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12/26/2003 3:15:00 PM
San Diego, CA
Driscoll Boatyard - Our temp home while in San Diego

December 2003

this is the last time that you will hear from us.... this year! In two days it is Christmas and with all the things going on during the holidays, the New Year's start

Hi everybody,

I had wrote this report 3 days before Christmas hoping we would get it  out in time to you... I guess not... Therefore we hope you all had a  wonderful holiday and can enjoy the last week in the New Year!

Hallo, hallo, hallo,

this is the last time that you will hear from us.... this year! In two  days it is Christmas and with all the things going on during the  holidays, the New Year's start (more about that later) I probably won't  have time to write much. First of all I want to thank so many of you  who had mailed back on our last report, and I even found some time to  write back... Robert was able to connect us to a wireless internet  service with one of our boat neighbors and so I can at least pre write  them and then send them from there. Unfortunately my e-mail program has  been acting up the last week (it has been for the longest time),  crashing exactly a day after I had spent 2 nights in a row each 2  hours, replying to you guys! Robert was able to safe a few mails but  not all and so I apologize if it was YOU who did not get an answer but  please don't be afraid to mail again I got a new program and it should  work now.

Robert has been busy lately with the computer, taking advantage of the  internet connection through our neighbor, who is so nice to even leave  his boat open so we have access to it all the time. Robert has started  again to work on our new webpage, so you can "follow" us, see more  pictures and have a direct line to see what is going on and where we  are. As many of you know, once he has his mind set on something he give  his 100% and it gets done proberly. It looks really great and  professional and I hope (and so does he) that it will be finished the  end of January, here is the address for it: either www.theschmids.org  or www.lawur.com. He also studied for his HAM Radio license, which he  passed the first test successfully. He will have to do the morse code  test the end of January, so that we can use the HAM radio for short  e-mails. In between he also tries to repair a few things, organize  stuff, etc. there is never a dull moment...!

I have started the week after Thanksgiving the school program with  Sebastian and have a lot of fun with it. It certainly is time consuming  since I first have to grow into it what/how I teach it, prepare the  lessons, think of art projects, etc. The reading and writing as well as  the math program have a detailed plan with it so I only need to be  ahead a step or two and read through the lesson guides. I had talked to  Sebastian's kindergarten teacher before we left Santa Cruz and she had  advised me that I should probably get him settled on one language and  then add either German or English to it. Since he already had started  with kindergarten last year and I had better access to the programs I  started with English first. Through my friend Hemma, who's son goes to  the German school in the Bay Area, I was able to get a few first class  GermanI books so that I can do that later on. I was a bit concerned that Sebastian was not going to be all for it  after such a long break (the summer break did start June!) but  fortunately he did not loose total touch with learning and jumped right  in. We do about 2 - 2 1/2 hours a day, Benjamin either plays on the  side, does computer games (with head phones) or joins us since both  programs include a lot of games and interactive learning. He has not  much interest yet and I am not pushing him either, he will learn enough  just listening and at the moment I am trying to concentrate on  Sebastian until I am more stable with it all as well. For later on,  when we have covered the basics and both have a routine and a bit more  time,  I got many more books on marine life, weather, history,  geography etc. so we can combine it with our family adventure.

As I have mentioned we were pretty lazy with boat projects, I guess we  were so "sick" of them from the intense time in Santa Cruz that we  needed a break. We also tried to find somebody who can built us a radar  arch (we were told there are SO many more business here rather than in  SC....) and even though it was not easy we finally found one but he  could not do it before December 22nd. So therefore we knew we did not  have to stress things since we weren't able to leave before Christmas  anyways... So we spent a few days a week with Barbie and Jimmy or they  came to visit us on the boat, like the 2nd weekend in December when we  attended the annual Christmas Light Parade in the San Diego harbor.  Thanks to Barbie and Jimmy's Christmas lights we decorated Lawur real  pretty and took her out at 5.30pm with about 30 other boats for a 1 1/2  hour drive along the harbor, waving to all the spectators along the  piers and yelling "Merry Christmas". Also my cousin Barbara with her  husband Peter and daughter Lara came and we all had a good time, drank  some punch, ate lots of food and listened to many Christmas songs.  Attached is a picture of it and I hope you can recognize a bit, some  boats were decorated over and over with lights, Santa sleighs,  unbelievable (kitsch). But it was so fun to be part of it, also vor  Barbie and Jimmy since they had only seen the parade from "the other  side" so far.

Last week we really spoiled ourselves, by getting a 5 day pass for  SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park. We will probably  not have time to go to Disneyland and thought it would be a shame if we  also skip those wonderful 3 parks, being right here. They are all so  well organized, arranged  and well planned each a unique experience in  itself. The boys had a marvelous time, lots of fun and learned a lot  and so did we. We all really enjoyed it, Robert was specially  fascinated by the dolphins in SeaWorld, talking also to the trainers,  who knows maybe that will be his next job?!

With many of you the excitement and anticipation for Santa Claus or the  Christkind (or both, like us) is probably just a as high as with our  boys and the days and hours are counted.  As I had mentioned above we  will spend Christmas still here, being with Barbie and Jimmy, my  cousins and their families on the 24th and 25th and since our departure  from here is already delayed we thought it might be good to "squeeze"  in a few weeks of snow... Yep, on the 26th we will fly back home to  Austria for 3 1/2 weeks. Family and friends are quite happy and so are  we, looking forward to it a lot. A few weeks ago we found some good  flight offers and since we wanted to go back sometime during the winter  anyways we thought it might actually be better to do it now and  continue our sailing adventure afterwards. So there is always news and  things going on with us and I think you will here from us when we come  back. So for today we send you big Santa hugs and Christkindl kisses, a  great start into a healthy New Year with lots of fun and joy!

Hope to see you (soon) here, there or somewhere else Yours the 4 Schmids

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