Dock Life

As we continue our annual “vacation” from boating, it appears I am also taking a vacation from blogging. But the dockside days go by quickly and life isn’t quite as eventful on a day-to-day basis as when we are traveling.

Todd and I finally recovered from the nasty colds we were nursing at the time of our last update (January 14th) and have been tackling a long list of boat projects in our spare time. On Tuesday, January 25th, we took the boat over to Gulfport Marina to pump out the holding tanks so Todd could begin several projects that would require the engines to be out of commission for an extended period of time.

On Friday, January 28th, we headed to Lutz, north of Tampa, to spend the weekend with Lisa & Steve. That afternoon we did a little horseback riding before returning to their house for a marathon of games that lasted until 3:00 a.m.!

Saddled up and ready to go for a ride on Ireland.

The games started with Bop-It. Nothing like repeatedly banging yourself in the head with a hard piece of plastic!

And moved on to Quelf, which is always a bizarre game, as evidenced by the activities captured in the following photos.

This tie was part of the game, too. As I recall, Lisa was required to tie a Windsor knot in it and failed, so the Captain showed her how it was done! He had lots of experience in his “former” life.

Don’t they make a cute couple?

Late Saturday morning we headed to the horse races at Tampa Bay Downs, and it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day to enjoy an outside activity.

A gorgeous day at the horse track.

But after having had such a late night Friday, none of us were very energetic that evening!

We all went back to the barn Sunday afternoon to spend some time with Ireland and Dakota. While we were there, Steve and Todd played horseshoes with a couple of the other barn people.

Have you ever seen a fatter pig in your life… seriously?!!!

Sweet Ireland.

And gentle Dakota.

Lisa goes for a ride on one of the other horses – Gypsy, I believe.

Then it was off to Vallarta’s for some yummy Mexican food and margaritas and back to the house to watch “Secretariat.” Well, three of us watched the movie. About thirty minutes into it, Lisa was sound asleep on the couch!

Monday we made our way back to St. Petersburg where our boat projects awaited. Todd has spent a good deal of time in “the holy place” taking the transmission coolers, oil coolers and heat exchanges off both engines, cleaning out the bilge and the sump pump, replacing fuel filters, etc. He has painted his two new oil coolers and two new heat exchangers and is currently in the process of putting the engines back together.

The Captain paints his new heat exchangers in Cathy’s garage.

On the home front, Todd has been working on various “honey-do” projects for Cathy, the most time-consuming of which was cleaning out and reorganizing her garage. But as you can see in the above photo, he did an amazing job and it looks wonderful!

We have also been tackling a number of projects in other parts of the boat: sanding and repainting the dinghy davit pole on the sundeck, sanding the remaining stain off the exterior teak, sanding and staining the inside of the front hatch, cleaning the rust off the stainless steel, etc.

Sanding the wood on the inside of the front hatch.

And, of course, there are still projects to be done: replacing worn parts on the VacuFlush toilet in the aft stateroom, sealing leaks around the radar arch on the flybridge, waxing the topside of the boat, applying gloss to the handrails, polishing the stainless steel, etc., etc., etc. The list goes on and on and on…. After all, it is a boat; need I say more? (I know our boater friends can relate!)

Today is Thursday, February 10th, and after a few hours of light rain this morning, it appears we are going to have a sunny afternoon. So, back to the boat projects we go as another week of our “vacation” from boating slips away.

Back in St. Petersburg: An Overdue Update

On the date of our last blog post (December 13th), Todd dropped me off at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International airport around noon to catch a flight to Missouri.

After waiting more than eight hours at the airport for a “rescue” flight crew to arrive (ours was stranded elsewhere), we finally got underway and landed in Springfield shortly before midnight. Thankfully, our faithful friend Everett was there to provide transportation, food and lodging after a very long day!

Tuesday morning Everett drove me to Mansfield where my nephew Greg and his wife Crystal met us and took me the rest of the way to Bucyrus, a very small town about five miles west of Houston (also a small town) where my niece, Jennifer, lives.

The primary purpose of my extended visit to Missouri was to help my recently paralyzed niece adjust to life at her trailer after having spent the better part of the past five months in the hospital and in various rehabilitation centers undergoing therapy.

