Happy Thanksgiving!
25 November 2010 | Mariner's Cove - Mission Bay
Sally
Happy Thanksgiving! It's so hard to believe it's already been a year since we celebrated this special day in route to Hawaii from the Kiribati - yikes, how the time does fly!
As always, we have so much to be thankful for on this gorgeous Thanksgiving Day. The weather didn't quite cooperate for our week away to Catalina and San Clemente Islands, but we are enjoying the extremely calm anchorage in Mariner's Cove. The weather today is absolutely stunning - cold, but beautiful blue skies and sunshine. This is the third time today I've sat down to write, but the chores of the day are done now, so hopefully I can finish it off!
This past weekend was wonderful with no school work to prep and we were anxiously waiting for the rain to subside so we could head out. I don't think I've ever watched four movies in a row, but that's just how we spent our wet Saturday - cuddled up warm and toasty in our new comforter and blanket. We splurged for a new TV/DVD player for our cabin (it's mounted on an arm and can easily be strapped down when we are under way) and Darlene and Larry have been spoiling us with lots of new movies. It was the perfect start to a relaxing week. Sunday morning found us visiting with new friends on our dock, Lisa and John. They had been out fishing and had caught a huge leopard shark. Glen offered the hack saw to help with the butchering process and as John got going, he quickly found the shark had babies inside just waiting to be born. He gently removed each one (anywhere from 3- 5 inches long) from its sack and let them go in the water. There were about 30 of the little critters and each one had an umbilical cord attached to a "food ball" (? - not sure about how accurate that is, but it's how it looked!) and they all seemed to be doing well swimming around the boat. I should probably mention that leopard sharks don't have teeth, so we had no worries about putting them in the water at the marina! It was definitely one of those Discovery Channel moments and we were thankful to be there to experience it. The BBQ mom-shark we had that night for dinner was pretty yummy, too!
Monday morning found us restless with yet another yucky weather report. We were going to stay at the marina, but decided to head out around noon. Our marina is nice, but we were both REALLY wanting to get away. Our first thought was to head to Shelter Island for the night, but once we got out on the bay, we decided to keep going to Mission Bay. I hadn't ever been into Mariner's Cove and was delighted at how calm it is - you couldn't even tell we were at anchor instead of being tied up to the dock. Tuesday was pretty nice so we headed north to Oceanside - thinking we would leave from there on Wednesday to head to Catalina. Robin was willing to be kidnapped, so we grabbed her and went out for a fun dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. The next morning, the winds were howling and we decided it wasn't worth going out in 25 knot winds. Instead, we headed back to Mariner's Cove. It's so pretty here and at night, we are looking straight out at the lighted Sea World tower. Not sure which is prettier, that or the full moon rising up next to it.
As you can see from the picture, we have Penny with us for the week. It is always a treat to get some quality time with her. Our turkey cooked faster than I thought it would, so we had an early dinner. This was our first turkey since the one at the cruiser's club in New Zealand - last year it was fresh caught mahi mahi. We always say we shouldn't wait so long in between turkeys, but somehow we always do!
Okay, I've rambled long enough and our real purpose of this entry was to let all of you know how thankful we are to have such wonderful friends and family that care so much about us (even willing to keep up with this blog!). Glen and I both are blessed with good health, a lovely home right on (in!) the water, and a loving partner to share life with. What more could we possibly want? Oh yeah, having a paycheck coming in is pretty nice, too! :) Wishing you all happiness and a very happy Gobble, Gobble Day!