Thanksgiving was an exercise in patience.

There were over 200 cruisers gathered in a spot about as big as our living room at home, with plate in hand, standing in line for a potluck meal. It was about 90 degrees, and there were chairs for about 160 people. Someone had donated about 15 turkeys, and the rest of us all brought side dishes. There was plenty of food – you just couldn’t visit with anyone. Thankfully, there were plenty of desserts, many of them chocolate!

We found a great church on Sunday – it is part of a bed and breakfast in downtown La Paz. It is English-speaking, and we knew all the songs. The church is very community-minded, and helps the locals a lot. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, they go to the poorest section of town and feed breakfast to about 70 children under the age of twelve. Molly, Jessie and I are going to go help on Friday of this week. After church last Sunday, we were fed delicious turkey soup, then the girls went swimming and jumped on the trampoline at the bed and breakfast behind the church. They met a bunch of new friends, then we walked back to the marina, about 2 miles. It was a great day!

Right now, we are anchored in a little bay near La Paz. Jim’s brother, Roy is anchored here on the Lady J, a 185-foot pleasure yacht that Roy is captaining for a few months. It’s been nice being around family. The Lady J employs a full time crew, including a French chef and a couple stewards, along with an engineer. Last night, we dinghied over to the yacht and had a terrific dinner for just Roy and our family. There was so much food, all of it cooked to perfection. I took a long hot shower on the boat, then we motored back to our little home. It was a nice break from our little icebox full of food, and military showers. I’m not complaining, honest, but sometimes this is like living in a really expensive RV. There are always power, water, fuel, holding tank and propane issues. There is a delicate balance between all of these – if you want really clean dishes, you have to use a lot of hot water. If you want hot water, you have to use battery power or engine power. If you use too much water, you have to go out into the ocean and make some more, which uses fuel. But, since it is 25 degrees and snowing back home, I’m going to stop whining right now.

We all went snorkeling a few days ago at a little cove about 2 hours from the marina, on some islands called Espiritu Santos. There are hundreds of anchorages and dive spots on these islands. People have swum with whale sharks and sea lions around here. We found a spot where there were 40 or 50 different species of fish. We saw a long eel, a couple of trumpet fish, tons of colorful angel fish and some big parrot fish. Jim and I dragged the girls behind the dinghy, with their snorkels on, going about 2 knots. It was cute to see their little butts out of the water, and hear them squealing underwater because of some amazing bit of life that they were seeing. Last night, they went snorkeling right around the boat, and saw about 20 small manta rays. Jessie almost touched one, but couldn’t quite get close enough. Today, Molly said she pet a puffer fish, right on his nose.

I hear the water gets about ten degrees colder here over the next month or so. Time to head south! We will be in Puerto Vallarta by December 20^th, where we will get to spend Christmas with my sister Jami and her family. I can’t wait! I wish my whole family could be there.

School is going pretty well. I am learning a lot in math. I must have been absent much of 7^th grade, because I sure don’t remember all this stuff about variables and associative properties and stuff. Molly and Jessie’s assignment today is to write a poem about family. They are not very excited about it, but that’s okay. They need to do a pre-write, a rough draft, and a final draft. They are also memorizing Phillipians 2:3-4, which is a really good verse about how to treat others. It’s something we all need to be reminded about in the tiny space we are occupying together…

Jessie said she will be posting some new pictures on the site soon. Maybe tomorrow, when we get back to civilization. Thanks for checking the site!

November Something… Jeanna

I’m so confused about the date. There’s nothing to remind me – no payroll, taxes, house payment, school projects, or even weekends or church. We are usually up by about 7:00, and in bed about 8. The sun sets about 5, so we have dinner, go for a walk, maybe play a game, and we’re ready for bed. I’ve never had this much sleep in my life! Life in a marina is so much different than when you are making a crossing. There, you never get to sleep, because you are on watch, or the boat is lurching, pitching, yawing, thumping, creaking, and rolling.

We have been boat cleaning the past couple of days. i cleaned the heads (yum) and the galley. Even after only one month, everything was a little grimy and salty. I took all the silverware and dishes out and rewashed everything, cleaned out the fridge, washed all the walls and floors, and re-oiled. Yesterday, we did the laundry, and packed away a bunch of things we aren’t going to use for a while (turtlenecks, wool socks, Levi’s, books we have read). Molly, Jessie and Jim cleaned all the chrome on the outside of the boat and gave it a coat of wax. Jim sprayed all the stainless parts to get rid of rust and salt corrosion. There is still much to do, but one can only do a little when it is so hot. I can understand the slower pace of life near the equator.

