Saturday July 10th 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUSTIN!!!

We are having problems with the alternator, so have decided not to leave here until we have had an electrician take a look at it. Could not find anyone to come out on a Saturday, but Dave gave it a valiant effort.

While he was working on boat problems, I decided to treat myself to a manicure and pedicure at a shop inside of WALMART. My feet really enjoyed the attention. Wearing flip-flops all day, every day, is brutal on the feet, especially in dusty or sandy marinas. They haven’t been this clean for months! I know, wear your sneakers! No way, they are way too hot! All that sweat would probably give me foot rot!

We gave Austin a call to wish him a Happy 30th Birthday. Can it really have been 30 years ago that he made his debut into the world and changed our lives forever??? He and Cindy are in Seattle for a friend’s wedding. I’m glad he got to do something fun and memorable for this special birthday!

The locals here in Isle of Hope are having a benefit fundraiser luau tonight, up in the pavilion at the top of the dock. They are raising money for their community pool, so we donned our Hawaiian duds and joined in the fun. They had a Hawaiian band that was okay, but later, a guy with an acoustic guitar joined them, and the music changed to Southern Country. Much better!! The food was good, the drinks were weak, but we enjoyed the music and a chance to people watch. Just as the event was getting rolling, a thunderstorm blew in, with high winds and a torrential downpour! Everyone had to move into the center of the pavilion to keep from getting soaked. Dave suddenly remembered that he had left the hatch on the fore deck open. OOPS! He borrowed an umbrella and braved the elements to check on the situation. With the wind blowing hard, Dave was afraid he would do a Mary Poppins, and become air born. The umbrella only kept his head dry, the rest of him was soaked, as well as the port side of the V-berth. Oh well! Everything will dry out!

After the luau, we walked back down to the boat and discovered that the sailboat across the dock from us had a couple on board. We sat and talked with Della and Steve for about an hour, until the rain started in again. They are both retired Navy and were aircraft mechanics. While we were talking to them, in the dark, a man in a kayak paddled up. He had a light on his forehead and said he had been down to the other end of the dock to see the alligator. The gator is about 6-7 feet long. Longer than the kayak. No way, Jose!!!

The rain really helped cool things off, so we were able to sleep without the use of the AC, just fans.

PS- Rainbow News - MaryLynne sent me a text message to let me know that my good friend Mary’s daughter, Kristina, had been elected Grand Worthy Advisor. I am so thrilled for her! She will make a fantastic GWA. I wish I could be there to join in the fun and see her installed, but it will be even more fun to be at Grand Assembly next year and see her preside. Hopefully, I will get to see her in action when Dave and I are home in September.

Sunday July 11th 2010

No one came to work on the alternator yesterday, so we figured Sunday was out of the question. After taking a long refreshing shower, I was able to secure us a loaner car for the day.

We have been having some problems with the pump in the aft head. So, our first stop was at West Marine, where we purchased the new head. They said to bring in the bad pump and they would exchange it for a new one. Yeah!!!

Next, we decided to go in to downtown Savannah, which probably took about 20 minutes. On the way, we saw some beautiful old homes and very big, sprawling, magnificent oak trees, with Spanish moss swaying gracefully from their limbs. We parked and took a walk down Riverfront. Lots of “tourist traps” and restaurants. We stopped in at “Wee Willies”, home of the frozen daiquiri, and I tried the Mango daiquiri. Very refreshing, in spite of a little brain freeze! We browsed some more and watched 2 large cargo ships go by on the river.

Time to take a break, so we sat down on a park bench by the river and gave Dave’s parents a call. Austin and Cindy were there for a brunch of roll-ups, plus Matt and Jacinda. It was good to hear their voices and laughter, but it made me a little homesick. I was a little surprised! I really am happy with what we are doing, and where we are going!! Besides, we will be seeing all of them, very soon, on this coast, and then again in September in Seattle.

After a wonderful chicken-walnut-cranberry-feta cheese salad for lunch, and gelato for dessert, we made our way back to the car and headed for the marina. Dave pulled the pump from the aft head and we made a quick dash to West Marine to exchange it. We made it with only 5 minutes to spare! Just as we were leaving, the sky opened up and the rain began to fall. FAST! The steam rose up from the hot asphalt parking lot. Sauna City!

We got back just in time to welcome Danielle and Dave, who had just arrived in their 20 foot Pacific SeaCraft Flicka. TINY!! Less than half the size of our boat! I’m not sure where they started from, but Dave is Australian, and is an old salt from way back.

Dave went right to work on the new pump, not exactly a fun job. He has really become quite the handy man. I think I’ll keep him around a while!

Now we are both on the computers, catching up before going to bed. Hopefully our alternator will get fixed tomorrow, and we can be under way again. The Carolinas are a calling. South Carolina is only about 15 miles away.

Take care and stay tuned. You never know what we’ll be up to next!!

Love & Hugs,

The Admiral