tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59619359282172515462024-03-13T07:52:15.099-06:00StoryvilleTroy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.comBlogger303125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-81677187266631668432014-11-21T17:22:00.001-06:002014-11-21T17:30:04.981-06:00Storyvilla<p> I think I mentioned a while back that we purchased an RV because it made sense for us to have a place to live when we return to Texas to visit our families, which happen to be spread from Fort Worthto Cut N Shoot to Conroe to Spring to Jersey Village (not to mention Lubbock and Brenham), all towns in Texas in case you didn't make the connection.</p><p>Anyways, It's been a crazy, hectic time for us since we returned from Storville and Grenada. We loved our short visit to our favorite island and our home on Storyville. I still have blog posts that I haven't made from our trip there. So while I spend my days in chilly Texas I will look through my photos of the oil downs and weddings and fun stuff that we did while we were in warm (OK, truth be told, hot as hades) Grenada.</p><p>Meanwhile, back at the ranch, or RV, depending on how you want to look at it. We've been busy preparing for my mom's estate sale. It's been very draining emotionally on our family to go through this, but we are so fortunate to have each other to lean on. I'm glad that we're back here for the holidays so that we can spend them together. Mom was the glue for us all and now we will see how well we can keep the holiday traditions going.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-sZBRw58ORLU/VG_IrJsBA_I/AAAAAAAADJw/ypS4Dyd6-UY/s501/Photo%25252020141121172002.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; "><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-sZBRw58ORLU/VG_IrJsBA_I/AAAAAAAADJw/ypS4Dyd6-UY/s500/Photo%25252020141121172002.jpg" id="blogsy-1416612588085.5562" class="alignleft" width="228" height="237" alt=""></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nesta and me squeezing coconut for the oil down</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I also mentioned that we were working on a name for the RV. On my last post "Land Shark" was in the lead but somehow it seemed like we could come up with something that fit us better. While we were limin' with our family in Grenada we were tossing around ideas for a name and I was trying to come up with something to use with Story, you know, maybe another name for a town other than ville, but nothing seemed to fit. Suddenly Nesta said, how about Storyvilla, a villa is a home and that is your home. I loved it the minute I heard her say it and I knew that we had a winner! Thanks Nesta for giving our 2nd home a name. I think we need to consider a naming ceremony.<br></p><p> </p><p>We are starting to get settled on Storyvilla and we hope to take our first road trip in the next week or so. Here are some pictures of our second home ....... <strong><u><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="5" color="#ffff00">Storyvilla</font></u></strong></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hdqliw64gYg/VG_IvPccPsI/AAAAAAAADJ4/e_Y9TkG9bpM/s640/Photo%25252020141121172002.jpg" target="_blank" style=" "><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hdqliw64gYg/VG_IvPccPsI/AAAAAAAADJ4/e_Y9TkG9bpM/s500/Photo%25252020141121172002.jpg" id="blogsy-1416612588079.9224" class="aligncenter" width="288" height="384" alt=""></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starboard Side View</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-lFKRN4MP5o0/VG_IxAjYWSI/AAAAAAAADKA/Ew67HILJs6M/s640/Photo%25252020141121172002.jpg" target="_blank" style=" "><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-lFKRN4MP5o0/VG_IxAjYWSI/AAAAAAAADKA/Ew67HILJs6M/s500/Photo%25252020141121172002.jpg" id="blogsy-1416612588129.0276" class="aligncenter" width="288" height="384" alt=""></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Port Side View</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T6RCmK8GMAA/VG_JGlzZKnI/AAAAAAAADLY/I5iu-EVVoi0/s640/Photo%25252020141121172004.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T6RCmK8GMAA/VG_JGlzZKnI/AAAAAAAADLY/I5iu-EVVoi0/s500/Photo%25252020141121172004.jpg" id="blogsy-1416612588161.719" class="aligncenter" width="288" height="384" alt=""></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7yYy6FJep8U/VG_JK71FhWI/AAAAAAAADLg/YYjv7FYA5vA/s640/Photo%25252020141121172004.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7yYy6FJep8U/VG_JK71FhWI/AAAAAAAADLg/YYjv7FYA5vA/s500/Photo%25252020141121172004.jpg" id="blogsy-1416612588172.934" class="aligncenter" width="288" height="384" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-8199789225596959762014-10-14T08:42:00.001-06:002014-10-14T08:51:03.098-06:00Reminding Storyville That We Love Her<p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Now that we're getting settled back into life afloat we decided that it was time to show Storyville a little TLC, you know, remind her that we still care. We are happier than ever with our <font><a href="http://www.cruiserowaterandpower.com" target="_blank" title=""></a><a href="http://www.cruiserowaterandpower.com" target="_blank" title="">Cruise RO water make</a>r</font>. Now that we can make 30 galllons an hour we are able to produce enough fresh water to keep everybody happy. Luna needs a rinse off after every trip to the beach, Storyville has decks covered with grime, we like to shower every now and then. Yep, we are more than happy to be able to make all that water. Of course, with all the rain we've had lately a rain catching system should be on the to do list as well.</span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jPMUrXFh-Z0/VD04Qgd-spI/AAAAAAAADJg/Vw3z0QGSgjo/s320/Photo%25252020141014105034.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: right; float: right; "><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jPMUrXFh-Z0/VD04Qgd-spI/AAAAAAAADJg/Vw3z0QGSgjo/s320/Photo%25252020141014105034.jpg" id="blogsy-1413298243176.9182" class="alignright" width="240" height="320" alt=""></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The captain, swabbing the decks</td></tr></tbody></table><p>We managed to spend the better part of a whole day swabbing the decks just to get rid of the grime and all of the Saharan dust that's been floating across the ocean, just to land right on Storyville. I have to say thanks to Africa for sending us dust and Chikungunya. So far we've managed to avoid the Chick V, but the dust, that's another story. </p><p>Now that the decks are clean, we moved over to a dock in Secret Harbor where we will be able to troubleshoot some of the other issues we are having. It seems that our chartplotter has stopped working, both bilge pumps gave up the ghost and the generator still won't start. Not to mention that our engine was wanting to overheat if we revved it up too much. I swear! It's always something when you live on a boat. That's why you will hear cruisers often repeating to each other..... "Cruising is working on boats in exotic locations" or another favorite.... "B.O.A.T. - Break Out Another Thousand". Oh well, the good part is the exotic location and we do manage to have some fun in between boat projects. Take a peek at a couple of pictures to see that it's not all work and no play.<br></p><p>Last night I went to a bingo game where the prizes included a flock of sheep, a cow and a brand new Ford Explorer. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I didn't win anything. Tonight Troy will be playing at open mic again. It's hard to believe that we've already been here for a week. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0Zt7M8WVTpQ/VD012_j72jI/AAAAAAAADI8/-Kpz2wr9eRk/s1024/Photo%25252020141014103925.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; "><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0Zt7M8WVTpQ/VD012_j72jI/AAAAAAAADI8/-Kpz2wr9eRk/s500/Photo%25252020141014103925.jpg" id="blogsy-1413298243214.773" class="alignleft" alt="" width="284" height="379"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fun time limin' at Ruben's Bar - Stacy, Rene, Richard and Troy</td></tr></tbody></table><p> NOTE: Due to s..l..o..w.. internet this blog post is several days late in getting posted. We've been at the dock for almost a week now and are getting most of the important issues sorted out. The weather has dried up and it's beautiful here. Hopefully some fun posts with great pictures will be coming up. I still haven't been able to get to a hash this time. Maybe this weekend.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F1VLuVjiXIs/VD016MelxQI/AAAAAAAADJE/r-nBkUe8mVQ/s1024/Photo%25252020141014103925.jpg" target="_blank" style=" "><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F1VLuVjiXIs/VD016MelxQI/AAAAAAAADJE/r-nBkUe8mVQ/s500/Photo%25252020141014103925.jpg" id="blogsy-1413298243239.1958" class="" alt="" width="301" height="402"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lobster dinner's on the beach - Thanks to Chris and Denise</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-pjQZIlAfHK8/VD0188VEAzI/AAAAAAAADJM/GgUTSgmNNgI/s1024/Photo%25252020141014103926.jpg" target="_blank" style=" "><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-pjQZIlAfHK8/VD0188VEAzI/AAAAAAAADJM/GgUTSgmNNgI/s500/Photo%25252020141014103926.jpg" id="blogsy-1413298243246.0398" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full moon rising over the marina</td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-crfyziYb1ZE/VD01_b92pVI/AAAAAAAADJU/8H4aF05xw3s/s1024/Photo%25252020141014103926.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; "><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-crfyziYb1ZE/VD01_b92pVI/AAAAAAAADJU/8H4aF05xw3s/s500/Photo%25252020141014103926.jpg" id="blogsy-1413298243181.9429" class="alignleft" alt="" width="391" height="522"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local melon harvest</td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-86134852351019066982014-10-05T11:35:00.001-06:002014-10-05T11:35:03.198-06:00Rain, Rain, Go away!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://instagram.com/p/tv-2GQK_DR/" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; "><img src="http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xaf1/t51.2885-15/10724277_729872547086209_937552152_n.jpg" id="blogsy-1412530497851.1404" class="alignleft" alt="" width="377" height="377"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Storyville at home on her mooring in Old Harbour, Grenada</td></tr></tbody></table><p> We're back home on Storyville at long last. A big thanks to Richard, who kept everything running smoothly and took care of Storyville for us while we were away. Of course, there are still plenty of boat projects to keep us busy, we just haven't had a chance to tackle them yet. We needed a few days to decompress and reset to "island time". As soon as we came aboard there was an explosion of bags, clothes were everywhere, mosquito spay, suncreen, computers, chargers for everything... It also took a few days to get our lives back to some semblance of order. So anyway, things are mostly back to where they belong, with the exception of way too many damp clothes. It's been raining almost constantly since we got back. It won't stop long enough for me to get anything dry and we got caught in a torrential downpour last night in the dinghy on our way out to Pipe Muh Bligh for dinner. Thanks to Terri, Stacy's mom, she provided me with a dry outfit since we arrived looking like drowned rats. Then, the clothes she gave me took a swamping in the dinghy ride back. Then there is the fact that it seems to be an unwritten rule that when it rains for 3 days straight, your boat will leak, somewhere, somehow. Did I mention all the wet clothes? I'm gonna need to find a laundry mat soon before the mildew can take over. </p><p>We've been catching up with cruiser friends and Grenadian friends. Troy played music at Nimrod's on Thursday night with Country Dave. Nimrod's is a local rum shop and, home of the best roti in Grenada. It was great to see him out playing again. It really does feel like coming home. It feels so right to sleep on the water. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ML1XBb6YZQw/VDGBP2jH4xI/AAAAAAAADIk/bukMch1fbv4/s1024/Photo%25252020141005133439.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; "><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ML1XBb6YZQw/VDGBP2jH4xI/AAAAAAAADIk/bukMch1fbv4/s500/Photo%25252020141005133439.jpg" id="blogsy-1412530497902.5537" class="alignleft" width="300" height="225" alt=""></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Troy playing at Nimrod's (Photo credit Chris Badger)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Oh, and there's also this pesky mosquito bourn virus called Chikungunya. Apparently it has spread rapidly throughout the Caribbean. It seems that everyone in Grenada is getting it, even when precautions are taken. I've heard that as much as 65% of the population has gotten it, causing shortages of workers everwhere. We brought some OFF with 40% deet and we are slowly poisioning ourselves with it so that we can try to avoide then "chicken V" or "chicken virus" or "chickenganga". Whatever you want to call it, the name means "bent over with pain" and it causes fever and painful joints and sometimes a rash. It seems that some people are affected worse than others, not just because of general health. It's like some people just don't have the symptoms as severly as others and it lasts longer for some people than others. We are hoping to avoid it, but hey, the good news is that once you've had it, you are immune. Wish us luck.</p><p>Anyway, life is good. We are back on Storyville, so that's awesome. I've even had a chance to kayak over to the beach with Luna during a break in the rain. We are hoping to move from the anchorage where we are now around to our favorite spot at Hog Island in a couple of days. Gotta get to a couple of those boat projects first, like replacing the blige pumps that went out. Yeah, that might be an important one on the to do list.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://instagram.com/p/tv3JRWq_Fe/" target="_blank" style=""><img src="http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xaf1/t51.2885-15/10693609_887717057919443_33616607_n.jpg" id="blogsy-1412530497847.2825" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luna loves all the mud puddles from the rain!</td></tr></tbody></table><p> Meanwhile - this song has been repeating in my head. I wonder why?</p><p style="text-align: center;"> There's a place, where the boat leaves from</p><p style="text-align: center;">It takes away all of your big problems</p><p style="text-align: center;">You got problems you can drop them in the blue ocean</p><p style="text-align: center;"> But you gotta get away to where the boat leaves from</p><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;">Take one part sand, one part sea</p><p style="text-align: center;">And one part shade of a banana tree</p><p style="text-align: center;"> And the drinks are cold and the reggae's hot</p><p style="text-align: center;">And I know this is the place for me</p><p style="text-align: center;"> ~Zac Brown Band (Where the Boat Leaves From)</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;"><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="500" height="305" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/E-v5Wx6EyK8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-88440937139385165662014-09-27T07:21:00.001-06:002014-09-27T07:27:33.211-06:00Headed Back to Storyville!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-aHvk8PdHz9Q/VCa5sVlQ3kI/AAAAAAAADIM/QQGCTLmvNgI/s1024/Photo%25252020140927082041.