Tag Archives | Great Harbour

Hi again,  

Our run from Old Lock #1 to our rendezvous with SEA DREAM in Aqua Harbor  was uneventful, save for one small violation of Fred’s rule #3. **  In case you’ve forgotten, or didn’t know them, here are:

        Fred’s  ‘Rules for a good day of boating’      

                   #1  Nobody gets hurt.

                   #2  Don’t hit other boats.

                   #3  Always reach a safe harbor before dark.  **

                   #4  No matter what happens, DON’T yell at the crew!

                            (#4 is, of course, my personal favorite!)

We hit a lock delay—inevitable in river cruising, and were mildly frustrated by the lockmaster, who had a penchant for chatting.   We wanted to just get moving, as the sun was down and twilight fading fast.  Fade it did, and we had 5 dark miles to go to our anchorage.   Attempted to slide into an inlet at 3 miles and ran hard aground.  Water went from 15’ to 0 in a heartbeat!  Fred was able to back us off (a week later the boat  was hauled to tighten the propeller nuts that probably got jarred loose) and we gingerly, but safely, entered and anchored in Sumter Landing. We hate when that happens, and it’s a case of ‘the best laid plans’……..(Actually, we’ve been there before, and the light is always on at the Lodge, so it wasn’t a really big deal, but it was a  ‘happen’…)

Mike and Linda met us at Aqua Harbor, and we spent a couple of days there before heading north.

 I wasn’t much company, as I spent most of the days tucked away in a conference room working on the exam for a celestial navigation course.  (Completed it and sent it off for grading on July 29th.)

Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers, KY again gets kudos!  This was our launching spot for the run up the MS.  There was plenty to do  during the week we spent there—the marina has a spa and yacht club dining room, and of course we had to shop, provision, and get the boat and the crew is shape for traveling, bur mostly we were waiting for the River to drop and slow! 


Getting ready to travel meant getting Fred’s back squared away.  We found the Orthopedic Specialists of Western Kentucky in Paducah, and can’t say enough good things about them.  The first floor of their huge building is devoted to Urgent Care (Ortho only, please) and Physical Therapy.  Looks like about an acre of machines, with a steady flow of folks moving through their paces under the watchful eyes of lots of Therapists. 


 Fred was seen (as soon as he completed theinevitable  ream of paper work) by, among others, Ben, a very pleasant and competent Orthopedic Physician’s Assistant.  In the blink of an eye, X-Rays of Fred’s thoracic spine were read, and within an hour we were at a local hospital for an MRI.  Ben phoned us (we weren’t even back to the Marina yet—can you believe it?)  to say that there is a fracture in T-10!  Fred’s been walking around—slowly and with great pain—with a fractured vertabra!  Put more simply, he has a broken back. A brace was ordered over the weekend, and on Monday morning we were back to  pick it up.  

What a difference it has made!  Within a day there was a noticeable improvement in the level of pain, and by Friday he could lie down and get up again without so much as a wince!  Add in the PT exercises he was given and you have one super therapeutic operation!  The cause of the fracture is said to be compression from Fred’s developing a ‘kyphotic’ (think question mark shaped back) curve–probably from the gazillion hours he spends hunched over his computer or the wheel of the boat.  Make that he used to hunch.  Now he leans in from the hip.  We will continue to follow up to be assured that all is well.


Rave reviews for Ortho Specialists.  Another of the worker-bees, Tripp, kindly printed out directions to the hospital, and thence to the Pharmacy, and as a bonus gave us a flier inviting us to the Fall Celebration in late September in Paducah!


So we are good to go!


The Mississippi flooding has continued well past spring this year, and the River is barely back in its banks in many places.  River levels came down a foot a day (confirmed by Joe and Punk aboard CAROLYN ANN just above St. Louis) and by Thursday, July 31 we were as ready as we were likely to get, and tossed the lines.     Had an oops as we were underway—-I left my iPad in the Courtesy car the marina provides (and a fine Dodge van it is!!!)

Harbormaster Bill and his faithful pup “Pistol”

Bless his heart, HarborMaster Bill drove the iPad to Paducah (1/2 hour by car) and bless HIS heart, Mike took me for a dinghy ride to the boat ramp to retrieve it!  Good people going above and beyond!

