Christmas Eve on the Sea Bird

(This just in from KP-man on Christmas Eve '08)

Here's the Sea Bird's rendition of The Night Before Christmas. Had a
good start from "A Nautical Christmas" from MaryLou, but we changed a
bit to fit Lindblad (i hope it still sounds good!!) With a little
help from the NatGeo staff we finally got things to rhyme haha!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

'Twas the night before Christmas, and somewhere at sea,
The Sea Bird was sailing as smooth as could be.

Stockings were hung from the bridge deck chairs,
Hoping that Saint Nick would find them there.

All the children were nestled all snug in their uppers,
Having just settled down from Christmas Eve supper.

And Mom and Dad were covered in aloe
A bit too much sun, while they snorkeled in the shallows.

When from the starry sky came a mysterious clatter,
I slid off my bunk to see what's the matter.

To my heavy bedroom door, I flew like a flash.
Well it was more like a saunter, less like a dash.

And what to my sleepy eyes did appear,
But a great red sleigh and eight flying reindeer!

They circled our ship from starboard to port,
As the moon-lit driver, a jolly old sort,

Called to his team in a joyful retort,
"On Dasher, on Dancer" and so on and so forth

We raced from our cabins, up the stairs, through the hall,
To the very top deck, just in time for us all,

To the magnificent sight of Santa's shiny red sleigh
As he lightly touched down, by the zodiac display.

With a bundle of goodies thrown over his back,
He rose in the air and dropped down the stack

Santa went straight to work, and later we learned,
He found every child's cabin, from bow to stern.

The one, two, three-hundred cabins, and even the Captain's suite
Santa filled every stocking with toys and with treats.

After all his deliveries had been handled with care
He whispered "I might just have a minute to spare!"

So around the ship he kayaked, staying close-by, not going too far,
While Donner and Blitzen slowly sipped their drinks from the bar.

And Prancer, who had always been a fan of the sea,
Tried Lindblad's scuba gear, what a sight that must be!

And then with a whistle, Santa assembled his team,
Said goodnight to the Sea Bird, silent night and sweet dreams.

And I heard him exclaim as he flew out of view
Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good cruise!

Christmas Eve '08

First entry in our new blog from the Wasatch - dropped in this year's Christmas letter - we're breaking into the 1980's woo hoo!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes . . .

Whoa-Mama – what a year for this planet!

It’s been a quiet year at Lake Utah – our home town . . . & what a change for Utah.

You won’t believe it, but SL County is now a BLUE County – get back – this ain’t Kansas, Toto!.

Dan flying over the USS Denver

Dan-san on Mt. Fuji

Change for the mom-unit was joining a wonderful law firm as office manager. It’s nice to be with fun, ethical and intelligent people. (She’s kind of a “mavericky” type!) Lisa misses her boys - keeps in touch via cell, email, blogs (she’s a ‘geek-mom’), and snail mail packages – gotta send those Swedish fish & Rice Krispie treats.

Change for kevdawg is loose change – hi yooo! Finally Surrendered his ’92 rice burner. That car ran better than he did. Still babbling to friends & strangers: “you gotta read this book!” – he’ll never learn. Having a great time with a most excellent group at the local MLS. AARP ‘bika-fier’ – slow & rusty. Misses his boys – don’t ‘misunderestimate’ him – wants to climb Longs Peak in ’09 with Dan & Matt – before the golden years.

Change for Dan was a move from San Diego to Guam then to the USS Essex hauling around Marines. Hit several Japanese ports, Philippines and back to Guam in March. Dan’s been Copter-izing on the USS Essex since August – 500 hours – whoa – get back. He’s also Div Off & aiming for Aircraft Commander. He’ll be sushi-fying in Japan for Christmas – Karaoke Asia & deployed until March We just hope that Obama’s new ‘strateg-errie’ will work out better than the past eight years & ‘Support Our Troops’ by bringing them home

Matt & Leandra with the doggies
(l-r: people, doggies)

Change for Matt was joining Lindblad Expeditions – aboard their National Geographic (“Nat-Geo” – sounds like a rock star) ships; whale watching, zodiacs, kayaks, Alaska adventures. He’s moved to 2^nd mate on the Sea Bird – soon . . . Chief Mate – what’s next – Soul Mate?? Moving to Portland next year with Leandra the 'horse-chick'.

Change for Yogi was the onslaught of Molly – another shelter hound of questionable lineage. Molly’s now Yogi’s ‘companion’ – like Jekyl is Hyde’s buddy. Yogi hits the bottle every afternoon – ‘Make her stop!'

We hope all your changes are good ones, and wish us all luck as we whether the storms. Happy New Year!