I don't know why it turned out to be the Year of the Cookie. I guess it was partly because we really did EAT more cookies this past year than either one of us cares to remember {{ and possibly admit to }}.

But bear with me when I go literal for a moment and believe me when I say it really was, quite literally, The Year of the Cookie.

Besides, it makes for a great title for our Annual Side Effects blog!

Cookies sure evoke an instant feeling of Satisfaction {{ unless you get a burnt one, lol }}. Usually though, the mouthwatering anticipation as they bake? A feeling of warmth, perhaps cozy comfort. A knowledge of satisfaction when you have your first {{ still warm }} bite. The buttery, and maybe chocolatey, goodness as you lick your fingers. It's not all about home-made though. Who doesn't love Oreo's?? Shall we talk about Fig Newtons? Careful though, you really don't want to eat too many, you'll pay the price, we guarantee it!! And somehow Cookies, Like Life, are all about the LOVE.

If you've been following my Blogs, the ones I don't and can't seem to find the words to write much of anymore, you might know that every summer I compile my thoughts and edit my words into a "Side Effects Blog". A bit of a recap of the past year. If you haven't, or to get you caught up, here's the first one:

Side Effects to Season One: Untitled

And because, like a Cookie, you now might want more? Here's the rest of them:

Season Two: "Out of Control"
Season Three: "Ho-Hum"
Season Four: "Jus' From"
Season Five: "OnOn!"
Season Six : "ZoomZoom"

As I once again sit down to remember the events of this past year, review the photos of where we've been and what we've seen, the smiling faces looking back at us, I just can't believe that somehow, it's once again proven to be bigger and better than ever! Which is sort of like a Cookie. You have your Best One {{ Ever!! }} and then somewhere down the road you end up having a bite of another one and then wow, just like that? It becomes your Best One Ever too.

And isn't somehow your life like that too? Everyone has their own favourite, their own brand, or their own go to recipe? And look what happens when you mix it up: Dark Chocolate? Nuts? Cranberries? White Chocolate? Coconut flakes? The LOVE that happens when we're all a perfectly blended mix aren't we?

We were on our way Southwards when Livin'Life friends, David and Janice, called out to us, so naturally we stopped by: for "one night only".



We stayed a wee bit longer than that. Explored the area, learned how to eat crabs,



celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving while in the U.S.of A and why?



Because our friends are American! That's OK though, that's how friendships get baked,



and the idea of adding new ingredients to our Adventures {{ they told us how GREAT and GRAND the Western Caribbean was, and how we needed to come !!}} Hmm... we weren't quite ready {{ or were we?}}, or convinced {{tell us more, we can do this with our 6'4" draft?? }}.

In Reynolds Marina, Green Cove Springs, (Florida) we found Banyan patiently waiting for us. We lived in our MoHo



while crossing refit projects off our list, one by one.



Meet our new Dinghy, A Zar Mini!



And when we got underway, we were in the right place at the right time to watch the Rocket Launch at Cape Canaveral



{{ while eating, strangely enough, a cookie !! }}

Took our sweet ole time and visited friends as we travelled Southwards,



and had friends visit us as they travelled Southwards,



Crossed the Gulf Stream,



hoping they put our mast in right!! And somehow ended up in Great Harbour Cay (Bahamas) and points further South to the Exumas, where we were much anticipating our boys coming to visit. At the last minute their work interfered and plans had to be cancelled.

So since we now had seemingly nothing "to do" in January, we reached out to the Exuma Land and Sea Park, reconfirmed our interest in being Cambridge Cay Park Hosts, and got the job! WOW, definitely adding some new ingredients in our Cookie type of life!

We planned to do all sorts of everything while there. Why? Because we had a month! We had a list of boat projects and boat work we wanted to work on, you know, in between being Park Hosts.

Would you believe that we didn't cross ONE thing off that list? What we did do was enjoy thirty days of volunteering, meet all sorts of wonderful cruisers,



and spent some time cleaning up the garbage on the Cambridge Cay.



Reaching out to incoming boats, helping them pick up the new (heavy) pennants, dinghying about every afternoon picking up payments, telling people about the Park, and unfortunately, defending payment positions to a few cruisers who wanted to be there but had no intention of paying for that privilege, or for following the rules. But you can read all about it here

We helped one very large Yacht grab their mooring ball, and ended up with a ThankYou bag from their Chef which included, you guessed it, cookies!!

We would kayak or swim to get rid of those extra sweet calories,



Enjoying time with The Turtles,



until one of our Kayaks sprung a leak {{ maybe we'd simply eaten too many Cookies? }} and that was one bitter and very burnt Cookie to swallow. Especially when the second Kayak exploded two days after the first one did. {{ sigh }}

Evenings were spent hosting cruiser get togethers on the beach,



That might, or might not have included some cookies as we watched the sunset. And if the Exumas Land and Sea Park interests you, why not purchase Brent Burrow III's book, where we are quite honourably mentioned.

We were thrilled to have friends come visit us, but as with all things, you can arrange the time or the place, but not both. There was a huge nasty weather system coming the day of their arrival {{ of course }}, so we once again headed to the safe confines of the Park, and had them delivered to us.

