by Judy Handley | Dec 4, 2015 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 43, Year 11: Holidays by the Sea in Falmouth
Date: Friday, December 4, 2015
Weather: Partly Sunny, High in the 40’s F, Low in the 30’s
Location: At Home with the Goldstones in East Falmouth, MA
We arrived back in Falmouth just in time for the beginning of Holidays by the Sea activities. Tonight was the beginning with Christmas caroling at the Nobska Lighthouse.
Tomorrow Santa arrives by boat in the harbor and tomorrow night is the lighting of the downtown Green. On Sunday Falmouth hosts a huge Christmas parade and this year Sam and Jonah will be in the parade with their Scout troop. Then on Sunday night we light the first candle to signify the beginning of Hanukkah. Heather and Jed leave late tomorrow afternoon and, of course, the boys will miss them. But we have enough things going on between now and next weekend to keep them from thinking too much about mommy and daddy.
by Judy Handley | Dec 3, 2015 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 42, Year 11: Aguada, Puerto Rico to Cape Cod
Date: Thursday, December 3, 2015
Weather: Warm in Puerto Rico to Cool in Massachusetts
Location: Back at Home with the Goldstones in East Falmouth, MA
We were up early and on our way to San Juan by 8 am. It takes about two and half hours with traffic so we had the taxi pick us up at 8 am. Our flight wasn’t until 12:20 pm, so we made it with plenty of time to spare. It was hard saying goodbye to Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco. We only get to see them about once a year and that’s just not enough for Oma and Granddad. We are just going to have to talk to them via Skype video more often. Both Ziggy and Coco are growing up so quickly and it was wonderful to have a few days to just hang out and get to know them better. We now know just how much Ziggy loves to build with Legos and we know for certain that Coco is a fairy princess. This morning she disappeared from the breakfast table and came back in her gold glittery tights and her fancy pink dress with gold threads woven into the tulle fabric. We are certainly going to miss those little munchkins.
After the two and half hour cab ride and an hour and a half wait at the airport, we took off on the four-hour plane trip home. On this end we had an hour wait for a bus from the airport to the Cape and then a two-and-a-half-hour bus ride. So finally at 7 pm, we arrived in Falmouth. Heather, Jonah, and Ollie came to pick us up and finally we were home. Sam and Jed got home after we did and it was wonderful to be reunited with all three Goldpebbles. I sure wish I could be near all five grandchildren all the time, but since I can’t I will just enjoy those I have near me at the moment.
by Judy Handley | Dec 2, 2015 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 41, Year 11: Last Day in Aguada
Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Weather: Partly Sunny with Afternoon Showers, High in the 80’s F
Location: At Home with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco, Aguada, Puerto Rico
Today was our last day in Aguada with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco and we spent the day building with Legos. Mark and I ordered a pre-Christmas gift for the kids and it arrived this morning. This Christmas Lego set is really for older children, but with the help of Oma, Granddad, and Daddy, we had the entire set built by bedtime. The set includes Santa, Mrs. Claus, four adorable elves, Santa’s workshop, Santa’s sleigh with reindeer, and a toy making machine complete with little Lego toys. It was loads of fun to build and I think it got us all into the holiday spirit. Ziggy kept us on track as he was certain he could get it all built in one day. But we did take a break around 4 pm to go down to Table Rock for a little snorkel. The big waves started settling down yesterday and today the ocean was fairly calm for the first time since we’ve been here. It was very hot and humid today, so a dip in the ocean was the perfect thing. We came back and Justin worked with Ziggy on Santa’s workshop while the rest of us got ready to go out to dinner. We went to Rincon to a restaurant called Cowboys. It is a great place for kids and the food was very good. It comes complete with Country & Western music and sometimes a real rodeo. Tonight the rodeo arena was empty except for the puddles of water. So Coco and Ziggy did their own version of a rodeo by running through the puddles.
We sure are going to miss Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco. Visits are always too short, but we’ve had a lovely time and made lots of memories. We leave here at 8 am in the morning and head to the airport in San Juan. By tomorrow evening we will be back home in Falmouth. I wonder what the temperature is like there? One thing is for sure. It is not in the 80’s!
