Happy Anniversary

Today is our daughter Heather’s and SIL Ryan’s 7^th anniversary. This is a special one since it is the first with their daughter Victoria, who is 10 months old today.

This was a great reason to look back on that fun day.

Happy Anniversary!

I had the Coast Guard on speed dial

Sometimes when we are staying in one spot for a few months, it can be challenging to find something interesting to do. The other day, as I was pondering just what I was going to do with myself, fate intervened and offered me some unexpected entertainment.

I had talked to the folk’s just behind us and we discussed his newly purchased fold up boat that he planned to use for fishing. I have spent much of my life involved with ships and boats big and small, but I have never had any experience with a fold up boat. So when I noticed that he was going to launch it on its maiden voyage with the help of another neighbor, I could not help but rubber neck the event.

Rarely does a new adventure such as this go off without a hitch, and certainly this was no exception. The boat had to be moved from the camp site to the beach for launching. This involved placing it on a two wheel dolly not unlike that used for kayaks. The procession was moving smartly toward the beach until they came to the first speed bump. They took this at speed and promptly separated the dolly from the boat bending the dolly pins in the process.

In order to get things back on track, the pins had to be straightened for the dolly and the outboard removed from the boat. Next there was a lot of checking and pushing, but the boat was again underway toward the beach. Getting the boat into the water proved a bit more difficult than planned. I think they made a note to themselves not to launch again at dead low tide. At low tide, the water depth necessary to get the boat floating and be able to get the engine shaft lowered into the water was several hundred yards off shore. This meant getting wet.

Finally, they were afloat and had to use the oars to push them far enough off shore to use the engine. Now the thing about using oars as walking poles is that you have to hang onto them tightly or they will pull out of your hands and be left behind. If you are lucky, they will stick up out of the water and you can go back and get them-if you have any energy left.

Finally, they were far enough offshore to lower the engine and head off. There was a slight delay in departing while they got the engine started. I should mention that not only was this the maiden voyage for the fold up boat, but also for the engine.

After a number of false starts, the engine was running regularly and they enjoyed a nice trip with no more mishaps. Luckily, I did not have to call the Coast Guard

The best laid plans

Now that a great Thanksgiving is behind us, it is time to start thinking about the Christmas season. That involves lots of activities, but one of the first we decided to tackle was getting a special picture of our Granddaughter-Victoria. One of my main hobbies during our five years on the road has been photography and I think I have gained a bit of experience and gotten a good number of great photos of our journey. So taking some pictures of Victoria should be a snap.

Given the needs of assembling all the gear a small child needs to travel with these days and other interruptions, we did not hit the beach until later in the day than I would like for ideal pictures, not to mention the strong winds blowing off the water. The other major factor not considered was the fascination that Victoria was going to have with the beach, sand and water.

So with three people working on this project with at least two taking pictures for close to 45 minutes, we managed to take over 300 pictures! How many, you may wonder, met the planned need for a great Christmas picture of Victoria-noneL

We had a great time and certainly have some pictures that will be cherished through the years, but not the “one” we were looking for. At one point Victoria appeared to be a lemming returning to the sea. She just turned toward the water and started forward at full speed. With Grandma yelling, her mother intercepted her before she got wet, but clearly she has no natural fear of the water.

I have not given up and will get that picture before Christmas arrives-I hope!

Happy Thanksgiving

We hope you all are enjoying a great day with family and friends!

Back in Florida

We left Gulf Shores on Tuesday, feeling at least a bit better after the cold packs the doctor prescribed. We did finally get to walk the beach before leaving Gulf Shores, but did not get to the list of places we wanted to visit. So I guess we will have to go back.

The short drive to Navarre, FL was uneventful, except for when we pulled into a Love’s truck stop for fuel. After we entered the truck entrance we came to an abrupt stop with trucks lined up. The station did not put up any notices but half the fueling spots were closed for construction with heavy equipment scattered everywhere. Several employees were trying to keep some of the hostile truckers happy. The main problem appeared to be that the outgoing trucks could not get by the incoming traffic as the layout was one big loop mostly blocked by trucks and construction equipment. I had nowhere to go, so I just had to wait. Long story short it took almost an hour to get the 75 feet to the refueling location.

Our home for the next three months will be the Emerald Beach RV Park. This is a very nice place on the water and very near our daughter’s home. It is certainly one of our favorite campgrounds. This week has been spent catching up with our daughter’s family and especially getting reacquainted with our granddaughter Victoria, who at nine months, is a whole different person than we left six months ago.

Happily, she did not scream at the sight of us and quickly accepted us back into the fold of her “circle of trust”. We have already taken her for a doctor’s visit, which she did not care for, but apparently has not blamed us for the visit.

We will be adjusting to the lack of travel and considering the possibility of yet another of those transitions in lifestyle, as we enjoy our time here.