Well, after leaving Harbour Isle in Ft Pierce, we ventured north via plane to Washington DC where Andrew picked us up at the airport in our own car which we had stored at his office. Andrew was quickly deposited at his apartment and we continued on to NJ for several days.

Christmas Eve was spent in PA at my brother-in-laws. Lots of food and wine and of course a fun Yankee swap. From PA we drove to my brothers for Christmas Day dinner. It was a fun and tiring two days.

 

From NJ it was on to Vermont. Our expectations for snow had been high based on the mid December storm that dropped nearly 20 inches before Christmas. But fickle weather is now the norm and warm temps melted away much of the 20 inches. My first few work days this year as a volunteer mountain guide at Stratton were tough with little coverage due to two days of rain and warm weather. But just as fickle weather can ruin the snow it can also bring the good stuff and it did right before the holidays. Snow and cold returned and Stratton’s snow guns pumped away creating very good skiing.

Our friends Peter and Kathy along with their son Jason arrived for the annual New Years event as did our buddy Chip, and both of our kids with their respective significant others. The New Years Eve dinner at the Landgrove Inn has become a tradition and we all look forward to Carl and his long-boat of Aquavit. The Scandinavian songs he leads us in have been the same for the last eight years but we never tire of them. We also never remember them. This year was no different.

 

 

 

It was, as usual, a wonderful gathering. The skiing was good and the weather cooperated providing a beautiful Vermont landscape.

 

We accomplished the long, 1400 mile drive from VT back to Ft Pierce in 3 days. One night on board in Ft Pierce and it was on to Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart. We will spend the month of January here and drive back for a month of skiing in February. Temp right now is about 42 degrees. The heat on Big Smile works great but we are looking forward to warm sunshine.

We love Stuart and the historic district adjacent to the marina. It is also a perfect location for boat maintenance, be it do it yourself or contracted, as every type of boat business imaginable is located in town or just up the road. Big Smile is settled in on C dock, same as last year. Lots of trawlers at Sunset Bay with many returnees. Cath’s roommate from college and her husband are down for the month at their condo and had us over for dinner. They also joined the same gym, Planet Fitness, for $10 for the month. This weekend we are having dinner with another college friend and spouse down on Atlantic Ave. in Delray Beach. Atlantic is a crazy avenue for eating and people watching.