Getting Ready for Another Summer

Four days and counting 'til Sophie and I begin the trek north to Sonador.  Sure have a lot more things to do around here to leave than I did up north -- #1, prepare house for possible summer storms/hurricanes by bringing in all the lanai furniture, etc.

Am excited and looking forward to a summer of great fun and adventure.

New Year, New Home!

So, here I am in Sarasota -- that's not me, but the picture was taken during the Siesta Key Sand sculpture Contest earlier in November. A far cry from the ole sandcastles we used to make with our buckets and plastic shovels.

I am in my new home, mostly settled -- at least most of the boxes have been opened and the contents settled someplace in the house. And, I am actually a registered Floridian -- license, plates and my first property taxes paid. The sunshine is spectacular, even when it's brisk like this morning (low 30's).

Am looking forward to catching up with several of my sailing friends who winter in this part of the world, having friends and family visit from up north, spending time getting to know the community, and generally settling into this live of retirement.

More pictures of my environment now that boxes wouldn't be the primary feature.

Sophie loves it -- we are less than a mile from a dog park, there are well lit main roads to walk on later in the evening, and there are rabbits, birds and sand hill cranes, an occasional skunk, and one alligator to keep us on our toes!

It's Not a Straight Line to Florida

So, here it is Columbus Day and I'm on Fenwick Island, Delaware with friends Gail and Jack. They have a beautiful home set between the ocean and the bay, facing west so we could celebrate the sunset last evening with drinks on their deck overlooking the bay grasses, blue heron, and quiet waters. How nice.

I'll leave tomorrow -- really truely -- to start the drive to Sarasota. Hope to get to Savannah the first night which would leave about 7 hours drive the next day to Susan's home. Then Sophie and I will stay put until my house is ready (hopefully around the end of November or the first of December.)

THANK YOU Susan!!

Have had a great time visiting with friends and family as planned. Spent a very nice evening just outside of Cleveland with Mel and Sue from Class Act; drove the next day to Philly to stay with Jacki and Susan, before I left visited their new home which is downtown near the Italian Market (I would end up a hundred pounds heavier from all the fresh pasta and pastry!). Arrived at Gail and Jack's place in Mt. Vernon later that day, and began a whirlwind of appointments and meetings, including lunch with Dick and Diana in Old Town Alexandria, a Chesapeake Bay Foundation function in Annapolis, lunch with Joann and Chuck from Blue Horizon at the Annapolis Sailboat Show (which was MUCH smaller than past years), and dinner with Janet and Kay Francis in Ballston. Next morning stopped at Grier and Mike's in Annapolis for a fabulous breakfast, then drove on to Cathy's place in Cambridge where we motored out into the Choptank River on her friend Michael's Hooper Island hand crafted bayboat for a light lunch and dinner later that evening at Michael's. Then here to Fenwick Island yesterday.

The weather has been spectacular since last Wednesday -- warm sunny days and cool nights. But visiting with new and old friends has really made this trip special.

About eight hundred more miles, and I will find myself in Florida for the winter. Sophie has been a champ on the trip -- I guess she figures the car is our new home with occassional stops along the way to visit people. Just wait til we get to Florida!

Into the final week!

If my social life would just lighten up, I'd be further along in the chores of cleaning and clearing the boat of clutter. But, after a night out in Boyne City on Thursday, we were Barnie's guests at the Walloon Lake Golf Club for dinner last night -- the guests were delightful, the food scrumptuous, and the drinks, oh well. Today I've managed to make a few more dents in the amount of clutter on Sonador -- and tomorrow I'm dedicated to the same. Then, beginning on Monday I'm meeting friends for lunch or dinner or both every day next week.

I plan to leave here on Friday, run over to Barnie's for dinner and overnight, then take off -- stopping in Cleveland with friends Mel and Sue from Class Act, then to Philly to see Jackie and Suki (excuse me, Susan) on Sunday, then into D.C. on Monday. Iwill plan to stay with Jack and Gail in Mt. Vernon for the week. In addition to a few Dr. appointments (just check ups) I plan to meet friends from Blue Horizon at the Annapolis Boat Show on Friday, hope to see Mike and Grier on Friday night, and then who knows.

