Family, friends and new experiences filled 2019. In early January, Peter's brother Rob visited us for a few days, and we went to Marshall Gold Discovery State Park to see the restored structures, including the tailrace where gold was discovered in January of 1848, and hike.

Rob and Peter hiking

Having graduated from the University of Hawai'i, Katya settled in to living at home again, and we left her home alone at the end of January when Peter and I returned to Grand Bahama to sail again on Mantra. She is making money pet-sitting, volunteering at shelters and rescue farms, and taking pre-requisite classes for enrolling in a veterinarian assistance program. Her passion is animals.

Our good friends Paula and Andrew, who watched over our boat on their dock in Grand Bahama while we were in California for a couple of months, welcomed us back, and as we got Mantra ready to head south, we also enjoyed spending time with them, snorkeling and visiting gorgeous beaches as well as the lovely Garden of the Groves.

Young conch at Fortune Beach, Grand Bahama

Sailing down through the archipelago of the Bahamas, one of our first anchorages was Nassau, where we stopped to connect with Steve and Sue Wilson, paddling friends of Peter, who were on their honeymoon there. They enjoyed a lovely day sail with us to Rose Island off the northeast of New Providence Island.

Sue, Peter and Steve sailing on Mantra

After that, Peter and I continued on through the Exumas, finding wonderful places to snorkel and hike on the cays before arriving in Elizabeth Harbour, where we anchored close to Stocking Island along with a couple of hundred other boats, many of which spend the entire non-hurricane season there. Among the vibrant community of boaters, there is something happening every day, and once a year, they organize the Georgetown Cruising Regatta, a two-week festival of activities on and off the water.

Alternative Sail Race (The guy with the umbrella won; the overloaded kids' boat was just there for the fun of it.)

Blind Dinghy Race

Peter flew to Antigua to join his brother Rob as crew on an Oyster in the Caribbean 600, thinking he was leaving me to languish aboard our boat. He had hardly departed before I began to have great fun, making new friends and participating in many of the crazy regatta activities such as the coconut challenge. On the morning of the small boat races, I helped with organization and awards presentations. I also made new friends including my new BBF, Evan from Cordelia. I really didn't have time to miss Peter at all!

Evan, my new BBF

Only a couple of days after Peter returned to the Bahamas, our good friends Ula and Enis flew in from Baltimore to join us for two weeks, continuing on through the islands and making the crossing to Jamaica. Peter and I enjoy sailing together, but we absolutely love having guests. Ula and Enis are a delight, helping out with everything from engine repairs to cooking. A highlight of their time with us was our stop at Hogsty Reef, an uninhabited atoll rising from a depth of 6000 feet, in the open ocean. Fortunately, conditions were perfect for anchoring there, enabling us to snorkel and explore one of the two tiny cays littered with flotsam from the many wrecks.

Ula, Enis, Sherri and Peter at the Chat 'n Chill on Stocking Island

Dolphin fish by our boat in Exuma Sound

Peter, Sherri and Ula on Mantra, anchored at Great Inagua

From the southernmost Bahamian island, Great Inagua, we sailed to Port Antonio, Jamaica, where we stayed at the Errol Flynn Marina. For two days, we had a somewhat dilapidated rental car that allowed us to explore the northeastern part of the island, including a large sugar plantation. Enis and Ula and then Peter left, abandoning me at the marina in Port Antonio. Peter went to England for two weeks, and I suffered, not without complaint, from the loud, obnoxious (non-reggae) music from bars until late into the night topped by speakers blasting political messages for the upcoming election.

Peter, Enis and Ula coming into port in Jamaica 

Sherri and Peter, Port Antonio

Roadside fruit stand 

Blue Mountains

Peter surveying trash on a beach, a problem observed not just in Jamaica

When Peter returned, we sailed along the northern coast of Jamaica, buddy boating with a couple from western Canada, anchoring every night and exploring places on land. We enjoyed a tour of Noel Coward's home as well as a visit to a hummingbird sanctuary. The anchorage in Montego Bay by the lovely (and quiet) yacht club was crowded, so we went just south to Bogue Bay for one night. There was an abundance of birds, and we were surprised that no other boats were enjoying this serene place--until the next morning when the authorities came to ask us to leave the marine reserve, where no anchoring is allowed. (It doesn't indicate this on the charts.)

Peter feeding a hummingbird

Noel Coward's living room

Our friends Isolde and Gabor at Noel Coward's property

Peter and Sherri at the lovely Houseboat Restaurant in Bogue Bay

Dolphin in Bogue Bay

From Montego Bay, I flew to Orlando to meet up with my sister Beth Ann and my dad for a week in Florida. After visiting the Kennedy Space Center and having a long lunch with Aunt Jean and our cousin Jimmy (dear relatives whom we do not get to see often enough), we spent the rest of the vacation at Beth Ann and Rich's condo on Sanibel Island, joined for beach time, games and outings by her two daughters who now live nearby.

