Signed Contract

We did it! We signed on the dotted line and now the fun begins. Next week we will have the new boat surveyed and go on a sea trial. Hopefully it will all work out and we will own a new boat in the next few weeks. We are both really excited. 2008 is starting out so much better than 2007 did!

Remember - all my sailing friends - Different Drummer will be for sale soon. We sure do hate to part with her, she's a great boat - so don't forget to spread the word!

"I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving - we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it - but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor."-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! (Luke 2:8-10 NLT)

Anticipation!!!!!

We did it! We finally made a decision to make an offer on a new boat. She's a 1982 Morgan Out Island 416. We are in negotiations now and are hoping to have a deal hashed out today. We have been agonizing over this decision for weeks now and it feels good to finally decide (one way or the other). Now - we just need to wait and see. If it works out then I guess it was meant to be, if not, we still love Different Drummer!

Here's a picture of the "hopefully soon to be purchased" new boat. Her name is s/v Escape, but we will most likely rename her.

If this all works out then we will have a boat for sale pretty soon. Spread the word!!!!!!

"The ocean has always been a salve to my soul...the best thing for a cut or abrasion was to go swimming in salt water. Later down the road of life, I made the discovery that salt water was also good for the mental abrasions one inevitably acquires on land."
-Jimmy Buffett

What a Week!

Wow - It's been quite a week for the Jones Family. First, Troy got his great news from the PET Scan. Now we can relax a little and try to get back to normal (whatever that means). We are just so happy to have that behind us for now. He won't need to go back for another scan until March.

We had a great time at the TMCA Commodore's Ball. Troy looked so handsome in his tux! We had a great time and really enjoyed seeing everyone looking their best. We were very honored and surprised to receive the Don Smith Memorial Award of Mariners of the Year. We definitely didn't expect that. We had made so many great friends through the TMCA and are looking forward to lots of sailing with them in the coming year.

We are still agonizing over making an offer on a new boat. I think we will probably make a decision one way or the other in the next day or so. Right now we are leaning toward making the offer. It would be nice to have more room, but we sure would miss Different Drummer. It's been a much harder decision that I thought it would be. Stay tuned!

Now - bring me that horizon. (The last line from Pirates of the Caribbean)

Woo Hooo - Yippeee

Dr. Jac just called Troy with his PET Scan results. NO CANCER! Wonderful news. I think this is the best Christmas present ever.

We have big plans this weekend. We are going to the Texas Mariners Crusing Association's Commodore's Ball. We get to get all dressed up and go to a party. I can't tell you how excited Troy is about wearing a tux. This will be the first time I've ever seen him in one in the 11 years I've known him (sorry Jessica). I'll be sure to take lots of pictures.

A day of worry is more exhausting than a day of work. ~John Lubbock

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:36

Overdue Update

I know, I know. It's been way too long. Everyone who normally reads our blog has probably given up on ever seeing anything different! Really, no news is good news - so they say, whoever "they" are! We are doing great. Troy is feeling better and stronger every day. He still has issues with eating and dumping syndrome, but that is to be expected. He went back to work last week! That was a milestone for us, especially for Troy. He says it felt good to get back to work.

Check out the article I wrote for an online news paper with news about boating around the Galveston/Clear Lake Area. I think it's on page 7 on - http://www.waterfrontbeatonline.com/ - Byron is doing a great job keeping us educated and informed with The Water Front Beat!

We had a great Thanksgiving with my family. We didn't get to sail to Double Bayou for the annual French Picnic because the weather was really cold and windy, not to mention rainy. A few brave souls did make the trip and we hear that they had a great time. I hate that we missed out, but we sure were warm and cozy!

Troy has his PET Scan next week and we are a little nervous about that. I try not to worry and I am usually successful in that endeavour, but when it's time for the actual testing I just can't help but to worry a little more. After we get the "all clear" that we expect, we will be happy for another 3 months or so until the next test.

Check our our video of John's boat s/v Buddha sailing over to Double Bayou:

"Not all who wander are lost." - JRR Tolkien

Double Bayou Sailing

We had an awesome sail over to our favorite sailing destination (Double Bayou) a couple of weeks ago. The weather was perfect and the sailing was great. We took our new friends John and Cheryl (s/v Buddha) with us. It was their first time to sail over and of course they had a great time. You have to try really hard to have a bad time over there. More new friends, Trey, Kat and Anne on s/v Dawn Treader also sailed over. We spent the weekend playing in the dingy and kayaks and trying everything on Ernestine's menu!

It was also a weekend cruise for several of the area sailing clubs so there were several sail boats that went up the bayou. The game warden was also really active that weekend. They were checking boats for registration and for proper safety equipment.

We did have a little adventure Saturday night. We had heard that there was a woman who broke her ankle on one of the boats that were up the bayou. They brought her back down on a small boat and she was taken to Anahuac by ambulance. Apparently they were not able to treat her at the Anahuac hospital so she was taken by life flight (seems a little drastic for a broken ankle) to Houston. The police brought her husband back to Channel Marker 17, but he needed a ride back up the bayou a couple of miles back to his boat. His name is Andrew and I really wish I could find out what happened with his wife. I'm sure everything turned our fine. Anyway - Troy, Andrew and I headed up the bayou - boy was it dark! The really cool part of the journey was the phosphorescence in the water. There was lots of bright green glowing "stuff" in the water. The prop on our dingy churned up the water and it looked like we had a light under there lighting up the water. Really cool looking.

We have plans to spend Thanksgiving at Double Bayou with the TMCA, but the weather is looking so bad that we are re-thinking those plans. We are really disappointed, but, on the bright side, I will get the spend the day with my family.

"The only way to get a good crew is to marry one."
~ Eric Hiscock

Photos

I know, I know - it's been way too long between posts. We had a blast on Isla Mujeres and as soon as we got home Troy took off on a Morgan 41' sailboat with some friends to help them get to Pensacola. He went as far as Houma, Louisiana and rented a car for the drive home. It took them about 7 days to make it to Houma in the ICW and about 5 hours for Troy to drive back home!

Troy is doing great these days. He had a visit with Dr. Jac (his oncologist) a couple of days ago. His bloodwork looks great the he will have a PET Scan before the end of the year. We are anticipating that he will get a NED (No Evidence of Disease) result from the PET Scan.

I will try to get caught up and start posting again. Hopefully everyone is still looking in every now and then.

Here's a couple of great pictures from our Isla vacation: