Whirlwind

Schenectady County Public Library
No LL

Well, the past few days have been a whilrwind of non-sailing activities. Saturday we picked up a rent-a-car, and Libby did her year's Christmas shopping (Ha! don't hold your breath.)

Sunday I drove over and picked up my sister Marilyn at her Saratoga ARC group home for a day's outing. We made quite a day of it. First we went to Dunkin Donuts, then we stopped at the boat, then we drove to the dollar store. The dollar store is Maryilyn's favorite, and I must confess, my favorite too. I stocked up on baseball caps. I loose hats very frequently, most of them overboard. If you wear a hat without a chin strap, it blows off when you look up and into the wind. If you wear a hat with a chin strap, it blows off when you look down and away from the wind. I found that the best solution is not to glue them on and not to use heroics to try to save them before sinking, but rather to buy them in bulk at the dollar store. Now, when I loose one, I simply grab another.

After the store we went apple picking. Yesterday was a spelndidly sunny day in the peak of apple picking season in an apple bumper crop year. As you might expect, the pick-it-yourself orchard was crowded. Actually, there was a mob of wannabe pickers like ourselves there. No matter, we had great fun and we came back with a half bushel of very firm very big and very tasty Macintoshes. Great fun.

Next we stopped to see our friends John and Cheri. It was a minor miracle to find those two home on a weekend, but we did. As usual, they were preparing for their next expidition, this one to Yosemite. Cheri was recently named Vice President of National Grid. Wow! I'm very proud of her. She always was the smartest whirlwind of nonstop energy I ever saw. Cheri's role model was Tiger from Winnie the Pooh. Even Tiger would tire watching Cheri in action. Good for you Cheri.

After our visits, I took Marilyn to a matinée movit at Scotia Cinema. We saw Ratatouille. It wasn't Marilyn's style of movie. She slept through most of it. While we were there, Libby baked macaroni and cheese and apple crisp as a special treat for dinner. That was very good.

Today (Monday) I went to my dentist in Albany. Of course that's always a pleasure. Then I went to visit my old employer, NYISO, at it's new location in Rensselaer. My friend Pete acted as my guide. I loved the new facility. I was surprised at the number of new names around the place. They have had a lot of turnover. Many of my friends were not at their desks when I went by. It was a lot of fun. Thank you Pete.

Tomorrow, we move on out, first day to Albany, next day to Catskill, raise the mast, then head for NYC. Upon the first weather window we'll put out to sea and head for Cape May NJ or for Norfolk, VA. It was plenty cold when we woke up this morning -- like the geese, we are reminded that it is time to head south.