But it's a motor boat!

Gretchen and I went to Danville about 10 days ago to pick up our new boat, and guess what, it has a motor! Indeed, we have made the transition from sailing to motoring boating. It's a Key West 1720 and we are looking forward to using it on SML and continuing our exploration of coastal waters!

The dealer gave us a good orientation and then we trailed her to SML. It was too late in the afternoon to go for a test drive so we made plans to do that in the morning.

Friday dawned clear, warm and calm....a good day for motor boating! Calm and boating....getting used to that concept will take some time! The motor break-in schedule called for one hour of motoring at 2000 rpm or less with a second hour of getting the boat up on a plane and then backing off on the rpms. Half way through the second hour, we picked up Jenny and Jeff and went out for a ride. I told Jeff everything seemed fine but the speedometer didn't seem to be working. But.....then we got the boat up on a plane and the speedometer worked! In the first hour we had not gone above 10 mph, the minimum speed registered. The quote of the day came from Gretchen with less than two hours traveling in our new boat. She declared to her sister, "Motor boating is much better than sailing!" Then Gretchen put 40 years of sailing behind her by taking the helm and brining the boat up on a long, long, fast plane!

Born to plane!

After our first two weeks as motor boaters, we know we made the right decision transitioning from sailing to motor boating. We will get a lot more use out of our Key West and see a lot more sights than we would if we kept SunShower. Plus, SunShower was sold last week....as quickly as we could have anticipated!

Key West 1720

 

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Memorial Day

Gretchen and I had a fun Memorial Day Weekend with Jenny and Jeff. We're so glad they are spending more time at SML.

Sisters!

On Friday, we motored up the lake to find a restaurant Jenny wanted to check out. Since it was beyond the bridge where sailboats never tred, Gretchen and I got to explore a part of the Lake we had never been to! Saturday we motored....really fast....down to the dam with Jeff testing out his theory that the bigger the waves, the more speed you have will smoothe out the ride. Let's just say his theory will never become a law. Sunday we enjoyed a quiet picnic lunch in Bender's Cove off of Bull Run. It was a great weekend for boating!

Sunday, Maureen, Steve and Elizabeth joined us for dinner....always a fun time. But wait, there's more...the weekend was not at an end. J&J came to Lynchburg to join us for a picnic at Gary and Laurie's house with David, Emily, Jack and Jan. Jeff was quite enchanted with corn hole. He even had a walk away win with back to back 3 point corn holes! Thanks for a great weekend guys!

 

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A New Path

Gretchen and I spent the weekend with Katie and the kids. It was the first time we saw her since David and she officially separated. Everyone seems to be adjusting well. We had fun playing badminton with the neighbors, walking on the river trail, and just hanging out.

Some decisions in life are very difficult and we credit Katie for making one that will hopefully, put her on a path toward a happier, more fulfilling life! Love you Katie!

 

 

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Maggie's Baptism

Mother's Day weekend, we headed to SC to see the Hills. There were mothers in attendance, Gretchen, Rachel and Kelley....but celebrating them on their special day was not the only reason for the trip. Kelley and Seth joined Belin Memorial Methodist Church and Maggie was baptized!

The ceremonies were very nice and the church, located on the Inlet is huge with average weekly attendance at the services around 1000 people! It has a very active youth program and will provide a lot of opportunities for Maggie as she grows up.

A tropical storm in the area limited outside activities but it was still a great family weekend! Thanks Kelley and Seth.

 

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Henry's Spring Break

Henry's spring break was the week before Easter, so there was plenty of candy to be eaten! Gretchen and Henry went to LU to see if Henry liked ice skating, but the rink was closed for renovation. So they've got it on the agenda for a future visit!

A trip to Roanoke had us eating lunch in the land of the Hokie's...at Beamer's Restaurant which in next to the Transportation Museum, our destination for the day!

Henry liked the model trains and he could not believe how big the engines in the rail yard were! Some of the wheels on the engines were taller than Gramdma and Grandpa!

Henry and Grandpa planted rosemary plants and sun flower seeds in the garden....and they are beginning to grow. Also, Grandma had Henry fill all of the eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt we had when Maggie and Audrey came later in the week. I'm sure Henry didn't eat any candy when he was filling the eggs.

Kelley and Maggie came on Wednesday and Grandma read Maggie a "good night" story.

Audrey and Katie came on Thursday and we celebrated Kelley's birthday. We won't say how old she is...but she is more than six times Henry's age!

Happy Birthday Dear Kelley.....Happy Birthday to you!

Friday was the day of the Easter Egg Hunt and a great time was had by the cousins! And I'm sure they saved all of their candy to eat on Easter Sunday!

It was a fun week Henry and we look forward to you coming to Lynchburg during your summer break!

 

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At an end

Forty-three years of racing and cruising sailboats came to an end this weekend when we delivered SunShower to a dealer on the Chesapeake Bay to sell! Gretchen and I have many wonderful memories of our life as sailors! But...years pass, injuries happen, bodies are weakened and I realize I just can't do the kind of activities required to sail a small catboat on coastal waters. We'll still be in touch with sailors at the Club and I'm currently restoring a laser for the grand children so they can learn to sail. Hopefully, they will go to VISAYC sail camp and enjoy it as much as their mothers did!

 

Sailing SunShower on Smith Mountain Lake

This may seem like a sad blog, but it is not. Gretchen and I adapt quickly and we are looking forward to exploring coastal waters in our new motor boat. In fact, we'll be on Mobjack Bay in May!

 

Oxford, MD ferry at sunset.

 

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3.1415926

Pi Day

At the Governor's School we celebrated Pi Day every year on March fourteenth (3.14). Parents brought in so many pies that all of the students and faculty had their fill and we still delivered extra pies to Daily Bread every year. It was a fun event!

Angie with the Pi pie she baked.

So when we realized this year was a special (once in a hundred years) Pi Day and that Woodruff's Pie Shop had $2.00 slices all day.....we picked up Gary and Laurie and headed to Elon! We didn't make it by 9:26 a.m. so we only celebrated to the fourth decimal place!

Laurie, Mrs. Woodruff (98 years old) and Gretchen

We enjoyed a lively conversation with Mrs. Woodruff while enjoying cherry, pecan, coconut custard and buttermilk pie slices. Yum...Yum. Angie says this is the only Pi Day she will have since the next one doesn't come around until 2115....but I think she only needs to celebrate to two decimal places and have a Pi Day annually like the Governor's School.

 

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