And when the weather cleared, we truly relished every moment we got to share with them.



And during all this time we were still hemming and hawing about our direction. Were we heading back to the States for H-Season, or did we REALLY want to go to the Western Caribbean?

What do you do when you don't know what to do? Why, you make cookies! And as we enjoyed their sweet goodness, we studied and researched. Maybe even kept an eye on weather windows? Maybe we were just High on Cookie Sweetness when that Weather Window appeared, the timing was just right, but that's how we pointed our bow to Great Inagua Island. We could always turn around we reasoned...

While at Great Inagua, the day before departure, in the middle of the night, we saw a FB post in one of the groups we follow. Kindred Spirits Inn & Cottages was looking for a cruising couple to live and work, for the summer months, at their Inn in PEI.

We both looked at each other. Intrigued. And surprised that we were so... interested. Believing in the way of The Universe and that, if you're aware and watching, she tends to put things you need in your path, and well, we thought about applying. Staying in one place for a whole summer sort of fit into our short and long range plans. PEI was always a place we wanted to spend more time in, maybe even retire to? Besides, as with all interesting things, we figured the application process was probably already closed.

Dare I tell you that I was eating and wiping cookie crumbs off my keyboard as I typed the fastest cover email I'd ever typed in my entire life?

Why? Because another Weather Window had appeared, with perfect winds to get us to Jamaica. We needed to get moving, and during all the fuss and muss what happened? A reply... with a couple of questions. We dropped our dock lines as we typed in our answers...



and sailed away from cell service just as one last email dinged into our inbox.

We were hired!

We certainly ate lots of cookies as we spent the next three days on the ocean blue, contemplating this new direction our lives would take. Work? All summer? In one place? We don't even know these people? We don't even know these Inns & Cottages?



You can catch up on all the details of our Adventure and Sailing from Bahamas to the Western Caribbean:
From the Crossing to Jamaica, to Going to Grand Cayman, to the much anticipated The Great Big Tipping Incident with a few more added in between for fun.

We entered the Rio Dulce,



(photo credit: Livin'Life)

reached Catamaran Marina,



Banyan's home for H-Season. And instantly fell in love with the place. The mountainous and lush landscape we hadn't even known we were missing. We loved the people we met. Banyan was certainly at home in her new home. And would you believe that the Dockmaster had cookies to serve, and if he didn't the Marina had some we could buy. What a coincidence that was?!

'Cept now? Facing a job in just a few short weeks, we suddenly found ourselves on a timetable. We had two weeks to acclimatize to our new surroundings {{ which made it much easier because of our friends and newfound family }} prep our boat for storage {{ with no Air Conditioner, and in intense heat }}, get ourselves to Honduras, where we flew to Florida, and grabbed an Uber to our MoHo...



... and found she'd weathered our absence well. We were on the road driving home before we even unpacked our bags.

The 13 km bridge across the watery Abegweit Passage, from New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island,



is a pretty spectacular experience to drive. Once on the island we drove past pastoral rolling hills, marked by green potato fields, sidebarred by PEI's distinctive red earth. We inhaled the fresh Island Air, spiced with a tinge of Salty breezes. And would you believe we immediately felt like we'd come home.

Nearing the North side of Prince Edward Island, we both found ourselves reminiscing about the Great Memories we had of visiting The Island from our previous lives. We both remembered being here last year with the MoHo, and how we both wanted to come back for more time. We still were a little anxious about this "work" business, and what if we didn't like the who and the where?

As we arrived in Cavendish, we started looking for the address, when our chartplotter told us we missed our turn. We finally noticed the little nondescript blue sign, and we signalled into the purple and pink lupin decorated lane, and drove towards the sign.



A smiling face appeared at the Office porch as we parked our RV, eagerly waving like we were long lost family, and as we got out of the car, we were instantly embraced.

That's how we started a new type of routine at Kindred Spirits,



a job where, believe it or not, one of our tasks was to deliver... Cookies! Seriously.

After 7 years of retired life, it was an odd feeling to find ourselves on a schedule. To look for the time when neither one of us wears a watch. To tell our friends we were working, and never for a moment did it feel like work. We were having the time of our life, meeting all sorts of people, and all of them, like us, with stories to share. Truly, the hardest part was not being able to play with our friends and family who had come to visit, or were just passing through.



So you see my family, friends and followers: It truly was The Year of the Cookie. Physically they kept appearing everywhere we turned, and we enjoyed every single one that we ate. We baked them and we bought them. We got given some, and we gave some. And yes, we ate too many and learned that balance, with some exercise, truly is key! Then we added some new ingredients to the mix by getting ourselves to the Western Caribbean for new Adventures. And finally we embarked on a whole new type of summer adventure, one that will have us exploring a new to us place, maybe a home in the making, perhaps a new favourite? We chose to work, adding a whole dimension to our lives we didn't even know we were missing. And finally, we decided to take something out of the mix. We thoroughly enjoyed the comfy cozy home, we licked our fingers of the buttery goodness, but if she sells, that'll be OK too. She was truly, and will forever remain, one of our favourites.

There you go, family, friends and followers. Season Seven: The Year of The Cookie.