Spring Break!

Vacation time! :)

It has been a long time since my wife and I have gone anywhere without our (wonderful) children but it is time for spring break! We dropped the kids off at my parents for a few days, much to their joy as it had been a while since they'd had an extended stay there and it typically involves candy, video games, baseball in the backyard, shopping, etc. Pretty much anything they want to do.

My wife and I then proceeded to drive up to Living Light for a few days together anchored out. March 24th was our 10th wedding anniversary and due to the kids sports schedules and work, etc. we didn't really get to celebrate it like one would anticipate for their #10. We knew we'd have this break so we are making this our celebration.

Yesterday we did a 2 hour cruise around the area. We know spring is here in the south because A) the leaves are turning green finally and B) all the boats (and everything else) is starting to turn yellow from all the pollen!

It was extremely windy yesterday- sustained winds of 20-25 MPH on the lake and stronger gusts. Luckily the sun was warm so it was still nice enough to cruise from the bridge. Here is my lovely bride as we depart the marina just before the winds picked up:

And yes, the trees are turning green!

The winds had died down by dinner and we were anchored back into a very protected and secluded cove. A happy dinner for two on the bridge with our new teak table and chairs:

The great thing is that that table folds flat to be only about 6" wide (width of the center board one of the wine glasses is sitting on) so that we can fold it up out of the way when not in use.

Dinner was GREAT but dessert, dessert was PERFECT:

I have been a long time fan of the nautical oil lamps made by Wheems and Plath. They are functional yet beautiful but they are also VERY expensive. Here is the simple man's version of a W&P lamp....cost $6 vs. $275:

I only strung it up for the picture as I didn't want it going flying across the salon. It did put off a wonderful mellow glow in the salon as we did a puzzle together after dinner. It brought back a lot of memories when we used to use oil lamps a lot at home and my time with the Amish back in the day. You just can't beat the soft gentle glow of an oil lamp and the slight smell of burning oil. The funny thing is that on any of our previous boats, such a simple lamp would never have looked good or seemed applicable but it fits right in with the trawler.

The good news is that last night was our FIRST night ever fully anchored out aboard our trawler. The battery bank did great and lasted all night without any issue whatsoever. The water is flat as glass, sun is shining, and it is looking to be a beautiful day in the high 70's. I think we'll spend the day kayaking around, resting, relaxing, maybe a few small projects on the boat, and enjoying our time together after 10 happy years.

We are so thankful for our little trawler though- we have never owned a boat like her before but she is so cozy and relaxing to us and has already brought us a lot of joy and this year's season has not yet even begun!