Beth Ann, Dad and Sherri after Lunch with an Astronaut (who happened to be from West Virginia) 

Beth Ann and Sherri in Apollo 17 Module 

Dad and Jean

Beth Ann, Olivia, Dad, Kirsten and Sherri on Captiva Island

I returned to Jamaica a couple of days after Paula and Andrew had arrived to spend a couple of weeks with us and help us sail to Cartagena, Colombia. Conditions were not ideal sailing south and I was sick some of the time, but luckily our friends were stalwart sailors. It was as hot as Hades in Cartagena, but the beauty and culture of the city and the friendliness of the local people charmed us. Exploring the old walled city was a delight, and our day trip to the National Aviary south of the city was fabulous, a birder's bonanza.

Andrew, Paula and Peter in Plaza Bolivar in Cartagena

Peter and Andrew in Plaza de Los Coches

Local men net fishing by the yachts in the marina

Sun parakeets

Shedding leaves from the Guayacan trees made a beautiful carpet in the aviary

Maguan storks

I flew back to Sacramento at the end of April and within two days set off with Katya on a road trip to Phoenix, stopping in Death Valley and the Grand Canyon en route to Matthew's graduation celebrations. Peter spent a couple more days in Cartagena getting the boat on the hard and then flew directly to Phoenix. In addition to attending convocations and the huge graduation ceremony in Sun Devil Stadium, we hiked, visited the lovely Botanical Garden and several museums, and had a lovely dinner with Matthew's first college roommate and his wonderful parents. Katya had responsibilities at home, so she flew back. I left Matthew and Peter to pack up the Range Rover and took off on a solitary drive, something I really enjoy. On the way home, I stopped to spend hours at the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena. Of the various sections, I found I loved the color and beauty of the desert best.

Katya with a donkey

Katya on the south rim of the Grand Canyon

Matthew in his Arizona State University cap and gown

In mid-June, Beth Ann and Dad flew to Los Angeles, where I met them for a one-week whirlwind tour of sites on the coast. On the drive down, I stopped at Fort Teton State Park which was both historically interesting and spectacular in its striking display of colors from the blooming native flowers.

Hillside above Fort Teton

Beth Ann, Dad and I visited Venice Beach, Warner Brothers Studio, the Griffith Observatory, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the La Brea Tar Pits and Santa Monica Beach during our two days in LA. Driving up the coast, we stopped to tour Hearst Castle and then visited elephant seal rookeries and Moonstone Beach to collect lovely opalescent stones before staying at a lovely inn in Cambria. From there, we meandered up to Big Sur, stopping to marvel at the natural beauty at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, before arriving late in the afternoon in Carmel. That evening in Monterey, we enjoyed a street fair and farmers' market and a walk along the shore. The next day we went on a whale watching tour out of Moss Landing and saw dozens of orcas, stopped at the lighthouse at Pigeon Point and arrived late in San Francisco, but not so late that we couldn't go to Mom's favorite San Francisco hangout, the Buena Vista Cafe. Starting out as early as we possibly could the next day, we visited the San Francisco National Maritime Museum, the Wave Organ near St. Francis Yacht Club, stairways decorated with colorful tiles and the Japanese Tea Garden. After a brief rest at our hotel in Fisherman's Wharf, we walked to Pier 39 for the Mirror Maze, the sea lions and an acrobatic performance. We ended the day late with drinks at the Top of the Mark. The following day included the fortune cookie factory in Chinatown as well as dim sum brunch, a visit to Industrial Light and Magic in the Presidio, followed by a walking tour of the historic fort and some time spent at the Disney Family Museum before a late dinner at the Ferry Building.

Dad with a saber tooth cat skull at La Brea Tar Pits

Orcas in Monterey Bay

Dad and Beth Ann on the Big Sur coast

Beth Ann returned to Ohio, and Dad and I came to Gold River where he enjoyed the summer weather and relaxed after the week of excitement. Locally, we visited the Folsom Zoo, Colombia State Historic Park and Calavaras Big Trees State Park, and we went out to concerts and restaurants.

Katya, Dad and Sherri dressed up in colonial era clothing at Columbia State Historic Park

Dad enjoying our swimming pool

In early July, I flew back east with him and continued on to Washington, D.C., visiting my friend Lori and her family for a few days. As usual, I went to several museums on the Mall as well as the Renwick Gallery, which always has amazing exhibits and installations. I also visited the Botanic Gardens and listened to the US Navy Band on the steps of the Capital as the sun set. Lori and I took in performances at the Kennedy Center and went out for a night on the town in the "U" Street district.

