The year is drawing to an end. As we look back on 2010 it is hard to imagine cramming more into it than we did. And yet thoughts of what we have left undone and people we have not been able to spend time with bring sharp pangs of regret nevertheless.

For us, 2011 will be another drastic lifestyle change. We lurch forward with good intentions and open minds for what lies ahead. May we, our dear family and friends make the best of what is to come, good or bad, expected or unexpected, because that is the secret of life on this strange and beautiful planet we call home.

A sad sight, all done up for the winter. Hopefully it will be mild and the cover will be overkill. Mandy says "roll on the spring".

We found our partners in crime - oyster hounds that is. Ian and Wendy, seven years into a circumnavigation from New Zealand in their Perry Tatoosh 42 "Remedy", have been here on the hard for the same time as us, where they have mixed boat maintenance with land trips to Alaska, the Appalachian Trail and Maine and are now ready to launch and carry on South and West through the canal. The oysters, the bread, the beer and the company were all good.

There's fiery red in the tree's behind the yard, the farm stand has closed, the night chill has a real bite and everyone in the anchorage is headed south to Florida, the Bahamas or beyond. Its October. Back in California, its time to head to Mexico, as we did at this time two years ago. We read recently in Latitude 38, a San Francisco based sailing rag, of cruisers living in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico who are thrilled that they can now acquire their favorite hot dog relish at the local Costco. Others recommended to southbound cruisers to fill the bilges with Starbucks coffee since it is more expensive in Mexico. I don't understand. I know we all cruise for different reasons, but coffee ... to Mexico? They grow and sell for very few pesos some of the finest you will ever drink, but it will come in a brown paper bag with no label, and definitely no platitude of the day. Our recommendation to southbound cruisers is to leave your food lockers open, forget you ever heard the word Costco, and follow the locals so that visits to the markets and small stores of Mexico will be a necessity and there you will have an adventure to savor for a lifetime.



Provisioning here in Deltaville is not quite such an adventure, but nevertheless local abundance can be taken advantage of. Although there is only one supermarket in town there is also a farm stand from which we have enjoyed sweet, succulent peaches (July/August), profuse tomatoes (all summer), crisp cucumbers (all summer), sweet yellow corn (July/August) and some of the very best apples we've ever tasted (August/September). But the Chesapeake is really all about seafood and particularly shellfish. The summer was crab season, blue crabs are the locals, each about the size of one's hand. We have eaten our share, learned to tell the difference between Jimmys and Sooks and although we can't crack'em with the locals we haven't gone hungry either. Mussels are plump, inexpensive and plentiful. In September the lowly Spot and Croaker were delicious lightly grilled on the barbecue. Now it is oyster season, for generations the major cash crop of the Chesapeake watermen. The local seafood wholesaler, J & W Seafood, has them in the shell, 100 for $35. Before we leave here we'll be looking for a couple of hearty oyster lovers to share a ton over a cold ale or two.

Jackson Creek, Deltaville - not always violent weather

Our summer in Deltaville is almost over and we are now preparing to winterize. Virginia seems to offer plenty of excesses of weather: we have experienced extreme heat for days on end, biblical inundations, violent thunder and lightning and we are told that heavy snowfall is not out of the question. It's no wonder that John Smith and his band of adventurers had such a hard time establishing a foothold here in the early 1600's.




John Smith is saved by Pocahontas pointing her titty at him in the nick of time.

Around the beginning of November we will head to Kentucky to catch up with horse business friends at the broodmare sale and then on down to New Orleans to see our daughter. Lest anyone should think this cruising business is all rum and sunsets here's a little bit of Mandy's summer makeover.

A friend sent this to us and it is worth a few minutes diversion.
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