Hey, Hey, the Gang's All Here!

Friends keep arriving in Grenada! It's wonderful!

First Kerry & Kathy on "Bellagio" arrived from Trinidad. They said it was a rough crossing with confused seas and a broken alternator belt. Changing the belt while underway is a sure recipe for sea sickness. But they arrived safely and we're glad they're here! I few days after they arrived, I arranged for a taxi to take 11 of us to the Aquarium Restaurant on Magazine Beach for the afternoon. I had been there with a Ladies Day tour last summer but I wanted to go back with Jim. I knew he would love it.

This is the beach in front of the restaurant. After lunch we relaxed in the sun, walked the beach and snorkled. We should do this more often!

Enjoying the day with us, crew from Half Moon, Bellagio, High States, Enee Marie and Primrose.

On Thursday, December 11th our friends who we affectionately call our "French Connection" arrived from Trinidad. All three boats, Phoenix III, Taima and Le Bete hail from Montreal. Even though they had been up since 2 a.m. they still wanted to meet for pizza. It was Manon's birthday and a celebration was in order. Thanks to Becky (Half Moon) for getting these pictures.

Here's the birthday girl opening her presents.

Manon lives life to the fullest everyday! She enjoys every moment!

A good lesson for us all.

I'm glad we waited in Grenada for our friends to arrive. Phoenix III and Taima plan on heading west so we didn't know when we would get to see them again. I've said it before, I'll say it again. The people are the best part of cruising.

I just realized that I never mentioned the early Christmas present we bought ourselves. We have a new dinghy to go with the new outboard! It's small, only 8.5 ft but big enough to carry both of us with lots of groceries or one of us with 5 jerry cans of water. We would have liked the 9 ft model but again, in the islands you buy what's available. She looks like a little sports model so we call her our Miata. I can't believe how nice it is to have a new dinghy and dry feet! We even managed to sell our old engine and fuel tank for a few bucks. The dinghy was gifted to a local man who does things like wax boats and polish brightwork. It will give him more mobility which will hopefully mean more work for him. It worked out well for everyone.