This has got to be our longest stay at any marina - a whole six months! Perhaps it was the friendly liveaboard community that kept us here. Or was it the WiFi connection to the internet? When we came in to the marina, we did not think much of Jacksonville, but it certainly grew on us. During our stay, we've come to enjoy the warm, friendly neighborhoods of the city. In September, the Sea and Sky Spectacular event on the beach, complete with amphibious assault and culminating with the Blue Angels, was outstanding, a definite memory maker.

We had some family and friends visited. Eileen met up with an old friend LeeFah in Orlando. They haven't seen each other for 29 years. Lee Fah and family were on vacation from Saudi Arabia. She and her  family used to live in Houston, and had recently moved to Saudi for a job with Aramco. We drove with my sister and her family to Philadelphia.

In Sept, we took a trip to Destin in NW Florida with the Hanshus. On the way there, we stopped by Plains, Georgia to pay tribute to our 39th president. We stayed with Steve and Connie in Columbus, Georgia, and visited Fort Benning, where Jon and Steve had their airborne training before heading off for the Vietnam War in the seventies.

In November, we drove back to Philadelphia and Boston to visit family. Then we took off for Paris to help Sophal's aunt to celebrate her 80th birthday. This was the year of freedom fries and Iraq war, so politics were off limits in our family gatherings. We have to admit that this time around  the French are much more friendlier (the last time we visited was in 1992). They actually offered to speak English! And quite good at it too, I might add.