Dear Friends,
It has been a while since we posted on this blog, so open an adult beverage, sit down and get caught up. Since we last reported here, we have laughed, cried, worried, worked, rested and voted. There’s a lot to report, so, here's the cliff notes...............
Sadly, Vicki’s father passed away on October 25 after a long illness. Fortunately, we were able to spend some quality time with him and Avie, Vicki’s mom, two weeks before. Vicki is back in Tucson now helping her mom with all the arrangements and Norm is with Tide Hiker in Annapolis attending to some much needed, long overdue and previously-contracted electrical upgrades. Shortly, Norm will join Vicki and her family in Tucson for the memorial service on Nov 13. With all that has been happening, our long-awaited and desperately needed rest from retirement was extended. If all goes as scheduled, we will return to Tide Hiker on November 15 for the continuation of our journey to warmer climes. In the meantime, both of us completed our annual medical checkups and except for our weight gain, we got clean bills of health. Norm successfully installed the new water heater with some initial heavy lifting help from friends Jerry and Roger on Dock B. Thanks guys!! Vicki re-provisioned the galley and household items. The freezer, and every dry goods nook and cranny, and most importantly, the spirits locker is once again stocked with sustenance for 4-months. BTW, we would not have been able to do this easily were it not for our friends.
It has been a while since we posted on this blog, so open an adult beverage, sit down and get caught up. Since we last reported here, we have laughed, cried, worried, worked, rested and voted. There’s a lot to report, so, here's the cliff notes...............
Sadly, Vicki’s father passed away on October 25 after a long illness. Fortunately, we were able to spend some quality time with him and Avie, Vicki’s mom, two weeks before. Vicki is back in Tucson now helping her mom with all the arrangements and Norm is with Tide Hiker in Annapolis attending to some much needed, long overdue and previously-contracted electrical upgrades. Shortly, Norm will join Vicki and her family in Tucson for the memorial service on Nov 13. With all that has been happening, our long-awaited and desperately needed rest from retirement was extended. If all goes as scheduled, we will return to Tide Hiker on November 15 for the continuation of our journey to warmer climes. In the meantime, both of us completed our annual medical checkups and except for our weight gain, we got clean bills of health. Norm successfully installed the new water heater with some initial heavy lifting help from friends Jerry and Roger on Dock B. Thanks guys!! Vicki re-provisioned the galley and household items. The freezer, and every dry goods nook and cranny, and most importantly, the spirits locker is once again stocked with sustenance for 4-months. BTW, we would not have been able to do this easily were it not for our friends.
My brother Mike said, and I repeat, "If wealth were measured by family and friends, I am a rich man." So are we. We have been inundated with never-ending love, generosity, compassion, comarade and.................great food and spirits! Our friends loaned us a car for the month, helped us with maintenance; scared a transient boater out of a slip so we could return to Dock B and be close; stored some of our provisions while we were in Maine this summer; helped Norm bring Tide Hiker to Annapolis then returned the following weekend to make sure he was not lonely and was appropriately fed; hosted several lunches, dinners, parties for us; and, arranged secure and scenic dockage in Annapolis at significant savings. Also, friends on a DeFever like ours stopped by our marina and we, you guessed it, dinned with them a couple of times, including picking some crabs. We are blessed with so many great friends we have been confused for John and Cindy McCain. Yes, we breakfasted, lunched, suped and snacked our way back into their huge open hearts and enjoyed every last bite, ooops, I mean minute of it. Most importantly, we reconnected, got caught up and laughed, sometimes till it hurt. Thanks to each and every one of you for your love and generosity. And again, each one of you are invited to join us aboard Tide Hiker for a part of our cruise. You are very hard to leave again and we’ll be looking forward to seeing you soon.
What’s next? We will continue our journey to North Carolina and meet up with friends Rick and Lynnie aboard their DeFever and buddy boat south to the Keys; to the DeFever Rendezvous in Ft Myers; and, on to the Bahamas. More later, my friends.
What’s next? We will continue our journey to North Carolina and meet up with friends Rick and Lynnie aboard their DeFever and buddy boat south to the Keys; to the DeFever Rendezvous in Ft Myers; and, on to the Bahamas. More later, my friends.
