March 16th through April 1st, 2010

On Tuesday, March 16th, Norm and Sue brought their boat to Fort Myers Beach. They hooked up to a mooring ball, $13 a day plus you get the use of a dinghy dock and showers and restroom. None of us had ever used a mooring ball before. They tried several times to catch the loop with their hook, with no success. We came along in the dinghy and did it for them. Mike and Linda, and John and I visited on their boat for the afternoon and then went to Parrot Key for dinner. The dinghy ride back to our boat was 3 1/2 miles of cold and wet. We are really glad they came to send a few days with us.

St. Patrick's Day is a really big deal on the island. Norm and Sue came to our boat by dinghy and we partied all day, mostly at Castaways. They had continuous live bands all day. There was a parade in the morning, but it rained, so we didn't go to it. Some of you got phone calls while we were partying. "Nuff said!"

On Friday, March 19th, we picked Norm and Sue up at the dinghy dock and the 6 of us went to the dog track. Linda Luti is the luckiest person, as any of you who belong to the Rising Sun Boat Club already know. Norm was the only one who didn't win a single race. After the races, we grilled out steaks and then had to take Norm and Sue back to the dinghy dock before it got dark.
John had to take the van to a car place because we had a large screw in a tire. Fortunately, it didn't go flat.

John bid on another sewing machine just like the one I have (that's still in the shop). He got the bid and it was $240 less than the one that went to the wrong address.

Fish Tale Marina had a Grady Fest on Friday. The Coast Guard Auxiliary had a booth and inspected our boat for us. We bought a canvas cart and an anchor saver.

Then, on Saturday, March 20th, the Lutis left to go home. We had a lot of fun with them and will miss them until we are home in April. We left Fort Myers Beach on Saturday as well, and headed back to Paradise Marina.

Yesterday, Wednesday, March 31st, our first grandson was born. He was born at 2:40 P.M., weighed 7 pounds, and his name is Jonathan Steven Sagel. His name seemed to be the hardest part of this baby business. He wasn't named until today. Cynthia and the baby are coming home this afternoon already. Everyone is doing fine.

We are looking forward to seeing a lot of you while we are home in April.