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; "><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-aHvk8PdHz9Q/VCa5sVlQ3kI/AAAAAAAADIM/QQGCTLmvNgI/s500/Photo%25252020140927082041.jpg" id="blogsy-1411824440064.734" class="alignleft" alt="" width="341" height="605"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Storyville in the anchorage at Hog Island, Grenada</td></tr></tbody></table><p><font size="4"> Yes! That's right. We are getting really excited about our visit back to Storyville for several reasons. Mainly because we miss her and we miss our life on the water. </font></p><p><font size="4">It's been a tough and emotionally draining six months that we've been back in Texas. My mom passed away in June after a long illness. Fortunately my family and I were able to care for her at home (with the help of hospice care) and that was a blessing as she was terrified of having to go to a nursing home. Still, the emotional drain of watching someone you love waste away is very difficult. Thank God that I have the best husband, friends and family in the whole world. When times were tough I always knew I had a shoulder to lean on or to cry on or to laugh with. Whatever I needed at the moment and whether they were near or far.</font></p><p><font size="4">I feel so blessed to know that I have people who love and support me. And they are everywhere! One of the many reasons for that is our cruising life. I truly felt the love and support from my cruising friends and other friends that we have met along the way and I know how fortunate and blessed I am to have all of these awesome people in my life. Thank you all for your love and support.</font></p><p><font size="4">As I mentioned in my last post, we've had some decisions to make this year. When we come back to Texas for a visit we almost always stay with my mom. Well, now that we are preparing to sell her house we started thinking about what that would mean to us and our visits. We are lucky that all of our children and grandchildren live in the same area so we know that we will be returning here every year. In fact, we have decided that we like the idea of returning here in the summer. It's hurricane season and we plan to leave Storyville under the care of Richard (our Grenadian family) during the summer and return to Texas to visit with our family here. So...... we decided to buy a land yacht.</font></p><p><font size="4">When we starting thinking about our options this was the only one that really made any sense to us. It seems that we have become gypsies and cannot fathom planting ourselves in one place without the option to travel. We are addicted to the traveling lifestyle. Not to mention that we have also discovered that we really prefer living in small spaces. We are working really hard not to accumulate too many belongings since we have already been through the process of paring them down once. It seems that living on land (and also dealing with so many of my mom's possessions) has us once more dealing with an abundance of "stuff". It really is an ongoing battle.</font></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TOsZ14V5G6E/VCa5vhyr9LI/AAAAAAAADIU/UugMdOHzvg8/s1024/Photo%25252020140927082042.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; "><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TOsZ14V5G6E/VCa5vhyr9LI/AAAAAAAADIU/UugMdOHzvg8/s500/Photo%25252020140927082042.jpg" id="blogsy-1411824440089.5266" class="alignleft" alt="" width="300" height="225"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Land Shark????</td></tr></tbody></table><p><font size="4"> Anyway, once the decision was made we shopped around and decided on a 2003 Winnebago. She is in good shape, but of course, she needed a little work and some upgrades. Troy has been working hard on getting her ready for us by installing new flooring and a new airconditioning unit (after all, we will be living in Texas, in the summer - so A/C is essential). This week we are working on moving into the RV before we return to Storyville for a visit. It's been a busy week but we are both really excited about our new home - we are working on a name for her. What do you think about "Land Shark"? </font></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://instagram.com/p/iPgetGq_Is/" target="_blank" style="clear: right; float: right; "><img src="http://scontent-b.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xpa1/t51.2885-15/925409_609798742389871_2078307096_n.jpg" id="blogsy-1411824440102.9036" class="alignright" alt="" width="222" height="222"></a><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="4">We are also really excited about returning to Storyville. We miss her, our life on the water and our Grenadian family and cruising friends. We will be helping celebrate the marriage of two of our Grenadian family (Alesha and Bruce) and we can't wait to see what a Grenadian wedding will be like. Plus, Luna can't wait to get back to the beach. We will be back on Storyville for the month of October, then back to Texas to have an estate sale, get the house on the market and get other business taken care of. It's a busy time for us, but we are hoping that things will slow down soon and we can figure out just what normal will look like for us.</font></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luna can't wait to get back to the beach!</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;" caption="We miss you Storyville! See you soon."><a href="http://instagram.com/p/qvamXEK_L-/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font size="4"><img src="http://scontent-b.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xap1/t51.2885-15/10513905_335959199887364_1640141968_n.jpg" id="blogsy-1411824440027.7805" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="500"></font></a></div><p><font size="4"> I should have lots of fun stuff to blog about in the coming month, I just hope I have good enough internet to get it done.</font></p><p> <em><font color="#ffff00" size="4">"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." ― Augustine of Hippo</font></em></p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-43185979031591994752014-09-08T20:05:00.001-06:002014-09-08T20:21:26.140-06:00Liebster Award!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NcWAU70hDnc/VA5gR7rxeVI/AAAAAAAADH8/Igh-TiQHKGQ/s540/Photo%25252020140908210453.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="305" id="blogsy-1410228299736.1724" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NcWAU70hDnc/VA5gR7rxeVI/AAAAAAAADH8/Igh-TiQHKGQ/s500/Photo%25252020140908210453.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
Our blog has been nominated for the Liebster Award by Alex and David of s/v <span style="color: yellow;"><a href="http://www.sailblogs.com/member/banyan/" target="_blank" title="s/v Banyan">Banyan</a></span> (click the link to check out their blog). Sounds prestigious right? Well, I guess it is in blogging circles. The award is sort of like a chain letter of the blog world. It works like this:<br />
<br />
(1) Thank the person who nominated us and link back to their page.<br />
(2) Answer the 10 questions they have asked and publish the post.<br />
(3) Nominate 10 up-and-coming blogs and ask them 10 questions.<br />
<br />
So, thank you Alex for the nomination and here we go..... <br />
Alex's questions for us:<br />
<br />
(1) Where in the World are you? Alternatively, where would you like to travel to?<br />
<br />
Troy, Luna and myself are currently in Conroe, Texas. We have been here on an off for the last year and a half, splitting our time between Conroe and Grenada where we left Storyville. We've been here caring for my mother, who was ill and suffering from dementia. Sadly, she passed away in June and I am now working on settling her estate and getting ready to put her house on the market.<br />
<br />
(2) Describe the funniest thing you've witnessed in your travels to date? <br />
<br />
Hmmmm, the funniest thing? Well, this one time comes to mind when we were riding in a gua gua in the Dominican Republic. A gua gua is one of their forms of public transportation. They are privately owned vehicles and can be anything from a small car to a large van. Whatever the size of the vehicle, the running joke is - "How many people can you fit in a gua gua?" and the answer - "one more". You will most likely be sitting on someones lap and they may have a live chicken, a giant bag of coconuts, their grocery shopping, you just never know. Here is an excerpt from my blog about the one particular trip.......<br />
<span style="color: #00cbff;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #00cbff;">Only one little bit of excitement on the 30 minute ride. It's not unusual to see herds of cows being driven down the middle of the road, in fact, it would be more unusual not to see a couple of herds along the way. We recognize the signs by now. Usually one guy is ahead of the herd and he waves a red flag to let oncoming traffic know what lies ahead. It could be anywhere from 2 or 3 cows to a whole big herd. We met a fairly good sized herd along the way and the driver slowed almost to a stop for the oncoming cows. All was going as planned until the cow directly in front of our car was mounted by a bull that came up right behind her. I could see my life flashing before my eyes (that's not ALL I could see, I got a pretty good look at the working parts of the, ahem, bulls reproductive system) when it seemed that the both of them would certainly come crashing through our windshield. Fortunately, the bull decided that he might have picked the wrong time and place to display his amorous feelings. It was all over in a matter of seconds and the driver never even blinked an eye.</span><br />
<br />
It wasn't so funny at the moment, but as soon as I realized that I was not going to die in the middle of a big pile of cow sex, I could start to see the humor in the situation. I would hate to have my kids learn that I had died covered in bull semen and glass.<br />
<br />
(3) Describe your favourite cruising grounds in your travels to date? <br />
<br />
That's a hard one. One of the questions we are asked most often is "what's your favorite island?". I always answered by saying that we loved many of the islands for different reasons, almost evey place has something that makes it stand out above the others so it's so hard to choose.<br />
<br />
We loved the Bahamas for the easy cruising and the fantastic beautiful clear blue water. We loved the Dominican Republic for the friendly people and the opportunity to practice our Spanish, the beautiful mountains and the fantastic locally grown produce. We loved the Virgin Islands for their beauty and easy cruising. We loved St. Martin for the great provisioning and easy access to boat parts, not to mention the beauty of the island itself. I could go on about every place that we've visited so far, but that doesn't answer the question. <br />
<br />
Our favorite cruising grounds so far have been in Grenada/Carriacou. Not only are the islands and the waters beautiful, but the people are friendly, the sailing is great and they have wonderfully grown local produce. We have made lifelong friends in our travels but we've gained new family in Grenada. I am so happy that we can leave Storyville there in the summer, hopefully safe from storms and know that she is watched over by our Grenadian family. We have fallen in love with Grenada!<br />
<br />
(4) This Sailing Lifestyle has obviously been a dream turned reality for all of us out here doing this. But if you could have another dream, another "thing" you would want to do... what would it be?<br />
<br />
Interestingly, we have found another dream by accident. When we left for cruising we sold our home and cars and belongings and left the US without any ties except for our friends and family. I have been fortunate enough over the last 4 years of cruising to make it back to Texas at least once a year to see our kids and grandkids and to visit all of our friends. On these visits I always stayed with my mom. Now that she is gone we started wondering what we would do when we came back to visit. We also have realized that summers in the Caribbean can be really, really, extremely hot. Don't get me wrong, summers in Texas are about the same, but the difference is the fact the we have air conditioning here (in our cars, in our homes, in our stores). Anyway, I digress, we decided that we would need a place to stay if we were going to spend summers back here in Texas visiting our family, so..... we recently bought an RV. We will be starting a new RV adventure in the summers and I am hoping that we get to travel the US and see a little more of this beautiful country. I am hoping that we can bring the grandkids along on some adventures.<br />
<br />
(5) If there's one thing you brought with you cruising, that is totally useless and you could take off your boat, what would it be? Alternatively, if there's one thing you didn't bring with you, and wish you had, what is it? <br />
<br />
I would say that the totally useless thing is really more than one "thing". It's all the canned goods that we stocked up on before we left for the Bahamas. We really didn't need so many canned goods because they are available almost everywhere (except for some specialty items like Rotel, and canned green chilies and even those can be found occasionally). <br />
<br />
As for the one thing we didn't bring and wish we had, I can't think of anything, but Troy wished he had brought along a small generator as a backup. We finally got one when we had a box shipped to Grenada and we've used it a couple of times when the main generator "took a break".<br />
<br />
(6) In this world of So Many Blog's, have you followed a Blogger and not yet met them? Who would you most like to meet? <br />
<br />
Yes, I do like to follow blogs, although I admit that when I am on the boat without much internet I don't get a chance to keep up with them. I am happy to say that I have met many of the blog writers that I follow and I am always amazed that it's such a small world when it comes to cruisers (especially in the Caribbean). It's always awesome to meet someone that you have been following in a blog.<br />
<br />
A couple of blog writers that I would love to meet are Brittany Meyers of the famous <span style="color: yellow; line-height: 1.3em;"><a href="http://www.windtraveler.net/" target="_blank" title="Windtraveler">Windtraveler</a></span> blog (I love her writing and her passion for the cruising life) and Tasha Hacker of <span style="color: yellow; line-height: 1.3em;"><a href="http://www.turftosurf.com/" target="_blank" title="Turf to Surf">Turf to Surf</a></span> (I love her passion for life and would love to meet her but she never stays in one place long enough).<br />
<br />
(7) What time of day do you enjoy the most and why?<br />
<br />
Typically I enjoy the afternoons the most. I tend to be pretty social so I really like happy hours and spending time with all the friends that we make along the way. Having said that, I have had some pretty awesome mornings, mid-afternoons, evenings, nights, etc. It's always fun! <br />
<br />
(8) When we set sail, and told our friends and family of our plans, we received some pretty incredible (and also incredulous) responses. Have you? Describe the one that impressed/shocked you the most?<br />
<br />
Here's a couple: "Where do you go to the bathroom?" and "Do you just stop and rest when you get tired out on the ocean?" What about pirates? You just quit working? How......<br />
<br />
(9) With this travelling lifestyle we get exposed to wide variety of cuisines. Do you enjoy trying, eating, cooking with "local" foods, and if so, what is your favourite so far? Share your recipe ?? <br />
<br />