Jennifer had just returned home Monday afternoon and had a number of medical appointments lined up. So our first week was spent traveling to various appointments in Houston, Springfield and Columbia; dealing with the new healthcare aids and their schedules; and learning to cope with the many issues associated with Jennifer’s paralysis. All in all, it was extremely time-consuming and totally exhausting!

Todd, on the other hand, took off from St. Petersburg on Wednesday, December 15th, to surprise his parents with an early Christmas visit to Colorado. While there he spent time with nieces Shannon, Sara and Kirsten, as well as older sister Cindy who celebrated a birthday on December 16th.

Lunch with Todd’s dad, Bill (on the left), and “the guys,” a weekly event for Bill.

From left to right: Nieces Sara, Shannon and Kirsten.

Kirsten and Bill.

Todd’s sister Cindy and mom Marilyn.

Celebrating Cindy’s birthday.

Kirsten and Cindy going through storage bins in the basement.

On December 22nd, Todd joined me in Missouri. Everett picked him up at the airport and then I drove to Springfield to meet them for a Missouri State Bears basketball game. Everett’s wife Nila got a couple of extra tickets to the President’s suite and invited us to join her. While there we enjoyed seeing and visiting with several former University co-workers. Among them were Bob & Linda Eckels who took this photo with Bob’s iPhone and sent it to us.

Posing with the Bears mascots. Growl and Boomer. A lovely shot – NOT!

After a short reprieve, it was back to Bucyrus the next day to help Jennifer get things organized in her trailer. On Christmas Day we all met at my brother’s house (Dewayne) where his wife, Pennie, prepared a wonderful holiday meal.

From left to right: Greg’s wife Crystal, sister-in-law Pennie, niece Jennifer, and my mom.

Time to open gifts!

Nephew Greg on the left with his two girls, Lily and Emily; and Pennie’s daughter, Nikki, with her boyfriend Derrick on the right.

Two-year-old Emily.

And four-year-old Lily.

Crystal helps Jennifer open her gifts.

My dad and Greg.

And my mom.

On Wednesday the 29th, the weather warmed up so my dad and Todd took off to spend a few days at Lake of the Ozarks where they ended up catching over a hundred crappie! But by Friday the weather turned cold again and it was time to come home.

Jennifer wanted to go out on New Year’s Eve so we went to the Eagles Lodge with my younger brother Jimmy and his friend Mike. Like Jennifer, Mike was paralyzed in a diving accident when he was twenty-seven, twenty years ago, and has learned to manage quite well on his own. Hopefully he will be able to offer Jennifer some guidance.

We were also joined at the Eagles by Dewayne & Pennie on their way home from a gathering at a friend’s house. Unfortunately, midnight came and went with no countdown, no announcement, no champagne, nothing. Pretty lame venue overall but it was nice spending the evening with family.

On Thursday, January 6th, we decided to say our good-byes. We had pretty much done all we could do for Jennifer and it was time to see if she could manage on her own, with the assistance of the healthcare aids who come in a couple of times a day. It will be a challenging, on-going learning process for Jennifer and only time will tell how well she will be able to cope.

Greg & Crystal drove us to Mountain Grove that afternoon where Everett met us and took us on to Springfield. We then met Nila and friend Kelli Teale for drinks at Marinades followed by dinner at Big Whiskey.

We spent some time on campus Friday, visiting and putting out feelers for job opportunities, and then went to another Bears basketball game that evening. After the game we met up with the Hayes, the Eckels and the Marty’s (also former co-workers) at nearby Ebbets Field for food, drinks and conversation.

Saturday afternoon Kelli Teale joined us at the Hayes’ residence for a fish fry featuring some of the crappie dad and Todd caught at Lake of the Ozarks the previous week, accompanied by fried potatoes, cole slaw and Nila’s homemade garlic-cheese biscuits. And to top it all off, we had strawberries and Everett’s freshly made piecrust for dessert. Mmm Mmm Good!

