Way back in 2016, our friends Allen and Deb visited us aboard Madrone in Alaska. Spending a few days around Admiralty Island, we had a great time looking for brown bears, watching whales and dolphins, and relaxing in the beautiful scenery of the Inside Passage.
So when Allen and Deb showed up for another visit, this time at a decidedly local dock in Willikies, Antigua, it was hard to believe that more than eight years have gone by.
This visit, nearly everything was different. Instead of the cramped quarters aboard Madrone, they stayed in the slightly less cramped berth on Oso. Instead of making sure to stay out of the icy cold Alaskan water, we dropped into the warm Caribbean off the back of the boat as often as possible. And instead of harvesting glacier ice for evening drinks, we just ordered another round of daiquiris at the local beach bar.
The thing that wasn’t different is that Deb and Allen are great to be around and are consumate boat guests. They put up with the unseasonably strong winds and large waves that developed just before they arrived (and of course dissipated the evening they left), they were very polite about the outboard that started running on only one cylinder a week before they arrived, and they very politely put up with the other two wackos aboard who still live on a boat after all these years.
Hopefully the next visit is sooner than another eight years from now.
