Thanksgiving In Sayulita

It is Thanksgiving in Sayulita. I have a turkey waiting to be cooked in the sink, and I'm trying to come up with a creative way to make a roasting pan out of foil. We have been invited to a potluck Thanksgiving at Barefoot Casa the home of our friends, the Stewart Family, (Dave, Heather, Coleman, Emerson, Eve and Soliel).

We met Dave in Isla Mujeres, Mexico 16 ish years ago. He and his buddy Scott had just navigated Morgan Stern from the Dry Tortugas to Isla Mujeres on their way to Tulum, (I think.)  Apparently, during their crossing they kept hearing the Coast Guard hailing Bad Habit over and over again. When they arrived at the marina we, the Bad Habit were tied up safely in a slip. We had left Corpus Cristi, Texas and misjudged the amount of time it would take us to cross the gulf of Mexico. Instead of 7 days, it took us 10 and we had told my Mom and Dad that we would check in as soon as we reached dry land. Not hearing from us, they called the Coast Guard, who began looking for us.

Both Morgan Stern and the Bad Habit ended up on the Rio Dolce in Guatemala. Dave met Heather (his future wife) there. The four of us sailed together later in the Bahamas on Morgan Stern before we had kids. Ron and I went to their wedding in Montana and we both started families. We all got busy raising our kids and years went by.

Now here we are, with 8 children between us, thousands of miles from our homes about to celebrate Thanksgiving together.  It's amazing how a brief chance meeting can begin an unexpected lifelong connection.