We've been back in Greek waters for over a week now after a great 7 week visit to the US. Of all the trips back we've made, this one seemed to be the most fun. And it was a lot easier too since it wasn't halfway around the world! We arrived in April so things were already looking up in Vermont in terms of winter ending and we didn't have any trouble resurrecting our car- no snow to dig out. We spent a week with my mom & dad catching up and eating some favorite foods that we'd been missing along with making plans for when we would return a few weeks later. It was so good to see them. Then we started road-tripping down to Florida to visit Jon's parents while it continued to warm up in the north. We crashed in on as many friends as we could along the way which is always fun. Thank you John & Cindy, Kevin & Claire, Frank & Debbie for your hospitality! We spent an extra day in Virginia visiting Great Falls & the Manassis Battlefield, & walking around the lands of Janelia just soaking up the Spring foliage really and relaxing some. It really is a beautiful area despite the ticks. It's always funny that Jon is the one who doesn't particularly like poisonous snakes but he's usually the one who stumbles upon them first. As we were standing looking at a little waterfall, there was a bush next to him that had, at about eye level, this harmless snake all stretched out laying among the branches. It gave him a startle and then he got a good photo. It isn't poisonous, but most that we see in our travels are so the initial reaction is the same. When we got down to Florida the warm air felt good and we were once again in shorts full time.
From USA Trip 2016
From USA Trip 2016
From USA Trip 2016
From USA Trip 2016
From USA Trip 2016
From USA Trip 2016

We finally got to meet Jon's parents' new dog Katie and she was quite the little bundle of energy. I love a dog who truly plays fetch until you grow tired of tossing the toy and that welcomes you home with the same vigor whether you've been gone all day or just stepped out to get the mail. She was a major source of humor for the 2 weeks we visited. It's so good that they have her. Jon & his dad finished the backpackers guitar that they started last year and it turned out great; truly a work of art- forgot to get a picture, forgot to get a lot of pictures actually! We wanted to bring it back here to learn to play it but when we asked the airline, they said no, we couldn't carry it on in the cabin. Then we saw two different people on our flights alone carrying even larger guitars onboard. Grrr! We made a mental note to not bother asking, just do as we please! Jon's brother Brad came down too which meant a lot to us and when we set up the air mattress for him the dog went nuts and wanted to play even more than usual. It was a full time job for each of the 5 of us keeping track of our belongings and everyone lost some personal piece of clothing to Katie at some point during our gathering- funny! The whole time we were visiting, Jon's dad dutifully got up each morning and brewed a delicious pot of coffee so it was ready to pour when we rolled out of bed and he doesn't even usually make brewed coffee- what a dad! While Brad was there, we went to a treasure museum (the reason the Vero Beach coastline is named the Treasure Coast is due to several sunken Spanish shipwrecks from years ago filled with jewels that have never been completely recovered) and then the next morning, all motivated, we went out beachcombing for treasure but came back none the richer... Although it wasn't long enough for the months we've been apart, and we couldn't see everyone, we had some quality time together as a family and it felt good. Bob & Maggie made the trip over to Vero this year to save us the drive so we had a splendid evening out on the town. It was good to reminisce and share stories (some of which weren't true John!!) We also got to meet Lois & George, neighborhood friends of Jon's parents who follow our travels and have cruised several years in the Bahamas. They help make what we're doing seem more normal to Jon's parents I think, which is good.
From USA Trip 2016
From USA Trip 2016

We got down to Miami to see my sister Ann & Alex and had a most perfect couple of days hanging out in Coconut Grove where we both grew up. Biking around to one favorite childhood spot after another topped off with a lovely sushi dinner, we relived and also made some memories that day. And we got to see Jan & Rich off Slip Away, long time cruising friends who just happened to be down in Miami visiting Rich's brother so the timing worked out great.

