08/04/2026
📍🇦🇽 Mariehamn, Åland Islands. Åland is an autonomous region of Finland, that speaks Swedish. This was our second to last(ish) stop, and we stayed at another adorable marina that was a 15 minute walk or so to a lovely little town filled with cafes, shops, and a tourist center where I could buy my post cards. Åland was adorably dog friendly, as most places were, but here the shop owners often have dogs waiting in line at the counter for their treats.
Sandy, the best girl, found herself a deflated soccer ball and lit up like a Christmas tree. Flo muttered “we might have a problem now” and tried to hide it in a small sail boat while we went to have lunch. Almost an hour later, sweet Sandy launched her top secret mission, army crawled out of the restaurant, and took off to relocate her prize. She bounded back with the floppy ball a few minutes later earning the affection of the entire dock. It did not leave her sight again. She smuggled it onto Skipper Zipper and proceeded to cuddle with it all night long.
I’m sure Åland had more to offer, like perfect dinners with our friends, essential route planning, and nightly “slot machines” (slaapmutsjes) but Sandy’s soccer ball was frankly the most important thing that happened there.
I couldn’t even get a good picture of her whirling around snd shaking the thing, but they’re some of my favorites I’ve ever taken. She looks like a little blurry muppet and I love her.