Yes! Trying local dishes is one of our favorite things to do. I also enjoy cooking local dishes and that´s just one more reason that I love Grenada. Our Grenadian family has shown me how to cook many local dishes. I've had a great time learning to cook Grenadian style! <br />
<br />
A popular dish in the Caribbean, and one of my favorites, is Macaroni Pie (also called Bahamian Mac and Cheese in The Bahamas). Here is my recipe:<br />
<ul>
<li>1 pound of elbow macaroni</li>
<li>1 onion - chopped</li>
<li>1 red bell pepper - chopped</li>
<li>2 cups grated cheddar cheese</li>
<li>3 eggs</li>
<li>Salt and pepper to taste</li>
<li>1 teaspoon of paprika</li>
<li>Your favorite hot sauce to taste</li>
<li>2 cups evaporated milk</li>
</ul>
Boil the macaroni and just before it is done add the onion and bell pepper. Cook until the vegetables are soft. Drain, return to pot and add about 3/4 of the cheese. Stir until melted. Beat the eggs, seasonings and hot sauce together then add the evaporated milk and the egg mixture to the macaroni. Pour into a greased baking dish, sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake at 350 deg for about 30 minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes and then you can cut it into squares to serve. <br />
<br />
(10) If asked to give a random piece of advice about this lifestyle to anyone, what would it be?<br />
<br />
This one is answered by Troy ---- Don't try to make your boat perfect before you go. Get the basics (and any safety issues) taken care of and get out there. Everywhere you go there are people working on boats and solving problems, upgrading systems, etc. It's more important to get out there and do it. You can sort the boat out as you go. You'll find cruisers to be very helpful everywhere you go [unless you're an ass] it's tough to know just what works for your cruising style without getting some time "out there". Make some mistakes but try really hard not to make the dream ending one!<br />
<br />
So, my questions are.......<br />
<br />
(1) Where are you now?<br />
<br />
(2) What are your cruising goals (if any) for the future?<br />
<br />
(3) What would you tell someone who is dreaming of cruising about how to make it happen?<br />
<br />
(4) What is one thing you have learned from living this lifestyle?<br />
<br />
(5) What is your favorite thing about cruising?<br />
<br />
(6) What is your least favorite thing about cruising?<br />
<br />
(7) Do you look forward to, or dread overnight crossings? Tell us why.<br />
<br />
(8) With this traveling lifestyle we get exposed to wide variety of cuisines. Do you enjoy trying, eating, cooking with "local" foods, and if so, what is your favourite so far? Share your recipe.<br />
<br />
(9) Can you tell us one of your favorite cruising stories? <br />
<br />
(10) If asked to give a random piece of advice about this lifestyle to anyone, what would it be?<br />
<br />
I realize that I copied some of Alex's questions, but hey, they were good ones.<br />
<br />
And now, for my nominees. I'm not sure that I can come up with 10, but here are the ones that I would ilke to award the Liebster Award to.....<br />
<br />
<span style="color: yellow;"><a href="http://www.pipemuhbligh.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="Pipe Muh Bligh">Pipe Muh Bligh</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: yellow;"><a href="http://www.wyattsailing.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="Genesis">Genesis</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: yellow;"> <a href="http://(null)" target="_self" title=""></a><a href="http://www.keolakai.com/blog.html">Ke Óla Kai</a></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-56771701681282211802014-09-06T18:47:00.001-06:002014-09-06T18:47:21.898-06:00Return to The Virgin Islands<p>What better way to get this blog rejuvenated than to post about our recent trip to the US and British Virgin Islands? We've been in Texas for 4 months and really missing our floating home. When Steve and Deb invited us to spend 10 days with them on <font color="#ffff00"><a href="http://www.alternatelatitude.com" target="_blank" title="Alternate Latitude">Alternate Latitude</a> </font>in the Virgin Islands, well, how could we say no?</p><p>We went with some of our other sailing friends from Kemah so we dubbed ourselves the Kemah Krew and hopped a plane and headed to the islands. </p><p>The notorious Kemah Krew consisted of Troy and Deana, Cory and Tammy, who live on s/v Menestheus, Capt. Rick Weiler and of course, our hosts, Steve and Deb on s/v Alternate Latitude. Alternate Latitude is a 44 foot Voyager Catamaran so there was plenty of room for us all and we had a fantastic and fun filled 10 days of sailing, snorkeling, swimming and just plain having too much fun. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mTSwsmYnC2U/VAuq-6gItRI/AAAAAAAADHc/gyi_ImCJqnw/s1024/Photo%25252020140906194641.jpg" target="_blank" style=" " title=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mTSwsmYnC2U/VAuq-6gItRI/AAAAAAAADHc/gyi_ImCJqnw/s500/Photo%25252020140906194641.jpg" id="blogsy-1410050843549.744" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kemah Krew</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O0MVVoy8OOo/VAurB_Hox5I/AAAAAAAADHk/a2yzOMIfv4k/s1024/Photo%25252020140906194641.jpg" target="_blank" style=" "><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O0MVVoy8OOo/VAurB_Hox5I/AAAAAAAADHk/a2yzOMIfv4k/s500/Photo%25252020140906194641.jpg" id="blogsy-1410050843589.3076" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="888" alt=""></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alternate Latitude</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The Virgin Islands are fantastic cruising grounds. Easy sailing from one beautiful island to the next. White sand beaches and turquoise waters make sailing there a dream. We have been there on Storyville twice and spent several months cruising those islands. One thing that was noticably different on this trip was that we were there in the off season. When we were there on Storyville every anchorage was full with charter boats and mega yachts everywhere and sometimes, depending on where you were, you had to hope that there would be a mooring available. During the off season there are so many fewer charter boats and many full time cruisers are further south waiting out hurricane season. It was strange to see the empty anchorages, but nice to have them all to ourselves at times.</p><p> <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We flew into St. Thomas and sailed to Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Peter Island, Norman Island and St. John. What a fantastic trip and just what we needed. Some time on a boat, on the water in the beautiful islands. Oh how we've missed them. We couldn't have asked for better hosts or better friends to spend the time with.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://instagram.com/p/rzJLt4q_NT/" target="_blank" style=" "><img src="http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xpa1/t51.2885-15/926857_914922061869743_748006616_n.jpg" id="blogsy-1410050843569.182" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panoramic Views of The Virgin Islands</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://instagram.com/p/rzBXjMK_C0/" target="_blank" style=" "><img src="http://scontent-b.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xap1/t51.2885-15/923730_694453740637541_1039255352_n.jpg" id="blogsy-1410050843596.0667" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swimming With Turtles</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://instagram.com/p/rhgQEwK_LB/" target="_blank" style=" "><img src="http://scontent-b.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xaf1/t51.2885-15/10608021_340219356135011_1288239740_n.jpg" id="blogsy-1410050843562.8513" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfect Beaches</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://instagram.com/p/rel0WxK_CZ/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://scontent-b.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xaf1/t51.2885-15/10597450_308322999349308_279116022_n.jpg" id="blogsy-1410050843526.1453" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="500"></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6g5cQA8KkCA/VAurFbd1W7I/AAAAAAAADHs/ILoZsl68O-w/s1024/Photo%25252020140906194641.jpg" target="_blank" style=" "><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6g5cQA8KkCA/VAurFbd1W7I/AAAAAAAADHs/ILoZsl68O-w/s500/Photo%25252020140906194641.jpg" id="blogsy-1410050843604.079" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying the Spinnaker down the Sir Frances Drake Channel</td></tr></tbody></table><p> If you are looking for a vacation that you will never forget, think about chartering with Steve and Deb on <a href="http://www.alternatelatitude.com" target="_blank" title="Alternate Latitude"><font color="#ffff00">Alternate Latitude</font></a>. They can show you all the cool spots in the Virgin Islands, whether you want to party at the best beach bars or kick back on a beautiful white beach or snorkel with sea turtles. So click on the link to find out how to have a fantastic vacation, and be sure to tell them that Storyville sent you!</p><p>One of the coolest things we did was swim with the turtles at Buck Island. They were so cool and we loved every minute of watching them calmly swim and eat sea grass. Here is a video.......</p><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/105359148" width="500" height="305" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br><a href="http://vimeo.com/105359148">Buck Island Turtle Video</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user31962122">Deana Jones</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</div><p><em><font color="#ffff00"> Hark, now hear the sailors cry, smell the sea, and feel the sky, let your soul and spirit fly, into the mystic. ~ Van Morrison</font></em></p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-41014541741909821302014-09-03T10:25:00.001-06:002014-09-03T10:25:37.842-06:00Test Post with Blogsy<p> OK, I'm trying out another app called Blogsy. It looks much more comprehensive than Blogger and I think I will be able to edit and post pictures better with Blogsy, plus it supports html. We will see how it goes because it looks like there will be a pretty big learning curve, but I really want to get this blog back up and running. We've made some life changes, had some life changes made for us and had a few adventures along the way. I need to get back to blogging and I am hoping that if I can do it on my iPad then that will make things even easier and more convenient. </p><p>I wonder if this app has spell check? It does not appear to be auto correcting so I will have to see if there is a setting that needs to be changed. Hope I don't misspell anything! Did I just misspell misspell? I don't know. LOL</p><p>It looks like I am rambling so I will just post a few test photos and see how this works: </p><h1><a href="http://instagram.com/p/rzJLt4q_NT/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xpa1/t51.2885-15/926857_914922061869743_748006616_n.jpg" id="blogsy-1409761535130.7283" class="aligncenter" alt="Panoramic Views of The Virgin Islands" width="500" height="500"></a></h1><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eOoWmHStVSg/VAdA_dgKP7I/AAAAAAAADHM/QJ1h5nL3dp8/s1024/Photo%25252020140903112515.jpg" target="_blank" style=" "><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eOoWmHStVSg/VAdA_dgKP7I/AAAAAAAADHM/QJ1h5nL3dp8/s500/Photo%25252020140903112515.jpg" id="blogsy-1409761535140.379" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="334" alt="Luna The Boat Dog"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luna the Boat Dog</td></tr></tbody></table><p> Well, so far this is pretty easy to use. Now, just to see if I can post a link to another page - here is link to my friends Blog on <a href="http://www.pipemuhbligh.blogspot.com/">Pipe Muh Bligh</a>. They have been busy updating the sailing blog lately, so give it a look!</p><p> I think I'm a fan of Blogsy. Let's see how this post looks. Hopefully the Storville blog will be back up and running soon!</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-23926589885721339002014-09-03T00:05:00.001-06:002014-09-03T00:07:49.509-06:00Is This Possible?It's been a while since I tried to post a blog using my iPad and the Blogger app. This is just a short test to see if things have improved. The main complaint that I had before was posting pictures using the app. Let's see how that works now. <div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-CgMY5-DeDlo/VAavlEgSATI/AAAAAAAADGw/0fDWhoevapE/s640/blogger-image--1132157600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-CgMY5-DeDlo/VAavlEgSATI/AAAAAAAADGw/0fDWhoevapE/s640/blogger-image--1132157600.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Now for one more, just to be sure:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UeEySYewEBc/VAavpPEcj5I/AAAAAAAADG4/HY7dE8AOu08/s640/blogger-image--315000822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UeEySYewEBc/VAavpPEcj5I/AAAAAAAADG4/HY7dE8AOu08/s640/blogger-image--315000822.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I can't seem to find a way to caption the photos. That will be a problem, but maybe something I can work around. I will see how this post looks once it has been published and determine whether I can start using my iPad to create blog posts.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div></div>Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-70499669652837549922014-03-18T08:01:00.000-06:002014-03-18T08:01:34.708-06:00Carnival - Carricaou Style<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KlebB-Ux2WY/UyhPEWM_0KI/AAAAAAAADDA/DuI-fqatbZM/s1600/IMG_3726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KlebB-Ux2WY/UyhPEWM_0KI/AAAAAAAADDA/DuI-fqatbZM/s1600/IMG_3726.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, yeah, we had fun at J'Ouvert!</td></tr>
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Every island in the Caribbean has it's own version of Carnival. They are at different times of the year and each island adds it's own unique flavor. The only other Carnival that we have been to was in Dutch Sint Maarten. What I remember from the parade there were lots of fancy costumes and, of course plenty of dancing and partying.<br />
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Carriacou even has a different Carnival than Grenada, even though they are the same country - they are different islands. Carriacou's Carnival coincides with Mardi Gras and so we were lucky enough to be here to celebrate.<br />
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The party got started on Sunday afternoon and continued through late Tuesday night, no, wait, make that early Monday morning. We started our party by waking at 4:00 AM (yes, that's AM) to attend the J'Ouvert festivities in the neighboring town of Hillsborough. J'Ouvert, basically a big street party/parade, is a contraction of the French words jour ouvert, which means day break and we had to get up early to be there, so we fortified ourselves with bloody mary's, coffee and breakfast tacos with Chris, Denise and Christian on their boat s/v Anne Bonney. We were joined by Bob and Deb of s/v Chimayo, they have a local car and provided us with transportation to the party!<br />
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The party was already started by the time we arrived. Everyone was in a festive mood and people were painted in all colors of paint and some were covered in motor oil. These participants are called Jab Jabs and they will be only too happy to smear you with some paint. I think I could live here for years and not understand the symbolism of some of the costumes. Obviously emancipation from slavery is a big part of it, but it seems to me like there were so many nuances that could take a lifetime of living here to comprehend. One example was a woman in a nuns costume with a big fish hanging out of her mouth.<br />
