Update

Click here for New 2006 Website

August 22, 2006

This summer has been spent at our cabin in northern Wisconsin.  It's been a very fun summer as the weather has been exceptional and our friends have been crazier than ever.  The main event this summer was "taking over" the local resort bar across the lake - Pine Point Lodge.  On Wednesday nights, our friends, Tom and Paula Millar, and ourselves run a Margarita Night with Cornhole games in the parking lot.  Cornholing - It's not what you think!  Bascially, Cornholing is a bean bag toss game - but doesn't cornholing sound so much more interesting?  That's what we thought!  Anyway, we've gotten many area people out to the bar and we've had a blast partying with them!  It's been a great way to get to know people and to bring a little life into a sleepy resort bar.

At the end of the summer, we'll be heading to Italy for a month.  We've rented a villa in Tuscany and have invited friends to come along.  We were there in May to get a taste of the place (sans Bear) and LOVED it!  We can't wait to return.  This time we plan to branch out and see more of the area and even sneak up to Avignon, France, where Ann spent some time while in college. 

Our plan for the winter is to ski in Utah!  As once before, our goal is to ski 100 days throughout the season!  (Last time we only made it to 90 days...)  Bear is enrolled at Montesori Preschool in the mornings but will ski in the afternoons.  I've also enrolled him in an acting class!  He's such a ham, he might just be a natural.  We'll see!  The move West will be sometime in early November.  Katherine, Eric's middle daughter, will be a ski bum with us when she finishes college in December.  She is sure to kick our butts into high gear. 

An open invitation exists for all who want to ski Utah this year!  We have a modest five bedroom house there that you are welcome to anytime.  Other than Christmastime and the last two weeks in January, we'll be there.  Come on out! 

An update on "Oso Biggo" (as Eric and Bear call it!).  Our Nordhavn 64 is schedule to begin construction at the end of November.  It'll take about a year in the factory in China before it moves to the states.  We hope to get on board just after Christmas 2007.  With luck, we'll be back cruising early Spring '07.  The current plan is to go north to Alaska for that summer.  Then South to Central America for the following winter before crossing to the South Pacific in late Spring 2008.  Remember, plans change frequently, but this is the current thinking....

May 6, 2006

Our last hurrah in the Bahamas was spent working our way back up from the Exumas, through Spanish Wells, the Berry Islands and Freeport.  Read about it on the Exumas page.

Back in the US now, we are ready to clean up the boat and put it up for sale.  We await the next boat, delivery isn't until the fall of 2007.  So we will be spending next winter in Salt Lake City skiing!  Bon Voyage for now! 

April 9, 2006

It's been awhile since the website was updated so there is lots of new stuff to look at:  Skiing in Utah, the Utah house, Bear skiing, Interior Boat photos, Abacos, new photos of Bear, Bear stories, Life Aboard. 

Right now we're on Harbor Island where we plan to spend several days.  We should have high speed internet here so feel free to drop us a note - we'd love to hear from you!

March 5, 2006

Currently we are in Salt Lake City, Utah and skiing in the mountains daily.  I've updated the site through George Town, which we left on February 19th to move to the boat to Nassau, from where we flew to Utah.  We loved our time in George Town and the people we met there.  Check it out on the destinations page, click on George Town.

January 29, 2006

We left Warderick Wells Cay this morning and are now in a marina on Staniel Cay.  I'm sitting at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club - an outdoor bar half full at 5 pm - updating this on a high-speed wi-fi for free.  Bear just walked in - up from his nap.  He wants to play a game of pool.  I'm a little embarrassed to say how many bars that kid has been in for a three year old.  It comes with the lifestyle.  Anyway, take a look at the Warderick Wells Cay page - it was beautiful! 

January 22, 2006

Atlantis!  Nassau, Bahamas.  See destinations - Atlantis.

January 14, 2006

After spending a few days with our friends, Alex and Deb Haase, in New Smyrna Beach, FL, then a few days in Stuart, FL, we left this morning headed for the Bahamas!  Are are very excited to get there!  We'll be arriving in Nassau on Wednesday, if all goes as planned.  Brad Smith is on board with us, which will make the crossing a piece of cake.  We'll stay at the marina in the mega resort, Atlantis, for two nights - that will be a real treat.  That could be the last marina we see for a while.  Brad will leave on Saturday and we will head South to the Exumas.  We have about five weeks to poke around down there.  After that, we'll return to Nassau to fly to Salt Lake City for ski for a month (Feb 22-March 19).  Upon return to Nassau, we'll scoot right over to the Abacos to meet up with Alex and Deb.  From there.....we'll see.  Too far ahead to think about it in detail! 

So that's our plan and where we are.  We won't have high speed internet while in the Bahamas so updates will be rare, if at all.  You can still email us.

Merry Christmas!!!!

We are home for the holidays - staying at Eric's mom's house while in MN and at the cabin over New Years.  We'll head back to the boat January 4th when we'll head to the Bahamas.  Our current plan is to go to the Exumas, as far south as Georgetown.  Then we'll work our way back north as the weather warms.  At the end of February, we'll go to Utah for almost a month to ski.

December 12, 2005

The travel down the East coast has ended here in Palm Coast, FL.  We'll spend a few days as tourists - Kennedy Space Center and Disney.  Then we'll head for home for the holidays.

November 5, 2002

Currently we are in Manteo, NC.  We'll be headed to Ocrocoke tomorrow then back into the ICW to continue South.  Read about where we've been on the Chesapeake page, what Bear has been up to and new photos on Bear's page.

October 31, 2005 

Happy Halloween!!  We spent two days immersed in US history at Yorktown, Williamsburg and Jamestown, VA.  Look to the bottom of the Chesapeake page for more info on our stay here.  Now we are headed back to Norfolk where we'll spend two days and hook up with Alex and Deb Haase again.  Pirate Bear will do some trick-or-treating at the Norfolk marina.

October 26, 2005

We are just about to dock at Solomons for one night.  This is really boating central!  Between here and Oxford, there are thousands of boats.  The whole coast really.  Being from the midwest, I'm just astonished by the numbers of boats here.  All different types and sizes.  It's not "crazy" here though like it was in Florida.  But that's probably just because of the season and cool weather.  I can't imagine a summer weekend out here when most of these boats would be out.  Yikes! 

Hurricane Wilma sent lots of rain and high winds to our area for a couple of days.  We stayed put a day longer in St. Michaels to ride it out.  It's too cold up here for a real hurricane - we hope.  We are glad we aren't south. 

Check out the Chesapeake page under destinations for more info on what we are up to.  There is also about ten more photos in Bear's photo gallery.  Have at it!

We arrived in Baltimore, MD on Wednesday (the 11th) and met up with Alex and Deb Haase from Kellie Anne and Ron and Kathleen from Boundless Grace.  It was sure great to be back with our cruiser friends.  The three of us were a sight as we all have Nordhavn 47s.  We all went down to Annapolis for the big boat show. We spent the day walking among hundreds of boats and we all left we ideas for improving our own boats.

Eric's eldest daughter, EB, drove up from Ashville, NC to stay with us for a few days (and allow Eric and Ann to go to the boat show sans Bear).  We had a great time carving pumpkins for Halloween and Bear tried out trick-or-treating as we won't see our friends on the actual date. 

Over the weekend, Eric's nephew, Ryan, niece Kelley and Kelley's boyfriend, Scott, joined the four of us in Baltimore.  We had a great time with them and Bear had a ball "entertaining" them all.