Merry Christmas

It's been another busy year, but not quite the same as the last three. This year was more about family and less about new destinations to discover. The majority of the year was spent getting to know our new grandson Graham and spending time with our granddaughter. We didn't put as many miles on The Pearl but we did manage to cover a lot of ground. We returned to the boat in February and moved it from Myrtle Beach where she was docked for the winter to Charleston. We spent a month in our favorite town enjoying some of our favorite hangouts and catching up with our friends on Gallivant.

In March we moved south to Jacksonville Florida, where we left the boat and returned home to spend Easter with our family. When we returned to the boat we spent a month exploring the St. John's River. We cruised south from Jacksonville to Sanford and it was a beautiful trip through a lush environment that makes you feel you've stepped back in time. We saw a lot of wildlife and enjoyed swimming in several crystal clear springs.

We spent May redoing the teak on The Pearl and exploring Jacksonville, while we waited for the birth of our second grandchild. We received a call in the middle of the night on June 3rd that Brytanie had gone into labor...we loaded the car and were on our way home in less than an hour. Before we were out of Florida we had received word and pictures that Graham Thomas had arrived. Our family is growing and we love it. We spent the summer with our family...especially enjoying our time with the grand wonders.

After Labor Day we returned to The Pearl. We've spent the last year looking for another boat, one that would have room to accommodate family and friends...one we could use as a second home in Texas. We found that perfect boat just a few slips away from The Pearl at Lamb's Yachting Center. We spent the rest of September going through the process of buying the 48' Hatteras that we call Texas Pearl, moving The Pearl further south and preparing the new boat for her trip home to Texas.

We spent 24 days from October 9 through November 2 moving Texas Pearl 1700 miles from Jacksonville Florida to Rockport Texas. We had 24 days of incredible weather and we really enjoyed revisiting some of the places we'd seen in 2011 when we started this wonderful adventure. We even had a chance to see a few new places. It was an amazing feeling for both of us to cruise back into Texas...it's always nice to come home. The last six weeks have been fun...catching up with friends and family and collecting hugs from our little ones. The Texas Pearl is docked in Rockport and we truly love our new little town.

The last few weeks we've been celebrating Christmas at a handful of family gatherings. We will head back to The Pearl in Florida this weekend to begin our 2015 cruising season by spending the winter in the Florida Keys and the Abacos.