A brief reminder about the Upper Mississippi.  Green Turtle Bay is on  The Cumberland  River, and we cruised down to the Ohio, and thence to where the Tennessee River empties into the Ohio, where we anchored to meet Bill in Paducah. Next morning we headed down the O-HI-O, through Lock #52 and over Lock #53.    Last year’s blog talks about these outdated locks and the expensive, stalled construction of the ‘new improved’ Olmstead lock on the Ohio.  Nothing much has changed…

We are told that cement blocks are going in to form the dam.

At Cairo, IL the Mississippi divides into the ‘Upper’—-875 miles north to Minneapolis—and the ‘Lower’—-950 miles south to New Orleans.  We very carefully turned to the right to enter the 200 miles of open water (no locks or dams) that stretches to St. Louis.  

Most people going to Minneapolis by boat enter the River above St. Louis, from the Illinois River.  CAROLYN ANN is there, having come from the Carolinas and through the Great Lakes to the Illinois River.   We didn’t have that option unless we went all the way around Florida and up the East Coast, so it’s back to the ‘Goofy 200’, as we have fondly named it.

We made the turn carefully as the current in the Ohio was pushing us to 10.5 miles an hour!  90 degrees to the right later, we’d slowed to 3.8 miles an hour and that has been the story of this trip.

On Friday, the 1st of August, we travelled from 6 a.m. to 6:15 p.m., anchored at mile 29.2 (almost 30 River miles from Cairo—-probably 8 miles due west of Cairo).  The River doubles back on itself (oxbows) and did its very best to keep us from making headway.   

Little green frog attempted to stowaway.  He went swimming instead.

Saturday we again were off by 6 a.m.  Around 3 in the afternoon we started looking at possible anchorages suggested by the guide books and Active Captain.  Too much current here, too little room to swing there, and it took until 6:10 to find a spot where Mike and Linda could safely put down their anchor (mile 77.5—the Cottonwood Bar), and we rafted to their port side.  We were out of the channel where the big guys—-towboats pushing anywhere from 6-36 barges—-travel and all was well.

The looooooong lock wall at theKaskaskia River.

The next day, we actually got up to 6.5 mph for 2.5 minutes!  Averaged 4 miles/hour from 6 a.m. to 2:35 p.m.,  when we tied up to the newly re-done long lock wall on the Kaskaskia River, Mile 117.5.  Fred and I have been there 3 times before, and it has been different each time we stop. When the sun gets lower and it cools a bit (87 degrees out there now) we can go for a walk before we sleep. 

Monday morning the fog rolled in, and it was 8 a.m. before we left the Lock wall.  The current is slowing a bit, and we’re actually averaging  about 5+ miles per hour.  If I seem to go on and on about the boat speed, it is because, well, 4 miles an hour is really, really slow! 

The ‘goofy 200’ is just goofy, that is all there is to be said.  As we near St. Louis the industry picks up—both sides of the River have quarries, staging areas for the many barges that we see hauling ‘stuff’, shipyards, scrap yards, construction companies, power plants etc.etc.etc.  Fred has his binoculars at the ready and is loving watching the machines!  And it is good to see the output of product in America, vs the output of intangibles in our service economy.  

Enough.  On to the post, the photos, and the rest of the day.  Hope yours has been delightful. 

Be well, and do remember to breathe!

Hi again,  

Our run from Old Lock #1 to our rendezvous with SEA DREAM in Aqua Harbor  was uneventful, save for one small violation of Fred’s rule #3. **  In case you’ve forgotten, or didn’t know them, here are:

        Fred’s  ‘Rules for a good day of boating’      

                   #1  Nobody gets hurt.

                   #2  Don’t hit other boats.

                   #3  Always reach a safe harbor before dark.  **

                   #4  No matter what happens, DON’T yell at the crew!

                            (#4 is, of course, my personal favorite!)

We hit a lock delay—inevitable in river cruising, and were mildly frustrated by the lockmaster, who had a penchant for chatting.   We wanted to just get moving, as the sun was down and twilight fading fast.  Fade it did, and we had 5 dark miles to go to our anchorage.   Attempted to slide into an inlet at 3 miles and ran hard aground.  Water went from 15’ to 0 in a heartbeat!  Fred was able to back us off (a week later the boat  was hauled to tighten the propeller nuts that probably got jarred loose) and we gingerly, but safely, entered and anchored in Sumter Landing. We hate when that happens, and it’s a case of ‘the best laid plans’……..(Actually, we’ve been there before, and the light is always on at the Lodge, so it wasn’t a really big deal, but it was a  ‘happen’…)

Mike and Linda met us at Aqua Harbor, and we spent a couple of days there before heading north.

