Anniversary Weekend

 We planned a four-day weekend to celebrate our anniversary and headed to Twin Harbors on Santa Catalina Island.  It was a great sail over in 12-15 knot winds; pinching the whole way we made it one tack…a pretty nice ride.  

We had just dropped the sails and were motoring towards the harbor when a group of dolphins broke from the pack and came back to play with us.  Even though we see this on a pretty regular basis, it's still exciting and amazing to me.

 

We settled into a mooring in 4^th of July harbor and went ashore for a cocktail – a tradition.  It was a bit windy and cool when we returned to the boat, but we decided to sit in the cockpit and enjoy the night.

I started hearing a lot of life activity in the water and it took a few minutes for Jason to declare we were surrounded by flying fish.  To verify this, we found one in the cockpit and one in the dinghy the next morning.  We passed, but Maya got her first taste of fresh fish…she wanted to eat the whole thing but I didn't think that was a good idea so Jason filleted it for her.

Saturday night we were treated to phosphorescent's.  Truly magical…our friend Captain Hank in Roatan says if you dive in and look up it’s like seeing the universe all around you. The water was too cold for that, so we just enjoyed the view from above.

Sunday we celebrated our first anniversary. The wind gusted to 25 knots throughout the day, but when it laid down it was sunny and hot…although not warm enough for me to get in the water – even with a wet suit.

Not much for big meals, we opted for tapas throughout the day – including the wonderful beer battered fish Jason caught. That evening we continued the celebration with a bottle of 2008 Turley Uberoff...yummm!

Monday it was time to head for home.

Life is like a coin.  You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once. Lillian Dickson

First Wedding Anniversary

One year ago today we were married in Tortola, BVI.  At times I can’t believe it’s already been a year, and other times it seems so long ago.  We’ve had so many experiences in the past year and as each day passes we come closer to realizing our dreams.

It was important to both of us that our first anniversary be special.  When we got married we talked about going to Italy and Spain for this anniversary.  But with the purchase of Volaré earlier this year, that was no longer a practical option.  As it got closer we tossed around other ideas – a weekend in San Diego, a weekend at the local Ritz Carlton, taking the boat to Catalina or staying on the boat at the dock and continuing to work on the list.  Working at the dock and heading to Catalina made the final cut.  In the end, we decided that even though there are months of work to do, since we celebrated our honeymoon at sea, we should celebrate our first anniversary at sea.

Jason went out fishing first thing in the morning to add to our celebratory feast.  He came back with a 14" Calico Bass, enough for a great afternoon snack.  Being a bit squeamish about the hunting/fishing thing, I couldn't bring myself to take a picture of it so you'll just have to use your imagination. I"m sure I'll get over it eventually, as we're figuring fresh fish will be a great free staple.

It was the perfect first anniversary and we're looking forward to many more on the boat.

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. Mignon McLaughlin