CHESAPEAKE week 5

This was a week of non-stop activity for both of us. On Monday Vince drove me to the BWI (Baltimore Washington International )Airport where I caught a flight to Traverse City to spend a few days with Julie and get a well-needed “baby fix” with the grand children. Leaving the heat and perpetual sunshine of the Chesapeake behind, I arrived in Northern Michigan in time for a light evening shower and temperatures at least 20 degrees cooler. The weather was refreshing. I had forgotten how good a cool breeze could feel on sun burnt skin! The children were adorable—sincerely happy to see “Grammalinda! Grammalinda!”and very well behaved. Lilly at two-and-a-half is talking up a storm and 4 year old Matthew is full of beans. They got on so well together sharing toys and playing baby games that they had invented—chasing each other, hiding and squealing with delight when “caught”. This was so much better than before when they liked nothing better than jumping all over ME. Now they jump on each other instead—much better!

Vince meanwhile was back at the boat, “free at last! to pull out all of his various tools and spread them over every available surface without having me around to complain about not having somewhere to sit. For 5 glorious days he happily tinkered with the engine and modified plumbing. At mealtime it was no more of “Linda’s Leftovers” and instead, he ate like a king—dining with friends and hitting the local seafood shop for steamed shrimp at lunch.

But for both of us, all good things must come to an end and on Friday, as I kissed the poppets goodbye, Vince packed up his “tool-toys” and we both made our separate ways to the BWI once again. What a zoo that place was—it’s a wonder that we were able to find each other with all the connecting terminals, escalators, and general bru-ha-ha—sheer chance! Finally, after managing to win the memory game “find the car”, we headed off to Annapolis and another fun weekend.

The boat show was in full swing when we arrived here and traffic was horrendous. Somehow we managed to make it to the Hampton Inn & Suites “without incident” and enjoyed two delightful days of luxury and pampering. Most of you have seen the cramped sleeping conditions we “enjoy” on the boat, so you can imagine how wonderful it felt for us to be able to sprawl across the bed with mountains of pillows and a cozy comforter. We watched TV for the first time in almost 3 months and enjoyed a sumptuous buffet breakfast each morning. During the days, I took the hotel shuttle to the “olde towne” while Vince went to the hotel conference room for the 2-day seminar on “weather forecasting” sponsored by the “Seven Seas Cruising Association” of which we are members. While he was pouring over weather charts and making copious notes, I strolled cobbled streets, admired the architecture, poked about in shops and sampled crab cakes! At $400. a pop for the weather course, we decided that only one of us would attend. And, since Vince is already the sailor, navigator, and engine mechanic, it seemed only logical that he should be the weatherman too. Then, if anything happens to me, it doesn’t matter because Vince has all the “survival” knowledge. If anything happens to him however, it’s game over and down with the ship for us both! (que sera, sera).

In any event, we both ended up doing what we each wanted to do for the weekend. Every day was fun and in the evening, over dinner, we enjoyed sharing with each other what we had done for the day. Funny how we each thought we had the better deal. “Different strokes for different folks”. And I’m grateful that we complement each other so well.