With Thanks at Christmas and for a Happy Year!

Christmas 2016

Hello, Friends & Family,

Merry Christmas from Joanne and Richard in Punta Gorda, Florida! We send you our best wishes for a love and peace-filled Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year.

This year were are so grateful for family, friends and wonderful trips. We recently spent Thanksgiving in Connecticut. My sister, Mary and brother-in-law, Alan, retired to Beacon Falls, CT to live closer to their daughter, Holly's family. They sold their home in Indiana and bought a beautiful new home. It was a memorable Thanksgiving because we took my Mom and our cat, Bleu Kitty, on Jet Blue airlines to visit them. Both did very well! Mom was turning 96 and she was blessed to celebrate her birthday, November 27^th, on Holly & Andrew's new baby, Luciana (Lucy)'s Christening Day.  Lucy was baptized in her great great grandfather's 126 year-old Christening Gown.

We traveled with our Friendship Force Club on an exchange to Costa Rica in February. We enjoyed meeting the Costa Ricans and actually living in their homes for a week. They were so friendly and hospitable to us. We'll remember exciting white water rafting and zip lining, beautiful scenery and delicious food.

In August we went on an African Safari with Overseas Adventure Tours to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. It was a 3-week kaleidoscope of magnificent animals in the wild. Victoria Falls was awesome and we loved the view from Table Mountain in Cape Town.

After 5 months on the market, we sold our sailboat, Eagle's Wings, and bought a 40 ft trawler that we named Indigo Star. She is only 10 years old and in great shape. Her operation is quite different than a sailboat – we are busy learning how to successfully dock her.

 

You can keep up with us by clicking on our blog. We wish you “fair winds for the holidays and calm seas for the New Year.”

Bleu Kitty wishes you a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Joanne & Richard

 

New York City at Christmas Time - what a treat!

Radio City at Christmas - a Treat!

I have wonderful childhood memories to my Grandmother taking me to NYC to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall.  So, what a treat to be able to go again during the Holiday Season.

We hopped a train from Connecticut into the city - a senior ticket was only $10 each way.  It took approximately 2 hours, but it was a pleasant ride on a nice clean train.  We thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas Show at Radio City and were happy to see that the Rockettes are still doing their toy soldier routine.  It is always amazing to see them fall in a line so gracefully!  We had close-up seats to the stage and it was amazing!



Oculus designed by a Spanish architect recently opened



New World Trade Center

We then figured our way through the NYC Subway System to visit the newly opened Oculus along with the 911 Memorial.  We enjoyed a yummy pizza at the Stage Door Deli and just made our 1 PM (timed ticket) admission for the memorial.  It was very moving to see the stairways where people escaped and of course, the touching remembrances of pictures and artifacts to those who lost their lives.  It was done beautifully and we would recommend it to all those visiting the city.   The all white Oculus was a surprise - we had not heard about it.  It is a huge modern structure built to resemble a white bird (dove?).  You can see the towers through its wings.  It houses the Penn Station Train and an upscale shopping area.  It was very well done.



St Patrick's transformed

We were also impressed by the transformation of St Patrick's Cathedral.  All the grime of 138 years in NYC was removed and it looked like a new structure - it was a grey-white color and oh so pretty.  I lit a candle there in memory of my dear grandma.

The day flew by and before we knew it, we were on our way back to Connecticut.  We are so grateful we got to go!

The rest of our visit also flew by and we were delighted to visit with my nephew Brian and my great nephew, Leo.  It was a wonderful family time, one that we won't forget!

Inside 911 Memorial

Thanksgiving in Connecticut!

Great Grandma on her 96th birthday

Mary and Al (my sister and brother-in-law) recently retired to Beacon Falls, Connecticut to be close to their grandchildren.  We decided that Thanksgiving was the perfect time to check out their new home.  We also wanted to take my Mom along since she was celebrating her 96th birthday and also, our Persian cat, Bleu Kitty, for his first airplane ride.



Lucy in the 126 yr old Christening Gown

It all worked smoothly, well except for lots of traffic up to Tampa.  A frustrated Richard tried to negotiate backed up lines of traffic, but we ultimately made it just in time!

UK and USA grandparents attend the Baptism

My niece, Holly's inlaws came in from the UK for the occasion.  It was wonderful seeing my great niece, Francesca, who absolutely adored Blue Kitty!  The star of the show was little Luciana (Lucy) who is such a beautiful good baby.  Her Baptism was beautiful.  She wore her great great Grandfather's 126 year old Christening Gown (my Mom's father).  Check out some of the pictures below.

Proud parents - Holly and Andrew with little Lucy

Francesca loved Bleu Kitty!

My nephew, Brian, with little Leo

Blessing of the Fleet

We took out our new boat, Indigo Star, for a Blessing of the Fleet Ceremony at our club, the Isles Yacht Club.  It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, just perfect.  The previous owners, Jake & Pat Dye, came aboard to help us learn to operate her and gave us some good tips.  Afterwards, we docked her and had a nice dinner.  We still have lots of practice to do, but are coming along!

