Happy holidays!

Greetings friends and family! Here are a few photos of our 2024 - mostly in Mexico, the Pacific NW and New Zealand, with stops in the US in between trips. Take a quick flip through them! I wish I could tell you what some of these photos are about, but nah, that makes  just too many words, right?

The first photos are of a 4-week stay in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico last winter. Steep cobbled streets, gorgeous facades, doors and door knockers, fascinating history, culture and cuisine, music, art, dance and most importantly, precious time with friends. We loved it so much we’re going back this winter.

After a short stay to enjoy spring back home in Annapolis, we headed to Anacortes Washington to relaunch our Eagle 40 Pilothouse trawler “Neverland” for 4 months - our second season of cruising in the San Juan and Gulf Islands, along the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia and through Desolation Sound. Looking through my MANY photos to pick a few to add here, I can’t believe how fortunate we are to have cruising time in such a stunning part of the world each summer. We love the remote islands, the small towns, the big cities like Vancouver, and everything in between. And again, the best part of the trip is always spending time with both old and new friends along the way. Several of the photos below are of pastels I did as we traveled along. Try to guess which ones!

We put the trawler back on the hard in Anacortes at the end of September and flew to San Francisco where we spent a couple of fun days with my son Jake (in the first photo below) before flying to New Zealand for a 2-month road trip. In New Zealand we spent a few days with my sister, brother-in-law and others in my small family who are now permanent residents of New Plymouth on the North Island. We hadn’t seen them for many years, and had never even met my nephew’s little girls (in one photo) who were both born in New Zealand. So that was a real treat! 

We had rented a car and we traveled extensively around the North and South Islands, staying in all kinds of accommodations from sheep farms to city apartments. We met many, many incredibly friendly, helpful people. We visited a lot of wonderful museums and art galleries. We tried out hot springs and mud baths. We hiked a lot. We checked out tastings at vineyards. We checked out magnificent libraries that everyone uses for all kinds of activities all the time. We learned a lot about things particular to NZ, like the impact of earthquakes on places like Napier, Kaikōura and Christchurch, Māori history and culture, variations on preparation of lamb, the Kiwi fondness for flat whites, scones and meat pies, the Kiwi fondness for putting thousands of orange cones (very close together and sometimes in double rows!) on many, many roads even if no work is imminent. Also, the importance of preserving green space - especially for outdoor sports and wonderful places for kids to play - and the lengths the nation will go to to protect birds (and birdsong) from predators like possums and stoats. And that NZ has no snakes -yaaaay!

We flew back to San Francisco just in time to join a phenomenal, huge and beautiful Thanksgiving feast hosted by dear friends of Jake’s. Now we’re back in Annapolis. Jim and his wood-turning buddies held a successful event a couple of days ago resulting in over $4,000 in proceeds going to a local non-profit that provides shelter and support for women and kids who have been subjected to domestic violence. One of Jim’s lidded vessels is below.

We send you warm wishes for the holidays, and the fervent hope that 2025 and the years that follow will be survivable.

Love and peace,

Cynthia and Jim