Dry wall is up -- I even have pictures -- so the new house is beginning to take shape. I'll have to pick lighting fixtures/fans and kitchen granite when I get down to Sarasota. And, then I have to change all my life-long registrations -- residence, voting, car, maybe boat, dog license, and who knows what else. Gads this will seem strange at first, but all very exciting.

In the interim, it's cool up here -- the colors are coming on -- and it's time for moving on. UNTIL NEXT YEAR.

Land Travels

Having made the trip around under the Mackinac Bridge -- and endured the waves of Lake Michigan -- we are securely tied to the dock at Irish Boat in Charlevoix. It's turned cool -- or cold depending on your reference point (below 40 at night) -- so nothing will do but Susan, Sophie and I are taking land tours.

Thursday and Friday we drove up to see the Sault Ste Marie Locks in action -- and actually saw an American flagged ship (Honorable Oberstar) pass thru the locks upbound (that means heading into Lake Superior). But, it was too cold with strong winds funnelling down thru the narrows to stay outside and watch for long. Later in the afternoon, we visited the Valley Camp (a retired ship that has been turned into a fascinating maritime museum) then had a fish dinner with Susan's sister and brother-in-law who have a cottage on one of the near by US islands. Next morning we drove to Whitefish Bay and the lighthouse at the Point -- the graveyard of so many vessels including at some distance the Edmund Fitzgerald. According to the museum at Whitefish Point, many of the tragedies occurred when ships upbound and downbound rammed one another. Less of that now of course, but it does make you wonder about travelling in the narrow waters leaving the Sault in rough waves and fog!

Yesterday, we went over to visit with Susan's childhood friend, Barney, who lives on Lake Walloon. Watched football and grilled out in the bright sunshine of a really delightful day.

Next few days will be spend visiting with my sailing friends who are in the area, then next week I will begin the fun chore of packing up for the winter. Sad to see the end of the summer, but looking forward to seeing friends in the DC area before I head on down to Sarasota and wait for the new home to be completed.

When Boating Ends Boaters Gather to Eat and Dream

The "gang" of GLCC boaters that I frequently hang out with at Hilton Beach on St. Joseph Island on the way to Sault Ste. Marie. We drove up from Cheboygan to meet Ann and Jarma for lunch and then to go to their "sugar" farm for the afternoon. Even had to smuggle some home made maple syrup back into the US on our return.

Jarma and I contemplate just how much we can eat and drink and still move around during the afternoon.

Later, we explore the possibilities of finding adventure in Ann and Jarma's woods and ms Sophie relaxes with the gang before we drive back to the USofA.

Back in Cheboygan

Arrived back in Cheboygan on Tuesday mid-day after a fun three days in northern Lake Huron. We anchored with friends in the False Harbor at Harbor Island (what that really means is that there is another inner harbor where most boats go) and visited with friends Jo and Ron on Annwfyn. Then, we headed over to Mackinac Island (neither James nor Ellen had ever been there) with a smooth and uneventful crossing of the lake. Two days of touring, buying fudge, and watching the horses pull everything from people to a very large refrigerator, and visiting with Bob and Marion on Jetstream at the Yacht Club. Then, a quick exit back to Duncan Bay.

I'm here at least until the 10th and will then look for a weather window during which Susan and I can make the run under the bridge to Charlevoix. You wouldn't think it was such a big deal, but winds building in Lake Michigan can create "excitement" for the passage from the bridge to Grey's Reef, and then down the coast to Charlevoix and there is no place to hide.

Thought I'd post a few last memories of the North Channel.

First, James and Sophie lead the way across Turnbull Island to look out on the Whalesback, next Sophie and I contemplate but never act on the thought of a deep wade, and finally. Sophie and her new buddy Cruiser the Dog at play on the deck -- Yes, that is play!