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We managed to get back to Storyville sometime around noon and it was time for a long, long nap! Then, after we were rested up we returned to Hillsborough the next day for the Mas Parade and even more fun and entertainment. Everyone participated from the young to the not so young! What a great time we had.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ui53QmVZzxg/UyhPEuV6bjI/AAAAAAAADDI/5R6rsa30cAk/s1600/IMG_3709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ui53QmVZzxg/UyhPEuV6bjI/AAAAAAAADDI/5R6rsa30cAk/s1600/IMG_3709.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See what I mean? I have no explanation. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gcf91ui2OZs/UyhPE0wddZI/AAAAAAAADDQ/cTkgTfzWVOM/s1600/IMG_3718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gcf91ui2OZs/UyhPE0wddZI/AAAAAAAADDQ/cTkgTfzWVOM/s1600/IMG_3718.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone gets in on the action!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KCEedeOpUf0/UyhPFCqwctI/AAAAAAAADDY/AWKtysWUJCs/s1600/IMG_3727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KCEedeOpUf0/UyhPFCqwctI/AAAAAAAADDY/AWKtysWUJCs/s1600/IMG_3727.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OK, you tell me......</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WLAkTKM9o9w/UyhPFpknT3I/AAAAAAAADDc/x9waT888mW0/s1600/IMG_3732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WLAkTKM9o9w/UyhPFpknT3I/AAAAAAAADDc/x9waT888mW0/s1600/IMG_3732.jpg" height="320" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shaquille, part of our Granadian family.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0i3XzqVDrqU/UyhPGSjiOII/AAAAAAAADDk/k-TypZWiG-s/s1600/IMG_3745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0i3XzqVDrqU/UyhPGSjiOII/AAAAAAAADDk/k-TypZWiG-s/s1600/IMG_3745.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interesting. Wonder what's in the bucket!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0gGhMq94l9k/UyhPKJK2fOI/AAAAAAAADEU/ShWZGDURF1c/s1600/IMG_3774.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0gGhMq94l9k/UyhPKJK2fOI/AAAAAAAADEU/ShWZGDURF1c/s1600/IMG_3774.jpg" height="320" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the parade.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TwjV5P-lNfs/UyhPJf1hqgI/AAAAAAAADEI/1A_tnZQr054/s1600/IMG_3773.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TwjV5P-lNfs/UyhPJf1hqgI/AAAAAAAADEI/1A_tnZQr054/s1600/IMG_3773.jpg" height="243" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Serious</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GQ9jBn0cvAk/UyhPJu3LsPI/AAAAAAAADEM/148HoB0-nOA/s1600/IMG_3767.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GQ9jBn0cvAk/UyhPJu3LsPI/AAAAAAAADEM/148HoB0-nOA/s1600/IMG_3767.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the Shakespear Mas.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YwwwoXa5LW4/UyhPIVMBA0I/AAAAAAAADD8/9sW9D_H2JQA/s1600/IMG_3761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YwwwoXa5LW4/UyhPIVMBA0I/AAAAAAAADD8/9sW9D_H2JQA/s1600/IMG_3761.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Denise and Chris are in on the fun!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iuoBfvET4Zo/UyhPHXUCDbI/AAAAAAAADD0/pcX700zVQiY/s1600/IMG_3757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iuoBfvET4Zo/UyhPHXUCDbI/AAAAAAAADD0/pcX700zVQiY/s1600/IMG_3757.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love the Mocko Jumbies.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WCw-QnHCoBc/UyhPHKjiffI/AAAAAAAADDs/A2vBrT8azEk/s1600/IMG_3754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WCw-QnHCoBc/UyhPHKjiffI/AAAAAAAADDs/A2vBrT8azEk/s1600/IMG_3754.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OK, here you go - some real Jab Jabs!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4FQGBlz4hSU/UyhPMNXIe0I/AAAAAAAADEc/TLVcUaTJm0w/s1600/IMG_3778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4FQGBlz4hSU/UyhPMNXIe0I/AAAAAAAADEc/TLVcUaTJm0w/s1600/IMG_3778.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Youngsters in the parade.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l0cvoKH2TPw/UyhPNXnLwDI/AAAAAAAADEk/KzB_8BKZ9gI/s1600/IMG_3790.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l0cvoKH2TPw/UyhPNXnLwDI/AAAAAAAADEk/KzB_8BKZ9gI/s1600/IMG_3790.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lobster on the street!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--kCLREvD1IA/UyhPOQBRNlI/AAAAAAAADEs/QSwLvBxdxPo/s1600/IMG_3792.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--kCLREvD1IA/UyhPOQBRNlI/AAAAAAAADEs/QSwLvBxdxPo/s1600/IMG_3792.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">King Neptune?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6waRjA93ELA/UyhPPMJ9QBI/AAAAAAAADE0/IoIuWySd7aY/s1600/IMG_3799.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6waRjA93ELA/UyhPPMJ9QBI/AAAAAAAADE0/IoIuWySd7aY/s1600/IMG_3799.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every troop had a huge sound system!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And of course, steel pan music. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil!<br />Troy, Bob and Chris</td></tr>
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<br />Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-53232125157960968332014-02-21T14:41:00.000-06:002014-02-21T14:41:40.369-06:00Fried BakesI'm just now getting around to posting about the Fried Bakes that Nesta cooked for us. I know everyone will want this recipe because they are awesome! Unfortunately, I let Darnell sail away with the recipe that Nesta wrote down for us. I will make sure to amend the post with the recipe. Of course, Nesta does it all by memory and didn't need a written recipe.<br />
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The bakes are fantastic! They are all warm and fluffy. We even sliced them open and popped in a piece of cheese. Nom, nom, nom.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nesta and Darnell - ready to fry some bakes!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_4hvAovw6jg/UwY1Tri1SeI/AAAAAAAADB0/JqvNN3CwsMo/s1600/IMG_3441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_4hvAovw6jg/UwY1Tri1SeI/AAAAAAAADB0/JqvNN3CwsMo/s1600/IMG_3441.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the good stuff - yeast, four, a little sugar and some lard.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nesta is an expert kneader - not too much kneading.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vZldYH90sEs/UwY1Un7F7gI/AAAAAAAADCI/Jp8KysI-MHg/s1600/IMG_3448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vZldYH90sEs/UwY1Un7F7gI/AAAAAAAADCI/Jp8KysI-MHg/s1600/IMG_3448.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Troy volunteered to keep the guys entertained while we cooked. What a guy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VNiGxkgRoxw/UwY1U1wKEWI/AAAAAAAADCQ/S84TG96WUTM/s1600/IMG_3450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VNiGxkgRoxw/UwY1U1wKEWI/AAAAAAAADCQ/S84TG96WUTM/s1600/IMG_3450.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just look at that perfect dough - time to let it rise.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LyBpGDxWoU8/UwY1VeF9QOI/AAAAAAAADCU/pyPqZtGD7nU/s1600/IMG_3451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LyBpGDxWoU8/UwY1VeF9QOI/AAAAAAAADCU/pyPqZtGD7nU/s1600/IMG_3451.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then roll it into perfect balls.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-30Kn49FADZs/UwY1WqUxkTI/AAAAAAAADCg/i5ganCO1i0I/s1600/IMG_3455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-30Kn49FADZs/UwY1WqUxkTI/AAAAAAAADCg/i5ganCO1i0I/s1600/IMG_3455.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let the frying begin!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kKjHK-7R6Rc/UwY1Wod05XI/AAAAAAAADCk/dtu-gke9hsM/s1600/IMG_3454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kKjHK-7R6Rc/UwY1Wod05XI/AAAAAAAADCk/dtu-gke9hsM/s1600/IMG_3454.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is the result - lovely, yummy fried bakes!<br /></td></tr>
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Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-61208758832010456442014-02-08T12:03:00.000-06:002014-02-08T12:03:55.844-06:00Chive N Thyme<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nesta with me and Darnell</td></tr>
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One of the (many) things that I am falling in love with in Grenada is the cooking. I'm having a blast trying out the local dishes on my own. Thanks to our friend Nesta, a Grenadian AND a fantastic cook, Darnell (s/v Island Dream), Carolyn (s/v Moondance) and myself have been having a ball learning to cook Grenadian style.<div>
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We took a trip to the fruit and vegetable market in St. Georges, with Nesta at our side to help make sure that we are charged the local prices. Just buying the vegetables is a pleasure, as you walk through the market, you see the lady washing her beautiful heads of lettuce in buckets and bagging them for you. The tomatoes too were picked that very morning. I just love the sight of a well stocked vegetable market.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hq85pQzIzYo/UvZt09RCkyI/AAAAAAAADBQ/QdEFSXefZ9s/s1600/IMG_3338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hq85pQzIzYo/UvZt09RCkyI/AAAAAAAADBQ/QdEFSXefZ9s/s1600/IMG_3338.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My bundle of chive n thyme</td></tr>
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One thing you can never leave the market without is your chive n thyme. It's basically a bundle of seasoning goodness that you can be sure will include chive and thyme, but it's even better than that. You will almost always find a few extra goodies such as local basil, celery, or, if you're really lucky, a few leaves of chadon bene (pronounced shadow benny, it a local herb that tastes like cilantro). It's fun to cut the string on your chive n thyme and see what you find inside.</div>
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I decided to try my hand at pumpkin soup. I used a big hunk of local pumpkin that I bought at the market and added my bunch of chive n thyme, some fresh ginger, garlic, coconut milk and a few other goodies and let me tell you - Campbell's will be calling me for the recipe any day now! </div>
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Nest week Nesta is making a visit to Storyville to teach Darnell, Carolyn and I how to make bakes. One hint about what makes bakes so good - they're fried!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2PvSJkswviY/UvZt1BjPqxI/AAAAAAAADBU/c1sZ_4lsbw0/s1600/IMG_3340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2PvSJkswviY/UvZt1BjPqxI/AAAAAAAADBU/c1sZ_4lsbw0/s1600/IMG_3340.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pumpkin soup, ready for the heat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VJeCmFTJQ0k/UvZt2Xy7J1I/AAAAAAAADBc/bekCCPfeY5o/s1600/IMG_3341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VJeCmFTJQ0k/UvZt2Xy7J1I/AAAAAAAADBc/bekCCPfeY5o/s1600/IMG_3341.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is some yummy soup (I grated a little nutmeg on top, just because I could</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kmU_VgNaTeE/UvZt4OgVo7I/AAAAAAAADBk/9zC9FTHRmZM/s1600/IMG_3437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kmU_VgNaTeE/UvZt4OgVo7I/AAAAAAAADBk/9zC9FTHRmZM/s1600/IMG_3437.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My chadon bene, growing in Storyville's cockpit</td></tr>
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Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-75859704121631828382014-02-02T12:18:00.000-06:002014-02-02T12:18:18.394-06:00Calabash Bowl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Calabash Bowl, filled with salad</td></tr>
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Check out my Calabash Bowl! It's a bowl made from the fruit of the Calabash tree. It's like a gourd in appearance and different trees actually make different shaped fruit. They are carved and used for cups, bowls, bottles (in years past sugar cane field workers carried Calabash bottles filled with water into the fields with them) and even for musical instruments and decorative uses.<br />
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The bowls are popular here in Grenada for use on the beach during <a href="http://www.love2sail.blogspot.com/2013/12/oil-down.html" target="_blank">oil downs</a>. Lucky for us, our friend Jude has a Calabash tree growing next to his house. He happily made two bowls for us and also a beautifully carved candle holder.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pqIP6hUW16M/Uu6DYhSShLI/AAAAAAAADAQ/7Th5IF0jmAc/s1600/IMG_2978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pqIP6hUW16M/Uu6DYhSShLI/AAAAAAAADAQ/7Th5IF0jmAc/s1600/IMG_2978.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the tree growing next to Jude's house</td></tr>
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Calabash have grown all over the world, from Africa and Europe and the America's, for thousands of years before Columbus even discovered America. They have been carved and used for everything from carrying water to making music.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W1SFXYDQqxY/Uu6Dbw1ZYQI/AAAAAAAADAg/pUDARBghLD4/s1600/IMG_3223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W1SFXYDQqxY/Uu6Dbw1ZYQI/AAAAAAAADAg/pUDARBghLD4/s1600/IMG_3223.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Jude. He made our Calabash Bowls!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AgkUPvTGff4/Uu6DWjqh_2I/AAAAAAAADAI/RfpV4ymR4e4/s1600/IMG_2977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AgkUPvTGff4/Uu6DWjqh_2I/AAAAAAAADAI/RfpV4ymR4e4/s1600/IMG_2977.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Calabash growing on the tree<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kCdA0xeJqpQ/Uu6DZ_uhcoI/AAAAAAAADAY/82jjfqFHe7Y/s1600/IMG_2980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kCdA0xeJqpQ/Uu6DZ_uhcoI/AAAAAAAADAY/82jjfqFHe7Y/s1600/IMG_2980.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Our bowls came from this tree</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5i5UTmst6F0/Uu6Dcx1_ItI/AAAAAAAADAs/mGe7sFs7WFI/s1600/IMG_3322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5i5UTmst6F0/Uu6Dcx1_ItI/AAAAAAAADAs/mGe7sFs7WFI/s1600/IMG_3322.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Jude also carved this beautiful Calabash candle holder for me</td></tr>
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Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-30845710575568854352013-12-16T12:49:00.000-06:002013-12-16T13:02:15.226-06:00Oil DownOur Grenadian family invited us to an oil down on the beach yesterday. Oil down is the national dish of Grenada. It's a hearty, one-pot meal, cooked over an open fire on the beach. The ingredients vary, depending on who the cook is and what is available, but some of the staples remain the same, such as breadfruit and callaloo. The ingredients are layered in the pot, starting with a layer of breadfruit, green bananas and meat. Some seasoning is added, then another layer on top of that. The dumpling are next, followed by a layer of okra and callaloo.<br />
<br />
