Mobile to Denver and back, and on to Florida

November 12 - 28, 2001 - Mobile to Denver and back, and on to Florida

Have you missed us? I guess I got a little tired of my routine of writing, and you know, of course, that a writer can't write if he or she isn't in the mood. Our trip to Mobile was uneventful and it felt good to get settled in one spot for a few days. I did a TON on laundry - I don't know where it all comes from. We called Jim Cobb's friends parents who live in Mobile as Jim thought John Case might be able to help us with getting the part for the generator. Actually, Bill was able to order and get the part pretty easily, and all is working fine now. John and Glenn Case invited us to go to a party with them Tuesday night and we said o.k. It was fun to get off the boat and do something else. It turned out that the party was a fund raiser to raise money to get the Tall Ships to visit Mobile next summer for their 300 year anniversary, and because the people giving the party were friends of the Cases they encouraged us to join them. They picked us up and we stopped by their house, which was the prettiest home I've ever seen. Glenn is a decorator and the home was outstanding and beautiful. Then on to the party, which was in a beautiful mansion, where we met many interesting people, including the Mayor, and an orthodontist, who knew Charlie Duncan - what a small world it is. After the party we went to dinner at Ruth Crists Steak House - wonderful. Glenn and John Case were a lot of fun, and were so nice to entertain us. Very interesting - from Bobby's Fish Camp to Mobile Society. Never a dull moment.

Thursday the 15th we jumped ship and headed for the airport for our trip to Colorado to see the kids. It was so good to see them. It was a very busy time as we divide our time between households in order to see them all. James is 9 months old now and is just precious, Madelyn is 6 years old is growing up way too fast - so much fun , and Daniel is 3, and very cute and busy. Sunday afternoon we babysat with all of them at David's while Pam did some shopping and Amy and Jim went to a Broncos game in the cold and rain. On Thanksgiving Day we drove to Vail for the day and then Bill and I drove back to Denver that night in a snowstorm for our early morning flight back to Mobile. I don't know what we would have done without Mikes truck with the 4 wheel drive, which he had loaned us - Thanks a million Mike and Catherine. All of the Cobb family arrived late in the day on Thanksgiving, after delays along the way from Charlotte. It was good to see them, but we only had a short visit before we had to head back to Denver over the passes right after dinner..

Being in Colorado with the kids was great and I always hate to leave, but Amy, Jim, and James will be in Fort Myers with us at Christmas, and Catherine and Mike will come in early January to celebrate Catherine's 40th and her dad's 70th - can you believe it. Dave and Pam are working on their plans to join us sometime this winter.

When we got back to Mobile we got ready to leave the next day for Pensacola where we would meet my brother John, but the weather forecast had the T word in it (Tornados), so we opted to wait until Sunday. We did leave Sunday and arrived about 3:00. John joined us and we made plans. We decided to stay in Pensacola on Monday to visit the Navel Museum, which is very nice and interesting. Had Linda and Carl (from the Tesoro) over for a cocktail and a visit, grilled hamburgers for dinner, watched the news and got to bed early. Tuesday, we left for Destin about 9:30 - about 45 miles away. The Intracoastal Waterway is very wide in spots and very narrow in others. The buoy's and markers are all different from the ones on the rivers, so I have to go back to school. John is trying to show me how to read the charts and numbers. It is VERY humid and hot. The next time you see me I'm sure I'll have a butch haircut. I knew that salt water and salt air would take its toll, but it is really bad. The whole boat is covered with salt every day, and John is washing the WHOLE thing down as soon as we get to port. He really works hard. I guess he'll earn his keep. He say's that if we don't do that, everything will go to hell and a hand basket quickly, so I guess we are stuck with more cleaning and washing than we bargained for.

Destin was a beautiful spot, but we were surprised that there were hardly any people. Where are all the snowbirds? Right now we are headed for Panama City and John is out washing the boat as we go. I don't know what we'll do without him. Sure hope we can cross the gulf before he has to go home, as it is nice to have help.

The wind and waves picked up again when we got into St. Andrews Bay and water sprayed all over the bow again, so we had to wash down the boat again when we got to Bay Point Marina in Panama City. What a pain in the neck. We are off to Carrabelle tomorrow.