Jacaranda Journey

"Passage Notes" doesn't seem to really fit, as we are not on Jacaranda yet but staying on my brothers catamaran in San Diego (Does that count? Probably not).

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May was the last time we sent a passage note out and that was from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. For those of you expecting a sailing based letter this time you may want to close now and wait for the next one to arrive.



We left the boat secure in Paradise Marina in Nuevo Vallarta (in Banderas Bay, a few miles north of PV), keeping fingers crossed that no hurricanes would hit Paradise. Hurricane John got very close but PV did not have a bulls eye on its head this time. We left the high heat and humidity of PV for the heat and humidity of a summer in Boston. Lindas youngest son Joe lives in Boston and that was the reason we decided to head to the NE.

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Linda found a 2-bedroom sublet in a beautiful 3-story brownstone on the Internet using Craigs List (arranged before leaving PV!). She scored big, as it was a great spot in Boston's artsy South End, within walking distance of Joes apt and downtown. It was the top two floors and was airy and bright. Two girls, Margaret and Tori, lived there. Margaret was gone for the summer attending classes in NY and it was her room that we rented. Tori, just graduated from Harvard Public Health, was waiting for a position to open up in Haiti. She is a delightful lady and we were so lucky to have her as a roommate. We became good friends and enjoyed her company and that of her boyfriend Nick. She finally got the job in early August and will be in Haiti for at least a few months.



Boston has to be one of the most interesting cities in the US! History is in your face just about every place you look! Parks all around us were scheduled with free summer evening music series every week.... in our neighborhood we listened to Latino music by Berklee School of Music faculty, jazz and alternative rock. A block away was the Puerto Rican festival. And Boston owns the Fourth of July - an incredible display of fireworks from 5 countries, the Boston Pops in the band shell, and 3 million people lining the banks of the Charles River to celebrate! Boston has one of the best subway systems in the US called the T, yet most residents curse and swear about it all the time. (Little do they know how lucky they are. We told them to take a trip to San Diego and that would cure their whining). An amazing experience was to be there for "Move In Weekend" over Labor Day when Boston's population explodes with over 250,000 college students returning to school. It's a young person's town with a college on almost every corner, rivaling the frequency of Starbucks cafes.

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ay, the owner of our brownstone who lived downstairs, became a great friend and Linda was in heaven when Kay told her she could do anything she wanted in the small garden in the front. Off to the nursery they went and came back loaded down with plants. I must admit it looked very nice when she was finished and Kay was delighted she didnt have to pull weeds or be concerned with anything related to digging in the dirt. Besides going on fun excursions in the city with Kay as historian and tour guide, they occasionally went to dinner together to discover new ethnic restaurants.



We rented a car for a couple of weeks and went on some side trips. We spent 5 days in Philadelphia at Lindas aunts farm. For me it was a bonus since I have only seen The Farm at Thanksgiving and never lush and green as it was in the summer. What a lovely visit with our great relatives and special friends! Linda met up with her friend Elise from SLC and they spent a day with well known mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar. We also drove down to NY to visit Lindas sister and her family. Her dad and Nicole were there from Florida and announced that they had finally tied the knot! Congratulations to the newlyweds! Our family adventures included a surprise ferry cruise around Manhattan and the Chihuly glass exhibit at the NY Botanical Gardens. Thanks Weez and El! A short weekend trip up to see friends Robert and Gina and their beautiful baby, Olin, in Booth Bay provided a quick glimpse of Maine, complete with blueberries and lobster. Robert skippers a brand new 98 ketch recently launched and owned by the Campbell Soup family. As soon as the boat is completely configured they are off to Antigua for the winter with Robert taking the boat down and Gina flying down with Olin. Welcome to the flying wives club Gina!

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We extended our Boston stay a week into September to attend a 60th birthday bash for Jesse Jupiter whose wife, Beryl, was Lindas college roommate. They live nearby in Weston and we enjoyed spending time with them when they were in town and home from their extensive travel schedule - which was not often.



One of the things I accomplished while in Boston was getting all the documents I needed to apply for Irish Citizenship. The Irish Embassy in Boston was a huge help and now I have to wait for the 6-month processing period to hear the results.

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The best part of the summer was we were able to spend lots of time with Joe. Joe just started school, is working a couple days a week, playing and writing music, has a new apt and a new roommate - all keeping him very busy. We explored the city together, volunteered at the Watermelon Festival, and visited with his friends. Joe, Linda and Linda's sister Weezi spent a week at the Omega Institute in NY where Joe and Weezie took a CircleSongs workshop. I honestly think he was glad to see us and also glad to see us go! Hanging out with the old folks is not nearly as fun as hanging with your friends and playing music.



San Diego was like old home week - seeing family, friends and sailing with the family. Lindas oldest son David lives in SD - he is doing great and its always fun to hang with him. A recent grad of San Diego State, he is starting a new job soon with a mortgage broker. The travel bug has bitten him and he has plans to go around the world, maybe starting with teaching english in South America next year. My niece, Kerry, gets married on Saturday and Joe is coming in for the wedding so we will have a mini-family reunion.

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We are headed back to Mexico and the boat in Puerto Vallarta on Oct 2nd. It will take a few weeks for us to put everything back together that we removed to make Jacaranda hurricane ready. The current plan is to head north for a month and then return to PV so we can fly to Philly and The Farm for our annual Thanksgiving gathering. Afterwards, the rest of the cruising season awaits ahead of us and we have lots of options.

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