After our wonderful reunion with Ray and Patti from Whisper and a great meal with the fellow cruisers from Riverside Marina, we retreat to our hotel intending to start our long car drive home - but we'll be travelling at 70 mph, not the 7 knots we make on the boat. Our plan is to take two days to get to New Jersey, spend a few days with Judy's family, then return to NB. We hope the snow will be gone when we get home.

I find it hard to leave the boat; Judy and Chopin have turned the corner and are now looking ahead to our return. On our way home we stop at Daytona Beach to have lunch with Ray and Helen who you may remember from previous blogs as the wonderful couple who helped us immeasurably when we found out about John's death and prepared to return home. It was great seeing them again and we'll surely cross paths with them again in our travels.

The van is loaded to the gills and there's only a bit of space for Chopin, his cage and his kitty litter. But, he doesn't complain and is happy so long as he's close to Judy. The new vehicle works like a champ and we make good time to our interim destination of Florence, South Carolina.

Next day, we travel the rest of the way to Cinnaminson NJ where Judy's Mom and Dad and two of her sisters, a brother, and their families live. We run into bumper to bumper traffic around Washington and heavy rain. But, it's not too bad and we arrive here at about 6:30. The welcome as usual is warm and loving!