The whole family was involved, some with getting the fire going, some with prepping the meat, some with peeling and chopping the veggies. Dog the Bounty Hunter was in charge and he let Stacy and I help as much as we wanted. A few of the things I helped with were staining the coconut water (by hand), making the dumplings and chopping the callaloo. What a very fun day we had, just hanging out on the beach and helping with the cooking and playing with the kids. I hope we get to do it all again one day soon.<br />
<br />
We are very blessed to have this wonderful family here in Grenada that took us under their wing. Thanks to Rene and Stacy and Lisa and Sea Dog for meeting them and letting us join in the family. They include us in their family gatherings where we love to sing (at the top of our lungs)..... "We are famileeeeee, we are one famileeeeee". They are such fantastic people and they truly do make us feel right at home on their lovely island.<br />
<br />
Here is the story in pictures:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N9eDtP-O2gY/Uq9DFlRDuyI/AAAAAAAAC-8/tupAbOtryx8/s1600/IMG_2752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N9eDtP-O2gY/Uq9DFlRDuyI/AAAAAAAAC-8/tupAbOtryx8/s320/IMG_2752.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It all starts out innocently enough, a couple of limes, some<br />
seasoning peppers and onions.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yQO8rVI9A9Q/Uq9CWdo93TI/AAAAAAAAC-E/9JXs0FPLA4c/s1600/IMG_2753.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yQO8rVI9A9Q/Uq9CWdo93TI/AAAAAAAAC-E/9JXs0FPLA4c/s320/IMG_2753.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some breadfruit and green bananas.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tFUJOnLzwM4/Uq9CiHsJtfI/AAAAAAAAC-M/6sKzz378emQ/s1600/IMG_2758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tFUJOnLzwM4/Uq9CiHsJtfI/AAAAAAAAC-M/6sKzz378emQ/s320/IMG_2758.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone got in on helping peel and cut up the breadfruit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AO4WzKVzwZ8/Uq9CjUqPkzI/AAAAAAAAC-U/ZZRMbh9NcHE/s1600/IMG_2766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AO4WzKVzwZ8/Uq9CjUqPkzI/AAAAAAAAC-U/ZZRMbh9NcHE/s320/IMG_2766.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some chicken wings and turkey wings were added to the pot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7kyVCojpSQ8/Uq9C1tdsFWI/AAAAAAAAC-c/UOXEbxMrTqo/s1600/IMG_2769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7kyVCojpSQ8/Uq9C1tdsFWI/AAAAAAAAC-c/UOXEbxMrTqo/s320/IMG_2769.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time for the onions and seasoning peppers. Interestingly, other<br />
herbs were added when someone picked them and brought them over.<br />
I think it was lemongrass and maybe some kind of wild basil and<br />
possible shadow benny (a wild herb that tastes like cilantro).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bM43CFnRCt8/Uq9C7M8ZtkI/AAAAAAAAC-s/i5HL-TjUv_0/s1600/IMG_2771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bM43CFnRCt8/Uq9C7M8ZtkI/AAAAAAAAC-s/i5HL-TjUv_0/s320/IMG_2771.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time for the seasoning - lots of turmeric!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WO6wrnNKL7g/Uq9C57Eot2I/AAAAAAAAC-k/iKZ44rbZ_XQ/s1600/IMG_2772.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WO6wrnNKL7g/Uq9C57Eot2I/AAAAAAAAC-k/iKZ44rbZ_XQ/s320/IMG_2772.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The callaloo (or dasheen) was chopped, to be<br />
added on the last layer, along with some okra.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BeGLJvnzAAw/Uq9DVFEfgKI/AAAAAAAAC_s/bJn4JaqL0K0/s1600/IMG_2778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BeGLJvnzAAw/Uq9DVFEfgKI/AAAAAAAAC_s/bJn4JaqL0K0/s320/IMG_2778.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stacy and I (with supervision from Dog) strained the coconut<br />
milk by hand.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1TAwjB1HEYg/Uq9DGONJdaI/AAAAAAAAC-4/x50cbHSMfHE/s1600/IMG_2784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1TAwjB1HEYg/Uq9DGONJdaI/AAAAAAAAC-4/x50cbHSMfHE/s320/IMG_2784.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then we made the dumpling by hand - also closely supervised<br />
by Dog.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7bGaPVupz3s/Uq9DK3YbinI/AAAAAAAAC_M/xPyjUHxgnmo/s1600/IMG_2797.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7bGaPVupz3s/Uq9DK3YbinI/AAAAAAAAC_M/xPyjUHxgnmo/s320/IMG_2797.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coconut milk, herbs, meat, green bananas, dumplings, breadfruit.<br />
This looks ready for the fire.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-14_qLyoBwu0/Uq9DJUyVlWI/AAAAAAAAC_E/T2EuNiimdwQ/s1600/IMG_2810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-14_qLyoBwu0/Uq9DJUyVlWI/AAAAAAAAC_E/T2EuNiimdwQ/s320/IMG_2810.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then we added the chopped callaloo to the top.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MVschrYsxDc/Uq9DNwS7ZGI/AAAAAAAAC_U/yXZn8J95nck/s1600/IMG_2819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MVschrYsxDc/Uq9DNwS7ZGI/AAAAAAAAC_U/yXZn8J95nck/s320/IMG_2819.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Put a lid on and let it boil!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c97ArjnriFw/Uq9DguxacuI/AAAAAAAAC_0/e3mau6w071A/s1600/IMG_2822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c97ArjnriFw/Uq9DguxacuI/AAAAAAAAC_0/e3mau6w071A/s320/IMG_2822.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the finished product. Looks yummy, can't wait to<br />
give it a taste!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kWHc-zAFXts/Uq9DRVz5FdI/AAAAAAAAC_c/xkAb9_BqWBI/s1600/IMG_2824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kWHc-zAFXts/Uq9DRVz5FdI/AAAAAAAAC_c/xkAb9_BqWBI/s320/IMG_2824.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Move the pot off the fire.....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjX0_ONflaM/Uq9DUGNny4I/AAAAAAAAC_k/xu_c9d6EuXg/s1600/IMG_2832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjX0_ONflaM/Uq9DUGNny4I/AAAAAAAAC_k/xu_c9d6EuXg/s320/IMG_2832.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remove the cooked okra and callaloo from the top and stir<br />
it together in a bowl, forming a kind of sauce.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was too busy eating to take any more pictures. This stuff is fantastic. I ate until I couldn't eat another bite. Thanks again to our family for another great day!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: yellow;"><i><b>Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity. ~Voltaire</b></i></span>Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-52205455096197752612013-12-16T11:31:00.000-06:002013-12-16T11:31:11.722-06:00Hash No. 807Luna and I did another hash last Saturday and I just had to post a few pictures of what we saw along the way:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q6QS8TFtF2I/Uq8zG_RZnqI/AAAAAAAAC88/kIi2mtL_-fM/s1600/IMG_2738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q6QS8TFtF2I/Uq8zG_RZnqI/AAAAAAAAC88/kIi2mtL_-fM/s320/IMG_2738.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The paper says it all....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cLwJuc8zf8g/Uq8zMAw7wXI/AAAAAAAAC9E/xRf2w6xapRM/s1600/IMG_2739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cLwJuc8zf8g/Uq8zMAw7wXI/AAAAAAAAC9E/xRf2w6xapRM/s320/IMG_2739.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was my view for most of the hash.<br />The backs of Rene and Sea Dog</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-63vNv-U8XrE/Uq81XuZy8nI/AAAAAAAAC9w/dMP7nGIQb0o/s1600/IMG_2740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-63vNv-U8XrE/Uq81XuZy8nI/AAAAAAAAC9w/dMP7nGIQb0o/s320/IMG_2740.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sun on a cute little house nestled in a valley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tkSOT9CRFcQ/Uq8zY-qr2sI/AAAAAAAAC9k/VlsfdY_bfzE/s1600/IMG_2744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tkSOT9CRFcQ/Uq8zY-qr2sI/AAAAAAAAC9k/VlsfdY_bfzE/s320/IMG_2744.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These guys were amused as Luna and I struggled up a giant hill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LsJ67Yo4Lkc/Uq8zSLeKzuI/AAAAAAAAC9M/inTHyYLOLkg/s1600/IMG_2745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LsJ67Yo4Lkc/Uq8zSLeKzuI/AAAAAAAAC9M/inTHyYLOLkg/s320/IMG_2745.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's the hill. Doesn't look too bad in the picture<br />but I tell you, it was straight up!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-maD8zHDdSQo/Uq8zUebDy3I/AAAAAAAAC9U/_rGA21Rf5to/s1600/IMG_2747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-maD8zHDdSQo/Uq8zUebDy3I/AAAAAAAAC9U/_rGA21Rf5to/s320/IMG_2747.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't know what kind of palm this is, but I love the way they<br />grown like a fan.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DTBDc-hSQX8/Uq8zXdl9G3I/AAAAAAAAC9c/IcxtZkqyHxc/s1600/IMG_2750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DTBDc-hSQX8/Uq8zXdl9G3I/AAAAAAAAC9c/IcxtZkqyHxc/s320/IMG_2750.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One tired puppy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: yellow;"><i>You need special shoes for hiking - and a bit of a special soul as well. ~Terri Guillemets</i></span>Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-82006507201208728072013-12-14T08:17:00.000-06:002013-12-14T09:03:22.833-06:00Dinghy Concert<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vpqFRoRMxsU/UqxkuRNqQQI/AAAAAAAAC7w/T6aFI33q7PM/s1600/IMG_2695.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vpqFRoRMxsU/UqxkuRNqQQI/AAAAAAAAC7w/T6aFI33q7PM/s320/IMG_2695.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Last weekend we had an awesome time at a dinghy concert sponsored by <a href="http://www.lepharebleu.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Le Phare Bleu Marina</span> </a> here in Grenada. It was a blast! The marina tied a couple of barges together with a boat in the middle to create the stage and music was provided by <span style="color: yellow;"><a href="http://madisonviolet.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Madison Violet</span></a> </span> a band from Nova Scotia. Cruisers from surrounding bays dinghied over and rafted up for an afternoon of music and fun.<br />
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<div>
Thanks to Paul of Sheryl Shard of the TV Show (and boat) <a href="http://www.distantshores.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Distant Shores</span></a>, for the great <b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p9KXrEObk0&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">You Tube video!</span></a> Click the link to check it out.</span></b></div>
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I think the pictures will tell the story better than I can:<br />
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OHHko13azyM/Uqxyalxb3zI/AAAAAAAAC8s/H3D-DBkfNUw/s1600/IMG_2712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OHHko13azyM/Uqxyalxb3zI/AAAAAAAAC8s/H3D-DBkfNUw/s320/IMG_2712.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silvio, Vee and Sadie s/v Blues Breaker</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zpt9E6b0dcI/UqxkoaCMb0I/AAAAAAAAC7Y/wZrUhtakutg/s1600/IMG_2687.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zpt9E6b0dcI/UqxkoaCMb0I/AAAAAAAAC7Y/wZrUhtakutg/s320/IMG_2687.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cynthia and Mike s/v Minx</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QSYRqYk_oC8/UqxknOWORQI/AAAAAAAAC7U/BS_btXRRGCI/s1600/IMG_2689.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QSYRqYk_oC8/UqxknOWORQI/AAAAAAAAC7U/BS_btXRRGCI/s320/IMG_2689.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hurri Cane Lisa and Sea Dog Dave s/v Ke' Ola Kai</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Tmk-M2E0lk/UqxkuMHzhGI/AAAAAAAAC7s/CEvfkUZpBiE/s1600/IMG_2690.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Tmk-M2E0lk/UqxkuMHzhGI/AAAAAAAAC7s/CEvfkUZpBiE/s320/IMG_2690.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rene and Stacy s/v Pipe Muh Bligh</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xNA3PJNT20Q/Uqxk1KoOGKI/AAAAAAAAC8Y/-3TryWrwEpg/s1600/IMG_2698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xNA3PJNT20Q/Uqxk1KoOGKI/AAAAAAAAC8Y/-3TryWrwEpg/s320/IMG_2698.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luna and Troy s/v Storyville</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GfDndGEsg_s/Uqxkvu-QFSI/AAAAAAAAC78/llHL1hUDRII/s1600/IMG_2701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GfDndGEsg_s/Uqxkvu-QFSI/AAAAAAAAC78/llHL1hUDRII/s320/IMG_2701.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madison Violet</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BZ9Iqj-nBAw/UqxkwEb_C7I/AAAAAAAAC8A/tg4OQW0FXtw/s1600/IMG_2709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BZ9Iqj-nBAw/UqxkwEb_C7I/AAAAAAAAC8A/tg4OQW0FXtw/s320/IMG_2709.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We even had a rainbow!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5UmApAN5rhw/Uqxk0yfF-eI/AAAAAAAAC8U/mdVQuTDCCug/s1600/IMG_2721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5UmApAN5rhw/Uqxk0yfF-eI/AAAAAAAAC8U/mdVQuTDCCug/s320/IMG_2721.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keeping Luna cool!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hVJz8h5xsug/Uqxk1MvgkoI/AAAAAAAAC8Q/ZexEvbk3m4s/s1600/IMG_2722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hVJz8h5xsug/Uqxk1MvgkoI/AAAAAAAAC8Q/ZexEvbk3m4s/s320/IMG_2722.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made it to the barge!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BqpxFMdFMms/Uqxk19mGX_I/AAAAAAAAC8g/muY-Dz1R45A/s1600/IMG_2729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BqpxFMdFMms/Uqxk19mGX_I/AAAAAAAAC8g/muY-Dz1R45A/s320/IMG_2729.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After Party! How many can we fit on Storyville?</td></tr>
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Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-34517783313099293392013-12-11T07:20:00.004-06:002013-12-11T07:20:44.100-06:00On On<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MDIc1SjYlUE/Uqhjpah-9RI/AAAAAAAAC68/6qt_wOosJs4/s1600/IMG_2675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MDIc1SjYlUE/Uqhjpah-9RI/AAAAAAAAC68/6qt_wOosJs4/s320/IMG_2675.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Since the day we decided to sail to Grenada and started doing some research about the island I put a hash run on my bucket list. Well, last Saturday I got to put a great big check mark beside that one!<br />
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What is a hash? Well, I'm glad you asked. A hash is basically a hike on a trail that has been preset by a hare (the person who sets the trail) marking the trail with paper scraps, to be followed by the hashers (the runners and/or walkers). The terrain can vary from mountain trails, crossing streams, mud, dirt, paved roads and even through neighborhoods. Thank goodness it is non-competitive. In fact, hashers are often referred to as drinkers with a running problem, as there is always a party with beer and food at the end of the hash. If you hear other hashers around you yelling "on on" then you know that you are on the right trail.<br />
