Roosevelt Roads
Puerto Rico
18.14.018N
65.37.582W

Christmas Sunday. Deep in the closet we found a dress and suit to wear. We had previously scoped out a Baptist church not too far from the front gate of the base whose sign indicated services were in English. We were not disappointed.

We pulled into the driveway and greeted a man who welcomed us in and showed us around. He turned out to be the parish preacher; previously of the U.S. Marines. Most of the parishioners were retired military so we fit right in, in spite of Dale’s growing ponytail. It was a fairly small congregation and I’m sure we were greeted and shook hands with every last one of them. They were all very kind and we were invited to join them while we’re here. I’d like to try except that it’s a bit of a bike ride when we give up the car. The minister had a different slant on the holiday season and freely admitted that it ‘gets him in trouble’ but he did a good job in explaining his position, so I understood what he was trying to convey. I’m curious about his other convictions and would like to hear him again.

We returned to the boat and Dale hid out in the back stateroom while I took over the galley and salon to prepare our big meal. Turkey, dressing, gravy, sweet potato and green bean casseroles. I prepared my yeast rolls too but when the turkey and sweet potato casserole didn’t finish cooking on time, I opted to leave them for leftovers.

We joined Tom, Jordan and Harry (their Pomeranian) on their boat for the big feast. Harry was decked out in red velvet and tiny gold bells. The rest of us, having changed from our Sunday best, wore the shorts and shirts with the least amount of holes in them. We had a wonderful evening and I learned that Jordan’s family is from Arkansas too. We left early enough for Tom & Jordan to get ready to attend evening Mass and we spent the remainder of the evening watching “The Polar Express” that they had lent to us. It was a cute little movie and one I had not seen before.