The raft is back!

A tiny victory today--we got the life raft back from Vane Brothers!  We even had a little fun with some of the expired contents.

Now we have lots of non-boat prep to do before the move, but at least we got that major bit over with!

Mount up!

Well, today we busted out some chores!  Frank's main job was to mount the life raft rack.  That took some dock consultation and measuring about 40 times before drilling, cutting, sanding, shimming, drilling...  I cleaned a nettle net, repaired and packed Legos, packed up fish we got from one neighbor to share with others, cleaned a bit, and eventually took the kids to the pool for a bit.  In the end, the rack was mounted, the kids had fun, and we had a nice dinner of grilled rockfish.  It was a good day.

The final sail (for now)

Today was bittersweet.  It was our last day of sailing on the Bay before we move, but it was such a great day of sailing!  We headed out, bound for the Choptank River.  After hearing the freshwater pump running dry and looking at the 20+ knots forecast for Sunday, we decided to turn it into a day sail and end on a high note.  Plenty to do back at the marina anyway (it's movie night on the beach!)!  It was so nice to enjoy the sail with the whole family on deck.  I hope we don't have to be away for too long.

The Fondest of Farewells

Last night our dockmates came together to wish us well on our departure.  We are one week out from leaving, and it was nice to see them all again.  Some of our local, non-dock friends even came, too!  I have truly loved the years we've had at Herrington Harbour South and U dock is more like family than neighbors.  Kind words were said, glasses raised, tears shed, and cookies eaten.  Thank you, and we will absolutely miss you all.

"See you later"

This move is the first we've done where one of the kids has a good friend that they are leaving.  As I talk to my daughter about the ways to stay in touch and how this doesn't have to be a final goodbye I'm realizing that I am also struggling with this move!  I love my boat home and we are going to leave it for 2 years.  I love our marina, the beach that we often have to ourselves, the kids' school, the neighbors who will loan a tool with no concern, the friends who will drive my whole dang family to the airport at an obscenely early hour, and the kid homes that have their doors wide open to my crazy crew.  Usually I'm excited for our moves, excited for what the new area will bring.  But this isn't a new area for us and maybe that's part of it.  We know the town and the house--it's the last house we lived in before the boat.  The excitement lies totally in our new school and job, which could both be totally amazing, but this move is definitely missing the spark that some of the others have had.  That said, we will press on because that's what this little Navy team does and in just under 3 weeks, we will be saying "see you later."  

There is a little comfort in knowing that this is practice for the reality of life ahead.  Changes happen, and they will keep their good friends for years no matter where they are.  As Navy and cruising kids I expect they will experience this many more times than I ever did with my transitions from home to college to job to job, but I hope that they, too, will have a crazy collective of good friends around the globe.

Windless Weekend

With a forecast of no wind, highs in the 90's, and plenty of homework for the Skipper, we actually stayed at the marina this weekend.  Saturday morning the kids goofed off on bikes and skateboards while I did a little purging and organizing in the storage unit.  After lunch we picked up K's best buddy (another "K") and went to the pool.  It was a perfect pool day, capped off with a stop for ice cream.  Then the girls worked their cuteness on all of us and got to have a no-notice sleepover.

That left Trent to hang out with us!  We went to the beach for a showing of "Disney Nature: Oceans."  It was great!  Trent fell asleep in the first hour, but we stayed until the end.

Sunday was another day of chores, homework, and packing as we prep to have the boat hauled for some fresh bottom paint.  After lunch the Captain and 2nd Mate motored the boat up to the boat yard while Swab and I drove the truck.  We got settled into our transient slip and headed to the HHN pool.  It was a totally different scene than HHS, but we cooled off and enjoyed the cabana bar.  We walked to the Dockside for a great dinner.  The North marina is different, but still nice.  Hope to be back within the week!

Does it have to end?

A perfect morning.  I slipped out while everyone was in bed and paddled a bit, did some yoga, then made breakfast for my family.  We took a nice dinghy ride before getting underway.

The it got a little rough.  Frank noticed down water in the bilge before we pulled the anchor, but it wasn't much so we headed out.  As Trent drove down the river Frank found a broken hose clamp and a bit more water dripping!  We idled along the edge of the channel while he fixed it up, then we were on our way again!  There was no wind so it was up to the iron genny.

We got home, the kids helped a ton with boat chores, and I rewarded them with a walk to the market for ice cream.  I love it here.  I love this family.

Happy 239th B-day, U.S.A.!

This year, we decided to take a different approach to Independence Day.  Rather than follow the fireworks, we rocked into a nice cove on the Wye River just above Shaw Bay.  Eagles, heron, osprey, cow nose rays, and peace.  The weather was so much better then expected and we spent the day thoroughly enjoying the water.  Dinghy rides, paddle boarding, swimming, sparklers...it was just perfect.  Ok, it was a little cool for a bit, but then it got sunny and hot!  We were even treated to a nice fireworks show from one of the nearby houses.  It was all so wonderful.

Weekend kick-off

After a great night with friends and a wonderful fireworks display by the marina, we had a lovely lazy morning!  And then we enjoyed a very lazy sail across the Bay!  Winds were light so we rigged the spinnaker and just enjoyed the time on the water.  Trent even took the helm when we started motoring up the Wye River, and I was so proud of him!  Ended the day with a movie--"Independence Day!"