There wasn't a single Mexican food item in sight at our two huge Christmas meals and we loved it. What's not to love with amazing wine and Prime Rib, but the big winner of Christmas 2012 was being with Family after the last four years of being south in Mexico. We were a little home sick for our friends and old life of shorts and flip flops for Christmas in Mexico, but that quickly turned into being sick from all the food and gifts. Now the problem becomes where in the world will be put all of the generous Christmas gifts? If we follow the boat rule of "One On-One Off" then for every new thing we bring aboard, something has gotta go off...but what?

While we frantically try to cram all the new stuff aboard, the good news is that we will be doing it from a slip and not out on our Port San Luis mooring. Today we received a call from the Morro Bay Harbor office with the good news that our name popped up on the slip waiting list. So for the month of January at least we have a slip in Morro Bay. With the winter storms and me being gone at the Seattle Boat Show for the last half of January, being in a slip will sure make life easier for Lori and the kids. The last time THIRD DAY was in a slip for a month was back in October of 2010 in Santa Rosalia, Mexico! Our good fortune is due to a commercial fishing boat leaving it's end tie slip and we will happily pay his whopping slip fee of $400 for the month while he's away.

Considering a comparable slip would be at least $1000 anywhere else, Lori is calling this our "Christmas Miracle". If you ask me the real miracle is that I can still fit into my shorts after all the food we have been eating almost non-stop since Thanksgiving! Did I mention that our slip will be a quick Cortez escape jump away from one of Morro Bay's best Fish and Chip restaurants? The miracle will be keeping Cortez aboard and out of the restaurant's trash bins!