 I wasn’t much company, as I spent most of the days tucked away in a conference room working on the exam for a celestial navigation course.  (Completed it and sent it off for grading on July 29th.)

Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers, KY again gets kudos!  This was our launching spot for the run up the MS.  There was plenty to do  during the week we spent there—the marina has a spa and yacht club dining room, and of course we had to shop, provision, and get the boat and the crew is shape for traveling, bur mostly we were waiting for the River to drop and slow! 


Getting ready to travel meant getting Fred’s back squared away.  We found the Orthopedic Institute of Western Kentucky in Paducah, and can’t say enough good things about them.  The first floor of their huge building is devoted to Urgent Care (Ortho only, please) and Physical Therapy.  Looks like about an acre of machines, with a steady flow of folks moving through their paces under the watchful eyes of lots of Therapists. 


 Fred was seen (as soon as he completed the inevitable  ream of paper work) by, among others, Ben, a very pleasant and competent Orthopedic Physician’s Assistant.  In the blink of an eye, X-Rays of Fred’s thoracic spine were read, and within an hour we were at a local hospital for an MRI.  Ben phoned us (we weren’t even back to the Marina yet—can you believe it?)  to say that there is a fracture in T-11!  Fred’s been walking around—slowly and with great pain—with a fractured vertabra!  Put more simply, he has a broken back. A brace was ordered over the weekend, and on Monday morning we were back to  pick it up.  

What a difference it has made!  Within a day there was a noticeable improvement in the level of pain, and by Friday he could lie down and get up again without so much as a wince!  Add in the PT exercises he was given and you have one super therapeutic operation!  The cause of the fracture is said to be compression from Fred’s developing a ‘kyphotic’ (think question mark shaped back) curve–probably from the gazillion hours he spends hunched over his computer or the wheel of the boat.  Make that he used to hunch.  Now he leans in from the hip.  We will continue to follow up to be assured that all is well.


Rave reviews for the Ortho Institute.  Another of the worker-bees, Tripp, kindly printed out directions to the hospital, and thence to the Pharmacy, and as a bonus gave us a flier inviting us to the Fall Celebration in late September in Paducah!


So we are good to go!


The Mississippi flooding has continued well past spring this year, and the River is barely back in its banks in many places.  River levels came down a foot a day (confirmed by Joe and Punk aboard CAROLYN ANN just above St. Louis) and by Thursday, July 31 we were as ready as we were likely to get, and tossed the lines.     Had an oops as we were underway—-I left my iPad in the Courtesy car the marina provides (and a fine Dodge van it is!!!)

Harbormaster Bill and his faithful pup “Pistol”

Bless his heart, HarborMaster Bill drove the iPad to Paducah (1/2 hour by car) and bless HIS heart, Mike took me for a dinghy ride to the boat ramp to retrieve it!  Good people going above and beyond!

A brief reminder about the Upper Mississippi.  Green Turtle Bay is on  The Cumberland  River, and we cruised down to the Ohio, and thence to where the Tennessee River empties into the Ohio, where we anchored to meet Bill in Paducah. Next morning we headed down the O-HI-O, through Lock #52 and over Lock #53.    Last year’s blog talks about these outdated locks and the expensive, stalled construction of the ‘new improved’ Olmstead lock on the Ohio.  Nothing much has changed…

We are told that cement blocks are going in to form the dam.

At Cairo, IL the Mississippi divides into the ‘Upper’—-875 miles north to Minneapolis—and the ‘Lower’—-950 miles south to New Orleans.  We very carefully turned to the right to enter the 200 miles of open water (no locks or dams) that stretches to St. Louis.  

Most people going to Minneapolis by boat enter the River above St. Louis, from the Illinois River.  CAROLYN ANN is there, having come from the Carolinas and through the Great Lakes to the Illinois River.   We didn’t have that option unless we went all the way around Florida and up the East Coast, so it’s back to the ‘Goofy 200’, as we have fondly named it.

We made the turn carefully as the current in the Ohio was pushing us to 10.5 miles an hour!  90 degrees to the right later, we’d slowed to 3.8 miles an hour and that has been the story of this trip.

On Friday, the 1st of August, we travelled from 6 a.m. to 6:15 p.m., anchored at mile 29.2 (almost 30 River miles from Cairo—-probably 8 miles due west of Cairo).  The River doubles back on itself (oxbows) and did its very best to keep us from making headway.   