The lion-colored hills on the west side of Baja turned to lush green as we went north up the Sea of Cortez. The water is an emerald green, and very warm. We stopped at a beautiful anchorage on the way here – Isla de Muerta (Cove of Death). There was a clean, well-designed restaurant/yacht club there that re-named the cove the Bay of Dreams – I’m sure some marketing genius came up with that idea. It is a much more appropriate name, though – this cove was quiet and protected and had some great snorkeling and fishing spots. We might need to re-visit it on the way back. I think we will be here in La Paz through Thanksgiving, then head across the Sea of Cortez to Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, where we stay through Christmas. At least, that is the plan today. Manana – who knows?

I think Montezuma’s Revenge is kind of like sea sickness. It comes on strong for a few days, then slowly subsides, then you are able to eat almost anything. The girls on the boat have all had a bit of trouble, while iron-stomach Jim has been sampling all that Mexico has to offer. We are feeling better today, but have been very careful not to drink anything with ice, or eat salads or raw vegetables that may have been washed with tap water. Even the bottled water we got in Cabo San Lucas did a number on me. I never promised to be a great traveler, but I’m here, aren’t I?

We are receiving e-mails just fine, but cannot send any out for some reason. So, if you think we are ignoring you, please be patient. I’m sure it’s just a little glitch somewhere. Some of my latest favorite photos are in the media gallery. Happy Thnanksgiving to all of our family and friends – we miss you!

MOLLY’S JOURNAL (Oct. 24 to Nov. 16)

We are now in San Diego, readying ourselves for the Baja Ha-Ha. We are installing the freezer, saying hi to friends, and getting our fishing licenses for Mexico. We went out to breakfast with Bill and Susan Wall, and they gave Jessie and me a lot of cool books. Then they took us on a little tour of San Diego while Mom and Dad worked on the boat. First, we went to Ocean Beach, and Jessie and I chased the waves. After that we went to a fun little shop that was owned by Susan’s friend. One of the things sold there were cute wooden ducks, each having a name tag. Susan arranged for us to get haircuts, which was really nice of her!

We had some time before the appointment, so they took us to see the USS Midway, a giant aircraft carrier that was turned in to a museum. Bill is a pilot, with many years of experience, so he showed us around the huge ship. The crew’s quarters are really cramped, and the bunks are tiny. On the hangar deck, we saw some cool fighter jets. There was a simulator for a Wildcat airplane, and we got to go into it. Bill was steering, and he did barrel rolls and flips! It was fun to go upside down! After our simulated adventure, we went up to the flight deck where the planes and helicopters land and take off from the carrier. We went inside a big helicopter, and there were an amazing amount of gauges, knobs, and levers. It must be really hard to drive one of those. Bill showed us all the types of planes he had flown that were on the ship, including this one that looks like a shark.

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After seeing the aircraft carrier, we went to a salon called Vanilla to get haircuts. It is owned by a lady named Gina, and I thought it was cool that she had the same name as Mom, even though it is spelled differently. She was really nice, and so was another lady there who sold jewelry. It was great to get my hair trimmed. We had lunch, and went to meet Mom and Dad at a dive shop. When we got there, Jessie and I were whisked away to try on scuba gear. The next thing we knew, Jessie and I were filling out forms and Mom was explaining to us that we were going to get our open water dives to finish our scuba certification. Over the next 2 days, we took four dives in the ocean at La Jolla, about 20 minutes north of San Diego. Our instructor, Colby, was great, and we saw a lot of amazing sea life! Take a peek at Jessie’s page for the scoop on what went on below the surface.

I came into contact with yet another bird by while we were resting between dives. It was an immature seagull. He had been hanging around for a while, so we started feeding him. He ate a piece of cheese from my hand, and seemed to love it. We nick-named him Cheese, since that was his favorite food. He started to peck at our dive gear, and we tried to shoo him away, but he just thought we were feeding him. He must have been hungry, because he was pecking at everything, even my toes – and it hurt! When I was hunched over trying to keep my feet safe, “Cheese” flapped his wings and landed on my back! It was cool that he got so close to me, but I was so startled that I jumped involuntarily and scared him off. I never imagined that I would feed a seagull cheese!

