In February Caroline and Ian got married. It started with drinks out at a brewery which led to late night margaritas with out of town sailing friends and followed up with a beautiful wedding and reception on Saturday. Congrats Caroline & Ian!
In the middle of winter Jess and I got to escape the cold weather for a thaw out trip to Cancun Mexico. We stayed at the Grand Palladium in the Rivera Maya about 1h 15m south of Cancun in their all-inclusive adults-only TRS Yucatan property. It is a gorgeous property with some good restaurants, cool pools and an expansive beach. Over the course of 5 days and 4 nights we spent time all over the resort. We especially liked the Bali beds at the far end of the beach where it was nice and quiet.
Our room was a bungalow on the lagoon with a patio, canoe and an outdoor shower that was nice except the night it rained.
On our last full day there we visited the spa and all of the gardens, pools and hydrotherapy areas. We wished we had discovered this sooner and spent more time there.
The last several years have seen Jess enter more and more into my life (and the blog!) – and now she agreed to marry me! I couldn’t be happier and can’t wait to see what’s next for us.
Another year of adventures. Here are my favorite photos from 2018:
Jimmy Buffett Concert in Charlottesville
Model Sailboat racing on Lake Rooty
The Parthenon during a VCU class trip to Greece & Cyprus
Old boats in front of the sunset during the Laser D10 Championship
Beach scene in Kitty Hawk during a week trip in June.
Jackson Creek Sunset from the dock at FBYC after the Smith Point Race
Raven at its mooring during the US Laser Masters in Brant Beach NJ
Snowman in front of the house during a December snow storm.
Here are the 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010 photos.
Ever since the Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship Trophy was completed in 2011 it never really took it’s place on display upstairs in the club house at Fishing Bay Yacht Club among the other trophies there. Primarily because it was too heavy to hang and there was no suitable place to prop it up and thus it lacked a stand. So my Dad and I recently made folding legs for the trophy using some of the left over wood from the original project. Now the trophy is on display in the club house just a few feet from where the old trophy used to hang next to the TV.
Dave Matthews Band was in Charlottesville to finish their 2018 tour I got to see them live for the first time. What a show it was!
Sunday we checked out Bodo’s Bagels for breakfast and then went to the Bold Rock’s Nellysford Cidery.
We got quite a bit of snow in Richmond this weekend. We had fun making a snowman and walking through Pony Pasture Park to see the river.
Thanksgiving weekend we had a beautiful afternoon and Jess and I went exploring in the James River Park system. We started at the south end of the Potterfield Bridge, went east along the flood wall, then to the slave trail before backtracking to the Manchester Bridge and through part of the city back to Brown’s Island and the Potterfield Bridge back to the car. It was a long hike, but it was cool to see parts of the river we’ve not seen before. We were really surprised by all of the development east of The Boat House along the Capital Trail. We’ll have to do this again when the river level is lower and we can do the pipeline walk.
Sunday following the football game Jess and I filled the day with scenic drives, hiking and a winery. We started at the southern end of Skyline Drive and stopped about 20 miles in to hike Calvary and Chimney Rocks. It reminded me of the hike we did a couple years ago up to Old Rag without the scambling. It featured some wooded trails up and down hills that went by some rocks with lookouts and good views. The trail was 3.2 miles and took about an hour and a half.
We finished the drive to the Swift Run Gap entrance and continued to Barboursville Vineyards where we tasted wines and enjoyed the sunset.
Saturday I joined Jess and her family in Charlottesville for the UVA vs Liberty football game. We had a good tailgate spot and brought plenty of clothes to bundle up in the cold. We were going to leave early if the point differential ever got below the temperature. Being a 21 point game and not 35 we stayed until the end.
