High and Dry at 43°41.1859’ N, 114°24.0475’ W

Gondola View of Ketchum & Sun Valley Resort

It’s quite a different morning here in Sun Valley—the temperature is 59 degrees cooler and we look out on a snowy landscape. We’re nearing the end of our two weeks skiing vacation here and have enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, despite the hard rain that fell all over the mountain the day before we arrived. Our first day out felt more like New England skiing, particularly one large ice cube of a run on our way back to the base at the end of an otherwise enjoyable day!

The skiing has gotten better and better each day and with the exception of one day with high winds which felt like a sandblasting on the mountain top, the weather has been very comfortable and sunny—as one would expect in Sun Valley. We’ve been away from the area for three years and a new gondola now provides a high speed connection and fabulous views of Ketchum and the Sun Valley resort area. I’d be remiss not to mention John, our incredibly observant ski instructor and excellent coach, who always makes our skiing experience a great one. In return, Paul and I provide him job security!

Snowy Day in Marblehead Harbor

We spent our first week away from the boat—and Bubba—in Marblehead, doing our biannual round of doctor and dentist appointments and catching up with friends. We accomplished most of what we had planned, even with the rude mid-week interruption of 16 inches of snow. Our flight to Hailey, Idaho was easy, with settled weather and planes that had open seats and elbow room.

We leave for Florida next Monday, arriving late evening. After spending the night in Ft Lauderdale and picking up Bubba the following morning, we’ll be back on board Carry On,  which has been washed and buffed during our absence. We’re crossing our fingers that Bubba won’t be too angry with us—at last report from his caregiver, he is still spending most of his time under several layers of covers on his queen size bed. 

For those of you who have attempted to use our “Spot” link, we have discovered that the location information expires after some period of time. As we don’t leave the beacon out when we’re on a dock, there is presently no new data-- we’ll correct that next week when we’re back on board and beginning our run to Miami.

Seattle Ridge Lodge from the top of Baldy (Elevation 9,150 Ft.)

Happy New Year!

Jupiter Inlet on a Calm Morning

A friend called Paul last week and said it had been so long since the blog and SPOT had been updated, that he wondered if we’d sunk! We reassured him that no, we had been in the Marina at Admiral’s Cove for three weeks, but had just moved to a slip in Jonathan’s Landing  about a mile away, still in Jupiter. You can see us again using the link-- although I have to say, from a bird’s eye view, our new slip doesn’t look strikingly different. The boats are a bit smaller, without crew for the most part, surroundings less landscaped and manicured—and no wonderful fitness club that we so enjoyed at Admiral’s Cove—but still very pleasant and pretty. My favorite thing at Jonathan’s Landing is a large pond near the 7th hole which is completely surrounded by pelicans, herons, egrets and wood storks. The storks are odd enough creatures, but I’m really waiting to see one of the three sandhill cranes that live in the community.

But back to our friend—his call did wake me up to how long it’s been since I put out an update. No good excuses other than holiday preparations, some varnishing work done on our interior and exterior, Scotty being here for a couple of days (among other things we now have wind speed and direction so we can tell you just how bad it really was) seeing friends, trying  out some local restaurants, even going to the movies—you get the picture, it’s just life—on a boat! 

Mangroves off the ICW

We have enjoyed our time in the Palm Beach area even though we don’t play golf or tennis or fish, the primary preoccupations here. The weather was lovely for walking or exploring, mostly sunny and warm, even near 80 for a couple of days. On Christmas day, we put the dinghy in the water and went out for a ride down the ICW and through some of the canals looking at houses and the boats on the docks. The photo of the mangroves was taken that day and I wanted to include it because I have been fascinated by the peculiar arching aerial roots that provide desalinated water to the plants. They are ubiquitous here, used for erosion control along the banks of rivers, canals and the ICW.

It was a busy weekend of tying up loose ends and packing for cold weather. Early Sunday morning we flew back to Marblehead for a week’s worth of doctors and dentist appointments and catching up with friends. From here we’re flying out to Sun Valley for two weeks skiing-- we are excited about our vacation and crossing our fingers that muscle memory will kick in when we get those ski boots on. It’s been three years since we last skied and we couldn’t put it off any longer.

Night Heron at Dawn

The boat is in a safe place in Jupiter visible to us by marina web cams and Bubba is at kitty camp just north of Ft Lauderdale. We felt very good after meeting his caregiver and seeing his bedroom full of climbing gear, catnip toys and places to hide, as well as a patio view of plants and birds. As of yesterday Bubba is still in hiding under the covers despite all efforts to make him feel at home. I’m sure all will be better in time.

That’s the update for now-- we’ll be back in Florida February 1, regroup and reprovision, then head a bit further south! We’ve booked a marina just north of Miami that has been getting rave reviews from the cruising community. It will be a good base for a short car trip to the Everglades, the Miami Boat Show and exploring South Beach. We’re there until early March and after that, no plans—yet!