Position: N27 39.567 W080 22.290
Christmas is finally here.
It’s easy get out of touch with what's going on in the world living on a boat when it's just the two of you and the VHF radio. We've been exchanging Christmas wishes with the few bridge tenders we contact via VHF and the few boats with which we've had conversations over the past week. We finally stopped moving last Sunday and have been enjoying being in one place for the past couple of days. Yesterday we finished up our last-minute Christmas shopping. We were a bit hesitant about shopping on
Christmas Eve, something we usually try hard to avoid. It turned out to be a nice day, however. We were pleasantly surprised while out and about; no apparent greed, no rush to the register, no impatient huffing in line - everyone we saw on the bus and at all the stores was smiling and wishing everyone else a Merry Christmas. We picked up some decorations for our mast "tree" - even the treetop ‘angelmoose’ has baubles hanging from his antlers. Now that we have a ‘tree’ with gifts under it, we’re finally home for the holidays. (Check out the blog for pictures)Last night a boat that was decorated like Santa's sleigh w/ Santa and a team of reindeer in harness all made of lights cruised through the anchorage. You could almost not see the boat - it really looked like Santa was doing a slow pass. Mark hailed them on the VHF: "Santa, Santa, Santa, this is Rachel" to which was replied "This is Santa, Rachel. Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!"
This is our first Christmas in years without immediate family. We miss sharing it with our kids, especially the last few years with Charlotte, Kelly, Alex, and now, Emma. We miss the preparations, the sleigh bells ringing outside Alex’s window to remind him Santa won’t come until he’s asleep, the lazy breakfast, making the gift opening last into the afternoon. The mooring field here at Vero Beach is pretty crowded - there are two and three boats on almost every mooring. We are rafted up to a boat that has a family with two children aboard - Brandon is 6 and Phoebe is 3. We awoke this morning to the sound of their excited voices and laughter through the forward hatch above our berth. It brought a happy / sad tear to the eye.
Now it's raining and still, and the anchorage is awash with smells of baking ham and turkey and who-knows-what-other wonderful dishes as our neighbors all around prepare their Christmas dinners. We've been invited, along with some other cruisers, to dinner with Rachel's previous owners, our appetite's are already growing and we're looking forward to a wonderful afternoon.Rachel's crew would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.
Peace,
