Hi folks. It's been a week or so since our last post and a lot has happened. Let me bring you up to date in chronological order.

We left West Palm, FL on Thursday, February 6th. We had a wonderful motor down the coast to Fort Lauderdale and spent a couple of days at Bahia Mar Marina. Beautiful but a tad bit pricey. After spending another ton of money on yet more boat repairs, we heading up river about a mile to Las Olas Marina. This marina was much less expensive and afforded us all the amenities we needed. Jimmy and Blanche Terracino came to visit on the 10th and we all headed up to Pompano Beach to attend the visitation of our classmate, Margaret Pittner Nelson. She passed away from the ravages of ALS disease. She was a wonderful and beautiful woman who left a wonderful husband and family behind. May she rest in peace.

In the meantime, Peg/Marg's mom had a fall and was hospitalized. She contracted a couple of infections and her dementia dramatically increased. Peg/Marg left for Cleveland on the 13th to be with her mom and I remained in Fort Lauderdale with Alize, on a mooring ball at Las Olas. I would have liked to remain in the marina but my slip was reserved by another boat and they were otherwise full. Fortunately, there were a few mooring balls available so we snagged one and I sent up bachelor quarters not knowing when Peg/Marg was going to return.

To my absolute delight, two boats arrived at the same time we did. Both were people we had seen last year in the Bahamas. Wiley and Merry aboard Les Miserable, were holding over waiting to continue south to Miami and Bill and Mary aboard Southern Vectis, were waiting for their weather window to cross to the Bahamas. We had sailed with Bill and Mary to Lake Worth in Palm Beach but left for Fort Lauderdale a few days before they did. It was very nice to reunite. So from the 13th until yesterday we had a lovely time sharing cocktail hours and dinners together. Both left yesterday on their respective journeys and I remained here. But, my friend John Kalenterides and his girlfriend Cindy Jacobson arrived on their Harleys to spend a day and night with me. What a great time we had. John has been quite ill but he rallied to make the trip down from Englewood, FL. I can't tell you how happy I was to see both of them.

So they departed this afternoon and I got the great news that Peg/Marg is flying back here on Wednesday. Her mother's condition has stabilized and she feels that there is nothing to be gained by continuing her stay there. Besides, it was -2 degrees in Chagrin Falls this morning and it's snowing. Much more pleasant here. The bad news is I only have one day to clear this boat up. Tomorrow is laundry day and I need to move a significant number of beer cans and wine bottles off the boat and into the trash.

Thursday our friends Joy and Joe Kubit are arriving from Marathon and the four of us are going to have dinner. We met them in Old Bahama Bay Marina on Grand Bahama last year and have kept in touch. So the season progresses. We expect to leave for Miami on Friday the 21st and then down to the Keys to arrive in Marathon on Monday the 24th, weather permitting. Stay tuned for the continuing adventures of Dick and Peg/Marg aboard the sailing vessel Alize.