Sherri and Peter at Hedge Creek Waterfall, California

This year began quietly for us, but by mid-February, we were back in travel mode. Peter and I took a twelve-day road trip, with our main destination being Yellowstone National Park. On the way there, over four days, we explored many scenic or historic places and visited museums in northern California, southern Oregon, southern Idaho and western Montana as we traveled through the snow covered countryside. We spent four nights in Yellowstone, two at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and two at Old Faithful Snow Lodge, both of which offered warm and comfy accommodations and delicious hot food when we came in from out outdoor explorations. The snowy winter landscape provided us a perfect background for an abundance of elk, mule deer and bison as well as a few foxes, coyotes and wolves. We were fortunate to observe a pack of wolves taking turns vigorously eating a bison they had taken down in the early morning. The multitude of geothermal features which we had visited years before in the summer were particularly impressive in the snowy landscape. Many of them we viewed by ourselves or with a handful of other visitors, a delightful change from the hordes of tourists in the warm months. After this bucket-list experience in the national park, we drove home over the course of four days, stopping at hot springs for warm relaxation in geothermal waters in Montana and Nevada; for railroad history and views at Promontory Point in Utah; hiking at Antelope Island near Salt Lake City; walking around in Salt Lake City; searching (and finding!) gemstones at Garnet Hill in Nevada; and viewing the dark, star-lit sky in the middle of that state.

Bison in Yellowstone National Park

A lone coyote

Elk grazing while it was snowing

Peter walking in the geyser basis of Old Faithful

Where the golden spike was hammered in at Promontory Point, Utah

Sherri soaking in a hot tub at Spencer Hot Springs in Nevada

Nevada night sky

On March 11, Peter's birthday, we picked up our "second" son Sam (our former exchange student) and his wife Emi from Belgium at the San Francisco airport and immediately drove to San Jose for a meal and then a National Hockey League game at the Sharks home arena. Sam and Emi were with us for ten days, during which time we spent a day in San Francisco, a day and night in Yosemite National Park, a day in Sacramento, two days and nights at Lake Tahoe and some time at home relaxing.

Sam, Emi, Peter, Katya and Sherri at Lake Tahoe

My sister-in-law April visited us April 9-15. (During her time with us, Peter flew to the East Coast to begin preparing Mantra for our Northern Atlantic expedition.) April came to California to attend a memorial service for an uncle and visit with family, but for most of the time, she and I had great fun visiting historic towns such as Folsom as well Saint Helena in the Napa Valley, taking a tour of the Jelly Belly Factory in Vacaville, playing games at home and enjoying the spring weather in our backyard.

Sherri, April, her sister Raquel and brother-in-law Merle in the backyard

I flew to Charleston, West Virginia, on April 16 to attend the funeral of my brother-in-law Charlie's brother Danny. It was a moving service with solemnity but also upbeat hymns and laughter at special memories.

In late April and early May, Katya and I went on hikes to enjoy the spring wildflowers and I worked in our garden and enjoyed seeing the first flowers, including alstroemeria, various cultivars of roses, fleabane, lantana, lady's gloves, bleeding hearts, amaryllis, bearded irises, azaleas, lavender.

I flew to Washington, D.C. in early May to join Peter in preparing for our expedition to northern regions. He met me there and we enjoyed a weekend with our friends Lori and Germán with a highlight being an amazing evening listening to and dancing with Chubby Checker in a small venue.

Chubby Checker the United States Air Force Band Max Impact

Then Peter and I were once again in Oxford, Maryland. New house batteries were installed on the boat, the repainted mast was stepped, thorough cleaning was accomplished, provisions were packed away while repairs and improvements were accomplished during the rest of May. Our friend Shalako, a trusted and able seaman, joined us at the end of the month as we were finally ready to set sail. 

Peter working on the batteries

Germán and Lori helping with the rigging of the sails

On June 1, we finally set off for New England. One stop in Massachusetts was Marblehead, where we enjoyed exploring the historic town and also took a one-day Safety-at-Sea course at the Eastern Yacht Club. We also visited other lovely well-preserved whaling and fishing places as well as sandy coves and anchorages. When we weren't sailing or exploring on land, we worked on the boat.

