Sailing to Block and Montauk

After our Falmouth trip we turned around in an afternoon and headed out to sea on another adventure. We spent the first week of August sailing with the Costa's to Block Island and Montauk. This was our 9th annual "Montauk trip." This year we decided to spice it up and do Block as well. Actually, the plans were for more. We woke up the first morning to a dead motor. We discovered several air leaks in the fuel line. It took us until 11:00 am to buy parts, fix the problems and get under way. Our initial goal of Newport was now out of sight, so we set sail for Block. We had a wonderful crossing and luckily picked up one of the last free mornings when we arrived. Gianni was the Zodiac captain, shuttling the crew all over the salt pond.

The weather was so nice that we decided to spend another day on the hook. We anchored at the back to the pond and enjoyed a day at the town beach. The next day we set sail for Montauk. We enjoyed our traditional stay at Star Island Yacht Club and feasted on seafood. Our sail home was most enjoyable hitting The Race on a perfect tide. We can't wait for next year!

Week in Falmouth

Gianni and I spent the last week of July at Paul's house in East Falmouth, on the Cape. It was a great week together with the families. I was able to bike quite a bit, finishing out the week with two 50 mile rides. I was actually feeling pretty strong on the bike for a change. We took the kids fishing, boating, waterskiing, etc. One of the highlights of the trip was our excursion to Coast Guard Beach out on the National Seashore. It was a great day at the beach and I was able to surf for a couple of hours. We saw several seals, too. It was a very relaxing week. We went over to Martha's Vineyard twice on Paul's boat. We enjoyed more bridge jumping outside of Oaks Bluff. Check out this video of Gianni jumping!

Camping on Burton Island

We spent last weekend camping with the McKenna-Wasser family on Burton Island, Lake Champlain, Vermont. The trip was planned for Friday to Sunday. Friday was a magical day. We took Mike's boat over to the island and setup camp. The weather was perfect, so we took the kids tubing and wake surfing. We had a wonderful dinner. Saturday, we went fishing and water skiing. The kids caught plenty of fish to keep them smiling! The forecast for Saturday night and Sunday was all rain, so we packed up and headed to Stowe around 6pm. We enjoyed spending Sunday in Stowe, eating bagels, walking the quiet path with Boo and attending the Lamoille County Fair.

Surf Camp in Cocoa Beach

We spent the first two weeks of July in Florida with Mom and Paul's family. The kids attended surf camp for a week and had a blast. Helen and Sam learned to surf very quickly and at the end of the week were having incredible rides. The waves were small so Gianni decided to spend the week learning to do tricks; this earned him the award of "Most Creative Surfer" from the instructors. See photos of his antics.

Another Two Weeks in Nicaragua

We took a group of 7 to Granada, Nicaragua for two weeks. We studied Spanish at Casa Xalteva and went on many adventures. Hear the tales and see all the photos at casaxalteva09.blogspot.com.

The best way to learn about our adventure is to go to our blog.
Trip blog: casaxalteva09.blogspot.com
Photos: picasaweb.google.com/kjannke/casaxalteva2009

Willey Range Traverse

On May 31st, Gianni and I climbed three 4,000 footers in one day. It was quite the trip, our most challenging day hike to date. After summitting Mt. Tom we hiked the Willey Range Trail over Mt. Field and Mt. Willey. It was an 8 hour day, covering 7.5 miles. In the end, the rain hit us hard making it an even more memorable experience. Gianni made it to the car with more energy that I did. Scary!

Pequot Cyclists Annual Picnic Ride

On June 7th we did the annual picnic ride with the Pequot Cyclists and Grandpa Tom. Gianni rode hard and fast for 16 miles. He is getting stronger. The food and company was wonderful afterwards.