Another Road Trip

Just a brief update to let you know that we have decided to do yet another road trip, this time in Florida. Our Savannah friends, Howard & Sue Berriman, are going on a cruise beginning Saturday, August 23rd, out of Port Canaveral and have offered the use of their vehicle while they are gone.

Howard is going to pick us up Friday afternoon to spend the night with them and we are going to ride along to Port Canaveral, drop them off and then head to St. Petersburg to visit our good friends Cathy and Steve & Lisa. We plan to spend most of the week with Cathy, with possible side trips to Ft. Myers Beach and/or Crystal River to see other friends, and then head back to Port Canaveral to pick up Howard & Sue on the 30th.

Along the way, we will spend Friday evening (the 29th) with Todd's sister Jennifer near Orlando and take two vehicles to Port Canaveral so that Howard & Sue can return to Savannah and we can return to Jennifer's to attend her annual "Labor-less" Labor Day party which will be held on Sunday, August 31st.

We will rent a car, one-way, from the Sanford airport to return to Savannah on Monday, September 1st, and spend the following week doing yet more boat projects, including a haul-out on September 2nd. While taking a test drive earlier this week, the Captain noticed that he wasn't able to get the maximum rpm's out of his engines as a result of barnacle build-up on the props.  He is also considering polishing the fuel while we're here, so we will most likely be here most, if not all, of the first week in September.

At any rate, we will update the blog before we leave Savannah with pictures and details of our upcoming adventures. As a side note, Tropical Storm Fay is pounding central and eastern Florida with massive amounts of rain. While we have had rain and wind for the past couple of days, it hasn't been anything severe, and with any luck it will have moved on by the time we leave the boat tomorrow afternoon.

The Road Trip Back to Savannah - Update 4 of 4

We returned from Colorado on Monday, August 4th, and spent a few more days in Springfield before heading south with stops at Pickwick Lake, Smithville, MS, Tuscaloosa, AL and Demopolis, AL.

Everett and the Captain make a trip to Table Rock Lake to work on a fuel issue on Everett's boat.

Pickwick friend Keith Russell with daughter Hillary.


Keith with daughter Sidney.


The Captain and his latest harem!


Tena Russell and the Admiral ready to head to the waterfall.


The Iceman, Bud McNeal, our gracious host on Pickwick Lake.


This is Boots, Bud's latest addition to the family. This cat won the lottery when he showed up at Bud's door!

 Todd and birthday boy Kelly being playful at the waterfall.


Kelly with wife Melissa unwrapping a shell we brought back from the Exumas.


The Admiral poses with Kelly & Melissa.


Terri & Bo - don't they make a lovely couple?


The gang hanging out on the gravel bar at the waterfall. Thanks to everyone for an incredibly fun couple of days!

 After leaving Pickwick, we stopped by Smithville Marina on the Tenn-Tom to see Mo Sullivan who is currently staying there aboard her trawler "MOTU." Another handsome couple, don't you think?


The Admiral shares our Exuma tracks with Mike Hall aboard "WhatDazeIt?" at Eagle Cove Marina near Tuscaloosa on the Black Warrior River.


Friends Dale & Joy at the Demopolis Yacht Basin. We hope to see them in the salt water sometime this winter and/or spring!


Part of the Demopolis Yacht Basin crew, from left to right: Rick, Kim and Keith.


A farewell photo with Peggy & Rick who have purchased land and are in the process of building a house on the Black Warrior River near Demopolis.


We returned our rental car to the Savannah airport on Sunday, August 17th. Howard & Sue Berriman, who live on the outskirts of Savannah, graciously picked us up and took us to The Crab Shack for a very nice open-air lunch before taking us back to "Life's2Short." Thanks Howard & Sue!



This concludes our five-week, 3,500 mile road trip through seven states, with a side trip to Colorado, visiting family and friends. We very much appreciate everyone's hospitality and are truly blessed to have such generous and caring friends!

We are currently in Savannah with an undetermined date of departure, partly because we are working on various projects around the boat and partly because we want to see what effect tropical storm/possible hurricane Fay is going to have on the east coast. Depending on how much longer we are here, we may try to post another update before we head north.

