First Christmas

Our first Christmas on Bonaire began with a trip to the beach for Prosecco and orange rolls. We were the first ones to arrive at the the "Alice in Wonderland" dive site.  Slowly, diver groups showed up from Quebec, Canada, Holland and America. We all wished each other a Merry Christmas.  It was our dream to spend Christmas away from the snow and cold.  It was the first time in our lives that we celebrated the holiday on an island in the sunshine.

Orange rolls are a tradition for Christmas morning.  Bonaire does not have orange rolls so we improvised.  It seems that no one in the family was able to get orange rolls no matter where they lived.  There must be a container ship somewhere in the Pacific or Atlantic ocean full of Pillsbury orange rolls. We took cinnamon rolls and added orange zest and juice. Perfect creation to fulfill the tradition.

Although we were toasting our good fortune, we were also missing our family.  We spent several hours on phone calls and video calls from back home. We got to see grandson JB open our gift to him and grandson Donnie open his as well. We talked with each of the kids, sisters, brothers, and friends. Thank goodness for technology that allows us to connect with loved ones. We received greetings from many and were so happy to hear from everyone.

We finished the day with a Christmas dinner with new friends. Our group included a retired landman (actually a land woman),  retired geologist from Texas (who did environmental work like Rick), owner of the Bonaire Reporter newspaper (previously a newspaper owner from Oklahoma), and an owner of a scuba gear and tennis equipment sales company based out of St. Thomas and Indiana. We have lots of mutual experiences and even know some of the same people.  It really is a small world.

Merry Christmas from Bonaire.