Welcome 2022

By mid December Miller Time was headed to another of our favorite hang outs, Oceanside Marina in Key West(Stock Island) FL. It was a short and blessedly uneventful trip down from Fort Pierce. Our slip gifts us with stunning views and the staff is always helpful and kind. It did not take long for me to set up all the Christmas trimmings. (took them down while we traveled off shore for safe keeping).

We had planned for our daughter to visit here for Christmas, but covid had other plans. She was testing negative for Covid, but was too sick to travel. We just could not put her in a position to be miserable for a long day of air travel, possible delays and even more risk of exposure with her feeling so poorly. We were all disappointed, but so thankful later when we saw the reports of air travel chaos. We were still able to celebrate with her remotely. We planned to have a cookie decorating compition this year…instead her dad and I did the decorating and she and her boyfriend judged them via facetime. They then decorated cookies and we were able to judge them. Which would you have chosen?

One of our favorite things about Oceanside is ample kayack and paddling adventures just off our boat. I never tire of exploring the seagrass beds searching for conch and taking in al the quiet beauty.

The resort hosted ukulele lessons! Super excited to attend with my friends Karen and Pam. We had so much fun. Santa even got me a Ukulele for Christmas! We’re not quite ready to go on tour, but our wine fueled practice sessions have been a highlight of my time here!

We missed having our normal cruising friends with us(well, to be honest none of our friends are “normal” haha) but Christmas in the Keys did not disappoint. Several other cruisers and friends organized a great Christmas day gathering on the dock. Its always fun to share food and fellowship with folks who share a love of boat life.

Our marina is home for several manatees. Seeing these docile creatures never gets old.

One of the newly realized beneifits of Scott being retired is that we could venture out on days and at times to avoid crowds.

We had a perfect weather window for a quick trip to Boca Chica, a small island a half day away from the keys. It felt good to run the boat some and explore a new location. It did not disappoint! A stunning beach, crystal water and a night sky packed with stars were just what we needed.

The galley has been busy…for some reason, cooking on the boat is more fun than at the house haha.

We started this puzzle about the same time we began this trip….finally completed by the new year! 1000 pieces and NOT as easy I thought it would be when I bought it. I originally purchased it for us to work on with our moms when they visited us back in November…sooooo glad I did not try that. Those ladies would not have been happy with me.

We are gong to the Bahamas! We are so excited. We have been attempting to visit the Bahams the last few years, each time our efforts thwarted by covid/weather/work/life. There has been a TON of things to complete to make this possible…permits to be aquired, Covid tesitng, dog permit applied for, boat projects tended to, provisions bought and stored…with regulations changing along the way. All the boxes(at least those we know about) have been checked and double checked. We will leave today(1/14) and head up the coast to Miami. There we plan to meet up with our friends Rob & Juliet(Sea La Vie) and turn towards Bimini…Lord willing, we will be in the Bahamas by Saturday.