Day on the Cruise: 156 (Holding)
From: Home in Alabama
To: Home in Alabama
Statute Miles: 0.0 SM
Time: 0.0 Hrs
Cumulative Miles: 3,984.3 SM (Holding)
On Board: Susan, Chuck, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut
Today marks two weeks since we left Green Turtle Bay and returned home for a break from Loop cruising. We are finished with our visiting and appointments and now getting ready to return to the boat on Sunday, weather permitting. There is tropical storm Karen churning in the Gulf. The forecast cone shows it likely to pass over our area as it makes landfall then curves Northeast through Alabama. I am worried about hard rain and wind here at the Lake in Alabama.
It has been a busy two weeks as we try to fit everything in that we wanted to do. Last week we did doctor's appointments and Susan got her hair cut. She also managed a visit with her sisters in Montgomery.
Last Thursday we headed to Daphne and spent some time with son Ben and daughter-in-law Amanda and grand baby Charlotte. It was a great visit and we enjoyed eating out and taking in the Daphne Jubilee Festival on Saturday. It seems that there is a never ending supply of good seafood restaurants on the Mobile Causeway, and this visit we tried "Ed's" and it was very good. The oysters on the half shell were good and cold and the crab stew was very tasty. We got right in and seated on a Thursday night.
Of course we both enjoyed spending time with our newest grand daughter. She has grown so much since we saw her last, and she is very alert and aware of her surroundings at five months old now! Susan got in the requisite number of feedings and diaper changes to last her until we see them again when we make Mobile on our Loop trip. She also handed out the American Girl Bitty Baby Doll that we got in Chicago. Charlotte was underwhelmed by this, but it will someday be something she will play with.
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| Charlotte in her new Jumper Do Hickey |
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| Charlotte and Ben |
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| Charlotte and her Dad |
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| Charlotte and her "Shades" |
Amanda is looking great as usual and was her vibrant upbeat self. She has gotten a great new opportunity with her job, and we are proud of what she is accomplishing. Thanks for a very enjoyable visit!
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| Charlotte and Amanda |
Our trip to Jacksonville was delayed a day as Susan recovered from a stomach bug, but we drove over there on Monday and spent a few days visiting Beth and the two grand daughters there. Annabel is walking now. She is learning to talk and every other word is "Elmo" who is her favorite Sesame Street Character. I don't remember Elmo standing out to any of the other kids, so I wonder how Annabel has gotten enamored with him instead of Oskar or Cookie Monster, etc.? She has some books about Oscar and she was not bashful about bringing them over for me to read to her. She is a little more aggressive than her big sister at this age, and she has an award winning smile! She also has a temper and knows just when to turn it on. Terrible twos? Probably. At times she reminded me of the character in Peanuts called "Pig Pen" with her hair frizzed out in the back and food ALL OVER her face and the mischievous smile. Her sister Ava called it "insulting" when I referred to Annabel as "Pig Pen"! Maybe I will shorten it to "Miss Pen" or something the next time.
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| Annabel and her new Bitty Baby |
Ava was Ava. She has started second grade and is reading very well. She can pretty much read anything she wants now, including the book of directions that came with the American Girl twin Bitty Babies that Susan handed out to both she and Annabel. Both girls liked them a lot. I was impressed that Ava can read the menus at restaurants now and order her own meals.
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| Ava and her new Bitty Baby along with Maggie |
No visit to Jacksonville is complete without hitting West Marine. I replenished some dock lines that were wearing on the boat and some other smaller items. There are no deals at this store, believe me!
We came back to Alabama on Wednesday. Looking at the cat on Wednesday night, Susan thought he had gotten lice. A quick trip to the vet in Auburn yesterday confirmed that it was dandruff. He has dry skin! That is a big relief because no one wanted to dip that little bugger with the temper he has! Not even the vet!
We are looking forward to getting back to the boat. Sunday afternoon after we get back, we will re-provision, and on Monday we will turn the car in. We hope to make it about 40 miles on Monday afternoon to Paris Landing State Park on Kentucky Lake. We are heading to the AGLCA Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama, and we should be there on October 12.
The last day of the Rendezvous is October 17. On October 18, we will start the trip to Chattanooga. This should be a four day adventure, and we hope to see some Fall color along the Tennessee as we cruise up the River. We will make another quick trip home from Chattanooga to attend a wedding, then we will head down the Rivers to Mobile. It will be great to be closer to home and family in the next two months.
It will be great to get back and meet up with our Looper friends whom we have not seen in several weeks. We have heard from several of them, and we might catch several between GTB and Joe Wheeler. Time will tell.
Thanks for Reading!
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