The Baja Ha-Ha was definitely named that for a reason. We have been having loads of fun and made 4 new friends at our stop in Turtle Bay: Ayla, Robin, Danielle and Darby. Ayla and Robin came by our boat in Ayla’s kayak, asking, “Do you have kids on board?” Danielle and Darby are sisters, age 11 and 10, and are really fun to hang out with.

We finally swam in the ocean in Mexico! When I jumped off the boat for the first time, the water felt sooo good, and now we seem to be always in the water. In Bahia Santa Maria, we went to the beach with Danielle and Darby, and had a great time. I even saw some sort of stingray. Our crew members, Dan and Chris, were paddling our kayaks around, and Dan decided to ride back to the boat in the dinghy with us. We tied the kayak behind the dinghy, and when we shoved off from the beach, two huge waves came at us. I don’t know about Dad and Dan, but Jessie, Danielle, Darby, and I all held on for dear life! Going over both waves, we went nearly vertical, and I almost flew out of the dinghy! It was scary, but I’m thankful no one got hurt, and that we didn’t flip the dinghy over. Later that afternoon, Danielle and Darby and their parents came over in their dinghy and asked if we wanted to go for a hike in the hills above the beach. Jessie was tired, but I went. We found some huge tide pools, and in one of them we found a curiously tiny brown fish. It was cute, and looked like a bit of leaf floating in the pool. It was a little bigger than my thumbnail. We played with him for a long time, picking him up with a shell and moving him to different pools, watching him swim and explore. I found 4 pretty Cowry shells, and when we returned to the boat, I traded one of them for a pretty shell Chris had found. We didn’t have any trouble getting the dinghy off the beach that time.

The next morning, we got up early and set off on the last leg of the Ha-Ha, from Bahia Santa Maria to Cabo San Lucas. We had school, and baked delicious banana muffins for home-ec. We nearly caught two huge Dorado, but they both got off the hook. I wonder what’s for dinner…

I got up at midnight and helped with a watch last night. The moon was really bright, and we saw a planet that flashed red, blue, green and yellow. I also picked out the Orion constellation. We sailed across the finish line at about 5:00 P.M., after a long day of not catching fish, and went out to dinner as soon as we tied up in our slip. The next day, I went swimming with Ayla and Abby, another girl that was on the Ha-Ha. We went to a tiny beach around the corner from the marina. The water was at least as warm as a swimming pool, and it felt good to cool off in the waves. We met Danielle and Darby at Senor Sweets, a little dessert shop in town. We had some yummy gelato, and then swam again at the hotel pool nearby. After dinner that night, Danielle and Darby slept over on our boat. We watched the movie “Duma”, and we all slept out in the cockpit. We had a lot of fun!

We won first place in our division in the Ha-Ha, and we left Cabo the day after the awards ceremony. We traveled to La Paz, and made two stops on the way. We went snorkeling in both bays that we spent the night in, and saw lots of colorful fish, including the Cortez Wrasse and the Guineafowl Puffer. I haven’t really seen La Paz yet, but it looks pretty nice. The water temperature is 90 degrees, and I saw a nice beach….

November 11, 2006 – From Jeanna

We have been in Cabo for a few days now. We just had the awards ceremony for the race. Ruby Slippers won 1st place in the “Jalapeno” division, thank you very much! A lot of boats motored at some point in the race, just because it is a pretty low-key race and sometimes the wind was light, but we didn’t motor at all – only sailed, which gave us a lot of extra points, I guess.

Cabo San Lucas is a lot like Las Vegas – with people speaking like Cheech and Chong. There is loud music, lots of bars, people pushing necklaces and whistles in your face to see if you want to make a deal… It will be nice to get to a more peaceful place. On the other hand, there are a thousand restaurants, warm water, pools and laundry, and a “fifties” diner with American hamburgers and milkshakes. So, I guess I won’t complain.

We had the best crew members with us from San Diego to here. Dan is from Kirkland, and has sailed all his life. He was so helpful and fun. He played games with the girls tirelessly, and mostly let them win. Chris is from Maryland – he is a rep from the Jeanneau America office, so he knows a lot about our boat and how it is built and put together. He is funny and a great cook. We all had a lot of fun together, and caught some fish – dorado, tuna, sea bass, and a rubber-lipped something. Molly and Jessie enjoyed dissecting the eyeballs on one of the fish (I don’t know why, either). They are constantly looking up fish, birds and stars in their various reference books, and are learning a lot. It’s a good thing, since I have discovered that I am not a very consistent school teacher. We have had school about 7 times since we left Anacortes one month ago. Ahhh, confession is good for my soul. I promise I will do better, Mr. Principal of Haller Middle School… When we do have school, we all enjoy it, and it goes very well. It’s just that there are so many things to do: swim, cook, read, catch fish, win races, play checkers – busy, busy busy.

