And we're off!

Kellie's Comments-- We've enjoyed our after turkey day leftovers and a nice long afternoon on the beach and now it's time to head south. We said goodbye to Turtle Bay at around 8:45 this morning. Along with Loon and Icarian we're on a course for Bahia de Asuncioun. It's a 50 mile trip. Sailing with other boats really adds enjoyment to the experience. Brian and Marilyn on Icarian have been sailing together since they were 10. That's about 45 years of experience each. We feel that we can't go wrong tagging along, learning as we go. Loon is another Canadian boat, with Ian and Aly on board. They were tomato farmers in Alberta, and he's a real do-it-yourselfer. Pete and Ian have found that they are kindred spirits. Aly was a teacher and they are both great with the kids. On Thanksgiving, they offered to help with the kids while I cooked and cleaned. The wind came up that morning so a dinghy trip was canceled. They came over instead and read stories. Before we left home, we were given a lovely book of children's classics. One of them is a spoof on "The Gingerbread Man." Instead it's the stinky cheese man. Ian has taken on that identity, and the kids have fits of giggling with the name calling game. Ellie has been nicknamed "bird brain" because of the bird that landed on her head in CA. I'm not sure who to send to a time out when the name calling gets out of hand. Ian is 6'6", my authority is minimal. We all monitor VHF frequency 68 and today the smart alec comments are flying back and forth between the guys. "Did you look at a chart?" "No, I thought you did." "No, I'm just following Icarian." Icarian comes back with, "What does it mean when the little arrow on the GPS is pointing towards the land?" Pete- "I don't know but you've probably got at least an hour to figure it out." Aly's comment of "boys are sometimes dumb," was not argued with as Ian sailed to about 50 feet from us to take a picture. The weather makes up a huge part of our experience. We listen each morning and sometimes in the afternoon to Don in Oxnard, CA who seems to have dedicated the better part of his life to reporting the weather to sailors in CA and Mexico. We all rely on him. THis morning the report was an update on the storm front that is making it's way down from Oregon. It should reach into Baja about 100 miles north of here by Sunday afternoon. No one is predicting whether it will come this far down with it's gale force winds on Monday or not. We're enjoying a nice tail wind today, but will tuck in for the night and listen anxiously for another update in the morning. Apparently Asuncion is a nice place with a small town, so we should have a good stay if we're waiting out the weather. We were given 6 lobsters yesterday by Benito, a local that we brought medical supplies to. He's the president of the fishing co-op in Turtle Bay. Apparently the small fishing boats (pangas) were without first aid kids, so Pete's mom sent some along. Ian has caught a tuna today, so we're thinking about a seafood potluck for dinner tonight. If the wind keeps going at this rate we should be happily at anchor by dinner time. It's hard to imagine everyone at home having their first day of the Christmas season. If I were home, I'd be getting out the winter decorations. Here we are wearing shorts in the afternoons and walking barefoot in the surf. I miss home a lot, but I do believe we are finally finding "the fun." The majority of the wives down here are going through some major adjustments and the search for the fun has become a driving force behind our decisions. Pete and I are having serious discussions about alternate cruising routes than the south Pacific in the spring. I'm yet to concede that crossing the ocean with the kids is wise. They are very difficult to keep entertained and I find the sailing and mothering quite tiring. So we've discussed central America, the Caribbean, and/or the Galapagos. Who knows we may spend more time in Mexico like a lot of other boats plan to do. We probably won't make up our mind until Feb or March. You can keep that in your prayers for us. Love to you all, Kellie