Thursday, Augus 16, 2012

The storm began this morning around 6:00 A.M.  Lots of thunder and lightning and then the rain came.  So, today I spent most of the day sewing.  I finished a shirt for John.  I'm not certain that he will wear it because it is so loud.  I'm posting a picture of it.  The designs are all brightly colored guitars.  We are most likely going to stay here in Port Washington, Wisconsin again tomorrow because the weather / waves are not supposed to be in our comfort zone. 

When we were home, we found a boat we are going to buy for after "The Loop".  We have decided that we want to continue living on a boat, but a larger one.  So, yesterday, John put two "For Sale" signs on the boat and shortly after that, we had two different people stop to look at her.  We are hoping it won't be difficult to sell our 42' Jefferson.  She has served us well.  This trip is the trip of a lifetime for us and this boat has made the journey very comfortable. 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The rental car had to be returned today.  Boo hoo!  It started out a little warm today, but as the day went on, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped.  We are expected to have 20 to 30 mph winds and heavy rain tonight and tomorrow.We are staying put tomorrow because of the weather forecast.  So far, it looks like we will probably be staying put on Friday as well for the same reason.  We figure we are two days away from Chicago.  We are ready to go whenever the weather is favorable to do so.

 It's nice to have the cupboards and refrigerator full again. John and I both spent the day getting caught up on things we have been putting off.  None of them were huge jobs, just things that it takes more time to get the tools out than the actual job.  You know what I mean?  Until tomorrow.....

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Yesterday, Jim had to take a client out to dinner and Gina went out to dinner with her friend Theresa.  Clara and Lindy went with Gina as well.  So, instead of waiting until 8:00 P.M. to leave Cincinnati, we left at 6:30 P.M.  We did pretty well until we were half way and it started raining pretty hard.  Chicago at 11:00 P.M. in the rain was not fun at all.  We took the toll roads which seemed counterproductive because every so many miles, you had to stop to pay more tolls.  We got back to the boat at Port Washington Marina in Wisconsin at 1:00 A.M. this morning.  We unloaded the car and put some water in the tank right away so we could get showers.  We slept until 8:00, went out for breakfast and then headed to the grocery store.  We needed just about everything.  It's been awhile since we've had access to a car.  Everything is put away and it feels good to just sit quietly and blog. 

The high temperature today was 79 degrees.  Last night it was 57 degrees when we arrived at 1:00.  It's nice to have the windows open and air the boat out.  We had so much fun at home.  We will miss you all until we get back again.  Here are a few more pictures from Mills Springs Battlefield. 

Monday, August 13, 2012

Well, the camping weekend is over.  Boo hoo!  We had so much fun with our children and grandchildren.  Everyone had fun and went to bed worn out each night.  We went out on the boats and swam.  We had a campfire each night.  One night the kids made s'mores.  On Sunday, Jay and Cynthia and their children went out on their boat and Gina and Jim and their children went out on their boat.  Kate had gotten a little pink from the sun on her face, so they went with John and me to check out Somerset.  We went to Mills Springs Battlefields and saw a movie about the Civil Was at the Visitor Center.  Then we went out for lunch and walked around at an antique / flea  market.  The weekend went way too fast.  As a matter of fact, our time at home has gone entirely too fast.  We are planning on leaving here early this evening.  We want to drive at night in hopes of avoiding the awful traffic we saw on the way here.  I am posting some pictures from our time at home:

 Lindy and Clara (and Jim)

 Kate

 Jonathan

 Carolyn and Maria

 

Jonathan had worn himself out.  Jay is imitating Jonathan.

Gina and Jim's boat.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Since we have been at home, we have been running around like crazy.  We had dinner at John's parents' house on Sunday.  Joan and Jim (John's sister and brother) were also there.  It was really nice to see them all and the food was excellent.  My mother-in-law is the best cook.  Then I had dinner on Monday with my Mom and my two sisters.  We sat at the restaurant so long, I thought they would kick us out, but they didn't.  We had a lot of catching up to do.  My sister Jenny has the lower part of her right leg in a cast from surgery.  She has a scooter thing that she puts her knee on and she goes speeding.  It's really fun to watch her buzz around.  I would be crashing into everything, but not Jenny.  John and I had to get caught up on our doctor visits.

John has been eating lunch with his friends in Delhi most days, getting filled in on what has happened around town while we have been away.  John got a haircut at the barber shop.  The barber asked him who cut it the last time.  He told them that I did, and the barber said that explains a lot.  I thought I did a pretty good job, but I guess not. 

Tomorrow we are going camping at Lake Cumberland with all of our children and grandchildren for the weekend.  So, this will probably be my last post until Sunday night or possibly Monday. I will take lots of pictures to share with you.  Promise.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

There is a pattern forming here.  I am skipping days of posting, not because there is nothing going on, but because we are busy with our family and friends.  Friday night we went to the Lighthouse Point Yacht Club's "Barbecue Bash".  We had received an email with all of the particulars and decided to just show up unannounced and surprise everyone.  It worked.  We had a great time visiting with our A Dock friends.  There are several boats of people on A Dock that we knew from Catalina Harbor.  We had such a good time getting caught up with everybody.  The food was delicious and, of course, I ate too much.  It was so pleasant sitting out on the dock, not hot and not cold.  Thanks to all of you, it was really fun.

Saturday was spent in the company of our children and grandchildren.  That's what I'm talkin' about!  It was wonderful!  It was the first day we had seen two of the three families.  Watching the kids interact with one another is precious.  Getting our hugs and kisses are even better.  We watched the Red's bring home another victory (on TV) and then went back to our daughter and son-in-law's house.  We are planning on going camping with all of them next weekend at Lake Cumberland.  It should be fantastic. 

We'll see if I can be more disciplined and write the rest of the days without missing any on the rest of this trip.  I will post some pictures later too.  So far, I've just been enjoying everyone and not bothered with my camera.  That's bad of me.  I'll try to do better.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Sorry, yesterday I neglected to write.  We rented a car and drove home over 7.5 hours.  It was the most miserable drive so far.  Traffic was backed up bumper to bumper through Milwaukee and Chicago and all the way through Indianapolis.  We finally made it home at 6:30 P.M. yesterday.  We are glad to be home for a short while. 

Today we picked up our van.  We each visited with our parents.  We made dinner for Jim and the kids. ( Gina is in Washington, D.C.)  Now we are settled in to watch the Olympics.  Lindy takes gymnastics and thinks she can do all of the moves the athletes on TV can do.  Maybe someday, Lindy.