We are leaving for LaPaz tomorrow. It is up north in the Sea of Cortez, on the east side of the Baja Peninsula. It is supposed to be a true Mexican town – not so touristy. It is the Capital city of Baja, and sounds very peaceful. It might be a little cold this time of year for diving, but I think we will try. Since Molly and Jessie have been certified for scuba diving, they are itching to explore the under-world. Maybe they will find a “school” down there that will be more consistent in their teaching.

Even though I dislike entering new anchorages at night, the ones we have conquered have been beautiful at night. San Francisco looked like a string of pearls, worthy of Barbara Bush’s neck, while the lights of Cabo were from houses built into the rocks, and looked like a palace stairway. The anchorages of Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria were very dark, but the anchor lights from all the boats in there lit the bay like a city. The last couple of nights of sailing, we had a bright orange full moon to help us find our way. There was no need for radar, because we could see across the flat ocean for miles and miles. I actually felt lucky to have the 8 to 10 PM watch, for the sunset, and the 4 to 6AM watch for the sunrise. The rest of the day, however, I was not quite as chipper as I sound right now.

Jessie has posted some notes (see below) from a while back when we were still in California. I think she posted some new pictures, too, so check the media gallery. Molly is working on her update, so keep checking! We miss you all and hope to see some of you in these warm, peaceful lower latitudes… Jeanna

November 11, 2006

Today we’re headed for Catalina Island. We had Sunday brunch at the yacht club, and set off. About half an hour after we headed out, a little bird streaked over and landed on the boat. We were a ways off shore, though still in sight of land, and we wondered why such a small bird would land on a moving boat. It was really cute and fuzzy, and we decided to name him Sailor. At one point, Sailor flew off, and we thought he was gone, but he came back and landed really close to us under the dodger. I think he must have been cold, because when I was standing in the companionway, he hopped over as if he wanted to go inside. He came so close that he touched my arm! We sort of hoped that he would stay with us and become a pet, but he flew off as we were nearing our destination of Avalon Harbor. I was sad that he had to go, but I really enjoyed watching him.

240Sailor was really cute.

We’re finally coming to San Diego tonight, and it seems like we’re being escorted. A bit after we lost sight of land, a prehistoric-looking bird came over to investigate the boat. It circled us about six times, then, on the second try, landed on our radar! It started to preen itself, and stayed for most of the day. A while later, as we were watching the strange bird Mom saw some disturbances on the water in the distance, like a bunch of little splashes. As we came closer, we saw the cause: dolphins, leaping out of the water! (I was pretty sure that they were White-sided Dolphins, but they could have been skinny porpoises or something.) There must have been hundreds of them, and a couple came over and started playing by our bow! It was so cool to watch them jump beside the boat, and I loved being able to see them while they were underwater. Sometimes other dolphins would join us, and at one point there were probably six of them. Even after we could see the pod no more, our little (not really) bird friend was still with us. I climbed up by the radar pole, and Dad took some pictures of Birdie and me. I got so close that I touched one of his tail feathers, but he got sort of mad at me for invading “his territory”. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted it to be my territory; there were bird droppings all over (no thanks to him). We didn’t want splat all over everything, so a while later Dad pushed him off with the boat hook, and he flew away.

276Looking at this picture, you’re probably thinking, “He got sort of angry?! He looks like he’s about to peck your head off!” Hey, I had no idea what was going on until I saw this photo.

November 1, 2006

Just a very quick note (since I am on someone else’s computer and it is costing $$$$…..)

We are in Turtle Bay, just having finished our first leg of the Baja Ha Ha. It was a great downwind sail here – 3,164 minutes of racing, according to Molly and Jessie. It is not quite as warm here as we imagined, but the water is 78 degrees, so we might need to go swimming in the morning. The next leg starts at 8:00 AM Nov 4th. In the near future, you will hear from Molly and Jessie about their tour of an aircraft carrier in San Diego, and their adventures underwater as they got thier scuba diving certification. They will also tell you about Mexico, I’m sure. Thanks to all who sent e birthday greetings – I can’t think of a better way to spend my —– birthday than to sail to Mexico! Talk to you soon – Jeanna