Day 71, Year 4: Happy New Year!
Date: Thursday, January 1, 2009
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds with Afternoon Rain
Location: Ao Po Grand Marina, Phuket Island, Thailand
We had a quiet New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. In fact, I don’t think either of us left the boat after we returned from taking Kevin and Claire to the airport. We have been working feverishly to get things done that can only be done in a marina. Our plan is to leave here tomorrow after a quick shopping trip and go hang out at nearby islands until next Wednesday or Thursday. We will then return here and get ready for the arrival of Heather, Jed, and Sam. I have been doing mega laundry since
we are at a dock with water and Mark has been doing a lot of work on the internet as well as other boat maintenance. The internet connection here is good and has allowed us to talk with our bank back in the US. We have not been able to get money out of an ATM using our bank card in Thailand. We think we have things straightened out but will really only find out tomorrow when we go into town to try the ATM once again. Evidently Thailand will only allow an ATM withdrawal of $65 US at one time.
We have never heard of this restriction before, so it will be interesting to see if that has really been the problem. We have also both continued to make Skype calls. I did talk to my sister and Mark talked to his brother last night, and tonight Mark talked to his sister and we talked to Justin and Jo. They are still in Europe and actually celebrated the New Year in Amsterdam. They head back to England tomorrow and return home to Santa Fe on Monday. Jo looks great and is feeling good and that
little bump is getting a wee bit bigger. The bummer of the day was that I attempted to get the cockpit coaming sanded and varnished, which I did, but as soon as I finished the job, we got rain. So that will have to be resanded and varnished in 24 hours.
The one thing I did not get to do was catch up on correspondence to friends and family. I know that won’t happen tomorrow, but maybe on Saturday. I’m determined to do a better job of keeping in touch in 2009, so I guess that is my New Year’s resolution. I’m getting a slow start, but hopefully I’ll get there. So if you haven’t heard from me for a while, just know that I am thinking of you and will be in touch soon!
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| 090101 Day 71 Phuket, Thailand–Phuket Town |
