New Year's Day

Well, the revelry on the dock lasted well into the early hours. We were glad this morning not to have imbibed quite as much as some!!!
We did sleep in a bit, and then enjoyed breakfast in the cockpit.
Last night we had decided a hike to the ocean beach would be in order.
There is a tradition here that you head to the beach and try to find some treasures from which you will assemble a boat sign, and then hang it outside the office, or along the beach path. We were told there would be lots to choose from. We were not disappointed. We have brought a few things back to the dock, and will make our final creation tomorrow.

We spent a couple of hours beach combing. The sand was literally like brown sugar, right down to the ability to pack it into sand balls. We also saw a snake on the beach who was just as interested in us as we were in him.
Around noon we headed back to the boat for some lunch, and then this afternoon headed back to the north beach for a little more exploration. Along the way we picked up 6 hermit crabs and carried them to the beach with us. The next two hours were spent wandering the beach looking for better sized shells than the cramped quarters they were in. We spread the new shells on the beach, added the hermit crabs to the selection, and then watched the fashion show!! It was very cute to watch them wander around and inspect the various shells. Some of them obviously liked what we had found and they were quick to jump out of their previous shell and pop into a new one.
We couldn't help ourselves but wonder what they were thinking:
"Do you have this in blue?"
"Oh, I don't know if I have any shoes to match"
"Does this shell make me look fat?"

We all had a good time!
Now we are back at the boat, waiting for our bread to finish baking so we can put sloppy joes on it for dinner.
Then a couple of rounds of cards, and I suspect we will all be turning in early.