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I was a little worried about my first hash. How would it be? Could I do it? After all, since I had never hashed before, I was known as a virgin (and even made to sign up as a virgin before the hash). Thankfully, Rene, Stacy, Lisa and Sea Dog Dave, all no longer virgins, agreed to go with me. When we got to the gathering point, we all slathered on sunscreen and then bug spray over that. Next came the sweat and some mud as we hiked uphill on a very narrow and slippery trail. Stacy, Lisa and I, along with our new friend Sheryl Shard, brought up the rear and we got so busy talking that we got lost. For a minute there I was worried that we would never find our way back! The views were breathtaking and it felt absolutely wonderful to be enjoying the island from a point of view that other visitors may never get to appreciate.<br />
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Once we got back to the gathering point everyone enjoyed a cold beer and an oil down (In case you are wondering what an oil down is, that topic will be a future blog post all of it's own - a hint though - it's food). So we were enjoying our refreshments when the hash master called all the virgins up. There were 6 or 7 of us and we were presented with our certificates of loss of virginity, then they had us put our sunscreened, bug sprayed, sweaty, muddy arms around each other and they SPRAYED US WITH BEER! <br />
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What a day! Luna and I enjoyed every minute of it and we can't wait to go back and do it again.<br />
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Hashing has been around since 1938 when it originated in Malaysia. According to the World Hash House Harriers home page, there are currently 2028 hash groups in 1330 cities in 185 countries, so check them out and find a hash group near you.<br />
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Here are a couple of great resources if you are interested in learning more about hashing:<br />
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<a href="http://www.grenadahash.com/home" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Grenada Hash House Harriers</span></a><br />
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<a href="http://gthhh.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">World Hash House Harriers</span></a><br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Wikipedia - Hash House Harriers</span></a><br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><i>Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. ~John Muir</i></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-myymsfJ-iJw/UqhjVHEbymI/AAAAAAAAC6c/St9tX4_PpD0/s1600/IMG_2665.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-myymsfJ-iJw/UqhjVHEbymI/AAAAAAAAC6c/St9tX4_PpD0/s320/IMG_2665.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On on! Beginning of the hash!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qu4B0SnDr_M/UqhjO2eE7VI/AAAAAAAAC58/a1lxszmy6dQ/s1600/IMG_2666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qu4B0SnDr_M/UqhjO2eE7VI/AAAAAAAAC58/a1lxszmy6dQ/s320/IMG_2666.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trail is marked with shredded paper piles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tpTbXrkTVXo/UqhjPLYjjTI/AAAAAAAAC6A/1xGfobl54sw/s1600/IMG_2670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tpTbXrkTVXo/UqhjPLYjjTI/AAAAAAAAC6A/1xGfobl54sw/s320/IMG_2670.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The views are incredible!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2kwolvXUvZ4/UqhjQJrTYkI/AAAAAAAAC6M/l0C6flKJN7k/s1600/IMG_2674.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2kwolvXUvZ4/UqhjQJrTYkI/AAAAAAAAC6M/l0C6flKJN7k/s320/IMG_2674.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See what I mean?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7MhldZTBV24/UqhjSLDB8hI/AAAAAAAAC6U/_kGUXQdwJY4/s1600/IMG_2680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7MhldZTBV24/UqhjSLDB8hI/AAAAAAAAC6U/_kGUXQdwJY4/s320/IMG_2680.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luna, making friends with a goat.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nZpt85JoWfs/Uqhjc6DwnhI/AAAAAAAAC6k/FFLN59rhoNI/s1600/IMG_2681.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nZpt85JoWfs/Uqhjc6DwnhI/AAAAAAAAC6k/FFLN59rhoNI/s320/IMG_2681.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rene and Sea Dog have a rest after the hash.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hUdj7x3ngCI/UqhjJxrJpjI/AAAAAAAAC50/aiw2XQlVlTY/s1600/IMG_2664.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hUdj7x3ngCI/UqhjJxrJpjI/AAAAAAAAC50/aiw2XQlVlTY/s320/IMG_2664.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's a fun hash tradition for you - If you wear new shoes<br />to the hash, they make you drink beer from them!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n_vQGNXswRo/UqhjkkhbweI/AAAAAAAAC60/mfOUFu9cWhM/s1600/IMG_3318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n_vQGNXswRo/UqhjkkhbweI/AAAAAAAAC60/mfOUFu9cWhM/s320/IMG_3318.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We did it! Sheryl, Deana, Lisa and Stacy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-47ssMTd_8vA/UqhjdNtWd3I/AAAAAAAAC6o/PKXUpCtl5fk/s1600/IMG_2684.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-47ssMTd_8vA/UqhjdNtWd3I/AAAAAAAAC6o/PKXUpCtl5fk/s320/IMG_2684.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And now - the reward!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"><b><i>In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ~John Muir</i></b></span><br />
<br />Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-15453332188505572052013-12-09T14:22:00.000-06:002013-12-09T14:22:42.669-06:00Concordia FallsAnother stop on the island tour was the beautiful Concordia Falls. The waterfalls and grounds were so beautiful that I just couldn't stop snapping pictures in every direction!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qyss6n9wzFg/UqYlq7g8qqI/AAAAAAAAC5g/HIICrG6gf_8/s1600/IMG_5211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qyss6n9wzFg/UqYlq7g8qqI/AAAAAAAAC5g/HIICrG6gf_8/s320/IMG_5211.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Us</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R_NlhWFWpHg/UqYlprB_sWI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/zVVGj84DDcI/s1600/IMG_5181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R_NlhWFWpHg/UqYlprB_sWI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/zVVGj84DDcI/s320/IMG_5181.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rene and Stacy</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa and Kari</td></tr>
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<span style="color: yellow;"><i>Leisure is a form of silence, not noiselessness. It is the silence of contemplation such as occurs when we let our minds rest on a rosebud, a child at play, a Divine mystery, or a waterfall. ~Fulton J. Sheen</i></span>Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-79242760109825318382013-12-09T10:26:00.002-06:002013-12-09T10:26:42.150-06:00Rivers Rum<br />
We took a tour of Grenada last week and one of our stops was the Rivers Rum Factory. It is the oldest distillery in Grenada, dating back to 1785 and it is very unique because the cane press is run by a water wheel.<br />
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It was a fascinating tour and we learned how the sugar cane is crushed by the water wheel press and then filtered into big vats that are ladled by hand through a series of vats (or coppers) with each one getting progressively hotter until the last one gets the cane juice to boiling. The fire used to boil the cane juice is fueled by the bagasse, left over cane pieces, and what is not used for fire is returned to the field to be used as fertilizer, so none of the sugar cane is wasted. The cane juice is then cooled for a couple of days and then sent to fermentation tanks where it ferments for eight days and then is sent to be distilled.<br />
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One interesting fact about Rivers Rum is that you can only buy it in Grenada. It is not exported. The two reasons given were: 1) Using this low tech (but very green) process, they can only make enough to supply the local population, and 2) The alcohol content is so high that it is not allowed on airplanes as cargo! If you want to purchase some to bring home from your vacation, you have to buy the watered down version. The label says 75% Alc/Vol "Slightly Overproof Rum".<br />
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I loved the tour and we had a great guide that explained the process to us very thoroughly. They had me hooked. I couldn't wait to buy a bottle of this organically produced rum as a souvenir. At long last we get to the tasting area. The guide showed us the bottles of rum and small sample cups and instructed us to go ahead and sample as much as we wanted! I poured myself a taste, ready to enjoy a nice rum. It did smell strong, after all, it's at least 75%, but once I tasted it I realized that, to say the least, it's a acquired taste! I was pretty sure they had traded my rum bottle for kerosene and now my mouth would be forever numb and I would probably go blind! Wow. We decided that maybe we didn't need a bottle of Rivers Rum on Storyville after all! <br />
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<i><span style="color: yellow;">Fifteen men on a dead man's chest</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: yellow;">Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: yellow;">Drink and the devil be done for the rest</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: yellow;">Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: yellow;">~Robert Lewis Stevenson</span></i></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--a2lVTm2KpE/UqXlWXygbuI/AAAAAAAAC2U/elhHwRfVX1A/s1600/IMG_2598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--a2lVTm2KpE/UqXlWXygbuI/AAAAAAAAC2U/elhHwRfVX1A/s320/IMG_2598.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piles of bagasse, will it be fire fuel or fertilizer?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I5tX6z-TewE/UqXlW2XZsTI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/t2RolRIyIF4/s1600/IMG_2605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I5tX6z-TewE/UqXlW2XZsTI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/t2RolRIyIF4/s320/IMG_2605.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The river providing power to the cane crushing wheel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bnLTU324rxs/UqXlawRfiqI/AAAAAAAAC3Q/NXM58wTs3HE/s1600/IMG_2607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bnLTU324rxs/UqXlawRfiqI/AAAAAAAAC3Q/NXM58wTs3HE/s320/IMG_2607.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water, providing the power to make rum!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RsRB2tL9V84/UqXlXZr24II/AAAAAAAAC2k/nJncG8aC8ns/s1600/IMG_2608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RsRB2tL9V84/UqXlXZr24II/AAAAAAAAC2k/nJncG8aC8ns/s320/IMG_2608.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sugar Cane waiting to be crushed</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MREVkM0xXKM/UqXlX_OaQJI/AAAAAAAAC2o/Ed_YBBLqkho/s1600/IMG_2610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MREVkM0xXKM/UqXlX_OaQJI/AAAAAAAAC2o/Ed_YBBLqkho/s320/IMG_2610.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the way up to the crusher</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9xcLn9zMkCY/UqXlZ2FppxI/AAAAAAAAC3A/OjllWMK8l20/s1600/IMG_2613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9xcLn9zMkCY/UqXlZ2FppxI/AAAAAAAAC3A/OjllWMK8l20/s320/IMG_2613.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa helping make rum!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3f1MdhyA6P4/UqXlYnhKURI/AAAAAAAAC20/3fFHM8TdV8w/s1600/IMG_2615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3f1MdhyA6P4/UqXlYnhKURI/AAAAAAAAC20/3fFHM8TdV8w/s320/IMG_2615.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's cane juice!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2uvJnTR1EbY/UqXlZg1Va8I/AAAAAAAAC28/6NNxvECNgVU/s1600/IMG_2620.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2uvJnTR1EbY/UqXlZg1Va8I/AAAAAAAAC28/6NNxvECNgVU/s320/IMG_2620.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wheel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5OII0XBgzkg/UqXlaq7gvKI/AAAAAAAAC3M/07N8bAscqnU/s1600/IMG_2623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5OII0XBgzkg/UqXlaq7gvKI/AAAAAAAAC3M/07N8bAscqnU/s320/IMG_2623.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running the cane back through to double crush it</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eOFouWjOr7w/UqXleCytaSI/AAAAAAAAC3o/wfeTTAxCDr8/s1600/IMG_2628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eOFouWjOr7w/UqXleCytaSI/AAAAAAAAC3o/wfeTTAxCDr8/s320/IMG_2628.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bagasse rides this train down to be used to fuel the fire</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Mm0FMTc1Io/UqXld8NlK3I/AAAAAAAAC3g/ShgM9kt0Mgs/s1600/IMG_2634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Mm0FMTc1Io/UqXld8NlK3I/AAAAAAAAC3g/ShgM9kt0Mgs/s320/IMG_2634.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The coppers of cane juice. The closest one is the coolest and the last one is boiling.<br />The juice is moved by hand using a pot on a long pole.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sHmBrOD6zhg/UqXldt6KSjI/AAAAAAAAC3c/q9w06UUtSQs/s1600/IMG_2635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sHmBrOD6zhg/UqXldt6KSjI/AAAAAAAAC3c/q9w06UUtSQs/s320/IMG_2635.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmmmm, cane juice</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8A6ChS039vc/UqXleVOFpEI/AAAAAAAAC3w/LdWU3mgJzPE/s1600/IMG_2641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8A6ChS039vc/UqXleVOFpEI/AAAAAAAAC3w/LdWU3mgJzPE/s320/IMG_2641.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmmmm, fermenting cane juice</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UcgUnVLOvXE/UqXlevCXU3I/AAAAAAAAC34/_-oBvzOXtSY/s1600/IMG_2644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UcgUnVLOvXE/UqXlevCXU3I/AAAAAAAAC34/_-oBvzOXtSY/s320/IMG_2644.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa posing at the distillery</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X05tefkNcxE/UqXlf3LqrBI/AAAAAAAAC4I/SMou9-RFzjQ/s1600/IMG_2649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X05tefkNcxE/UqXlf3LqrBI/AAAAAAAAC4I/SMou9-RFzjQ/s320/IMG_2649.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is where they measure the alcohol content. If it's too low, it is returned to the distillery<br />to be processed again.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XjopiPg9RUM/UqXlfllVz-I/AAAAAAAAC4E/IcX8MB5YJUE/s1600/IMG_2653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XjopiPg9RUM/UqXlfllVz-I/AAAAAAAAC4E/IcX8MB5YJUE/s320/IMG_2653.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stacy and Lisa labeling bottles</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CmypjkwabAs/UqXlgrq-5pI/AAAAAAAAC4Y/5AFXlkLNC_I/s1600/IMG_2655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CmypjkwabAs/UqXlgrq-5pI/AAAAAAAAC4Y/5AFXlkLNC_I/s320/IMG_2655.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I did one too.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H4YOlwxMIZ4/UqXlgaWxXPI/AAAAAAAAC4U/IqcMTUD1SPQ/s1600/IMG_2656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H4YOlwxMIZ4/UqXlgaWxXPI/AAAAAAAAC4U/IqcMTUD1SPQ/s320/IMG_2656.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And - the finished product!</td></tr>