Little green frog attempted to stowaway.  He went swimming instead.

Saturday we again were off by 6 a.m.  Around 3 in the afternoon we started looking at possible anchorages suggested by the guide books and Active Captain.  Too much current here, too little room to swing there, and it took until 6:10 to find a spot where Mike and Linda could safely put down their anchor (mile 77.5—the Cottonwood Bar), and we rafted to their port side.  We were out of the channel where the big guys—-towboats pushing anywhere from 6-36 barges—-travel and all was well.

The looooooong lock wall at theKaskaskia River.

The next day, we actually got up to 6.5 mph for 2.5 minutes!  Averaged 4 miles/hour from 6 a.m. to 2:35 p.m.,  when we tied up to the newly re-done long lock wall on the Kaskaskia River, Mile 117.5.  Fred and I have been there 3 times before, and it has been different each time we stop. When the sun gets lower and it cools a bit (87 degrees out there now) we can go for a walk before we sleep. 

Monday morning the fog rolled in, and it was 8 a.m. before we left the Lock wall.  The current is slowing a bit, and we’re actually averaging  about 5+ miles per hour.  If I seem to go on and on about the boat speed, it is because, well, 4 miles an hour is really, really slow! 

The ‘goofy 200’ is just goofy, that is all there is to be said.  As we near St. Louis the industry picks up—both sides of the River have quarries, staging areas for the many barges that we see hauling ‘stuff’, shipyards, scrap yards, construction companies, power plants etc.etc.etc.  Fred has his binoculars at the ready and is loving watching the machines!  And it is good to see the output of product in America, vs the output of intangibles in our service economy.  

Enough.  On to the post, the photos, and the rest of the day.  Hope yours has been delightful. 

Be well, and do remember to breathe!

Truth in blogging message:  This was written way back when and oops never posted.  How could that happen?  No internet?  Photos wouldn’t download?  Who knows….Here ’tis, and on the the MS adventure!

Greetings on a sunny (at last) summer day!  Fred and  I have tossed the lines after a 2 month stay at Turner Marine on the Dog River in Mobile, Alabama.

Sunset at Turner Marine

First, a good word for the Marina!  Fred returned to the boat pretty frazzled after a 3 flight, broken airplane, 2 hour delay, rental car at 9 pm and only Airplane—-no, make that Airport food (no food on planes anymore, is there?) sort of day.  Next morning, as he finished soaking the kinks away in a hot shower, a yard worker came to check on the boat. The worker, unaware  that Fred had returned, noticed water coming out the side and came to check on the bilge pumps!  Happily, the water was coming from the shower and all was well.  That is the sort of attention you want your boat to have when you are away!  Sing HO for Turner’s!

While away from the boat, we did all the things we’e planned—Bronson (fun Submarine reunion), Baltimore (GHTA meeting–the annual get together of the folks who own, used to own, or wish they owned boats built by Mirage Manufacturing—Great Harbor Trawlers, like ours), USPS on the water training, and a whole bunch of family events! 

The GHTA turnout was good—about 40 friendly folks.   In the afternoon, Fred and I did our ‘Up the Upper’ dog and pony show, and Joe followed it by taking us all ‘Down the Lower’—-Mississippi River, that is.  Technology allowed Andy Allen to attend while remaining in Florida, so we are all updated on the GHTA Webpage.  Check it out—-ghtacruising.com More than you’d ever want to know about Great Harbour boats.

We added a day in Baltimore to spend time with the French Family.  Chris, (daughter) Jen, Casey and Rebecca drove in from their home in Burke, VA for the day.  Went to the Aquarium, and then did a Submarine tour with Fred providing the ‘inside scoop’. What a good time was had by all! 

With the French family on the submarine TORSK in Baltimore

On the way to New York, we paused once more in Baltimore for breakfast with my good friend and  ‘exercise buddy’ in Newburgh, many, many moons ago.  Lynn and her husband Jeff introduced us to one of the (self proclaimed) Best Breakfast Restaurants in the USA!

Our first stop in Newburgh was actually in Chester, NY where daughter Ada was putting the finishing touches on Salon Lucere, the fulfillment of her entrepreneurial dream!  She was the general contractor for the entire project (remodeling a 2 story brick building inside and out) and has a book full of stories of the trials and tribulations that go along with such a venture!  