Peter and Shalako sailing in the Chesapeake Bay

Shalako, Peter and Sherri at the Eastern Yacht Club

Peter in gear for the Safety-at-Sea course

Inspecting the sails on the foredeck

Peter with a lobster, exchanged for hand-made necklaces for the captain's little girls

In Portland, Maine, Shalako left to return to California near the end of the June and a couple days later we were joined by our friend Enis, who has sailed with us many times. We left the mainland and stopped at a few islands in the Gulf of Maine, exploring the villages and hiking. Also, we spent two days in Boothbay Harbor to see friends and revel at the Fourth of July fireworks before heading northeast to Nova Scotia. We cleared in at Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and spent a few days in this colorful and charming place. Stopping in quiet anchorages on the way, we arrived in Halifax and docked on the main waterfront, where there are many historic sites, museums and sculptures. After that, we continued to Bras d'Or Lake, a place where we wished for more time to explore.

Enis, Sherri and Peter on Monhegan Island

Sherri and Peter in Monhegan

Peter fishing at Rogue's Roost

Enis and Peter on the waterfront in Halifax

We briefly left Canada to visit St. Pierre and Miquelon, a French territory consisting of an archipelago of eight islands. The culture is definitely French, and St. Pierre has great food and wonderful hiking trails.

Peter and Enis in a one-room museum about local dories in St. Pierre

Then we continued up the coast to Newfoundland. As is often the case, pods of dolphins accompanied us from time to time, frolicking around the bow wave, and we also encountered whales occasionally. St. John's was a wonderful place for walking and hiking as well as Bonavista, both places vying to claim the closest connection to the explorer John Cabot. We also sailed past Puffin Island, where tens of thousands of these iconic birds nest, feed, float on the water and cover the sky in dense flocks. We were astounded by our first sighting of icebergs off the coast of Belle Isle, Newfoundland, not realizing that they were baby-sized compared to the ones we would encounter in Greenland.

Puffin Island

Sherri observing a small iceberg

Atlantic white-sided dolphins off the bow

Minke whales

The first of August, we left Canada, sailing up the coast of Labrador and then across the Davis Strait among icebergs to Killatoq, Greenland, where we dropped anchor among the floating ice on August 5. Shalako rejoined us in Qaqortoq. With our movement and destinations along the south coast determined by the weather, we sailed among fjords and inland passages, stopping in remote places and at small towns with buildings painted in ubiquitous hues of red, blue, green and yellow, providing a bright contrast to the granite mountains. One night we anchored at the head of a fjord and hiked to a natural hot springs where we were surprised and delighted to see the northern lights for the first time. Other times, we hiked on spongy green terrain, enjoying waterfalls and rushing streams as well as an abundance of wildflowers and the diversity of species of plants and fungi; visited Viking ruins; and met local people, including two fishermen who joined us for dinner one evening. In Prince Christian Sound, we were amazed by the geology and the glaciers. Sailing along the southeast coast of Greenland revealed a much starker landscape with enormous icebergs and views of the icecap near the shore. 

Peter at the helm near Greenland

Shalako, Peter and Enis hiking near the ruins of Hvalsey Church⁩, ⁨Greenland⁩

Mantra anchored by ‎⁨Kujalleq⁩ Island among icebergs and northern lights

Dinner on board Mantra with two young local fishermen

Mantra going through a narrow strait

Two other sailboats rafted up with us in the small anchorage of Aappilattoq

Mantra and a short-term buddy boat XTrip at Qasigissat

Peter and Sherri viewing Sermêrúnerit Glacier

The southeast coast of Greenland

Four and a half days of sailing brought us to Reykjavik, Iceland, on August 31, where we docked for twelve days. Enis' wife Ula flew up from Florida to join us for a week. We enjoyed time in the lovely capital city and rented a car for three days to explore the southern coast with its geysers, numerous waterfalls, steep mountains rising behind the verdant coastal plains, hot springs, glaciers, the Mid-Atlantic Rift in Thingviller National Park, museums and historic sights. In the city, we went several times to a local swimming pool facility. These facilities in every village, town and city, are inexpensive and include several hot pools, a swimming pool, an icy water plunge pool and sauna. 