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Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-67716199737731512792013-12-06T12:47:00.000-06:002013-12-06T12:47:22.735-06:00The Box is Here!Whether we were ready or not, our anticipated box arrived and we took possession. Even though we were not able to bring Storyville over to the dock (because of our steering problems) we had to get this big box of stuff out to the boat. We managed to make a couple of dinghy trips, with help from George of Survival Anchorage and Rod on s/v It's Perfect. Of course, just as we were dinghying (spell check thinks that isn't a word, but I think it is!) all the "stuff" out to Storyville, the clouds rolled in and rain was threatening. Fortunately, we had just enough time to get everything (including the new deck box) out to the boat right before the rain started!<br />
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We have since moved Storyville over to a marina in the next bay by using our emergency tiller. That was an adventure that I was not looking forward to as we had to negotiate our way though a reef. Thanks to the help of our cruising buddies and of course, to Troy for putting it all together, we had an uneventful trip and now we know that our emergency steering system works.<br />
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The projects have officially begun aboard Storyville. We are working on installing the new watermaker, getting a swim platform and, or course, fixing the steering problems. Between all the work we are trying to have as much fun as we can. We took a whole day to do an island tour and I will have blog posts coming up about those adventures. I will be doing my first hash tomorrow (if you don't know what that is you will just have to wait for the blog post!). And there is a dinghy concert that we are looking forward to on Sunday.<br />
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It's hard to work with so much fun going on, but we are doing our best to balance it all out.Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-85305735805823562062013-11-26T11:17:00.000-06:002013-11-26T11:43:56.961-06:00We're Back!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nWaHzhYHlnk/UpTWfogqEHI/AAAAAAAAC0s/z8N8AUq0Cak/s1600/1479081_10201819811449176_1511462299_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nWaHzhYHlnk/UpTWfogqEHI/AAAAAAAAC0s/z8N8AUq0Cak/s1600/1479081_10201819811449176_1511462299_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking along a beautiful trail at Secret Harbor</td></tr>
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Well - we've been back on Storyville for almost 2 weeks now. It seems like the time has flown when I think back on it, but some of the days have just been dragging by. There was an overwhelming amount of work to be done just to get the boat back to some state of liveability. Everything had a slight mold covering it and the boat smelled really musty. Not to mention that every day is a new day when it comes to seeing what systems are still in working order. Storyville did not like being abandoned for 8 months!<br />
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After a week of cleaning and working, we decided to move the boat over to the next bay so that we can be closer to our cruising family on Pipe Muh Bligh and Keolakai. Well, that plan didn't pan out as we soon discovered that our hydraulic steering has failed. Troy has been working on getting it fixed, but it is an old system and it looks like we will be ordering a new one and waiting for it to arrive on a ship.<br />
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Speaking of ships, we are still waiting for the delivery of our deck box. It arrived on the island last Friday but, true to "island time" form, the container that it was shipped in has not even been opened yet. So, we are still in a waiting pattern for that. Which is just as well, since we are stuck out on a mooring ball and are not sure when the steering will be fixed so that we can make it over to the dock to take delivery. We will just have it figure that out when the time comes.<br />
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In the mean time, we have been trying to enjoy ourselves as best we can. Luna has adjusted well. She loves the beach and swimming and playing with other dogs. She's really got the life. We've also been having some fun. We went to the Caribbean Rum and Beer Festival the other day and had a great time sampling rum and rum drinks. So, it's not all work and no play!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xF1bZSlOLXM/UpTWgCnXXGI/AAAAAAAAC1I/-Oinysi7vwo/s1600/IMG_2373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xF1bZSlOLXM/UpTWgCnXXGI/AAAAAAAAC1I/-Oinysi7vwo/s320/IMG_2373.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luna getting her sea legs back!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caribbean Rum and Beer Festival</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9qc-Y74tqTY/UpTWfguIO6I/AAAAAAAAC1Q/hq0un83GLnc/s1600/1461816_723526860992567_1745819436_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="204" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9qc-Y74tqTY/UpTWfguIO6I/AAAAAAAAC1Q/hq0un83GLnc/s320/1461816_723526860992567_1745819436_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vee, Silvio, Deana, Troy, Seadog Dave, Hurricane Lisa, Stacy and Rene!<br />
Some of our cruising family, what a fun crew!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_zQsyzY1fAw/UpTWfJg5f5I/AAAAAAAAC0w/1W8dMtEk1BA/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_zQsyzY1fAw/UpTWfJg5f5I/AAAAAAAAC0w/1W8dMtEk1BA/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think they missed each other!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vee, Hurricane Lisa and Me</td></tr>
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Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-60783737570317007692013-11-12T08:53:00.001-06:002013-11-12T08:54:16.288-06:00We Are Headed Home!If you follow this blog then you know that we've been away from Storyville for the last eight months. We've been in Texas caring for my mother, but the time has come for us to return to our boat and our life on the water. We will be flying back to Grenada tomorrow and we will see just how sad our boat is after eight months of neglect. We will get her right back into sailing shape though!<br />
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In fact, we have been sitting here on dry land thinking and dreaming of improvements for Storyville and we decided that we would ship a box back with some of the wonderful things that we have been collecting over the last months. Troy had a great idea. We would purchase a dock box and fill it with goodies and ship it to Grenada. I thought that was a great idea as well since we do need more storage space on deck and a nice dock box would definitely be an improvement over the ice chest that we are currently using for deck storage. The idea was great, but the project seemed to grow it's own legs and get out of control quickly.<br />
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We ended up with the largest dock box that would fit on Storyville's aft deck, it's 72 inchest wide! We must thank our friend Bob on s/v Wyndigo. His boat is a sister ship to Storyville and he is currently based in Kemah. He kindly allowed us to use his boat for measuring and even for a trial run with the dock box. <br />
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Of course, with the bigger box, came more "stuff" to fill it up. All kinds of stuff, like new kayak paddles (which were desperately needed) and even some new carpet squares to replace the carpet in our aft cabin. We even added things like treats for Luna and a new food chopper for me. We stuffed it so full that I can't remember what all is in there. Luckily, we made a list!<br />
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Troy had to make a crate to ship the dock box in. We wouldn't want that pretty shiny box to get all beat up on the cargo ship! Like I said, this project took on a life of it's own.<br />
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One of the main reasons for this idea was so that we could get a new water maker with a higher output. We love our Spectra but we love water and the 4 gallons an hour that we were getting made it difficult to keep up with the pace of our water consumption. We have only heard wonderful things about <a href="http://www.cruiserowaterandpower.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Cruise RO Water and Power</span></a>. They were very helpful in getting the unit ordered and shipped to us and we are can't wait to get it to Grenada and installed on Storyville. We will be able to make 30 gallons a hour - yes, that's right, from 4 to 30. What a difference.<br />
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I guess it's a good thing that we need to get a bottom job for Storyville soon. We may have to raise the waterline! I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story:<br />
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She's out of our hands and off to Grenada to meet us after our arrival. We will have some busy days ahead but we just cannot wait to get back to our life on the water!<br />
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<i><span style="color: yellow;">For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)</span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: yellow;">It's always our self we find in the sea.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: yellow;">~e.e. cummings</span></i>Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-41324987837847425962013-10-14T12:00:00.001-06:002013-10-14T12:00:40.258-06:00We Love BoatsWe've been land locked for over seven months now and I can't tell you how much I miss being rocked to sleep with the gentle sounds of water lapping at my hull just a foot away from my head. Or waking up and enjoying a cup of coffee in my cockpit as life floats by all around me, or having a sundown rum drink in the cockpit in the late afternoon and doing the same thing. If all goes as planned I will get to experience those things again soon as we are planning to return to Storyville in mid November.<br />
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We've been making good use of our time on shore and have several improvements for Storyville when we get back to her. More on that later......<br />
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I just to get this blog up and rolling again and ready for some adventures in paradise!<br />
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As I was going through some of my personal papers I came across this article that I wrote in 2007 for a local sailing magazine:<br />
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<span style="color: lime;">WE LOVE BOATS!</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime;">By Deana Jones</span></div>
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<span style="color: yellow;"><i>"If a man is to be obsessed by something, I suppose a boat is as good as anything, perhaps a bit better than most." ~ E.B. White</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: lime;">It has occurred to me that I may have an obsession with boats. I mean, most people either like boats, or they don't like boats. Or, they may be somewhere in between, you know, take 'em or leave 'em. Me, on the other hand, I think it may be a little more serious. Don't misunderstand, I realize that there are others out there, just like me, but we usually try to hide our obsession from the "outside world". They just don't understand.</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime;">For instance, my husband, Troy and I currently own four boats. One sailboat, two kayaks and one dinghy. Our sailboat is a 37' Morgan Out Island named Different Drummer. You should see us when we head out for a sailing destination - the kayaks on the deck of the sailboat and the dinghy following along behind! We have our own fleet with us wherever we go.</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime;">Another clue regarding my obsession would be the fact that we live on our boat, the sailboat of course. We have a perfectly nice home, but we choose instead to stuff ourselves into the small living space on Different Drummer. We even like it!</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime;">When I'm not boating, I'm usually thinking about boating. I just can't wait to get out there on the water and see what adventures are in store. Troy is just as bad. He is usually working on boats, or talking about boats, or thinking about boats, sometimes even dreaming about boats. You get the picture.</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime;">We started boating on Lake Livingston on a pontoon boat. That was lots of fun - fishing, swimming, just hanging out on the lake, but something seemed to be lacking. Then one day Troy confided to me that he had always wanted to try sailing. Little did we know how that would affect our destiny. We took a moonlight sail on a sailboat maned Blue Marlin through <a href="http://bayareasailing.com/" target="_blank">Leisure Learning</a>. We didn't know what to expect, but we really had a great time. The bay was beautiful under a full moon. I think we were both hooked on sailing that night. A little while later we decided to take sailing lessons.</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime;">We took our first lessons through <a href="http://bayareasailing.com/" target="_blank">Bay Area Sailing School</a>. It was lots of information to take in at once, I felt overwhelmed and thought I would never understand how to sail, much less what to call all that stuff on the boat! Who knew there were no ropes on a sailboat? That each "rope" had its own name according to its use? Anyway, the school did a great job and before we knew it we were ASA certified sailors.</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime;">Troy, being also obsessed with eBay (that's another article for another day), found a 21 foot Ericson for sale and it just happened to be in Kemah, Texas, and it just happened to be in our price range. We are a little nervous and undecided about buying it, but my obsession took over and I clicked the "confirm bid" button and, ta da! we bought our first sailboat, sight unseen. She was a great little boat to get started in. We sailed her all around Clear Lake and spent every weekend scrunched up in that tiny cabin - loving every minute of it!</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime;">Eventually we (really, me) started wanting more space. I mean, if we're gonna spend every weekend on the boat, I would like to at least stand up when I'm in the cabin. Is that too much to ask? Troy found an old 27 foot Balboa on a trailer at <a href="http://www.lynnsailboats.com/contact/" target="_blank">Lynn's Sailboats</a> on I-45. She hadn't been in the water in about 13 years. She had been sitting on a trailer somewhere in west Texas. She needed lots, and I do mean lots, of cleaning and TLC. Troy gave her a nice bottom job, we cleaned her up and named her Storyville. I like to think we brought her back to life. We sailed Storyville all around Galveston Bay and Trinity Bay and had a great time. In fact, Troy claims to have had the best day of his life on that boat, but that's another story too. Maybe he'll write about it some day.</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime;">Well - here we are - life is good and we are spending every weekend on Storyville. If course, given the fact that we are both obsessed with boats, we (in this case I mean Troy) are always looking at boat ads and going around to various boat brokers and looking at the boats for sale. By the way, that's what you call entertainment for someone obsessed with boats. One day Troy tells me that he found a boat for sale and it was such a great deal that we just had to take a look. We took a few of our other "boat obsessed" friends with us and went to see Different Drummer. We fell in love at first sight. We decided on the spot that we just had to make an offer. The broker told us that there was already an offer pending, but he would take our offer as a back up. I guess it was fate, the other buyer couldn't get financing, so Different Drummer now belongs to us.</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime;">Five years after the obsession began here we are living aboard and loving it. If course, given our obsession, who knows what the future will hold. Troy sure had is eye on a Morgan 41!</span></div>
