In June we traveled through Normandy and took part in the D Day celebrations. On our way back to Paris we spent a few days in Giverny to check out Monet’s garden with my sister and her family. Then, we took ourselves to Italy! We started in Rome then took the train to Florence and on to …
With Cameron being in New York on business the girls and I joined him and did a fast and furious visit of the Big Apple. France was next on the list as we had an obligation there in early June.
In 2017 at Christmas time, we were chatting with our good friend Marianne McGriff. She was telling us about her plans with her husband, Carver, to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of D Day in Normandy in 2019. They go to Normandy regularly, leading trips wherein they trace Carver’s steps as an infantryman as he invaded …
As cruisers, a shore kit is standard issue. If you are a self-reliant family that just rowed your dinghy to shore for a 4-mile hike to the top of a volcano on an uninhabited island… you better be ready for anything. But, I’ve found that my handy shore kit gets just as much use if …
It has been the coldest February on record for much of the North West. That is quite a change from our last winter which was spent in the South Pacific. But, despite the somber music, written and sung by my amazing sister last month when we were together, we are enjoying the cold and the …
January started off in Indiana, but soon we were back in Canada. We took a lovely long weekend in Whitefish, Montana to visit my sister where we had lots of fun, playing music, making food and relaxing in a cabin in the woods. The weather has been pretty lovely, hovering just around freezing and with …
December was pretty awesome. We didn’t know at the beginning of 2018 that we would be able to be back with family for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and boy was I glad that we were. We headed up to help a client and we jumped back into the rat race a bit, but we also got …
I guess I should throw in “Happy Thanksgiving” as well since It has been a while since my last post. The Vawters have left the water (not for good… don’t worry). After we settled Banyan into her slip in the marina near Whangarei, New Zealand, we quickly packed up our duffel bags and headed …
We had an amazing time swimming with the stingrays and the sharks in Mo’orea. As you can see, the girls were fairly comfortable with them by this time and it was no big deal to see a black tip heading our way. This is a fun glimpse into a typical outing with a few other …
November rounded out our time on SV Banyan this year. We’ve gone from Mexico all the way to New Zealand on her this year and it feels like a wonderful blur. Our passage to New Zealand from Niue (via Tonga) was mercifully smooth but land is always a welcome sight. Also a welcome sight was …