Sidenote: I am trying to look cool by using the new hashtag vernacular however I think it just comes across as #nohopeforoldladyvananda and #lookwhostryingtobeahipster. Perhaps even #whodoesshethinksheis or #askherifsheevenknowswhyweusehashtags. #youtellme.

The Van Anda gypsies are on the road again. Sounds far less pretentious than; the Van Andas, after wintering in Southern California, are now traveling to their yacht in Italy to prepare for a summer in Greece and Turkey. On their travels home they will layover in the UK, for some well-deserved respite from their hectic winter schedule (pronounced shhedjule).

It’s the end of March and we’re off again. Still can’t believe that this is our life. It’s our third year and I’m still not used to it – the saying goodbye again, the extreme packing (as if I’m headed to the depths of the Amazon, rather than Europe), the changeover from house-living to boat-living. It still feels so foreign (hey, maybe that’s why they use that term).

This winter visit was great and I have some wonderful memories to carry me through until next winter; coming home to my sister in Denver (#loveyousis), seeing some of my old friends & colleagues, Bellinis at Jelly (look it up), real haircuts from a professional (and sweetheart), football with Bob & Cleo, playoffs with 49er fans (aka brother, father & sister), Chris & Dan’s wedding!, oyster bar at said wedding, TURKEY DINNER, frittatas & French toast with Gina, giggling with mom and Kathy at the kitchen table, laughs with Uncle Bill, being with The Boys at Wang’s in Palm Springs (pretty much being with them anywhere), slumber party with Stace, sledding with Xavier (I was trekking, he was sledding), YORKSHIRE PUDDING at Christmas Dinner, wine tastin’ and crab eatin’ with The Bryant Clan in SLO, Fish Night in Flagler Beach with Steve-O, Beth, Darren, Tracy, Brady, Gus-Gus & Chelsea (formerly known as Bubba Chelsea Frisker Baby), Wedding Dress Shopping Slumber Party in Miami with The Tres Amigos, CHAMPAGNE (at all hours), reading a book with Carly and her wit (that kid slays me!), smooching on Travis & Xavier (please don’t let them get any bigger), surf & turf with Gina and Molesy, seeing Bill enjoy a martini & oysters at their 50th Wedding Anniversary, and finally, the pups…Chelsea, Abby, Cleo, Toshi, Rigby, Gus-Gus, Louis, Neeney and The Cash Man.

Foods I will dearly miss in the next eight months; peanut butter, chips and salsa (anything Mexican really), cottage cheese, cilantro, sushi, anything at Trader Joe’s, In and Out Burgers, good BBQ, Bob’s Blue Cheese Dressing, Buffalo Wings, and mom’s coconut cake.

Foods I will not miss; lima beans, freakishly large chickens, and liver. Well no, not goose liver. Duh.

Even though I’m looking forward to another great season on At Last, I will miss our friends and family back home. Thank you to all that enrich our lives. We love you and miss you dearly.