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What a story to look back on. Another six years have gone by. We ended up with the Morgan 41, named her Storyville, sold and gave away all of our belongings and took off for the cruising life. We've been gone for 3 years with 2 1/2 of that time spent on our boat, on the hook. Storyville hasn't been tied up in a marina in 3 years! What fun we've had and we are looking forward to more of the same when we get back to Grenada to be reunited with Storyville. And, yes, we are still obsessed with boats.</div>
Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-34429861491712315022013-04-29T21:30:00.000-06:002013-04-29T21:30:39.981-06:00Friends Having FunSince I'm landlocked for now it's sometimes difficult to look at all of the wonderful Facebook posts and blog posts that our cruising friends are posting day after day. Just taunting me with pictures and statuses (apparently that really <em>is</em> a word - statuses) of the fantastic places they are visiting. Places that Troy and I had planned to be visiting on Storyville right about now. They are all making plans to meet each other down island and talking about the next fun thing on their agenda. That's OK though. I can't stop looking and I'm living vicariously through them.<br />
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Since I'm suffering through this, I thought that some of my readers might like to do a little suffering too. Many of you (especially my sailing/cruising friends) already follow some of these blogs, but I wanted to remind everyone about some of the awesome people that are out there cruising and doing a great job of writing about it and sharing it with others.<br />
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<em>Note: To be directed to the great blogs mentioned below, just click on the yellow link</em></div>
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Our friends Rene and Stacy on Pipe Muh Bligh and Patrick and Lucy on Illusions are still in Sint Maarten. Apparently they've taken up residence there. Just kidding, I think they will be moving on soon. I wanted to mention<a href="http://www.pipemuhbligh.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> <span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"><strong>Pipe Muh Bligh</strong></span></a> because, not only are they wonderful friends (we've been cruising with them for the past 2 years), but Stacy kept a great blog at one time. I say this because I don't remember the last time she made a blog post. I am hoping to accomplish 2 things by mentioning her: 1) I can see if she is reading <em>my</em> blog!, and 2) I can shame her into starting up her blog again. You know I love you Stacy!<br />
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And then there's our friends that are charting beautiful catamarans in the Virgin Islands. There is our best friend Steve and his fiancé Deb on <a href="http://www.usvicatamaran.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"><strong>Alternate Latitude</strong></span></a>. They keep a blog about their charter business in the Virgin Islands. If you ever want a dream vacation, give them a shout. Tell them that Storyville sent you and you might even get a discounted rate! We also have a wonderful friend Shane on <a href="http://www.svguidinglight.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"><strong>Guiding Light</strong></span></a> who charters there and keeps a great blog detailing his charter adventures and his life aboard.<br />
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Everyone who cruises, or dreams about doing so, has probably already read <a href="http://www.zerotocruising.com/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Zero to Cruising</span></strong></a>'s blog. We met Mike and Rebecca in The Bahamas 2 years ago and even though we had different sailing plans, we managed to cross paths again recently in Sint Maarten. We are hoping to see more of them when we make it back to Storyville in Grenada. Mike keeps a great blog and he manages to post really often - follow along and dream of living their life.<br />
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Even though we've never met Brittany and Scott, we've followed their blog, <a href="http://www.windtraveler.net/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Windtraveler</span></strong></a>, forever. Brittany is a great writer and I love catching up with almost daily blog posts about their life cruising with the sweetest baby, Isla. It's the story of a family afloat on this big blue marble. They are also headed for Grenada and we hope to meet them one day soon.<br />
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Another blog that I love following is <a href="http://turftosurf.com/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Turf to Surf</span></strong></a>. One couple, two cats and a monohull on the move. Tasha is a wonderful writer and they are just starting their cruising adventure. They fell in love with the Dominican Republic and are busy exploring that beautiful island that we fell in love with as well.<br />
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Our friends John and Jolanda on <a href="http://www.syjoho.nl/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"><strong>Joho</strong></span></a> are world travelers and have created cruising guides along the way. Stop in for a look at their blog and guides. We met them in Sint Maarten last year and cruised together back to the British Virgin Islands where we parted ways only to meet up with them again this year in Sint Maarten. I love it when we get to reconnect with friends!<br />
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There are so many great cruising blogs out there and several ways to find them. Click the links to take a look, but be warned! Cruising blogs can be addicting:<br />
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.sailingblogs.org/blog-list" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"><strong>Sailing Blog</strong></span></a> - Powered by Blog Nation, Click their link over to the right to give Storyville a boost</li>
<li><a href="http://www.themonkeysfist.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"><strong>The Monkey's Fist</strong></span></a> - Collecting Cruiser's Perspectives</li>
<li><a href="http://www.networkedblogs.com/panorama" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"><strong>Networked Blogs</strong></span></a> - For a great list of cruising blogs</li>
</ul>
I have a list of blogs on the right side of this page. Almost all are friends who are cruising or living aboard or some mixture of the two. Some are still actively writing their blogs and some have given up on that venture. All are still interesting to read, especially if you ever dream of cutting those dock lines and setting sail.<br />
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I leave you with two of my favorite sailing quotes:<br />
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<em><span style="color: yellow;">Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. <br />--Mark Twain <br /><br />To reach a port, we must sail - sail, not tie at anchor - sail, not drift. <br />--Franklin D. Roosevelt</span></em> <br />
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Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-74509314807826474382013-04-22T08:12:00.000-06:002013-04-22T08:12:17.590-06:00Feeling Left Out!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-htDTH5jqK2g/UXVEQldhDzI/AAAAAAAACyQ/kylGpALJKtk/s1600/225031_10150201617809281_4076673_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-htDTH5jqK2g/UXVEQldhDzI/AAAAAAAACyQ/kylGpALJKtk/s320/225031_10150201617809281_4076673_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Troy is in St. Martin/Sint Maarten with Storyville while I am back in Texas with my mom and family. Since we made the decision to stay in Texas for the next several months, it fell on Troy to make sure that our boat/home finds a safe berth for the upcoming summer and fall. That's hurricane season and a dangerous time for an unattended boat to be floating around in the Caribbean.<br />
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After weeks of talking to other cruising friends and sending many emails to boat yards and marinas, we decided that we would leave Storyville on a mooring in Grenada. Troy and our friend Damon will make the crossing next week and then Troy will spend the next couple of weeks securing a mooring and making sure that Storyville is ready for whatever may come while she is there all alone. Fortunately for us, many of our cruising family will be spending the summer in Grenada and will be able to keep any eye on Storyville for us.<br />
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It's killing me to see Troy and Storyville set out for the open ocean without me. It just doesn't seem right. Since the day we bought Storyville Troy and I have crewed her together. We've never made a passage without each other. After cruising for 2 years and making many overnight (and sometimes longer) passages, I can say that I'm never worried or scared. I trust Troy and I trust Storyville and I enjoy the time that we're out on the water. I think this will be the most worrisome and scary passage for me - the one that I'm not on. I won't have contact with Troy for several days and I will be keeping up with him though our SPOT device. <br />
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Why Grenada? Well, we had intended to spend hurricane season there anyway, because it's a beautiful island with many fabulous anchorages. The biggest advantage is that is considered to be south of the "hurricane belt". Having said that, Grenada has been affected by hurricanes in the past and, undoubtedly, will be hit again. The most devastating being Hurricane Ivan in 2004, when the 130 mph winds (Category 3 hurricane) decimated the islands nutmeg trees and therefore the nutmeg industry and 90% of the islands homes were lost to the storm, which killed 39 people on the island. Interestingly Grenada had not seen a hurricane in 49 years prior to Ivan. <br />
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Looking at the statistics, it is clear that Grenada is more likely to be affected by tropical storms than by hurricanes. We can't be sure that we're doing the best thing for our boat and home, but we are trying to make sure that she's in a secure place while preserving the cruising kitty so that we can get back to her and resume the cruising lifestyle that we love. <br />
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<span style="color: yellow; font-family: Georgia;"><em>Never a ship sails out of the bay<br /> But carries my heart as a stowaway.<br /> ~Roselle Mercier Montgomery, The Stowaway</em></span><!--BMC-->Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961935928217251546.post-17292802582844432832013-04-10T17:34:00.000-06:002013-04-10T17:34:43.150-06:00The Hard Decisions<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r37nWdeEMr0/UWWLtQ58slI/AAAAAAAACyA/P8XNgrruyMQ/s1600/479729_2590895468862_1003176801_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="142" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r37nWdeEMr0/UWWLtQ58slI/AAAAAAAACyA/P8XNgrruyMQ/s320/479729_2590895468862_1003176801_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My family - Mom is front row left</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Every now
and then in life we come to a time where we are forced to make a tough
decision. Sometimes, the decision really isn’t even in our hands at all. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We left
Storyville in Sint Maarten in March to fly back to Texas for a visit with our
family. Just before our already scheduled trip my mother had a minor stroke and
ended up in the hospital and then, in an assisted nursing facility. She is now
at home, but the stroke and other underlying health issues left her with short
term memory loss. The other health issues have also affected her ability to get
around easily. As a result, she needs live in care at all times. She is also
dealing with some personal issues that, due to her memory loss, will require
assistance. My daughter and my sister have been doing a wonderful job taking
care of her, but after seeing her condition and realizing that it probably
would not get much better, Troy and I decided that we need to be here to help
with her care, and, for the moment, my place is here with her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She has a
nice big house with plenty of room for us, so, we made the difficult (but
obvious) decision to secure Storyville and return to Texas for an extended stay
to help with her care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure how
long we will be here, but I do know one thing:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>our cruising days are <strong><em>not</em></strong> over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are not done living the fantastic life that we have made for
ourselves. Our general plan is to stay here through the summer and help get mom
situated as best we can, then we will re-evaluate and hopefully be able to
return to Storyville.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Troy flew
back to Sint Maarten and is making the decision about where to leave Storyville
for the next several months. Because she will be alone during hurricane season,
this is a very difficult decision for us. We are currently leaning toward
sailing her down to Grenada for the season where she should be safely out of
the hurricane belt, of course, those who pay attention to these things know
that Grenada is not always safe from storms, but we will just have to pray for
the best. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m just
thankful that we have so many friends that are willing to drop everything and
fly to a beautiful Caribbean island and go on a fantastic sailing trip in order
to make sure our boat stays safe. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are
fortunate that we have friends like that. (Yes, this paragraph was just a
little on the sarcastic side, since I really wish it was me making that trip).<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The pity
party is over though, because, although I’m sad to set the cruising and sailing
aside for a short while, there are some wonderful benefits to staying here in
Texas (besides the incredibly hot summer that I’m sure I have in store). My
beautiful daughters, my grandchildren, my sister, my nieces, aunts, friends,
mother in law and sister in law all live here. I feel very loved in Texas! I can’t wait to spend time with
them all and especially time spoiling my grandkids. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I just hope
I have some friends in Kemah reading this, because I will definitely need some
sailing time! Hint, hint. You know who you are!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: yellow; font-family: Georgia;"><em>Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes</em></span><!--PIM--><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br /></div>
Troy and Deana Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09768043752361932060noreply@blogger.com4