| Because we don’t have much room on the boat, holidays and birthdays present unique challenges in terms of room to add more stuff. So, we are focused on experiences instead of things. Ava, for anyone that knows her, loves animals of all kinds. We stopped at Marineland on our previous trips through here and Ava learned of the opportunity to swim with the dolphins. Thanks to her Oma and Opa, she was able to combine a few Christmas gifts into a one hour swim with the dolphins. She was (and still is) over the moon about it. She swam with two dolphins, Lily and Kasik, including getting a chance to feed them, hold hand/flippers, give them a kiss, and get them to twirl and jump out of the air. It was fun to watch and see the pure joy on her face! I’m posting a lot of pictures but partly so Ava will have them easy to access to share with friends. (Reed chose deep sea fishing for his gift – more to come on that once we get to southern Florida!) In addition to the dolphin adventure, we had some other fun while at Marineland (it’s a city and a dolphin park!). Reed and Ava met a great young lady named Chloe, aged 10. Her dad is the dock master at the marina so she spent many of her weekends growing up here. She and Reed hit is off quickly and they spent much of the two days fishing and exploring the shore, including hand feeding some of the fish in a pond. We also saw two dolphin babies swimming in the river with their pod each morning. At the end of our last day, we rented kayaks and were led on a tour of the pristine saltwater marshes across from the marina. Quint was a great tour guide, showing us details on the oyster beds (they clean the water – up to 50 gallons a day), the beautiful birdlife, and a few rare edible plants. The day had turned to mist and rain just as we shoved off but it didn’t matter; good fun, education, and laughter prevailed. We returned back the marina, hot showers, and readied for our continued journey southward. Thanks for following and enjoy! |
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We had a great time in New Bern, finishing our projects and getting caught up with friends we made there. Ava and Reed continued their homeschooling using the Marina lounge as home base. But with the weather was starting to get chilly, including some frost on the docks in the mornings, it was time to head south. We left on Nov 24th via the ICW toward warmer waters. Some of the highlights were:
We will depart again tomorrow with our next stop at St. Augustine for a few days. Thanks for following our adventure! Enjoy! TBD
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AuthorsWe are Karrie, Eric, Ava, and Reed Sanderson. Our house is in Seattle but our home is wherever the four of us are...and for the next two years, our home is Night Music, a Tartan 37 Sailboat. Archives
June 2016
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