We celebrate our 32 anniversary on board

(Bird Island - 12/1-5/17) After a spectacular dinner at Haven on our anniversary, the 30th, we headed out from our marina for a little getaway to where our first overnight trip on board was had in February of this year, Bird Island. It is only about 14 miles from home, so easy to get to and enjoy! We arrived at about 1pm and nestled into the island to anchor. The weather was just spectacular and would be for next 3 days. We knew that there would be a visible super moon on the coming Sunday night and it would prove to be a fantastic viewing site too. The island is so private and we scarcely saw a soul, besides the odd small fishing boat every now and again. This tiny island has become a favorite of both of ours. We turn the generator off and the peace and quietness is priceless. Being a bird sanctuary the island is filled with different bird species of course and it is also home to a family of spoonbills and white pelicans which are so beautiful to see. We planned a sort of “working on the boat” trip in advance and brought with us a few things we would need for minor repairs on my honey-do list. We made a salad lunch and enjoyed that on the lido deck as we laughing call it from all our cruise ship travels (the helm). We set to work and finished in time for sundowners and my outdoor bath at 5.30 It was just gorgeous out and our music of choice was from Cafe Del Mar in Ibiza. We grilled out for dinner and ate by candlelight after our flag ceremony to Stephen where we hoisted a sewn together American and South African flag to honor him and carry with us going forward. We shared a bottle of South African Diemersfontein, their and our favorite as we chatted about his life and how much we miss him. We toasted to our 32 years of marriage and marveled at how blessed we are together in being able to share the life we have now. Part of this was due to Stephen too. Our first taste of living on board was with their family in the BVI a few years ago. He was also involved in the boat we chose - every step along the way! in the morning, Saturday, we did a quick paddle on our boards and continued to work. Mid morning we shared a mimosa and a few moments of relaxation before lunch. We took the dingy up the Alifia river for a look with little buckets of moots which Shaun had made for us to enjoy on the way. The pre super moon at cocktail/ sunset bath time was amazing too! After steak dinner and wine, we hung out on our helm sofas and just listed to music while we played cards. Boaters midnight it was for us - I think we were asleep by 9pm! lol On Sunday morning we woke up at about 8am and paddled around the whole Island. It was beautiful to see 2 or 3 shark, tons of stingray and all the birdlife too. We took the go-pro with for videos and pics. We did a bit of work then went to lunch via dingy at …. We stayed until 4.30. It was such a nice restaurant to discover on the water. It was filled with Harley Davidson bikers and live music that was pretty good too. Such a nice place to pul up to with your boat and enjoy. 10 minutes from our anchorage so it was perfect! Because we had so much to eat we decided to just have a cocktail and some snacks for our dinner. We sat huddled together on the lido deck as we watched the huge red summon rise over the island. it was thrilling to see and we used our binoculars to take a closer look. stunning end to the day. We left our anchorage at 10 to anchor at Davis Island for the night on our way back home. Jax, our eldest grandson was going to sleepover but decided not to last minute and so we decided to go back to our private Bird Island for the night instead of being in the urban setting of downtown. I worked on our blog while shaun fished from Happy Life. We made a tacos for lunch and finished the few odd jobs we had left to do. Just after lunch we picked Jax and Justine up at the Williams park boat ramp to visit with us for a few hours. It’s just 10 mins from where we were docked. Went for a dingy ride and watched the dolphins feeding on the way back to drop them off at 5. Had a sunset bath and enjoyed a nice dinner again. We woke early the next morning to find that our port starter motor had gone. Limped back to our marina at 8am and docked safely at 10.30 am. Had to come in a few times but with some very helpful people on the dock, Shaun brought Happy Wife safely to rest :-) Such a great long weekend away - we feel truly blessed!!