Home for the holidays and 2013 travel planning

Nice to be back in Florida in December.  Hard to complain about 70 degrees and sunny with decent surf at the beach.  Got back into some surfing, running, fishing and kayaking this week.  Nice to catch a fish again while kayaking the thousand islands area yesterday.  Water here feels great after trying our best in the frigid NZ waters.  After all the driving we did in NZ, it’s been a pleasure not using our car here in cocoa beach, since most everything is walking distance.  Quite a few things to take care of when we returned stateside.  As expected: lots of bills, not a lot of checks 🙂

Enjoyed some spectacular fish tacos at the Sandbar for Taco Tuesday (1/2 price tacos and drafts).  It’s well-known that the Schauls like a good deal.  If you are ever in the cocoa beach area, check the place out for awesome mahi tacos, cold beer and live music.

Hopefully the surf stays up the next few weeks, so we can get primed for Costa Rica.  Had CR on our list of destinations, but hadn’t booked anything yet.  JetBlue was running a sale this week, so we booked out trip!  Headed down there in early January, just before our birthdays.  Hopefully lining up our accommodations this week as well.  Been a couple years since we last visited Nosara and definitely stoked about returning!

Other planning underway is for the upcoming bareboat sailing trip in the british virgin islands in mid-February.  A mid-90’s family spring break trip was the last time I’ve sailed the BVIs.  Looking forward to the trip with a great group of friends and family.  Biggest rental catamaran yet at 47 feet, since we have 9 people.  Signed up for a couple more ASA certification classes in early January, so it’s time to put the brain back to work.  Possibly considering going after my captain’s license in the near future as well.

Anyone in interested in bareboating or in need of a captain or cook for a sailing trip, let us know!