Merry Christmas, everyone.

Though we won't be warm here at Rocky Point, our warmest wishes are for you all to have a safe and joyous holiday season. Crew Istaboa will return to Istaboa and warmth soon.
Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays... Be you Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, or any other religion or belief, our wishes are the same.  Whatever you prefer to be happy about is cool as long as you do to others as you would have them do to you. (unless you're into S&M, keep that to yourself.)


And of course, Happy Birthday, Jesus.

But, is it? Cut from all about Jesus Christ.
Was Jesus born on December 25? There is no evidence for this date. So then, who decided that Jesus' birth would be celebrated on that date? The early Christian church did not celebrate Jesus' birth. It wasn't until A.D. 440 that the church officially proclaimed December 25 as the birth of Christ. This was not based on any religious evidence but on a pagan feast. Saturnalia was a tradition inherited by the Roman pagans from an earlier Babylonian priesthood. December 25 was used as a celebration of the birthday of the sun god. It was observed near the winter solstice.

A Christmas video on page 2

Well it was 30 years ago today.

He said...
All you need is—                               He'll always live in our hearts.

John Lennon 

10/9/40 -12/8/80

Imagine.

But enough about his death... Let's celebrate his 70th birthday. (Man, we're getting old)

Happy Birthday, John.

Funny

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Gretch Who Saved the War on Christmas
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor The Daily Show on Facebook

Home for the holidays or....

Yep, another come apart...
Back in Memphis for a while and it's cold!!

When you have a minute...

Try this, it's kinda funny.

 

Not so funny....

Arrived alive.

Finally...  Friday we made it back to Stuart.
So nice to be back. It's way more crowded than when we were last here but Istaboa is comfortably in her old slip.
We had drinks with our old dock mates and watched the sunset. It was nice to catch up and hear of their travels as well as tell our own stories.
But weary from the last weeks run down the AICW, we eased back down to the boat and made a quick dinner of sauteed Andouille sausage in a basil and caper red sauce over fresh home made basil angel-hair pasta. Sounds complicated? No, the red sauce came out of a jar. The sausage was leftover from old provisions, but the pasta was from the farmers market on Amelia Island. Amola Pasta. Excellent!

Luckily the trip down was uneventful. Good weather, polite boaters we passed and who passed us, and dolphin as well as other critters along the way. We had to keep a watchful eye out for Manatees and did pass a few. They're heading south like the rest of us, in search of warmer waters, and they can be difficult to spot. Usually just a nose protruding above the surface is all you see.

Great shot, but not mine. Don't know who to give credit to.

And the Dolphin...  on page 2

Happy Thanksgiving....

We made it to Fort Pierce and Harbortown Marina.
Actually a restaurant open so maybe Thanksgiving dinner at the dock.

Funny stuff for Turkey Day:

Jon Stewart: "I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land."

More Funny Thankgiving Quotes 

Home tomorrow!

Adios,

Istaboa

Tired...

Palm Coast Monday... Daytona last night... Cocoa Beach tonight... Fort Pierce for Turkey Day...home at Stuart and Sunset Bay Friday...
Trip over till the islands.
Details later.

Adios,

Istaboa

Fun in Fernandina and rekindled relationships

Fernandina... Front and Centre

Fernandina is a beautiful little town. The locals have done an excellent job restoring and maintaining the old place. It's worth your time to click this link and read the history. The only city in America to have flown 8 flags.

But even better than hanging out in this old seaport town was meeting this little guy.

Silas Rui Taylor

Our Grandson.

Very handsome lad.

More on page 2

One night and a crew change

 Land Ho!  After 26 hours of enduring almost the whole spectrum of sea conditions, we've finally got St. Simons Sound in sight. Looks like we're going to make it in with a bit of light. That's the Sidney Lanier Bridge in the first stage of sunset.
More on page 2.