Hello everyone,

Just a quick update. It is Dec 9th and it is finally warm here. Daytime temps will be 26C or 80F. Some of the boats from Port Stanley have caught up with us and we made the cardinal mistake. We stopped in Vero Beach!

You might remember that we call it Velcro Beach and it lives up to its name. We stopped to help Tony & Diane on Vertigo 1 to get their SSB/Ham radio working. The plan was just overnight. Well, that wasn’t quite enough so… two nights. Now, we have met so many old friends and invitations to get together are growing like mushrooms. The third night will be tonight and I have a feeling that it may be a few more. Luckily it is only $10 per night on the mooring.

The best thing about Vero is the free bus that takes you around town to all the shopping areas. I can cross some of the final things off of my list. And then we are ready to go.

Except the weather isn’t quite ready for us to go. It is possible that there is a window this weekend but we will have to wait a day or so to be sure. The cold fronts are coming closer together already and the huge windows of the past few weeks have disappeared.

Oh well, as I said, it is warm and so it doesn’t really matter too much. The winds are keeping the boat batteries charged and I have signed up for internet access. I am a happy person. Murray is tink, tinking in the cockpit, working on the outboard engine. It seems to have a speck of dirt in the carb and doesn’t want to idle. It will go fast but they frown on that in the marina. Once he is done with that, we will get back on the bus and head to WalMart with my list. Maybe even pick up a Christmas present or two.

Have you gotten your shopping all done? And the Christmas cards all mailed? If we stay here long enough, I may even write and print out the three Christmas letters that I still send out.

Well, hugs to all and we will keep you informed about departures/crossings.
Heather & Murray