It was so hard to believe that 8 months had passed since we were in the states! Our 10 day trip to visit family and friends in Omaha, Illinois, Michigan went by so quickly. It was wonderful to spend some quality time with our Vacha cousins and family, reminiscing, catching up and getting to know each other after so many years. Our love and thankfulness to Uncle Bob & Bill & Jean for the time we were all able to spend together, remembering our dear Aunt Rose, whose absence has left sadness in our lives but know she will always be with us in our hearts.
Our next stop with John in Illinois was terrific, as always. Seeing him and Big Lou, Greg, Grant and Sue was very special for us. Friends since college, John & Lou are like family, time never changes a thing, just adds a few grey hairs and wonderful memories.
It was great to see our family in Illinois & Michigan. Dorota, Aunt Shirl, Pam, Aunt Lill, Uncle Ed and Ken, Mar and the whole Skiba clan! It's been too long since our last visit and hopefully not that long till our next one!
Our flight to Boston was 1st class all the way! Too bad it was 90 minutes late, which added to our picking up Sharon & Alan from the Portland, ME airport and their 6 hr wait. Oh but what a great time we had! A bit of rain and fog couldn't dampen our fun as we hiked, talked, ate Lobster and did some tourist sightseeing. Our week with them just flew by but knowing we would have another 2 weeks to visit in CA made it all okay...
Ahhhhh 4th of July...What a great holiday we had with JoAnne, Jerry and Mike, Manu and nephew Sean! The island was alive with many "Hupperites" and for the next week we had a great visit with everyone, planted some greenery and enjoyed watching Sean become an islander!
Our final leg of our 6 week "tour" had arrived and loosing 3 of our 4 checked baggage was a new experience for us! Especially since our metal detector was amongst the missing. But alas they all showed up 24 hrs later. We had a fantastic stay with Sharon & Alan and while a bit of time was spent seeing Dr's & DDS' and filling our shopping list for stuff to take back to the boat, we had a great time visiting with friends AND being able to spend time with Kristen & Chris even while she worked up in Mendocino County on the wild fires. A very proud moment for us mixed with feelings of uneasiness that she was actually fighting fires, dousing smoldering roots, eating MRE's and sleeping on dirt & rocks! We were just grateful she made it home the night before we were leaving! Thanks Chris & Kristen for the best surprise!
We had a great time and so good to see and spend alittle time with MJ, Phyllis & Rich, Rose (my CA mom) Jane & Dana, Rachel & Fletch, Teresa & Andrea, Deb and baby Ian, Issi, Tony, Conrad & Nicole and Larry. so sorry to the Fletchers...the last 2 days just flew by and we missed connecting with you one last time!
Alas our time has come and our vacation must come to an end...Our thanks to ALL who helped make this such a memorable tripl We have a special place in our hearts for each of you and look forward to visiting again next year, or welcoming you to Maine some time! You know you are all welcome to come visit us aboard Triple Stars during our journey... We look forward to Costa Rica during August, passing thru the Panama Canal in early October, the San Blas islands, Cartagena Columbia, then up to Isla de Providencia, Western Caribbean, Yucatan Peninsula, Belize or Cozumel(maybe around Christmas), Dry Tortugas, hopefully Cuba, then up to Key West, Florida... Just give us an email.... To our friends and family whom we weren't able to connect with....we are very sorry and look forward to catching you on the next visit... Hasta Luego...