Trip West

We are currently on our trip west to visit our grandbabies Evelyn and Simon. Most beautiful babies in the world, of course.

We started out May 27, 09, for a 13 hour marathon from Roanoke (5am...) to a state campground in IL. It rained. and rained. We got up at 4:15 am the next day, as soon as the rain stopped, broke down camp, and headed for the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Fortunately, we were there an hour too early, which gave us time to set up the tent in the bowls of the parking garage. It did dry!

The arch was great, even with the rain and fog. I enjoyed the side trip.

The next night was great, dry, warm, and with VERY clean facilities. A KOA campground in Goodland, KS.



And yes, folks, western Kansas is flat, flat, flat.

Then to Denver to see the beautiful babies. We went camping with Lisa, Mat, and Simon at a remote hot springs campground. It was great.

Erin and Evelyn met us on Saturday. Evelyn loved the hot springs.

Sunday we drove to Longmont, CO, to spend a couple of nights with Erin and Cian. Boys and their grills...

Back to Work....

For those of you who remember the first blogs, they were work, work, work.. Guess what.... it's work, work, work. We've worn ourselves out doing maintenance while we're on the hard. First, there was waxing of the boat. Which I will say, made her shine beautifully, as I did all of the waxing. We did buy an orbital sander, which helped tremendously.

After waxing, we accomplished a goal which has been on our "list" for a long time --- the name "Latitudes" on the sides of the boat, not just the back. As you cruise, you find you check out each boat that passes you on the water or if it's at anchor. The easiest way to see the name is on the side. While we were in Spanish Wells, Bahamas, we had the name replicated on special paper which were were told would be a snap to apply. It actually was...first we had to decide where to put it (and make sure it was in the same place on both sides).

Then, voila! Follow a few simple instructions, and we have "Latitudes" on the boat sides!

Then, taking care of water blisters on the keel. These darn things develop during the year as water gets between the paint coat and the keel. It's a pain, and I'm glad Luke does it. First you sand, then you fill, then you sand, and then you paint, all the while squatting down underneath the boat.

Then wet sanding, my most hated prep job. It's wet, messy, hard, and very time consuming. We were a mess. This is Luke about half way through. I looked like a Smurf.

We're almost done, one more coat of paint to go. Then we're home for a few weeks. We'll be home by Sunday, as my ex-mother-in-law passed away yesterday. She was 93 and had a a full life, but the finality of death is always sad. We remained friends, and I'll miss her, as will both of my daughters.

Early June we'll drive to Colorado and visit Luke's daughters and our beautiful grandbabies, who will be having their first birthdays!!! Hopefully, by late June we'll be on our way to Maine again, maybe even Nova Scotia. I'll take our passports this time, juuuuust in case....