New England Vacation

We took our week long vacation the second week in August and did a little New England tour. The Sharp's brought their sailboat, Stolen Moments, up to Newport for the whole month of August, and we were happy to get to live on it for a week. We started in Newport and then went to Menemsha, Nantucket, Edgartown (Martha's Vineyard), Cuttyhunk, and then back to Newport. Lydia also came with us. This was only her second time on a boat, and certainly the longest. She did great - feeling seasick only a few times (eek!).

Here's a shot of Menemsha. It's a very small, picturesque fishing village where the moving Jaws was filmed. It consisted of just a main street with some shops, one restaurant, and one ice-cream place. Really all that we needed.

Dave and the girls caught this monster fish off the back of the boat. If we were going slow enough we put out a fishing rod with some bait to see what we could get. Unfortunately it was a blue fish, which taste disgusting, so we threw it back (no so unfortunate for the fish I guess). 

I took every opportunity to do what I like to do most on the boat - drink wine and read. I read a book called The Vanishing Year, which was a thriller and so good! 

There was only one day of bad weather (where both girls got seasick). Unfortunately it was our longest day on the water, traveling from Menemsha to Nantucket. I think Lydia might have been regretting her decision to come on this vacation at this point. 

Once we got to Nantucket it was gorgeous. Here is Dave and the girls in front of the lighthouse that welcomes you into the harbor. Nantucket was the only spot that we paid for a dock slip. The rest of the time we were on moorings out in the water. We took the opportunity to use their showers and laundry.

Right off the beach in Edgartown the girls caught little puffer fish in their nets. They were so tiny, and when you picked them up they puffed right up - providing hours of entertainment. 

Family shot on the lookout in Edgartown, which was my favorite spot of all the places we visited. We were actually there a few years ago, when I was pregnant with Lauren and Sophie was just 2 1/2. 

Our last stop before heading back to Newport was Cuttyhunk - a little island with less than 100 residents. This is a shot of the mooring we stayed in from a hill on the top of the island. This was also the second time that we've been there. It's such a unique place - a one room school house for all children who live on the island, one little "grocery" store, an ice-cream stand (of course), and of course ample opportunity to eat oysters and lobster. 

Beaven Raft Up Weekend

In the middle of October we went for our last sail of the season. We met 3 other boats in the Chesapeake for the annual Beaven Raft Up, named after a sailor in the ULYC. The weather was gorgeous and it was just a beautiful weekend. 

Me and the girls. 

Sophie at the helm. 

We had a fishing pole off the back of the boat on the way home and ended up catching this big Rockfish. We threw him back - after taking this glamour shot of course. 

ULYC Spring Regatta 2016

In May the ULYC had their bi-annual regatta in Maryland. Sophie has been crew with Dave a few times in the past, but this is the first time that Lauren and I joined them. It was a gorgeous day and turned out to be a lot of fun. Our friends John, Crystal and their daughter Bella joined us as well, along with Kathy and Dave. 

Sophie at the helm. Dave always lets her steer over the finish line. Unfortunately for her, this is the first race where she didn't come in first (and a 3rd place finish at that!). 

Lauren and Bella doing "boat babes"

All four of us afterward at the post-regatta party. 

San Diego Vacation

Last week I had a conference in San Diego. We decided to make a vacation out of it, and Dave came out on Wednesday (no kids!). What an amazing city and what a wonderful vacation. We were there for 3 full days after the conference and we packed them with activities, but the mentality there is so chill, it didn't feel like we were rushing to do anything. 

On our first full day there we did two hikes, one along the Sunset Cliffs, and one call Ho Chi Mon trail, which is really a path carved by surfers, beginning in a very fancy neighborhood in La Jolla and ending right at the beach. It was no joke. Pictures cannot fully capture how steep and uneven the path was. It was all made of sandstone, so occasionally crumbled under our feet. At one point we had to walk across a very thin plank and at the end it was so steep that the surfers tied a rope to shimmy down on to the beach. 

Here's a shot of how narrow it was in some places

While we slowly meandered down, tripping and slipping, we were passed several times by agile surfers in bare feet, wet suits and surf boards. It was a little embarrassing. I also think they were a little surprised to see us on their turf. But it's San Diego, so of course they were very laid back about it.

That afternoon we rented sea kayaks and went out into the ocean. No pics for fear of getting wet, which was wise because both Dave and I flipped over. Loss of sunglasses, but luckily no phones or cameras. We got up close with some sea lions, which was really cool. 

The next day we rented a sail boat and went out into the San Diego Bay. It was windy and Dave had a blast. I was admiddely nervous. It's been a while since I've been sailing on anything but cushy, pleasure sail boats...

That night we went to a fancy dinner atop one of their highest buildings in the downtown area. The highlight was watching the sunset. It was lovely. 

On our last day we went to the famed zoo and saw this guy. He was very happily munching on some bamboo and was not interested in turning around to smile for the camera. But cool all the same. I've never seen a panda before. 

Last Sail of the Summer

Over Labor Day weekend we took our last long sail and went to Corsica River for the weekend. It couldn't have been more beautiful. We anchored, jumped off the back of the boat, swam around and did some exploring. Sophie and Dave were in MD all week, and she swam every day, so by the weekend she had huge confidence in the water. 

 Benson doing what he does best on the boat... 

New England Vacation

At the end of August we took a week and headed up to New England to stay on a boat and sail around, visiting a few different places. We started in Newport, sailed to the tip of Cape Cod to Cuttyhunk and then went to Martha's Vineyard where we visited Edgartown and Vineyard Haven. It was an excellent vacation with perfect weather. Sophie got sea sick the first day and then was great for the rest of the week.

Sophie spent a lot of time helping Dave steer the boat. 

We dubbed this hairdo "boat hair." She wouldn't keep her hat on, so this was the only way I could keep it out of her face. I think it might be a new fashion statement. 

We enjoyed a lot of ice cream. This is a spot in Edgartown. 

Heading off to visit the Edgartown Lighthouse. 

We visited a nature sanctuary where they had a kids program. They found lots of little water critters and then the instructors talked about what everything was. I'm not sure who was more into it, Dave or Sophie.