Peter, Enis, Shalako, Ula and Sherri in front of the Harpa concert hall

The five of us visiting at Öxarárfoss, Thingviller National Park

Diamond Beach, ‎⁨Vatnajökull National Park⁩

Enis, Sherri, Peter and Shalako in Höfn

More northern lights

On September 12, with Ula having returned to Florida, we set sail for Scotland, but the conditions only allowed us to go as far as Höfn, on the east coast of Iceland, where we again enjoyed the luxury of the public pools and were delighted with another spectacular evening of northern lights. On the 19th of the month, we sailed away from Iceland and made our way to Scotland, arriving on September 22 in Stornoway. The conditions were the most challenging we had ever faced, but Mantra proved to be a great blue water sailing vessel, and the crew (i.e., the three guys) were excellent seamen. (I fed them and kept things under control down below most of the time.)

Eider ducks, the last sighting of glaciers

Big seas on the Norwegian Sea west of the Faroes

Working on deck in stormy conditions

On the dock in Stornaway

We enjoyed a film festival, the quaint streets, the castle and museum, and the shops and restaurants in Stornaway. Shalako left us there, traveling by various means of transportation to get back to California. The three of us explored Lewis and Harris Islands by car one day and then started heading toward Glasgow, traversing the Kintyre Peninsula via the Crinan Canal. This is where Enis disembarked. For the first time in a long while, Peter and I handled Mantra by ourselves, returning to our usual sharing of duties. 

Sherri and Peter on Mantra in the Crinan Canal

We were forced to stop at Holy Loch west of Glasgow due to the first named winter storm, Amy, but this was fortuitous because it allowed us to spend three delightful evenings at the estate of our friends Catherine and John and a small group of their friends including Peter's brother and sister-in-law Rob and Susan. After the storm passed, we took Mantra of Glasgow up the Clyde to her home port, the first time she had been there in her 30 years of existence. Our son Matthew took the train up from London, where he lives now, to enjoy Glasgow with us. A couple days later, on October 8, I flew home. Matthew, then Rob and then Peter's other brother Mike helped to sail our second home to Gosport, England, where she is now docked and awaiting her upcoming adventures in 2026. (For even more photos and information about our adventures on Mantra, please check out our blog at https://thebrownsmantra.blogspot.com/.)

Catherine and Peter on a walk

Mantra of Glawgow entering Glasgow

Matthew, Sherri and Peter at the Islay Inn, a pub in Glasgow

While Peter and I were sailing, Katya was at home enjoying the true summer weather of the central valley of California, finishing her education in veterinary technology (vet nursing in other countries), passing her licensing test, and making plans to move to the northeastern United States. She and I will be flying there in early January to visit some of the small cities that interest her. Luckily, her career has many job opportunities.

Our second son Sam's brother-in-law Arnaud visited us for ten days in November. He and I, as well as Katya when she was not working, had a superb time visiting many places in northern California. 

Arnaud, Sherri and Katya at Lake Tahoe

Katya, Sherri and Arnaud at Calaveras Big Trees State Park

Matthew, Peter, Katya and I planned to reunite at Thanksgiving in West Virginia, but Matthew, who had been unemployed for a few months due to lack of funding, was rehired at the the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and could not join us. Most of the Rodgers family was in Charleston, and it was great to see everyone again after a year's separation (since we missed the annual beach vacation in July).

Most of the females in the family on girls' day out

We returned to Gold River on the last day of November and jumped right into cutting down a tree and decorating for Christmas. December was jam-packed with concerts, visits with friends, holiday light shows, parties, shopping and other activities. On the 19th, Peter's brother Mike, his wife Louise, their son Simon and his wife Lulu arrived to celebrate Christmas with us. Matthew came home on the 22nd, just in time for our annual Christmas party, a large gathering of over 60 people. With family around, we have visited historic and natural sites, attended concerts, taken walks, played games, and eaten too much food and sweets.

Visiting Filoli Holiday Lights with friends

Boxing Day with family: Nora, Claire, Tom, Fiona, Laura, Simon, Louise, Lulu, Mike, Peter, Katya, Matthew and Sherri

Peter, Sherri, Louise and Mike at Calaveras Big Trees

This annual letter has been written bit by bit over the last few weeks as time has allowed. It is has been such a blessed and busy year. We hope that you enjoyed the holiday season with family and friends and wish you a happy and peaceful new year.

With love,

Sherri and Peter