At the IYC Blessing of the Fleet

Approaching Reviewing Officers on Dock

With Pat & Jake Dye, Original Owners, Aboard

Docked at IYC

Salon

Salon

Salon

Lower Helm Station

Galley

Galley

V Berth

Bleu's Quarters

Fly Bridge

Stern View from Fly Bridge

Blessing of the Pets

Every year on the feast of St Francis of Assisi, our church blesses the pets.  Bleu Kitty needed an extra blessing this year because he is going on his first airplane flight to visit his Aunt Mary and Uncle Al, and Holly, Andrew and little Francesca and her baby sister, Luciana.

His picture was published in our church bulletin and here he is in the arms of Richard.  He had a great time and enjoyed meeting Father Jerry.

Postscript to Africa Trip

Joanne & Richard ride an elephant in Africa

Richard and I traveled home on the long plane flights with quite a few delays.  We had a 2-1/2 hr delay on the runway leaving Johannesburg when a passenger who checked in luggage did not show up for the flight.  The baggage handlers had great difficulty locating the bags.  This caused us to miss our connection at Dulles Airport, Washington D.C.  We waited 6 hours for the next flight out only to be delayed by thunderstorms in the area.  When we finally landed in Tampa, Florida, we were not allowed to get up from our seats because the tail of the plane was not stable due to shifting baggage. Finally, we disembarked to drive home in the dark.  Boy, did our bed feel great since we were exhausted from the entire ordeal.

Richard came down with Type B influenza a day later, which he probably caught on the plane.  He was quite sick with high fever and cough.  As for me, Joanne, I was prescribed Tamiflu (quite expensive), but it did cut down the symptoms.  After two weeks home, we both recovered.

The trip was awesome and we totally enjoyed every minute.  We highly recommend visiting Africa - the animals roaming in their natural habitat were amazing.  The countries were so interesting and the people welcoming.  We loved the rainbows surrounding Victoria Falls!  We were educated about the political histories of the countries visited and about Apartheid.  August is the perfect month to visit because it is the dry season with fewer mosquitos and a better view of the animals (it is the end of their winter season).

Around Cape Town

Table Mountain

Sunday was GREAT - perfect clear sunny weather for a full day of fun.  It began with a cable ride up beautiful Table Mountain.  We enjoyed the vistas and had fun snapping photos. The cable rotates so everyone gets a good view on the way up and down.

Ride, Not Walk to Top 

Cape Town View From Above

Cape Town Below - so great to visit Africa

Joanne Takes Flight

Penguins

Then we hopped into our van for a scenic coast ride with a stop to visit South Africa's penguin colony.  Afterwards, we enjoyed our fish lunch (mild white fish called hake) at the Black Marlin, a cute seafood restaurant with excellent views. 

African Penguin Colony -
  Lots of them!

   

Happy Penguin Feet

We rode for a few hours down to the tip of Africa, our destination being the Cape of Good Hope.  First, we took a funicular for a lighthouse view and later we traveled on the van to a famous place to snap a picture at the Cape.  The day ended with a scenic route back along breathtaking cliffs that reminded us of the Amalfi Coastline of Italy without all the buildings. 

Cape of Good Hope Lighthouse

Cape of Good Hope

At the Cape

Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

Scenic Drive Between Granite and Sandstone

Over lunch we talked about our favorite moments.  For myself, it was the elephants dining on a tree outside our tent in Kruger and seeing the rainbows at Victoria Falls.  For Richard, it was photographing the leopards, lions and elephants.  We learned a lot about the 4 African countries we visited.  In South Africa, we were really educated about the black struggle against Apartheid.  Our guides were excellent, as were the accommodations and food.  We enjoyed the two meals in the homes of the African people because it gave us an opportunity to ask questions and get to know of their concerns.  It made us grateful for all we have, especially when visiting the settlements in the bush. We'd highly recommend touring Africa.     

Visiting Cape Town

It took us a day to fly to Cape Town through 3 airports with lots of waits, but it is worth it!  The beautiful Table Mountain rises above the city wherever you look.  The city's population is 4.5 million people, a melting pot of Dutch, British, Indonesian, German and French settlers.  Today we were supposed to take a cable car up Table Mountain, but there were strong winds that prevented that activity - maybe tomorrow!  We opted instead for a tour of their gorgeous gardens, Kirtenbosch, along with a city tour of the neighborhoods.  There is a beautiful harbor area called the Victoria and Albert Waterfront where we enjoyed a seafood lunch at the Ocean Basket.  Tonight, the group was invited to dinner at a local couple's home in a previously white neighborhood.  This couple is considered "colored," the South African term for someone who has a mixed heritage.  They are up and coming young professionals who renovated their home and are expecting their first child.  She made a mild chicken curry dish that was delicious with a wonderful homemade flatbread with rice, veggies and salad.  Here are some pictures...

Wild Almond Tree at Kirstenbosch Gardens



Colorful Bo-Kapp Street in Malay District

Bo-Kapp Street with Table Mountain in Distance



Joanne in the Table Mountain Picture Frame




Canopy Walk - Castle Rock in Background