Back on the Boat At Last

New Bern, NC

It is cold and very windy here today.  Nevertheless, we're back and glad to be home again.  Tarwathie is home.  Tonight we get to sleep on our own bed once again.   It seems like a very long time we were away.  First, I got sick, then Libby got sick, then to recover we jumped in the car and headed for the Florida keys.

Our trip was a great success.  

• On the way down, we stopped to visit with Jeff and Wendy in Labelle.  
• Then we drove to Marathon in the keys to visit with Bob and Sandra.   
• God it was nice.  It is so easy to forget how wonderful The Keys weather is in winter.  
• Our coughs and congestion vanished as soon as we got to the keys.
• While in Marathon we got to see lots of other cruising friends.
• Bob and I took a side trip to Miami where I bought solar panels from Sun Electric.
• After leaving the keys, we visited Everglades National Park.  (our coughs and congestion returned as soon as we hit the mainland()
• We visited with Ray and Pat in Bradendon.   They are former cruisers.  Pat taught Libby to make pine needle baskets.
• We visited with cruisers Chris and June.
• We visited with Bo and Joyce on board Dream Catcher in Myrtle Beach.
• We even found some world-class trees with very long pine needles along the side of the road.
• Now, our coughs and congestion are much diminished once again, our skin is less white and our spirits are lifted.  That was a very welcome break.

Thank you everyone.  Now we are ready to plunge back in to projects and preparing for our summer travels.  Only 5 weeks left in New Bern.

p.s. I volunteered to teach a course on Excel at the New Bern Library.  Demand is high.   Three sessions are scheduled.   I love teaching, so it should be fun.