Salon Lucere (before officially open, but doing lots of business) was voted into the Top 5 in the Hudson Valley  when the Times-Herald Record asked readers to choose their favorites!  Talk about loyal clientele!  And Ada and her crew (including granddaughter Devyn) are stellar!  They deserve all the good that is out there! 

Joe and Punk came up the Hudson, (en route to St. Louis, the long way!) and docked CAROLYN ANN at the Newburgh Waterfront.  Had lunch at our old stand-by, the River Grill, where Fred and I had our first date, and our wedding.

While in New York, we spent two Saturdays with the Westchester Power Squadron participating in Practical On the Water Training classes.  20 students went out on the Hudson River and Long Island Sound and honed their skills; learning from Fred and the other instructors.  On the water is THE way to learn boat handling, and post event email from students attested to the value they received.  Great job, John Steger and others for putting it all together!

Fred couldn’t stand having the boat in a Gulf Coastal County during the hurricane season (although our new insurance policy says they would pay—after doubling the deductible for Named Storm Damage) so he left on a jet plane while I remained to celebrate High School Graduations and spring concerts at a variety of schools! 

Having 11 grandchildren can present logistical challenges, but band, orchestra, and dance recitals on both sides of the Hudson were fun for me to attend!   I even got to sit in  with proud mom, daughter Molly, at graduation ceremonies for JT in Newburgh and the next day, with son Alan, Holly and daughter Linda Lee (the proud Aunt)  for Paul in Arlington!    On Sunday the parties were great, celebrating both boys’ accomplishment, as well as Laurel’s confirmation (which, sadly, we missed).  

Happy Graduation, JT

Laurel is confirmed, Paul graduated, and Hazel is smiling!

I flew to Mobile on Tuesday, we did all the important pre-trip stuff, and finally we are boaters again!  Headed north out of Mobile, and up the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to, well, maybe eventually  to Minneapolis!  

This morning, a bass boat with shad fishermen Shawn and Johnathon came into the basin at Old Lock #1 where we were anchored.  Bless their hearts, they happily posed for us so we could have a comparison photo of the Old Lock!  When we came through in 2009, (trip #1 as we did the Great Loop), the water was 16 feet higher!  Our four  Looper boats tied up to that wall—-waaaay up there—-and celebrated our return to sea level.  This year we anchored in 7.2 feet of water.   Who knew that there would be such fluctuations in the River Levels.

We’ve learned a lot, and had a whole lot of fun—-which continues, as we prepare to meet up with SEA DREAM and CAROLYN ANN and, if the river cooperates, do some Mississippi River Cruising before the summer flits away. 

How lucky can you get???

See you next time….be well, and do remember to breathe!

Greetings from the
Cruisers!  At least for the moment, we
are aboard YOUNG AMERICA and heading north!

To catch up:  We went to NY in April for two weeks.  Did our taxes and hung out with children and
grandchildren, visited the Power Squadron and the UU and took no pictures.  Wonder what’s up with that???

Drove back to St. Pete so we
could get the boat hauled out of the water on April 21.  Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance, and
some repair, as well.

  Some items we knew
about, and some were discovered as the work progressed.  Fred will be happy to share details.  Embree Marine (we can’t say enough good
things about them) worked really steadily and by May 2 the last task, polishing
the hull, was done.  Too bad the snazzy
blue props don’t show when the boat goes back in the water. 

We lived in the Hampton Inn
for those 10 days.  Not so bad—it is in
our same neighborhood, and they host a happy hour from 5-7
Monday-Thursday.  Barb and Randy Semper
(LAZY DOLPHIN) were in town on their way home to VA, and we spent a couple of
evenings together. 

Monday we crossed the Gulf of
Mexico.  For once we had a beautiful moon to light the way.  We arrived in Panama City, FL on Tuesday afternoon ready for a nap so we could be up and at ‘em early enough on Wednesday to go 101 miles to Pensacola Beach.  Rewards?  We were able to easily travese the mudslide in the GICW—the dredge Kelly G was on the clean up job.

Two Fun Things.

Thing One:  New owners for  47’  Great Harbour QUIET COMPANY (formerly JOHN HENRY).  Norm and Vivian Miller are moving the boat to their home in Indiana. With Ken  Fickett, owner of the company that
builds the boats, (Mirage Manufacturing), on board, they crossed the Gulf a day
ahead of us, and the boat is now pausing on the Dog River, preparing for the run up the Ohio  ‘Twas a pleasant surprise.
  

