David's Diary: Monday, December 17, 2001

Puerto de Blanes, Spain

The swells are still rolling into L'Estartit, but the wind is light and we head off under power after first filling up with diesel. The staff at the yacht club were friendly and moorage prices at this time of year were reasonable.

Allen continues to be a challenge during passages. Yesterday, he cried and yelled at us for the first hour of our trip. He was very unhappy with the fact that Dragonsinger was rolling from side to side, even though the boat was completely under control. Kevin went through a similar phase at the same age, but we were hoping to avoid it with Allen.

Today, he is still unhappy. He wedges himself into the small area next to the hatches leading below. He looks at me with sad eyes, but the boat is only rolling a little and I know that Allen will eventually get used to it.

And the Next He Is Happy

Allen finally seems to shake himself out of the mood he is in and get interested in the sea around us. He heads for the stern and watches the stern wake as Jocelyn steers the boat.

Playground In Blanes

When we arrive at Puerto de Blanes, Kevin and Allen are keen to go ashore and we quickly discover a playground above the marina. The boys have a good swing to burn off some bottled energy from two days of traveling.

After we get settled, Jocelyn and I visit the town. Puerto de Blanes is a bedroom community to Barcelona (it takes about 45 minutes to commute into the city by train). The people appear prosperous and the Christmas decorations were all out enticing people to do their Christmas shopping. This reminded me that Karalee and I have done no Christmas shopping. While we are not sending presents to anyone but each other and the children, we will have to wait until we arrive in Barcelona before doing our Christmas shopping.