lumpy seas. Ugh. A little bit of motor sailing smoothed things out and we dropped the hook in Lake Worth (West Palm Beach) around noon on Saturday and enjoyed a lazy day of boat watching! 

Finally able to sail quite a bit and even got Swab in on some pretty laid-back watchstanding.

And today was another awesome day! We got to video chat with Katreina and her family as they made an American-influenced Thanksgiving! They had decorated for Christmas and were busy in the kitchen as we showed them the sun and sights of southern Florida (her French sister wants to come visit when and where it's warm!) and Katreina translated between us all. I loved it so much. I could listed to her speak French for hours and only catch bits of what she is saying but I simply love hearing it. I'm not sure she will ever be content to sit still in one country and I'm totally ok with that. 

LOVE that her host family did a French-American Thanksgiving feast! We are truly so thankful for this amazing family!

 

So while we are missing our girl we are super thankful for her host family and the joys of technology! We are thankful for our home, health, family, friends, humor, patience, forgiveness, and adventure!

This is the best we can do for a family photo this year!

~Jo, 1st Mate