This is a guest blog post by George's wife,
Janis. I hope George's readers had a happy and healthy Christmas.
Yes, I said
Christmas. According to my calendar and bible, Christmas is December 25th and this holiday celebrates the birth of Christ. No disrespect to other holidays happening around this time, but I'm tired of Christmas being diluted with "Happy Holidays" for fear of upsetting someone.
As well said in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas",
Christmas does not come from a store. This year, we went light and we spent less time pleasing others' schedules. As a result, this was one of the least stressful holidays in a long time. My favorite gift this year, was a photograph of my mom, at the age of 1, probably taken in 1929. She's being held by her mother, my grandmother. As I look at the photo, I can see clearly the face of my mom and I'm reminded how much I miss her. It's been almost 4 years since the angels carried her away. If your parents are still living, please don't wait until it's too late to give them the honor, respect and thanks they deserve.
Now that Christmas is behind us, it's time for rest and reflection as we look back over the year of 2008. This year has been a significant year for us. Not only from a windsurfing persepctive, but personally and professionally too.
George exceled to a new level in his windsurfing skill set by turning his first forward loops. He was blessed with lots of time on the water and less time behind a desk. I was also blessed with more time on the homefront, serving my family and
community,
scrapbooking and preparing for empty nest syndrome, coming in 2010. I had fun taking pictures at
LoopFest too. Check out
Bill's OBX Life to vote on the picture of the year. Maybe I'll be a professional photographer in my next career.
Call it the winter blues or whatever it is, in my time of reflection, I find myself really missing Maui lately. We want to live in
Kula, near
Rice Park. Here is a picture of me on February 14, 2008 as we had a picnic in Rice Park and watch the sun set over the south shore of Maui. The air is so clean there and I feel so alive when I'm at 3,000 feet elevation.
If we lived in Kula, I could work at
Tedeschi Winery or at the
Kula Lodge. I could work in one of the many
botanical gardens too. I would want a job without a lot of responsibility. A part time job where I would have time to plant a garden, take care of our home and spend lots of time sitting on the bluff at Ho'okipa taking pictures of George. I would want a bike to ride to the grocery store and our life would be simple.
Well, in the future, we'll live on Maui. For now, we're stuck here on the each coast. So today, we made the most of it and went exploring. We appreciated the rich, amazing history we found very close to our Milford, Delaware home. Cape Henlopen State Park and Fort Miles, Delaware
The day started very foggy. We could hear the fog horn of the
Lewes / Cape May Ferry, but we couldn't see it.
Fort Miles is on
Cape Henlopen and this served as a defense position for the Delaware Bay and River during WWII. It appears that Delaware State Parks is in the process of renovating this cool military spot into an educational place for folks to visit. I learned a lot while exploring today and I can't help but think how it would have been to be a soldier here during WWII. I mentioned to George how amazing it is that soldiers used this position to defend the country 60+ years ago and today, this place is so safe that it has a youth camp on site. I'm thankful for all who served at Fort Miles way back then.
Cape Henlopen Lighthouse
After our adventure on Cape Henlopen, we headed south to Fat Tuna's Grill for lunch. This is in Milsboro, Delaware. The food was yummy.
Can you believe gas is only $1.47 a gallon?
Home safe and sound as the sun sets in the west. Maui this ain't!
This is standard operating procedure in the Markopoulos home each evening. Here George is watching a
Peter Hart instructional video on freestyle. Last night we watched
Robby Naish's RIP. My personal favorite is
THE Windsurfing Movie. I love the piece on
Levi in his garage. It is the most soul felt explanation of windsurfing ever. This passion in his voice, his words, his story, his desire for excellence in the sport, combined with the music of the Stones touch me in a way that's indescribable. If I had to put words to it, I would say, I think it helps me to GET IT; to understand the love and passion my husband has for Windsurfing.
Watch this
clip from the movie. Even though the beginning is cut out, at 2:18 into this clip, Levi Siver does the coolest, most wicked move I've ever seen. Someone, please leave a comment and tell me what this is called. I want my husband to learn this move.
Don't worry honey, there's a small craft advisory for tomorrow with warm SW winds 20-30. You'll get to sail and I promise to take pictures.
