Cheryl's Notes:

We are safely back in North Carolina after seven weeks in Minnesota. We drove to almost every corner of the state. We had graduation in Moorhead, went to our old marina in Bayfield, WI and spent a few restful weeks at Becky's lake home in Deerwood. Her home is on Serpent Lake and we fell asleep every night listening to a pair of Loons calling to each other.

We had quite the mix of family events while in Minnesota. We had the graduation of my youngest daughter, the death of John's oldest daughter, we set a date for my older daughter's wedding and a celebration for my father's 80th birthday. We were caught up in a roller coaster of emotions. We spent a lot of time connecting with family and old friends. Minnesota is beautiful and we took a lot of pictures while we were home. I have created a Minnesota gallery for those who are interested.

We are now getting the boat ready for our big summer trip. We will be starting later than originally planned, but hope that we can still fit in all of the destinations on our agenda. Our only real goal is to meet John's sister in Washington DC the first week of August. The rest of the trip will be spent exploring the Chesapeake. We would like to get as far north as Baltimore with a stopover in Annapolis. We will probably wing it for most of the trip, working around the weather as we go.

On a final note, I will officially be eligible for AARP on Wednesday. I am sure that my mailbox will be inundated with offers for senior citizen benefits. On the plus side, I am still younger than most of our friends in the sailing community. John will now be able to say that I am a really cheap date.

John's Notes:

It's hard to know where to start. It's been so long since I have felt like making any entry to our blog. What I have been through the last couple of months is something no parent should ever have to endure. There are times when I think that life will return to normal and then I begin to feel guilty. Other times I will just sit and become overcome with grief. Emotion like this is a rollercoaster. For the sake of everyone, myself included, it's time to move forward. When we get back from our trip I'm going to sit down with a fellow liveaboard here in the marina. Dennis told me that he lost a son several years ago. I need to know more about how he dealt with the loss and how long before you don't hurt so much.

Last note on this subject. I want to thank all of the people who have expressed their sympathy. It has been greatly appreciated. I know that lots of you reading this know my ex-wife, Lorree. She is really having a difficult time. If you haven't talked to her in awhile I would appreciate it if you gave her a call and tell her that you are thinking about her or drop her a line. I know that she would appreciate it. If you don't have her numbers, contact me for her phone number or address.

As Cheryl has said, we are taking a trip to the Chesapeake. Cheryl missed that part last summer and I was in a hurry to get to North Carolina. Everyone says that it's going to be hot there. I keep wondering if they have missed the nightly news lately. It's going to be hot here too. Might as well be on the boat sailing as tied to the dock waiting for it to cool off. We have nothing but time. I'd like to be back for a couple of months before we take off for the Bahamas so that I can get a few more boat projects done. We just can't seem to find enough time or enough money for the boat. It seems like just a few years ago I said that we only need about $5.000 more and we will be done. That must have been about $20,000 ago and we are still adding new stuff. Can't wait till we have to start replacing the gear we already have.