Looking like an elephant on a tricycle here, I thought to take a moment and point out that the cruising life is not all awesome adventures and glorious sunsets. From time to time we have to stop and get things; like food and wine and other stuff. And when there's a chance for laundry on shore we take it. Often places that need visiting are beyond reasonable walking distance so I have the folding bike pictured above, that allows me to fetch things farther afield and also get needed exercise. Unfortunately, unsupervised by Nancy, some of the food I buy requires yet more exercise, a foible I fight somewhat fecklessly. Nonetheless the bicycle has been a handy way to get around at times.

Another useful tool more recently acquired was a little two-wheel cart. It has tiny three-inch wheels, a basket the size of a large milk basket and a long handle, but it handily folds into the size of a small briefcase. This is easier to drive that the bicycle and is probably more age appropriate for me. Nancy discovered this gem on a rainy day at the marina laundry at Cape May - another reason for being regular with one's laundry as the data occasionally imparted there be even more useful than clean underwear.

We read recently about the snow on some of Vermont's hilltops, but fail to find the usual fondness for that harbinger of winter. We miss Vermont, home and most particularly our friends and family there, but it is possible to find sufficient succor in the sun-filled days of shorts and tees we are presently enjoying in southern Maryland. And we will soon depart in our continuing endeavor to follow the sun as it makes its way toward the southern hemisphere.