Jon T. Howard - North Atlantic Gyre Blog #7

Well it's the beginning of a new week and just over 2 weeks until I leave for St. Thomas US Virgin Islands. I pretty much took the day off yesterday and spent it baking Christmas cookies and making fudge with my 12 year old son Christopher. We started our baking tradition last year using my family's recipes and it really is a great thing for us to do together. Besides the big mess we made in the kitchen, we ended up making 5 different types of cookies and tasty treats that we will give out as gifts to friends and family. The sugar cookies (150 year old special recipe) and fudge are usually every one's favorites and if they taste as good as all the cookie dough and batter we ate while baking them, I'm sure people will love them. I did take a short break in between preparation and baking to go back to Sports Authority to pick up a few more things for the trip. I got a water proof The North Face Wind Jacket and a heavier fleece all purpose The North Face Jacket. I also picked up some water proof outerwear pants in case we need to work in the rain. Because of all the gear I bought on Friday combined with the new stuff, I qualified for a $200 gift card. When it was all said and done, I ended up getting the heavier all purpose The North Face Jacket and the water proof pants for free which was a real bonus. Thank you to the manager at the Sports Authority in Lawndale, CA for making that happen. I really appreciate it. I still need to get some snorkeling gear and fins so that will be next on my list to find. It's great to be feeling better and yesterday I was able to run 3 miles in the evening and I am planning on getting to the gym for a long swim later today. That's about all for now...