Colorful Colorado - Update 3 of 4

The Captain arrived in Colorado on July 26th and spent the majority of the following week fly fishing with his dad in Gunnison. One of our spots to fish and spend a few nights was this beautiful "cabin" on the Gunnison River. My thanks to Bill & Billy Coburn for their hospitality and for sharing their beautiful river with me and dad.



Bill Coburn and the Captain head out for a morning of fishing.


The Captain plies the waters of the Gunnison River, catching some beautiful Rainbow & Brown trout.


The Master, Billy Coburn, shows perfect form and function!


Somebody up-river appears to have gotten too close to the riverbank with their John Deere mower.


Kent Nelson, Bill Coburn and dad sit on the porch comparing fishing stories.


Dad and Bill relaxing by the river on another beautiful Colorado evening.


Fathers and sons enjoying their time together, special times with special fathers!


Chowing down on Olathe Sweet Corn. Nice faces guys!




The other part of my week with dad was spent south of Gunnison on Cebolla Creek, where the fishing was outstanding! Our gracious hosts there were Wilma & Joe Youmans.

The view from the Youmans front porch.


The Cebolla Creek valley.


Dad fishing for Brookies in Powderhorn Creek.


Ginger keeping an eye on the motorhome while we ate a wonderful dinner at Joe & Wilma's house.


The Admiral arrived in Colorado on August 1st to attend a weekend full of get-togethers that included several high school, college and family friends and former co-workers, as well as out-of-town family members, at his parents beautiful home near Boulder.

Todd's parents with the Admiral and Todd's life-long friend, Rod Baptist.


Gary & Jody Beham, fellow co-workers of Todd's when he worked at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, CO.


Todd's college roommate Zach Cashin with wife Krista and son Skylar.


College friends Arne Elisha and Shawna Boylan enjoy catching up on each other's lives.


Family friends Bob & Paula Lucas, along with Dixie Olson, spend some time with Todd's mom.


Fellow trouble-makers Bob Lucas & Roger Olson pose for the camera.


Shawna Boylan spends time with her kids along South Boulder Creek.


Zach works on devouring his grilled corn-on-the-cob.


The Admiral helps cook the fresh-caught trout... during an afternoon shower.


A Lanning family gathering to enjoy fresh trout and each other's company.


Todd and his dad enjoy spending time with Kelsey, Todd's stepdaughter from a previous life.


The Captain with his older sis, Cindy, who lives in Steamboat Springs.


Cindy's husband Ken spends time with Kelsey and his daughter Katie.


Hanging out with dad, Kelsey, and Ginger on the front porch.


An afternoon rainbow at the end of a wonderful weekend at the parents place. Thanks mom & dad!

The Road Trip to Missouri - Update 2 of 4

We left Savannah in our rental car on Monday, July 14th, after a wonderful week celebrating the Captain's 50th birthday with family and friends. Our first stop was in Dayton, TN to see former boating friends, Pete & Geneva Andrews. We originally met Pete & Geneva at the Demopolis Yacht Basin in the fall of 2006. Pete now has his trawler, "Woodja" on the market in Guntersville, AL and is quite content to be a "dirt dweller!"

Traffic in downtown Atlanta. One aspect of living on land that we don't miss!



Pete & Geneva took us on a tour of part of the upper Tennessee River and to downtown Dayton in their pontoon boat.



Pete masterfully maneuvered the pontoon under this low water bridge near his house.



As we were leaving Dayton, Pete suggested that we might enjoy a detour through nearby Fall Creek Falls on our way to Missouri. What a beautiful place - and we only saw a small portion of it!
























We arrived at Lake of the Ozarks on Wednesday, July 16th, and spent the next week visiting Brenda's parents at their lake house before heading to Springfield for a few days. Todd then flew to Colorado on Saturday to spend some time fly fishing with his dad while Brenda went to her parents home in Houston, MO. Brenda joined Todd in Colorado on August 1st and spent a long weekend at his parents beautiful home in Boulder. Our next update will cover our time in Colorado.