Time To Head South

Deltaville    

It seems like summer and fall were gone in a flash. The arrival of winter's chill, however, has reminded us that it is indeed time to head south in search of warmer temperatures and the natural beauty of The Bahamas. A few highlights of our time on land follow to catch you up from where I left off.

My much-needed haircut was Priority #1. After that, I spent the next week working in my yard. I missed the azalea and rhododendron blooms, but enjoyed the full flowering cascade of the rose bushes. Soon thereafter, I headed to Winston-Salem for a visit that included a family outing to Greensboro's Lake Brandt for some kayaking and paddle boarding. Rebekah returned to Virginia with me and stayed for a week. A highlight during that time was hiking to the top of Humpback Rock along the Blue Ridge Parkway ... 

... followed by a visit to Crabtree Falls. Deidre, Aunt B, and Uncle Bennett came up for a day cruise aboard Crossroads before taking Rebekah home. We had perfect weather and partook of a couple imported Bahamian refreshments along the way. My stargazer crop produced a very nice harvest by the end of June.

Barry and I traveled to New Jersey to celebrate a special birthday with Chris and Gina. A FUNN night was had by all when we met Michelle and Tom (and Nutzy) for a Flying Squirrels game. In between outside activities I painted Barry's office and the kitchen, giving our house a fresh and updated look. 

Barry continued with his marine electronics business, but made time to get his '65 Corvette on the road. He took it around the block a couple of times and I joined him for one lap. It is not to the point of being a daily driver just yet ... maybe next summer. Crossroads received an upgrade of two new chartplotters. Barry spent much time under the helm and in the engine room rewiring our freezer (to run off the inverter) and installing a charge controller for our new solar panels. We discovered we had a leaky muffler (its always something) and had to get that repaired. Crossroads was relegated to a dock queen and could not be moved for two months. I dropped the paddle board in the water and explored the creek at a slower pace. 

My two favorite canines made several visits to Camp Newland and we had tons of fun together. Many evenings were spent just watching the sun set from the flybridge. The Humpback Rock hike had made my bothersome knee even more painful. I did my research and visited Dr. Michael Wind on September 1. With no other option left, a total knee replacement was scheduled for October 7. I had one month to get my affairs in order. The biggest task was giving Crossroads a bath and a fresh waxing. Her mirror-like reflection was evidence of a job well done.

I also hit the gym trying to strengthen my legs before October 7. Barry and Glenda joined me on surgery day. I reported at 6:45 am and walked out of the outpatient facility by 1:00, already feeling better than when I hobbled into the building six hours earlier. Once home, I had the best rehab team I could dream of. Cooper cheered me on while I did leg extensions and Glenda made sure I did all of my exercises three times a day. I had goals and was determined to put in the work required to reach them. Barry departed on what turned into a  24-day delivery (thanks to Hurricane Nicole) of a trawler from Bradenton, FL, to Deltaville. I was cleared for normal activity less than two weeks post-surgery. In my absence from Crossroads, Sharon at Salt Canvas was busy recovering the cushions for the bench on the Portuguese bridge. It looks so good. My first solo outing was to UVA to watch a women's basketball game and get a current photo with CavMan.

I was fortunate to attend Seussical the Musical and see Elinor command the stage with an amazing singing and acting performance. I crushed my rehab goal and was stronger than ever to help Glenda load provisions onto Paradigm Shift. She, Greg, Jaxon and Cooper departed on Thanksgiving Day and we hope to meet up with them soon in The Bahamas. Barry finally returned home the day after Thanksgiving. Crossroads visited Zimmerman's Spa for a quick haul, power-washing, zinc replacement, and stabilizer adjustment. Back in the water, she was deemed ready to head south.

I returned to Winston-Salem for my family's traditional Christmas kick-off weekend. We all attended Candle Tea in Old Salem and were thankful that Aunt Wrenn was able to join us this year. It was all smiles at my final PT session with Caroline and Sarah. I am so grateful for their guidance and efforts in getting me back better than ever. Since late October, I had been purchasing canned goods and other nonperishable items for our trip south. Twenty-eight race bags later, I had everything moved onboard and out of our basement. Stowing everything took a few days, but I was pleased at how much I packed away out of sight. A little planning and investment upfront makes for a much more enjoyable and cost efficient trip.  

It was a privilege to photograph two of Tessa's ball games and capture some "real" basketball photos. She played tenacious defense in both games, but its her coast-to-coast driving layup that I'll remember most. After the games, Ian gave me a private trumpet performance. He's been playing for less than a year, but loves it and has already claimed first-chair. December was passing quickly and my To-Do list was still long. Several rounds of leaf gathering sandwiched my day of pruning the crape myrtles. Two pans of lasagna were prepared and frozen for quick ready-to-eat meals on our trip south. The commissary is full, but organized and inventoried. 

A fitting bookend to our land time was a final haircut with Anh Dai. She has taken care of me for 30 years and I'll try not to make too big a mess of things with my onboard trims. The weekend before Christmas was extra special as I got to meet up with Matt and Kirstin at Oscar's high school all star football game. Lunch with Rich was such a treat. I will always consider him my mentor and so much of my success has been built upon principles I learned while working with him for five years. Everything was coming together nicely and then Mother Nature decided to throw us a curveball. I made a quick run to Crossroads to adjust docklines, move fenders, and secure any loose items. The Bomb Cyclone roared through Deltaville with 100mph gusts and the temperature plummeted to single digits. We found ice on our heat pump exhaust and neighbor's docklines on our Christmas Eve return trip, but Crossroads was in good shape. We returned home to await Santa's arrival. On Christmas morning, we managed to finally take our holiday photo before heading to Mom's for Christmas #1.

During the change to frigid weather, Barry had come down with a nasty cough. He masked at mom's house, but opted to not travel to Winston-Salem that evening for Christmas #2. I spent three days with the family, and we all gathered and visited on multiple occasions. Two days ago I drove home and immediately took down all our Christmas decorations. Yesterday, we packed up the last round of necessities then visited with my mom for the final time to drop off my cacti at her house for safe keeping. From there we headed to The Rivah and met Fernando and Judy for dinner on the way to Crossroads. They will be departing in a couple of weeks and following in our wake to The Bahamas. This morning, I transferred all of my frozen food from storage in Glenda's freezer to our onboard freezer then made a run to Food Lion for final fruits, veggies, and deli meat. It was a beautiful day with weather defying the calendar. By noon the temperature soared to 63 -- 55 degrees warmer than my previous trip -- and I changed into summer attire. I reset our docklines to easy-exit travel position before enjoying some time on Fiberglass Beach with one of my new books. By 3:00 my car was parked and covered for winter storage. On our walk back to our slip, we shook our heads as we observed the buds in the Bradford pears that line the marina driveway. Today's weather may be wonderful and have all God's creatures thinking spring, but I know that harsh bite of winter will soon return. Barry and I are fortunate to have the opportunity to escape the "90 Days of February." I fear the Bradford pears will soon have their growth nipped in the bud.

So that's a not-so-brief update on the past seven months. We plan to castoff tomorrow morning at first light (6:30-ish) and start making our way south. My intent is to continue with this blog (which dates back to May 2018) on a daily basis, sharing the photos I take along the way with a few words to connect them all together. Please feel free to contact us with any comments or suggestions. Thanks for following along.