Poseidon Galley: Wrapping up 2012

September

We went back to Catalina for our annual vacation with Sarah, Jeff & Marco. Also joining us for a few days were Jeff's brother Mike and his girlfriend (now fiance!!) Mariesa & Jeff's cousin Brian and his wife Elizabeth. What great guests! Everyone helped with cooking and clean-up, making it a very relaxing and fun trip. You are all welcome back anytime.

Take a look at the Cecchin Family Blog for some fun pictures and stories. Here are some of my favorite memories of our summer cruise:

Yes, he got me - ouch!

Making sushi rice:

And this is what our family Catalina trips are all about:

October

We made a fall cruise to Santa Cruz Island to meet a few of our marina neighbors - Once Upon a Tide, Sum Fun and E-Dreams.

It was a beautiful weekend at Yellowbanks:

We had a visitor that stuck around for a couple of hours:

We had lots of dolphin follow us on our trip home. Bonnie & Curtis got these great shots:

November

My friend Lynne is an amazing triathlete and convinced me (and believe me it took a lot of convincing since I hadn't run, jogged, or "scurried" in 40 years) to participate in a mini-triathlon on Catalina Island. Peter did the swim, Lynne biked, I ran a 5K and John was our coordinator/leader.

Team Poseidon Cooks!

Thanks to Lynne & Peter we had a very respectable finish.

And so proud of myself for finishing my first 5K!!

More November

We had a quiet Thanksgiving aboard Poseidon. Joining us were Dad, Laura, Peter & Lynne. Having just lost Mom a few days earlier we weren't much in the mood for a celebration. Cooking the big holiday meal helped keep my mind occupied. Here is one of the desserts I made:

Cranberry Tarts with Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

December

The weekend after Thanksgiving we made a quick trip up to Oakland for a Marco fix. One of the highlights was going to see Santa. Helped get us in the holiday spirit!

The next weekend I ran in another 5K - Santa to the Sea. It was a very fun event, several bands and a lot of the runners dressed in Christmas costumes. An extra bonus was running (ha!) into my very dear friend Nancy at the finish line:

My cheerleaders:

And I'm off:

Almost to the finish:

I did it!

A very fun event, I can't wait to enter again next year.

The next weekend was Ventura's Parade of Lights and we had guests both Friday and Saturday nights:

Peter and John preparing veal involtini:

Jack, Dr. Speitel's wife Pam and John:

Laura and Dad:

Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters:

John & Laura:

Lynne & Peter:

It was a special treat to have our family physician, Dr. Speitel, join us and even more of a treat to share a glass of wine with him!

Love this jolly Santa!

The next weekend Sarah, Jeff & Marco drove down to celebrate an early Christmas with us. They really helped ease our pain and Marco reminded us of the joy of celebrating the holiday with family. Their visit meant so much to us.

Hands-down best gift was Dad's present to Marco - a Chia Pet! Even Marco can't believe it:

Had a fabulous clam and oyster lunch on the beach at The Jolly Oyster:

And a fun visit from Jayme, Beck & Tyler:

We celebrated Christmas Eve at Laura's condo. Dad & Laura's very good friends the Zatollas joined us for Carne Asada Tacos and Cheese Enchiladas:

We had done so much partying the last few weeks that we decided we would celebrate Christmas Day with breakfast and then relax the rest of the day. Laura & Dad came over early to open gifts and then Peter & Lynne stopped by for breakfast.