Well, I guess my new favorite place is here. We came in to wait out some high winds and a bit of rain and I am enamored. The harbor was almost full when we arrived Wednesday morning. The only mooring ball we could find was a private one belonging to a boat named Highlander. It seems they used it for their smaller boat also name Highlander. We tied on and it was suggested we find a guy named Andrew possibly at the Water's Edge Restaurant to clear our use of it. Marty went in search, to no avail and then went to check with the Hope Town Marina where he had seen the two Highlanders at the dock. They said not to worry about it. The owners hadn't been here all year. Very nice. The weather was nice so we decided to hike around and see the neighborhood.

And I fell in love. The houses are all pastel with white or colored trim. Even the church has yellow shutters and back doors. It is right on the north beach. The town was founded by one family who then married into another family. I got confused trying to keep it straight as I went through the museum. We walked up and down the different lanes and window shopped and read lots of signs that let us know just what was happening on wednesday night. We found a happy hour that was serving draft Heineken for $2.50. A good deal when normally beer runs at least $5 if not higher. After a brief time on the boat and leaving lily to fend for herself, we went back to Sip Sip for a couple beers. Very intimate pretty bar and restaurant, with a bartender, server and cook. There were 5 stools at the bar and we took the last two. Marty and I are always friendly and we started to chat with the bartender whose name is Hermanetta. Lovely lady. Next to mart was a man I had seen cruising the harbor several times during the day. His name is Corey and he was born in Florida but his family moved to Hope Town soon after. He is 26 and a commercial fisherman. Don't think of Wicked Tuna, the show about tuna fishermen in the northeast. Think surfer boy with a spear. We talked and stayed much longer than we had planned, subjects ranging from the Cleveland Indians, of whom he was very knowledgable to his parents catamaran chartering business. He went to school here through 6th grade and then had to go to Marsh Harbor for middle and high school. There were 25 in his graduating class. He said there were cliques but everyone knew everyone pretty well. He played third base on the baseball team and now still plays in a fast pitch softball league. I am so sorry I didn't have my camera. Would have liked to have a picture of him. I'll be stalking him till we leave in order to get one.

The weather last night was not too fierce. Winds blew 20-25 knots and there was enough rain to clear some lily hair off the steps. This morning, mart saw a freed up mooring ball and we moved. Such an ethical guy. Instead of free we will be paying $20 a night.

Oh, after we left Corey and Sip Sip, we strolled down to Cap'n Jack's where there special was a bucket of beer (5) and two orders of wings. I am not sure it was a huge deal, but it was fun. Found out tonight is trivia night there. I would like to go, but I spent a little money at the museum gift shop. I really could have spent more but I reined myself in. My kidlets should keep an eye out for a special something in the mail. But it may take weeks to get there and I have no plan for mailing...

So life continues to be pretty perfect, aside from bouts of homesickness that I occasionally have. Homesick, you ask? You are home. All too true, but you see I miss our children and their spouses and my siblings and Marty's mom and siblings and all our nieces and nephews. It is hard to not be sure when we will see them again. They all have open invites to come sail for a while with us, but the logistics are horrendous. But we hope they might try to make it happen. Are you listening?

Later...