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May 5 – The Kentucky Derby

By on May 10, 2018 in The Pearl

We have cruising friends that own a horse farm (we call them ranches in Texas) in upstate New York…what a great place to be to enjoy the Kentucky Derby. We spent a wonderful day with them enjoying the races at Saratoga Springs last summer. Maybe one day we’ll be watching one of their fouls run.
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May 2 – Splash Day

By on May 4, 2018 in The Pearl

Beacon Bay Marina

The pearl got a much needed make over this spring. The last time she had new bottom paint or a good wax job on the hull was in November 2015 when we were in Indiantown, Florida. She was really in need of a face lift…and boy does she look great now.
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Back to the Finger Lakes

By on April 29, 2018 in The Pearl
Spring is just arriving in upstate New York and flowers are beginning to bloom. The trees are full of buds and will be turning green soon. I love spring, it’s my favorite time of year. I love watching everything come back to life after a cold grey winter and this this year I’m getting to enjoy it twice. I did a post about the Finger Lakes last year when we first arrived in Ithaca, but I thought I would remind everyone just where the Finger Lakes are and why we love it here.

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Take a Tour of The Pearl

By on April 18, 2018 in The Pearl
There seems to be a lot of people we know that don’t realize what our boat looks like (almost everyone, except close friends and family, think we sail). When we tell them we’re headed back to the boat for six months…they can’t imagine how we can live on the boat. I guess people think it’s a small daysailer. They ask questions like…where do you bath, do you have to eat all your meals out, where do you put all your stuff? They have no idea that it’s equipped with all the comforts of home. Well, almost all the comforts of home, we do miss our comfortable chairs. The Pearl doesn’t have the room Texas Pearl has, but we love sitting on the flybridge, relaxing and enjoying the view when ever we can. It’s the place we like to start our day, as well as end it.

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Northeast Classic Car Museum

By on April 16, 2018 in The Pearl
Last fall before we winterized The Pearl and came home for the winter, we spent one last fun filled day with cruising friends, Maryanne and George. We visited the Northeast Classic Car Museum in Norwich, NY and enjoyed a wonderful dinner together. Soon we’ll be heading back to upstate New York for more incredible adventures. That is…if spring EVER arrives!

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Oceanus Brass Bow-Shackle Pen: A Review

By on April 4, 2018 in The Pearl

A benefit of writing a regular blog…besides being able to remember where we’ve been and what we’ve done, is getting free promotional things once in awhile. Some bloggers have been offered all kinds of things in exchange for their reviews of those products. This is the first time we’ve been offered anything. 
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Texas Pearl Haul Out

By on March 25, 2018 in The Pearl
On August 25, 2017 Hurricane Harvey sat over Rockport, Texas for fourteen hours. Not only did it bring extremely high winds and A LOT of rain, it also produced over 60 tornadoes in the area that night. The damage to Rockport and Aransas County was catastrophic. In one night the beautiful little coastal town was turned into a war zone. We were truly lucky to find our boat still in her slip, with no major damage…but she didn’t come through the storm untouched. It’s been seven months since the storm roared ashore in south Texas and Texas Pearl is almost back to her beautiful self.

Here is the list of damage to Texas Pearl from Hurricane Harvey

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Mar. 7 – Seventh Anniversary

By on March 7, 2018 in The Pearl
“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give; to roam the roads of lands remote; to travel is to live.” ―Hans Christian Andersen

Seven years ago today we pulled out of Port Lavaca on the adventure that has changed our life. We’ve definitely seen a lot, learned a lot, met a lot of wonderful people and enjoyed “almost” every minute of this great new life. In the past seven years we’ve traveled over 18,000 miles, visited over 300 towns, three countries, 22 states and providences, stayed at over 100 different marinas and anchored in 157 different anchorages and we look forward to all the years of new adventures to come. Here’s the post I made to this blog on day one of our new life. (March 7, 2011) Here’s a link to our travel map. 

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Costa Rican Sodas

By on February 13, 2018 in The Pearl

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home.” —James Michener

When you visit Costa Rica and want a taste of good local food, you have to eat at a soda. Sodas are what Costa Ricans call restaurants that are usually small, family owned places that serve typical Costa Rican food at a very good price. Every town has a soda; you can find them everywhere, even on roads that seem to be in the middle of nowhere. Most of them hang a Pepsi or Imperial sign outside and are called something like “Soda Tipica”. It’s where the locals eat.

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Feb. 2 – Pura Vida

By on February 9, 2018 in The Pearl
“No one but ourselves can free our minds.”―Bob Marley

“Pura Vida” (pronounces poo-rah vee-dah) simply translated, it means “simple life” or “pure life”, but in Costa Rica, it’s more than just a saying—it is a way of life. Costa Ricans (Ticos) use this term to say hello, to say goodbye, to say everything’s great, to say everything’s cool. However, it’s not the words that reflect the true meaning of ¡Pura Vida!, it’s the way Ticos live. Not surprisingly, Costa Rica has been named one of the happiest countries in the world, mostly because its inhabitants don’t stress about things the way most foreigners do. Ticos have a very relaxed, simple way of looking at life. No worries, no fuss, no stress—pura vida to them means being thankful for what they have and not dwelling on the negative.
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