Panama City to Papeete, then on to Pago Pago... and beyond: SailBlogs

The Griswalds' New Year's Vacation

Monique - hot and sunny, still! — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 04:35:02 -0600

I guess 'belated' is an understatement! I know, I'm officially 25 days late in wishing everyone the requisite 'Happy New Year!', but I've been busy... really! The new year started off with a slight cabernet headache, then once I finally crawled out of bed and drank 7 cups of disgustingly strong coffee and ate half a loaf of homemade white bread smothered in Skippy Super-Chunk, there was a lot of 'stuff' to do around the boat during the first week of the year, and then we welcomed my mother and stepfather after they endured approximately 42 hours of airline travel to come from Nova Scotia to vacation with us on the boat for two weeks, and now that I've fully recovered from that 14-day mother/daughter I-haven't-seen-you-in-a-year-tea-drinking-and-run-on-sentence-talking-about-everything-and-nothing marathon, I can once again devote myself to you, my faithful captive audience. ;) (Continued...)

Christmas In Majuro

Monique - rainy and hot and muggy — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:17:34 -0600

Even though Christmas carols about reindeer & snowmen & decked halls were blaring from speakers in local restaurants and the 'big American-style' grocery stores, and the locals were all cheerfully greeting us with 'Merry Christmas!' every time we passed on the street, and shiny red & silver polyester garlands and plastic ornaments were hanging from almost every store window in town, it just didn't seem like Christmas-time to me. Maybe it was because the weeks leading up to the holidays were spent sailing through rain squalls while trying to find the elusive (and temperamental) trade-winds, hopping to and from garbage-strewn dinghy docks, wading through anti-freeze-infused puddles and searching endlessly for something remotely resembling a 'fresh' vegetable. Okay, so it wasn't like that ALL the time, but you get the point; it wasn't the charming snow-covered Currier & Ives December that many of us dream of (and rely on to get us 'in the mood' so to speak). No Dickensian fantasies here folks, just mosquitoes and salt-stained clothes! Then again, maybe it didn't seem like (my personal version of) the holidays because it was 35C on Christmas Day and the sun was beating down on us like a blast furnace. I know, I know; I should 'shut up and stop complaining'. At least I wasn't shoveling my way through a 4' high snowbank at the end of the driveway, or trying to scrape off an 'unmeltable' blanket of ice on a frozen windshield using the edge of a credit card, or trying to make it to four 'must-attend-but-don't-wanna-go-to' parties in one blustery night. Alright, yes, I did get to make mashed potatoes and rolls on Christmas morning while wearing a bathing suit and yes, I did get to wear flip-flops and a 'Summer' dress to our Christmas potluck dinner, and yes, I did get to go to bed with the hatches open and the sound of waves lapping in my ears. Okay, so it's not THAT bad... but it still didn't feel like Christmas. Christmas is supposed to be a time of bad weather and office-party regrets and family strife and screaming bratty children and last-minute-gift panic!! I miss that. ;) (Continued...)

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Monique - warm and sunny... :) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:30:20 -0600

Hi Everyone! (Continued...)