I was only home again for a couple of weeks before it was time for the annual Rodgers Family Beach Vacation in Ocean City, Maryland. I flew to Pittsburgh to pick up my dad while Peter stayed home to compete in the Great American Triathlon (formerly Eppie's Great Race). Katya had a pet sitting job, and Matthew had things to do, so I picked up Katya and Matthew at BWI on the drive to the beach and Peter flew in a day late and took a chartered bus to Ocean City. In addition to my extended family of four generations, we were joined by Lori, her two kids and two of their friends, who have become part of the tradition.

Family photo on the beach

After the beach vacation, Peter did not return home; he flew from Pittsburgh to Cartagena to get the boat ready to go back in the water. The kids and I flew back to Sacramento, where I stayed for a week and half before flying to Colombia also. Katya was left to look after the house for three and a half months, and she enrolled in a chemistry class at the local community college to earn a prerequisite for a veterinarian assistant program. In mid-August, Matthew flew to London; he is a student at University College London, working on his master's degree in computational biology.

Peter with Mantra in the boatyard

I will not write in great detail of our adventures on Mantra; they are chronicled on our sailing blog (https://thebrownsmantra.blogspot.com). Basically, we spent another couple weeks in Cartagena, joined by Peter's brother Rob, his wife Susan, one of their daughters, Immie, and Immie's boyfriend Miguel. Despite the heat, we all had a wonderful time in the city and on a couple of islands off the coast during their visit.

Peter in the family diving competition in the Rosarios

Mantra's captain and crew at Club de Pesca in Cartagena 

Sherri with a friend at the Colombian National Aviary

Susan, Sherri, Peter, Rob, Immie and Miguel at Castillo de San Felipe

Getsemani barrio in Cartagena at night

After they left, we got ourselves ready to move and left Cartagena in early September, stopping at Colombian islands en route to Panamá. We spent six weeks there, exploring the islands of Kuna Yala (the San Blas Islands), the Río Chagras and the islands of Boca del Torres. We encountered cultures and creatures that we had never experienced before.

Kuna woman in traditional clothing, with beaded bracelets and molas for sale

Sherri enjoying a Diet Coke on one of the western Kuna Yala islands after a week of no soda!

Splendid poison dart frog on Isla Bastimentos in the Boca del Torres

From Panamá, we sailed to San Andres, a Colombian island in the Caribbean east of Nicaragua, and from there we sailed far off the eastern coast of Nicaragua and Honduras to avoid pirates, arriving at the beautiful Bay Islands of Honduras. In Panamá, while snorkeling, we encountered species we had never seen before, and we were rewarded with the endless delight of healthy reefs around the island of Guanaja, where the staghorn and elkhorn and fan corals grow large and abundantly. We met quite a few interesting expats in the Bay Islands, including many characters whose beliefs and lifestyles are more suited to a cultural and political environment not constrained by traditional institutions.

Beautiful birds made themselves at home on our boat during passages on the open sea

Peter enjoying the local beer on a cay in the Bay Islands

Peter climbing up to a lovely restaurant in the hills on Guanaja

From the Bay Islands, we headed for our final destination of this year's sailing adventures, the Río Dulce in Guatemala. From its mouth by the town of Livingston, it is a pleasant trip upstream, through a jungle canyon teeming with bird life to a stretch of river that expands to the size of a lake. The area around town of Fronteras, where the river narrows, is a cruisers' haven. Hundreds of boats stay here for the hurricane season, and many stay even longer. The climate is pleasant and the facilities for boaters are numerous. We enjoyed reconnecting with people we had met before and meeting new friends, including the owners of one of Mantra's sister ships. On the advice of friends, we visited a peaceful, new little marina up a creek from the river and decided to leave our boat there for a couple of months.

Río Dulce

Anna and Dave from sister ship Tamarisk with us at Boatique Marina, where Mantra is docked

We arrived back in Gold River in time for Thanksgiving, which, along with Katya, we spent with our good friends Patty and Shalako and some of their family. Then we jumped right into the Christmas holidays, chopping down our tree the next morning and decorating the house the last weekend in November. December has been filled with shopping for gifts, concerts and parties. Katya is now in New York City with her best friend Katie. With Matthew joining us via WhatsApp from London, the four of us opened Christmas presents early at home. I am flying to Ohio on Dec. 22 to spend Christmas with most of my family, including a new great-nephew. Katya is flying there from New York. Matthew is spending Christmas in England with the British side of his family, and Peter will be home alone as he is tired of traveling!

With best wishes for a delightful holiday season and a peaceful new year filled with old comforts and new joys, we are thinking of you who are so dear to us as this year draws to a close.

Love,

Sherri, Peter, Katya and Matthew