3 days now

June 6, 2008 Friday 10 pm
Hi again, we've covered 504 miles in the last 3 days and the wind is finally dropping. It is down to 8-9 knots and we are doing about 4.5 knots. After the boisterous conditions we've seen, the lighter winds are sort of a vacation. For dinner, Andi made her famous Gambas Ajillo over rice with a nice salad. The dinner was complimented by some smooth jazz from one of the bands that son Tony is currently playing in. It is much easier to cook with the boat nearly level and not throwing you from wall to wall. It should pick up again tomorrow, but I'm hoping we won't end up parked tonight later. For the first time, the back porch isn't roaring with the stern wave...just a gentle gurgle.
Our current position is 34d 36.79' N and 66d 53.67' W. I know that some of you are following us on a chart, so that will help you plot. Another easy way is to enter the latitude and longitude in Google Earth (I think it does that). If you don't have Google Earth on your computer, you are missing out on a fun toy. It is a free download. Type it in the Google search box and it the address for it will come right back. You install it on your computer and it will then go to satellite imagery on the internet to find cities and even the house you grew up in. Just type an address and it zooms in on your childhood memories. But I digress. Still, for our grandchildren who are old enough to use computers, this might be a fun way to participate. If you ask Google Earth for the Azores (Flores, our first landfall), it will zoom in on the islands and then you can click a bunch of blue dots, each of which will show you a photo taken from that location. It's pretty cool!
Speaking of cool, it isn't all that cool. I haven't put a shirt on yet and it is 10 pm. I'm glad we left when we did. We heard that there was a sailing rally that left the East Coast in early May and they got hammered. Knock on wood, so far this is perfect.
Best to all - don't be afraid to write.