We started the road trip back to Vermont and made a little diversion to S Carolina to pick up a Uhaul trailer for some friends who live in MA now, so we towed this the rest of the way up. It was good to do since we now know that we can pull our little camper easily with our car and now we have the trailer hitch installed to do it. We can't wait to do it actually. And it felt really good to be of help to friends when we have received so much. That is paying it forward yes? We got to see Mark & Judy when we met up for the trailer swap and they treated us to BBQ which we can never get enough of. We also caught up with Dan & Liz and got our kid fix with their 2 pretty daughters. They always make us feel welcome and Liz is a great cook!
From USA Trip 2016
From USA Trip 2016
From USA Trip 2016
From USA Trip 2016
From USA Trip 2016
From USA Trip 2016

We spent the last 10 days with my parents and when we arrived in Vermont, it was all green, lovely and warm. Jon & my dad got busy right away replacing 2 skylights in my parents roof that had been leaking. They knocked that project off in one day and we were then free to play the rest of the time. We rode our bikes on the bike path, on the mountain roads, by the river, we hiked, BBQ'ed on the deck, made great food and enjoyed each other's company. Jon told me that Vermont at this time of year feels to him like a giant, soft, pillow. Hmmm, then if that is the case, then being home in the USA feels to me like a big, over-stuffed easy chair. One that is easy to fall in to and a little hard to get out of. Life in the US is cushy and we enjoyed soaking up a bit of it. It was difficult to pull ourselves up & away from all that we love and who we love back home. We are tired of saying goodbye. On the other hand, we feel very fortunate to have afforded ourselves the opportunity to get out of the easy chair and travel the world. For growth, for perspective, for fun. You have to go to know.

Our flights to Greece went smoothly on the way back (we were delayed 2 days in Athens on the way over because of an air traffic controller strike in Greece- great economy booster!) and we made it to a nice little hotel late at night. After a big breakfast, we took the ferry back to Aegina Island the next day with all of our luggage relatively intact and the boat standing there waiting for us as we'd left it but in need of a good bath. Where DOES all the reddish dirt come from? They tell me Turkey. It felt so good to be back to this home & among our familiar things.
From USA Trip 2016

We spent the next six days getting adjusted to the time difference again while applying 4 coats of bottom paint, cleaning, varnishing, polishing stainless, re-installing the parts we'd taken home to fix and rebuilding the dive compressor. It looks like new now and has mostly all new parts so hopefully it'll run! When we were in Malaysia, we found the same bottom paint we applied in NZ and got a little extra since we liked the way we were able to go 2 years this time without hauling out to paint and it was a little thin this past season. But when putting this paint on this time, it seemed to stretch a lot further and before we knew it we had 4 coats! We met some nice people at Asprakis boatyard and we got everything done we wanted to so it was a good experience overall. They handled the boat carefully and we got re-launched without incident which is always a relief. They even left us in the slings overnight so we could get two coats of paint on from where the stands were.
From Greek Islands
From Greek Islands


Since we needed a quiet place to spend a few days finishing getting our boat back together, sails on, things put away properly and systems up & running like the watermaker & generator, we came over to the island of Poros in the Saronic Gulf. It is very sheltered here in this large harbor, like a pool. There are several great anchoring spots which is good since we aren't ready to med-moor yet with the masses. We've been here for a few days now and it's hard to think about leaving because it is so nice. We're taking nice walks exploring and eating great meals with the food we're getting from the stores. We also decided it was a perfect place to leave the boat for a day to take a fast ferry to the island of Hydra, one of the gems of the area if not all of Greece. It is the only island in Greece that has no motorized vehicles, only marble cobbled lanes, highland trails, donkeys, rocks & sea. With a rich maritime history of ship building, the harbor is gorgeous and as we arrived on the ferry, it felt like we were entering a movie set. I guess it hasn't changed much since the 17-1800's. Just beautiful and so different than any other place I've seen. We did some fantastic hiking here, all day long actually and walked the low coastal paths as well as a trail that ran along the spine of arid, sun drenched mountains. Since it is so dry we don't feel the sweat nearly as much but the thirst is still there! We had some time to just hang out in town too and soak up the scene. There were cats everywhere. There are flowers billowing out of every corner. It was a lovely day and truly a beauty of an island. Here are a few pics to show you what it looked like. More on Picasa if you click through.
From Greek Islands
From Greek Islands
From Greek Islands
From Greek Islands
From Greek Islands


Our plan is to explore more of Greece's islands once we can tear ourselves away from here. Stay tuned!
From USA Trip 2016
From USA Trip 2016
From Greek Islands