It’s always difficult to come up with interesting posts for the blog in the winter season.  This is the time of the year when we sit still for a while and catch up on maintenance and projects, and usually they’re not the most glamorous or interesting things to describe.  We run the boat and all her many systems pretty hard throughout the year, and it’s much easier to do preventative maintenance than to fix things in remote places – don’t ask us how we know that.

2013 was an unusual year for us because we made the huge leap from one side of the country to the other.  We did a lot of cruising but since so many of the great cruising areas out here are fairly close together we didn’t put as many miles on the boat this season.

We started 2013 in Marathon (in our beloved Florida Keys)

Lat/Lon: 24 42.19 N  081 06.75 W (temperature: 80) and ended the year in Victoria, BC, Canada

Lat/Lon: 48 25.36 N  123 22.22 W (temperature: 45).  In that time we traveled 1466 nautical miles (which does not count the miles ADVENTURES traveled on the freighter to get out here).  That’s a big difference from the years we went to Nova Scotia and cruised around 6000 nautical miles in a year.

Moving to a very different cruising area has brought new challenges for us, and pushed us out of our comfort zone – which is a healthy thing.  We don’t ever want to stop learning and growing.

We have lost some boating friends this year – far too soon.  But both of our friends really lived their lives – they accomplished a great deal in their too-short time on this earth.  Gary and Judy were extraordinary and beautiful people, each in their own way, and we remember them often.  Their untimely passing reminds us how lucky we are to be able to have the adventures we’ve enjoyed so far, and we never try to take any of it for granted.

We are learning to embrace grandparent-hood.  Jim’s son Jimmy and his wife Valerie welcomed little James in October, joining big brother Donald who is now 17 months.  While I can’t come to terms with the “G-word” to describe my role in all this (I am FAR too young!), I can manage to be a “Mimi”.  And I have the irresistible urge to knit a lot of little sweaters for them.

Jim has no problems channeling his inner child, so he’s always on the lookout for interesting toys.  For. The. Babies.  I think he prefers bigger boy toys, so I’m not sure who he’s really shopping for.

Christmas is all put away now, and the city has changed all the lights around Parliament back to plain white.  Now it’s time for chores and projects, and dreaming about heading north to Alaska in the spring.