Tomorrow I will be heading to BTown to deliver some calendars and then meeting up with LMNM to see more friends...Looking forward to the fun times and something I will truly miss, even time spent with Democraps...
Today was cleaning day - last deep clean was back in California, so it was over due.
A summer worth of cooking!
ALL CLEAN!
Deep clean under the dinette, who knew the hidden shelf would collect so much!
Swiffer mop with a rag to scrub the floor!
Floors clean!
My trip is almost fully planned - will leave here on Wednesday the 12th and head to friends in S. Ohio - then on to Great Smokey Moutain National Park to meet my good friends Sherry and Bill Levines for three nights of good food catching up and fall colors. Then leave there on the 19th and head a little west to see my old friends in Erin, TN on their farm, Larry and Michelle Burney, then on towards Memphis for a couple nights to see Roy Groover, then time to head west to California with stops at some scenic places along the way for some picture taking. Plan to take my time and arrive in Twentynine Palms around the 10th of November or so, depends on weather and what I find to explore.
Concern about the Hurricane!
I have concern for all my good friends in Florida as they prepare for the hurricane - I hope they all remain safe. I spent a long time in Florida and weathered my share of Hurricanes several times on sailboats.
I have to tell one particular story from back in my yacht delivery days. I flew to New York to deliver a beautiful 47 foot Gulfstar motorsaler from New York to Miami - hurricane Gloria was well down in the Caribbean and figured we would be well out of its way so left New York - after passing the Statue of Liberty and heading out into open water, turned the boat South and handed the helm over to a crew member and I headed down to catch a nap to get ready for a long night. After about 3 hours I wake to the boat really rocking and rolling and my crew at the door to my cabin - said you might want to come up and look around it is getting very rough, as I passed the radio I turned on the weather and it clearly stated that Tropical Storm "Henri" had developed off the coast of New Jersey...shit - so pulled out the local chart and looked for a safe haven. Nearest port was Mannesquan Inlet which was clearly marked local knowledge preferred...so plotted a course and hoped I could gather the local knowledge on the way. Couple hours later I see the breakwater and rough white water at the shoal...another sailboat was heading in, so dropped sails and motored in behind them. Found a place to ride out the storm and spent the night. Bad wind but actually could have sailed through it. Headed out early the next morning to calm seas. Headed south along the coast to only discover that Hurricane Gloria was heading right for Norfolk - so hurried up and managed to beat it there by about 8 hours - headed down the Intercoastal and found a place to tie up and weather the storm - winds in excess of 100 mph and most of the marina was destroyed but I managed to keep the boat safe with no damage, the owner could not believe it. The remainder of the trip to Miami was uneventful but it was amazing to have two Tropical Storms on one trip. It was an adventure and the owner was very happy and I delivered his boat South for several years after that.
Stay tuned and will see everyone at LMNM and distribute calendars.
Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"
Traveling and photographing the Southwest and Alaska!