by Judy Handley | Dec 1, 2015 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 40, Year 11: La Parguera
Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Weather: Partly Sunny with Late Afternoon Rain, High in the 80’s F
Location: At Home with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco, Aguada, Puerto Rico
Today we drove to the southern coast of Puerto Rico to the town of La Parguera. To get there we drove through Mayaguez and San Germán. San Germán was founded in the 1500’s and as you drive through it you can’t help but be impressed by its beauty. Every building was freshly painted. We’d love to return there someday and explore. But today we needed to travel on. After San Germán, we climbed into and out of the mountains, through an agricultural area with what looked like rice fields, and then into an area with very large farms. When we reached La Parguera it was not evident that we were on the waterfront. It’s almost as if the town was built to hide the water. If you looked really hard you could see some boats, but thankfully Jo had been here before and knew just where we should go to rent a boat. But first things first. The town looked almost deserted with most shops and restaurants not open, but we found a delightful little place for lunch. The food was delicious and just want we needed before heading out for our snorkeling adventure. After lunch we went to the place Jo suggested for renting a small motor boat and away we went. This area is mangrove country, so no little islets with white sand beaches. Rather it is a shallow bay with many mangrove islets. We stopped at two different locations for snorkeling. The water was not crystal clear but it was warm and clear enough for us to enjoy the afternoon. Ziggy and I found one place in the mangroves where there were hundreds of baby French Grunts and one lone baby One Spot Butterflyfish. We saw Damselfish, Doctorfish, Bar Jacks, lots of French Grunts, baby Barracuda, and Granddad even spotted a small reef shark. But Mark’s special find of the day was a flounder that he followed and photographed with his GoPro. Justin, Jo, and Ziggy found a sea star that we all enjoyed observing and then Justin, Ziggy, and I snorkeled among the mangroves and found a small group of birds I had never seen before. They were small black, brown, and white birds with very orange legs. They looked a bit like very fat Sandpipers. But when I looked them up this evening, I think we were observing Ruddy Turnstones. These birds breed in the Arctic and winter in the south. The water was warm, the sun was shining, making for a great afternoon. It did rain on the way home, but it stopped just before we got here. All in all, it was a lovely afternoon.
Jo had put a buffalo roast in the slow cooker before we left this morning, so we had a yummy dinner waiting for us. Justin and Granddad went out to get a breadfruit to add to the dinner. You just peel the bread fruit and cut it into small pieces to boil. It is just like eating boiled potatoes. We had a great dinner to end a great day. Tomorrow is our last day here and we will spend time here at home playing with Ziggy and Coco.
by Judy Handley | Nov 30, 2015 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 39, Year 11: Playing with Lego Man and the Fairy Princess
Date: Monday, November 30, 2015
Weather: Partly Sunny with Afternoon Showers, High in the low-80’s F
Location: At Home with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco, Aguada, Puerto Rico
Playing with Ziggy and Coco is very different from playing with Sam, Jonah, and Ollie. The Goldpebbles are all boys and even with the difference in age, they basically all like to play the same thing. Playing with a 6 year-old boy and a 3 year-old girl is quite different. Ziggy is all boy and loves to do the things I am used to doing with Sam, Jonah, and Ollie. Coco is ALL girl and firmly believes she is a fairy princess (pronounced with an English accent). She wants to play dollies and go on excursions to Africa and or on shopping trips to London. She packs her bags, changes her outfit to match the trip, and off we go. Today we flew to Africa, did some science experiments, shopped in London, built with Legos, played dollies, and watched movies. I love this last one. Coco opens a book and sets it in front of us. We stare at the book and that is watching a movie. Quite an imagination. In the late afternoon after Justin finished his work, we walked to the beach. I pushed the stroller full of dollies and Justin and Ziggy carried the surfboard. They rode waves while I took photos and Coco played dollies on the beach.
Tomorrow we are headed to the south coast of Puerto Rico to La Paguera. Since rain is forecast we will adjust our activities to the weather. The hope is to either rent a Hobie and explore the bay or go snorkeling or both. But no matter what we end up doing, Mark and I are just excited to explore a new area.
by Judy Handley | Nov 29, 2015 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 38, Year 11: Day in Rincon
Date: Sunday, November 29, 2015
Weather: Overcast with Sprinkles, High in the low-80’s F
Location: At Home with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco, Aguada, Puerto Rico
Today we drove to Rincon to go to the morning Farmers Market and then to one of the many surfing beaches in town. We enjoyed the Farmers Market and had lunch in town before heading to the beach. Even though it was sprinkling rain, we were determined to go to Domes Beach. Rincon became famous as a surfing location when it hosted the 1968 World Surfing Championships and Domes was one of the main sites in the competition. Surfers have flocked there ever since . . . today being no exception. Domes Beach is framed at one end by the Rincon Lighthouse and on the other end by a massive nuclear reactor dome that sits right on the edge of the beach. It was built in the 1960’s by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission but thankfully has long since been decommissioned with all the nuclear waste removed. We walked to the Lighthouse end of the beach so Ziggy could play in the caves in the rocks and then we walked to the end of the beach with the dome so that Justin do a little surfing. Then we drove back to the Lighthouse and enjoyed the views looking down on all the surfers. At the right time of year you can also observe whales from the point extending out from the Lighthouse, but today all we saw were surfers. I said they looked like little penguins out in the water, but I think Ziggy’s description of them as a flock of pigeons was more accurate.
We had sprinkles off and on all afternoon and it looks like we are going to rain all week. But we are not going to let the weather stop our explorations. Tomorrow we will spend the day at home to let Justin and Mark get a little work done. And I’m hoping to have a little time to post some photos. Then on Tuesday we are going to drive down to the south coast. We are really looking forward to seeing that area as it where you would anchor if you sailed down the ‘prickly path’ from the Bahamas to the Dominican Republic and down the west coast of Puerto Rico. Since the entire west coast is surfer country, you really need to head to the south coast for a calm place to anchor. We’re not anticipating that we will sail here this season, but we love checking out the possibilities ‘just in case.’
