Hammond to St. Joe
St. Joe Channel
July 15, 2010
There are always constants in our lives. We must eat, drink, find shelter and pay taxes. One of the other constants is laundry which is what I am doing now. The marina has a little two machine laundry facility on our dock. It is new and best of all air conditioned. It is 93 degrees and very humid today.
We have not written recently because we have been in Michigan with Mike’s family. On July 3rd, Mike’s youngest sister suddenly died. It has thrown the family into turmoil. Debbie’s death is a reminder of how fragile our lives can be and the importance of those we love.
We are making progress on the boat. The new electronics are all working after a day of talking to the tech people at both companies where we purchased the new equipment. At this moment Francie is dealing with the tech for the WiFi, so we can have our computers hooked up to the internet, our lifeline to everyone. We are still struggling with the mess in the salon and V-berth since we have not found a place for all of our things. What to keep with us, what to send to Florida, and what to store is a constant dilemma.
We plan on finally attaching the hardware and rigging the sails in the next day or two depending on weather. Right now we look like a big motor boat with a stick in the middle of it. We longingly watch other sailboats leaving the harbor to go sailing, but we know that in a few more days we too will be able to leave the harbor. When it gets frustrating we remind ourselves that, “We are retired. There is no hurry.” It is not so easy to squish a 4 bedroom house onto a 45ft. sailboat!
We were able to get out for one afternoon of sailing with friends, a combination of friends from both Francie and Mike’s work and sailing life. It was a very pleasant afternoon sandwiched between a morning and night of thunderstorms. With just the head sail we were sailing 7-8 knots with flat water, doesn’t get much better!
We spent last Sunday at a party for one of Mike’s high school teachers, Brother Kevin Fitzgerald, who was celebrating his 50th year as a Christian Brother. Several of Mike’s high school classmates attended, one of whom he has known since 1st grade! (See picture, they even look alike!)
The decision of when to leave Hammond and where to go is still undecided. We have decided to stay on the Michigan coast and not venture real far up the shoreline since we have events to attend to in Chicago and want to stay in closer proximity to family for the summer. Later in August we may head further up the lake.
July 25, 2010
We are finally leaving Hammond after 3 weeks of loading and then unloading the boat. Francie has given the boat that homey feeling with baskets, books and ornamentals all fixed in place with Velcro, so that objects are not flying around the cabin when the boat heels.
We even have air conditioning now! Francie’s brother gave us a portable air conditioner which is placed in a hatch and it cools most of the boat. It has been in our garage for two years. We put it on the boat as soon as we could. It is heavenly since the weather has been in the high 80’s and low 90’s most of the summer. Mike would have just become a puddle of water if we didn’t have it. Thank you Tony for the comfort.
All of the new electronics work although we need the tutorials to teach us the finer point of their abilities. The upgrades for the previous years are all working. Problems have been diagnosed and repaired.
Our feeling earlier of one step forward and two back has disappeared and we are ready for a first step forward by leaving Hammond for St. Joe, Michigan. Just in time, we were afraid we were going to have to register to vote in Indiana!
July 26, 2010
We are on the lake. It is a beautiful day and we are actually sailing. We arrived in St Joe after about 8 hours of sailing and motor sailing. The marina has been updated, it has all new docks and dock boxes. It is small and very nice. Internet service is good, so we have spent our time catching up on our banking, emails, and all of the incidentals that got neglected during the move.
The people are very friendly. They have even offered to take us into town to go to the stores. We have our bikes and have enjoyed the exercise. St. Joe is only a couple of miles away.
There are always constants in our lives. We must eat, drink, find shelter and pay taxes. One of the other constants is laundry which is what I am doing now. The marina has a little two machine laundry facility on our dock. It is new and best of all air conditioned. It is 93 degrees and very humid today.
We have not written recently because we have been in Michigan with Mike’s family. On July 3rd, Mike’s youngest sister suddenly died. It has thrown the family into turmoil. Debbie’s death is a reminder of how fragile our lives can be and the importance of those we love.
We are making progress on the boat. The new electronics are all working after a day of talking to the tech people at both companies where we purchased the new equipment. At this moment Francie is dealing with the tech for the WiFi, so we can have our computers hooked up to the internet, our lifeline to everyone. We are still struggling with the mess in the salon and V-berth since we have not found a place for all of our things. What to keep with us, what to send to Florida, and what to store is a constant dilemma.
We plan on finally attaching the hardware and rigging the sails in the next day or two depending on weather. Right now we look like a big motor boat with a stick in the middle of it. We longingly watch other sailboats leaving the harbor to go sailing, but we know that in a few more days we too will be able to leave the harbor. When it gets frustrating we remind ourselves that, “We are retired. There is no hurry.” It is not so easy to squish a 4 bedroom house onto a 45ft. sailboat!
We were able to get out for one afternoon of sailing with friends, a combination of friends from both Francie and Mike’s work and sailing life. It was a very pleasant afternoon sandwiched between a morning and night of thunderstorms. With just the head sail we were sailing 7-8 knots with flat water, doesn’t get much better!
We spent last Sunday at a party for one of Mike’s high school teachers, Brother Kevin Fitzgerald, who was celebrating his 50th year as a Christian Brother. Several of Mike’s high school classmates attended, one of whom he has known since 1st grade! (See picture, they even look alike!)
The decision of when to leave Hammond and where to go is still undecided. We have decided to stay on the Michigan coast and not venture real far up the shoreline since we have events to attend to in Chicago and want to stay in closer proximity to family for the summer. Later in August we may head further up the lake.
July 25, 2010
We are finally leaving Hammond after 3 weeks of loading and then unloading the boat. Francie has given the boat that homey feeling with baskets, books and ornamentals all fixed in place with Velcro, so that objects are not flying around the cabin when the boat heels.
We even have air conditioning now! Francie’s brother gave us a portable air conditioner which is placed in a hatch and it cools most of the boat. It has been in our garage for two years. We put it on the boat as soon as we could. It is heavenly since the weather has been in the high 80’s and low 90’s most of the summer. Mike would have just become a puddle of water if we didn’t have it. Thank you Tony for the comfort.
All of the new electronics work although we need the tutorials to teach us the finer point of their abilities. The upgrades for the previous years are all working. Problems have been diagnosed and repaired.
Our feeling earlier of one step forward and two back has disappeared and we are ready for a first step forward by leaving Hammond for St. Joe, Michigan. Just in time, we were afraid we were going to have to register to vote in Indiana!
July 26, 2010
We are on the lake. It is a beautiful day and we are actually sailing. We arrived in St Joe after about 8 hours of sailing and motor sailing. The marina has been updated, it has all new docks and dock boxes. It is small and very nice. Internet service is good, so we have spent our time catching up on our banking, emails, and all of the incidentals that got neglected during the move.
The people are very friendly. They have even offered to take us into town to go to the stores. We have our bikes and have enjoyed the exercise. St. Joe is only a couple of miles away.