A visit home
08 April 2009 | Chicago, IL
Bill
OK, I have been quite remiss in writing. I ran into a sailor that I know on the street in Chicago and he mentioned that I haven't posted in over a month!
Some family issues have called our trip short. I we are all in Chicago now. Wanderlust is lonely in Ponce, Puerto Rico. I will have to return there to sail her to Florida where she will go up for sale. Anybody out there want to take a sailboat trip from Puerto Rico to Florida. I figure it will take about 10 days on the water.
Only I (Bill) Will return to the boat and clean our stuff out and head back. So for the family the trip is over. I think the kids are all happy to be back. It has been hard on them in some ways and life on shore is easier for them. The teenagers have missed the social interactions that come with being in Chicago, and attending school. Judy and I miss the boat and the traveling life.
I saw Lake Michigan again. It was in an angry mood. Muddied waters with large waves crashing up on the shore, and whitecaps everywhere. One of the wonders of the world. And I saw snow for the first time in over 2 years. Snow in April!
We went to Madison Wisconsin and visited Judy's mom and sister. We also saw our close friends Zaccai and Tamar and their 2 daughters. I have seen some friends in Chicago too. It is easy to slip back into life in the "Real World" We very unclucky to have come at the worst possible time regarding the economy.
I went to play "Airsoft" with a friend of mine and his son. It is basically paintball but with air gun powered rubber bb's. The guns are replicas of real ones and the people wear full camo. Other than the weapons everything is real. There were setup so various battle situations and each one was a "game". I snuck up on two guys who were behind cover. When I 'shot' them, I saw surprise and even fear on one of their faces. I do not feel comfortable pointing a weapon, even a toy one, at people and am not likely to make this a hobby.
Anyway I am back for a while, and will write again from Puerto Rico when I get there.