It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Deltaville   

Borrowing from the classic Christmas song by Andy Williams, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Thanksgiving and Christmas provided many opportunities to reconnect and make new memories with so many family members and dear friends. In between those visits, Barry and I have managed to load Crossroads with (hopefully) all the clothing and provisions we'll need for the next five months on our winter cruise. Before we cast off on our fifth trip to The Bahamas, I'll take a few moments to catch you up on some highlights of our past few months on land.  

We hit the ground running in May and spent much of the first weeks at the house cleaning up the yard and doing laundry. Everything that came off of Crossroads was washed before finding its proper place for the summer. We stayed close to home and enjoyed time with friends and a few nights at the ballpark with Nutasha and Nutzy. The yardwork yielded a beautiful harvest when the lilies began to bloom. Barry finished up his Corvette enough to get it on the road and put 500 miles on it this summer. 

Crossroads stayed at the dock for most of the summer, but we visited her often and enjoyed our "river house." As the weather cooled we began straying from the dock. Our big outing was the inaugural East Coast Selene Owners Rendezvous in Solomons, MD. It was great to meet such an amazing group of folks. Glenda and I teamed up to put the event's pieces together and were all smiles following the closing banquet dinner.  

Howard Chen, founder and CEO of Selene Yachts, joined us for the event and spent time with all attendees. We look forward to seeing many of these Selene owners again in the upcoming months.

Crossroads received a few upgrades over the summer. She spent three weeks at the spa where she got a fresh coat of bottom paint and a brand new set of stabilizer seals. My favorite upgrade has been the removal of our dark and heavy curtains in favor of new blackout roller shades. They surely brighten up the saloon and will allow for better ventilation down south when the windows are open. Our final upgrade was the installation of StarLink. The dish is mounted on our upper deck railing. Having a consistent internet connection will be a huge convenience -- both for the posting of this blog and for receiving weather reports as we cruise to more remote locations.  

November was quickly upon us and focus shifted to provisioning. Glenda and I prepared multiple servings of lasagna and chicken pies for freezing. Many hours were spent together shopping, packing, and compiling inventories. She, Greg, Jaxon, and Cooper departed aboard Paradigm Shift right after Thanksgiving. Barry and I went to Winston-Salem for my annual family Christmas kickoff at Candle Tea. Afterwards, it was time for me to start packing "stuff" into every nook and cranny of Crossroads. Multiple trips to the Charlottesville area were made to visit with dear friends, watch Cavalier women's basketball games, and walk The Grounds. Two separate multi-night guests at the house made for a very special week at our house.

Our final load of "stuff" was loaded aboard Crossroads on Christmas Eve. We had our usual morning Christmas in Richmond with my mom, sister Lisa, and brother-in-law Robbie before hitting the road for evening Christmas in North Carolina. Thanks to Lisa and Robbie for holding down the fort and always taking good care of mom. Final goodbyes came this morning and we arrived at the marina to an overcast sky, but calm wind and seas. My car is parked and covered. The plan is to disconnect shore power and bring the dock lines onboard at 8:00 tomorrow morning. So much accomplished, so much anticipated, and so much for which to be thankful. This truly is the most wonderful time of the year.  

Bear with me for a few days as I settle back into the routine of nightly posts. Thank you for following along!