So, Wayne mentioned the fact that we ran aground. In truth, it really was a confusing channel, and when you compared the charts to the chartplotter, it was easy to make the mistake that we did before we ran aground. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

It was wonderful to spend time on Leeway II again with the love of my life. We embarked on this journey knowing that we would be separated for periods of time, but in the long run, our "excellent adventure" would come together. It was wonderful to be sailing again, getting in synch with Wayne and the boat and experiencing new ports and anchorages.

Stuart is as lovely as we have been told it would be. We have had many friends talk about how lovely the marina and city are, and they were right. The Sunset Bay Marina is within a short walk of the old downtown and is truly a delight. We quickly felt at home with the friendly staff who promptly pointed out the hightlights of Stuart - places to eat, things to do, etc. Since we were there just before New Year's, we were delighted to find out that there would be a potluck cruisers cocktail party on New Years Eve.

We quickly connected with friends that Wayne had made on his way south, Jim and Carole Whitmore on SV White Lilly. They were staying at a marina close to ours, so we connected for drinks (imagine, cruisers connecting for drinks). We talked about New Years Eve, but to be honest, Wayne and I are not the "Must have a party on New Year's Eve" types. While Jim and Carole were out enjoying New Years Eve with their friend, we enjoyed the pot luck cruisers cocktail party and then settled back on the boat for a lovely steak dinner. We watched the ball drop in NYC on TV and then called it a night. We fondly remembered our night in NYC in 2001 watching the ball drop at the base of the NY Times building.

Stuart is a great City. Everything is within close proximity - restaurants, provisioning, etc. We found out that the City and the local newspaper offer free jazz concerts on the waterfront the first Sunday of every month. Lucky for us, we were there for the first Sunday. You will see photos of the concert in our photo gallery. The concert was great and from there, we walked about 3 miles over to Jim and Carole's boat on the other side of the bay for a lovely dinner, great conversation and wine (wine, really, us?)

Too soon, my Christmas vacation was over and we found ourselves renting a car the day before I was to head back to the cold climes of Canada. It was time to re-provision the boat and seek out that fresh seafood dinner that I had been hankering for since I left home. It turned out to be quite a feat. We went to a couple of grocery stores, a newly opened seafood market (that wasn't "officially" opening until the next day), not to mention miles of back and forth on a couple of streets before we finally found the spot. Honestly, the oysters were the largest that I have ever seen in my life. AND, I LOVE OYSTERS! These puppies were as big as my hand (see the photo gallery). They were almost a meal in themselves, but of course, we also had lobster tails and scallops. Delightful dinner and just what I envisioned. Funny thing though - we figured we could toss the oyster shells overboard (they came from the area anyway), and I soon realized that I wasn't tossing the shells back to whence they came, but into our trusty dinghy that was lashed to the side of the boat! We could only imagine what "critters" might be enjoying the shells in the morning.

When you book vacations from work, you think that its lots of time. You soon find out that it is shorter than you imagined. On one hand, the vacation seemed to last forever, but when you're leaving your soul mate for another few months, it seems to fly by. Sure enough, before I knew it, we were heading off to the airport. The comfort is knowing that I will be back on the boat in a couple of months for our next adventure. The sad part is that I have to leave my soul mate again. I am at peace knowing that he, and LeewayII await my arrival again. It will be a sweet day.