Thing two: My nursing buddy Maureen, who lives in Albuquerque,
NM,  was vacationing on Dauphine Island,
45 minutes down the Dauphine Island Parkway from the marina.  Great timing!  We were happy to
be able to have dinner with her and her friend, also a Linda.

As I write now (on Friday evening) we are again off the boat,.  We
are driving to St. Pete in a rental car to pick up the lonely auto we left at the Municipal
Marina.  Once the vehicles are sorted
out, we’ll drive to Branson, MO for a Cutlass Submarine reunion.  From there to Baltimore for a Great Harbour
get together, some quality time with the French family and on to Newburgh.  Fred’s going to help with some ‘on the water’
training for the Power Squadron, I hope to finish my navigation class, and two
grandsons, Paul and JT are graduating from high school!

So guess what?  A bit of a break in the blog!  Something different.  As I’ve said before, the blog covers our
boating life, and our ‘land-lubber life’ seems to squeak in fairly frequently.

We expect to return to Mobile
in June to hop aboard das boot, and once again head up the waterways to meet
friends for a re-do of “Up the Upper”, quite likely finding ourselves in the Twin
Cities late this summer.  Stay tuned!

Onward and upward.  Be well, remember to breathe, and count each
and every one of those blessings!  And a
happy Mom’s day, too!

Greetings from the
Cruisers!  At least for the moment, we
are aboard YOUNG AMERICA and heading north!

To catch up:  We went to NY in April for two weeks.  Did our taxes and hung out with children and
grandchildren, visited the Power Squadron and the UU and took no pictures.  Wonder what’s up with that???

Drove back to St. Pete so we
could get the boat hauled out of the water on April 21.  Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance, and
some repair, as well.

  Some items we knew
about, and some were discovered as the work progressed.  Fred will be happy to share details.  Embree Marine (we can’t say enough good
things about them) worked really steadily and by May 2 the last task, polishing
the hull, was done.  Too bad the snazzy
blue props don’t show when the boat goes back in the water. 

We lived in the Hampton Inn
for those 10 days.  Not so bad—it is in
our same neighborhood, and they host a happy hour from 5-7
Monday-Thursday.  Barb and Randy Semper
(LAZY DOLPHIN) were in town on their way home to VA, and we spent a couple of
evenings together. 

Monday we crossed the Gulf of
Mexico.  For once we had a beautiful moon to light the way.  We arrived in Panama City, FL on Tuesday afternoon ready for a nap so we could be up and at ‘em early enough on Wednesday to go 101 miles to Pensacola Beach.  Rewards?  We were able to easily travese the mudslide in the GICW—the dredge Kelly G was on the clean up job.

Two Fun Things.

Thing One:  New owners for  47’  Great Harbour QUIET COMPANY (formerly JOHN HENRY).  Norm and Vivian Miller are moving the boat to their home in Indiana. With Ken  Fickett, owner of the company that
builds the boats, (Mirage Manufacturing), on board, they crossed the Gulf a day
ahead of us, and the boat is now pausing on the Dog River, preparing for the run up the Ohio  ‘Twas a pleasant surprise.
  

Thing two: My nursing buddy Maureen, who lives in Albuquerque,
NM,  was vacationing on Dauphine Island,
45 minutes down the Dauphine Island Parkway from the marina.  Great timing!  We were happy to
be able to have dinner with her and her friend, also a Linda.

As I write now (on Friday evening) we are again off the boat,.  We
are driving to St. Pete in a rental car to pick up the lonely auto we left at the Municipal
Marina.  Once the vehicles are sorted
out, we’ll drive to Branson, MO for a Cutlass Submarine reunion.  From there to Baltimore for a Great Harbour
get together, some quality time with the French family and on to Newburgh.  Fred’s going to help with some ‘on the water’
training for the Power Squadron, I hope to finish my navigation class, and two
grandsons, Paul and JT are graduating from high school!

So guess what?  A bit of a break in the blog!  Something different.  As I’ve said before, the blog covers our
boating life, and our ‘land-lubber life’ seems to squeak in fairly frequently.

We expect to return to Mobile
in June to hop aboard das boot, and once again head up the waterways to meet
friends for a re-do of “Up the Upper”, quite likely finding ourselves in the Twin
Cities late this summer.  Stay tuned!

Onward and upward.  Be well, remember to breathe, and count each
and every one of those blessings!  And a
happy Mom’s day, too!