Holiday in Hopetown

We have been blessed with gorgeous weather since before Christmas and last night there was no wind at all (a rare occurrence here). However, the moored boats around us tended to come close enough to walk on and I was a little nervous. Bill just pushed them aside and then went to sleep! He was right, we woke up in the morning with no problems with the other boats.
There seems to be lots of activities that occur here in Hopetown. We spent Christmas Eve having cocktails on another boat and we were invited to Jim and Nancy's boat for Christmas Day Dinner. She is Italian and put together a wonderful dinner. Jim's daughter was here and we ate and laughed and had a great time. Bill and I took the dinghy out for my first snorkel practice. It was successful so we all went on Jim's boat to "Mermaid Reef". This is a safe, easy reef to practice and I loved it. We saw many different kinds of fish and I felt like I was in an aquarium. I won't show any photos of me in the wet suit, but I did take a few photos with my camera. I will email the site of the photo album.
Many more families with children have arrived here and the atmosphere has certainly changed. The beach is a little more crowded and you can see people walking around. I think this will again change after the New Year. However, there will be a pulse of boats coming over (if the weather permits) and we hope to see some boaters we got to know in Vero Beach.
Last night was a golf cart parade - 10 golf carts decorated for the holidays and today was a Chili Cookout competition to raise money for the police and fire department. Tomorrow there will be a "Rage" fundraiser for? I'm not sure what it's for. There will be fireworks on New Years Eve and a Junkanoo Parade (more on that for another time). I am also going to volunteer at the local museum one day a week. We are beginning to settle in nicely, continue meeting new people, and even having happy hour on 'Interim' with two other couples. The excitement, anxiety and challenges seem to be disappearing and replaced by daily routines. For example, I have yet to get to the laundry and must schedule it in (although I'm waiting for a day when the weather isn't great). Look for an email linking to the photo albums.

WISHING ALL A HEALTHY, HAPPY AND JOYOUS NEW YEAR.