Thanks, Thanksgiving

We had intended to leave Beaufort on Thanksgiving Day.  Unfortunately, it seems our starboard engine water pump has been fatally wounded and will need to be replaced.  Thanks to Thanksgiving, the new pump probably won't arrive until Monday.  So we will be here for over a week.  This is a setback and makes our arrival at Jane's mom's house by Christmas more questionable than it already had been.  We are frustrated. It seems we just can't go for very long without a problem.  It's tempting to boycott the holiday altogether.  Tempting, but not wise and, more importantly, not appropriate.  Our reality is the dream of many.   We bear this in mind every day.  In the dream nothing ever goes wrong; in reality, it's just like other realities, good realities, even the best realities.  Some days suck.

So it's important, I think, to remind ourselves of some of the things we have for which to be thankful.

• We are warm.  It's four in the morning and a wind is howling down (or maybe up) the creek. Only a few days and a couple hundred miles ago that would have meant even more frigid air, but I'm comfortable wearing shorts and a T-shirt.  One of our space heaters has been stored away already, the other sits on the floor unplugged.
• We are at a marina this time where we can borrow a courtesy car to go hunting for a tea kettle.  
• There is a restaurant in Beaufort (or Morehead City, or Atlantic Beach) serving Thanksgiving Dinner which will be much better than we would have done for ourselves while underway.
• I have two drink tokens redeemable at the Dock House.
• Savannah is 8 miles off the ICW. We've both always wanted to visit Savannah, but wouldn't have docked the boat and rented a car to get there.  It's only a 7 hour drive from Beaufort, NC and the boat's already docked, so what the heck?  We'll spend the weekend.
• We have reason to believe krill are, even as I write, eating growths off our hull.  We can hear the crackling.  Growths on the hull slow a boat down and we definitely do not need to be slowed down. You go, krill!
• Periodically pods of porpoises synchronously swim past.
• I've discovered shrimp and grits, possibly the best thing I've ever eaten.
• Except for  couple of sore spots apiece, Jane and I are both healthy.  The cats are also healthy and, as far as I know, have no sore spots.
• We are still glad we've chosen this life.

Happy Thanksgiving from your more JOY everywhere crew.