October 14, 2010

Bags are packed and its time to leave Canada for another cruising season in the Caribbean. We have enjoyed spending time with our family and friends. We have shopped till we dropped. We have eaten ice cream whenever the opportunity presented itself. We have seen my stepson, Sandy (Dave Christie Jr.) drink copious amounts of tequila, transform into a wolf and start howling at his new grandaughter, London, so she would stop crying. His plan did not work, but it gave the rest of the family time to crawl under the table and hide till Sandy paid the restaurant bill.Had a wonderful time with my son, James and my step-daughters, Deanna and Cherie, their spouses, my grandkids and my 3 great-granddaughters in cold and snowy Calgary.

In Victoria, we spent as many hours as we could with Jim's daughter, Trina and son-in-law, Mark. More visiting was done with Jim's brothers and sister-in-laws, and family members in Nanaimo and Port Alberni. Our friends and families wined and dined us. Jim and I spent some quality time with my mom, who lives in a care home. It was wonderful to catch up with everyone! Sadly, we were given no opportunity to spend time with Jim's son, Mike and beloved grandson, Emery.

HEADING TO THE USA:
"Born To Be Wild" is blasting from Jim and Jeannie Cosgrove's motor home as we speed towards the Canadian/United States border crossing. We are helping our friends escape the 9-5 work life by taking them up on their offer of a ride to the Seattle airport. Approaching the crossing, we quickly put on our "retired old people" look and switched off the radio. We had a lot of goods destined for the Caribbean, the most important being the jelly beans..and we did not want any of it confiscated.
Passports were shown, questions answered, and we were welcomed into the US. Later that night we shared a good-bye dinner at our favourite restaurant, Sharps Roaster and Ale House. Next morning we caught a 6:00 AM flight- destination Puerto Rico. Plans were to explore Old San Juan for the day and then take an evening flight to Grenada. Our friends, Philip and Julia would meet us at the airport and drive us to the Yellow House- we have rented their suite for 2 weeks while we work on Emerald Seas at Grenada Marine.
Emerald Seas looked a bit dusty on the outside but inside she was as neat, dry and mould free as when we left her. We scrubbed the decks and made our work plans. The next day found us working hard at removing all the bottom paint. The temperature is in the mid-80's. The sweat is pouring from us. Bug repellant has been sprayed generously over our bodies as there is Dengue fever on the island. As we spend our days scraping paint, the riggers at Turbulence, are busy doing our standing rigging. So far, we have been slaving for 8 days and we still have lots to do before launching Emerald Seas.
Its great to be back! Love to all, Renate & Jim