On Sunday we picked Kelli up on our way to Avanzare, a local Italian restaurant, to meet up with another friend, Greg, who was hosting a private gathering to watch the Kansas City Chiefs Wild Card game against the Ravens. Unfortunately, the Chiefs did not prevail but it was good to see Greg again. Greg used to be the University’s Vice President for Administration & Finance and is now the City Manager for the City of Springfield.

And then came Monday, January 10th, time to return to Florida. After a four-hour flight delay, including de-icing the plane before take-off, we made it back to St. Petersburg about 10:45 p.m. Cathy was gracious enough to pick us up at the airport and bring us home to “Life’s2Short.”

Today is Friday, January 14th, and both Todd and I have spent the week nursing colds and trying to stay warm. The day after we returned to Florida, a cold front moved in and it has been unseasonably cold since. But the forecast is looking up for the weekend with sunshine and daytime highs in the mid- to upper 60’s, which we are very much looking forward to!

A Chilly Start to December in St. Petersburg

Wednesday, December 1st, turned cold and windy with morning temperatures on Thursday in the low to mid-40’s. And, of course, the heater in the boat decided it didn’t want to work! But we dressed warm, plugged in the space heater and survived just fine.

On Friday we rode to Tampa with Cathy, who was on her way to work, and were then picked up by Lisa who took us to her & Steve’s home in Lutz, north of Tampa, to spend the weekend.

Late that afternoon we drove to the ranch where Steve & Lisa board their two horses, Dakota and Ireland, for a brief ride. Todd grew up around horses and was quite comfortable on his horse, Derby (on loan from another boarder). I, on the other hand, was never really around horses and haven’t been near one in something like 35 years, so Lisa put me on Ireland who was very well behaved.

Getting Derby saddled up and ready to ride.

Doesn’t he look like a natural?

Ireland patiently waits while the novice climbs aboard.

After the horses had been fed and put to pasture, we stopped at Vallarta’s for some great Mexican food and margaritas. Then it was back to the house for several games of Catch Phrase where the girls definitely ruled!

The Captain wraps up to try and stay warm.

Saturday it was back to the ranch for more horseback riding. Lisa is on Sara (also on loan), Steve is on Dakota, Todd is on Derby and I am on Ireland.

Mounted and ready to go.

Out into the field.

First they eat…

…and then they poop!

Into the ravine we go!

Steve catching up on e-mail while Dakota eats her dinner. Is this what they call a “Modern Day Cowboy?”

Lisa prepared chili for dinner Saturday evening and then Todd proceeded to kick all our butts in a game of Uno.

Can you tell that Alabama fans live here? Roll Tide Roll!!!

Sunday I rode back to the ranch with Lisa while Todd and Steve hung out at the house, working (Steve) and napping (Todd). That evening Steve ordered pizza for dinner, followed by another game of Uno.

The happy couple relaxing on the couch.

Steve took off Monday morning to catch a flight to frigid Chicago and Lisa brought us back to Cathy’s on her way to conduct a store visit in the area.

Even though it had warmed up over the weekend, a cold front hit Sunday night, bringing with it more north wind and cold temps. So we spent the remainder of the week hanging on the boat, working on a variety of projects, and trying to stay warm.

On Saturday Cathy and I went out to do a little shopping and she treated me to my first ever manicure and pedicure. What an unexpected treat – thank you, Cathy! That evening the three of us went over to Gulfport to watch the boat parade. The parade didn’t amount to much but we had a fun evening and some great food at O’Maddy’s.

While we were there, we were serenaded with Christmas songs by several foursomes who were passing through as part of a scavenger hunt. If nothing else, they were definitely entertaining!

Sunday brought rain, strong winds and progressively colder temperatures throughout the day. A good day to stay at home and knock out a few chores.

Brenda and Cathy doing a little mending and ironing!

Today is Monday, December 13th, and the high in St. Pete will struggle to reach 50. But it’s off to Missouri where the over night low was six degrees with a wind chill of minus six and a balmy daytime high of 20. Now that’s just brutal!!!

As we conclude this blog update, we want to wish all our friends and family safe travels and a very Merry Christmas! We hope to post our final blog update of 2010 after Christmas and prior to the beginning of the New Year. Happy Holidays everyone!!!