March 16th- March 31st

Rudy and I are getting too comfortable here in Marmaris, Turkey!!!   We are
now playing dominoes at least three times a week.  Everyone wants to play
and we are the only ones with a set.  WE ARE VERY POPULAR!!!  We also go
bowling once a week, last week we had enough people to fill all four alleys,
and I go to the gym a few times a week. (I need to work off all of the
delicious Turkish food!!!)

There are orange blossoms in the mall at the marina and they smell
heavenly!!!  I always proceed much slower as go by them. We picked the
oranges off the trees last fall..they were terrible! But delicious in the
Market!!!!

Almost every day I take my bike and go to the Food Markets and buy fresh
fruits and vegetables.  On Fridays, they have a huge Open Market that
encompasses over ten streets.  Here you can buy anything and almost
everything you can think of!!!  I feel like a native especially now that I
have learned over a dozen words!!!  I am able speak to many of the people I
come in contact every day in my travels and it feels great!!!

The weather here has been wonderful..about 80-85 degrees during the day.
However, last week a cold front came in with three or four hail storms and
now it is cooler (70-75). As we get closer to summer the action around this
vacation town continues to escalate everyday. More shops are opening. The
crowds are growing. Cruise ships are appearing almost every other day. The
restaurants are filling up and the activity around the marina is increasing.
The talk is about what direction to go and when are we leaving. More
cruisers are returning from home visits. All the businesses that service
boats are getting very busy. It won't be long before our mast is complete
and reinstalled. Boats are being hauled for their annual maintenance and
everybody is trying to get ready for another boating season. It is wonderful
to see the world come alive!

We had a quiet Easter weekend with our cruising friends.  The Easter Bunny
did show up and dropped an Easter egg on the bow of our boat with a paper
rose and chick!!  Bunny from the boat Onset (she was born on Easter!!) went
around on her bike early on Easter Sunday morning and delivered Easter gifts
to the American boats.  It really made my day.I miss coloring Easter Eggs!!

Rudy and I are going to the Greek Island of Rhodes next weekend because we
need to update our Visa for Turkey.  We decided to go the weekend the Greeks
celebrate Easter to see how they celebrate the holiday.  I will give you
some details in the next log.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and a great April Fool's Day!!!!
(Stacy got us again with an April Fool's Day Prank. )  Wait till next year
Stacy!!!