4/24/16          sunday            Deltaville, VA


Lots of wind last night which assured us that we would NOT be traveling today. Joyful, Joyful I adore wind....NOT!!! but relieved that there was no question of leaving this morning. Decision made.

Amelia and I got up around 7:00 AM. Amelia was up a good half hour earlier begging for company and food. Nope, not yet. But at 7:00 I was too awake to lay around. Besides, I had a book to finish so coffee and sitting in the pilot house....after feeding kitty. Finished the book. I'm surprisingly (to me) really into the John Grisham mysteries/novels. I'll have read most of them by the end of this trip.

Speaking of which....HOW can it be in the twenties of April?!?!?!?!! and barely the early twenties!!! Clearly we're not going to be home by May 15. Merde. While I'm not feeling as homesick as yesterday....actually not at all today....the John Grisham character got home and decided to go back to Europe but there was a home coming event..... I don't want to miss spring in Maine!!! And we know spring happens in May!!! Looking forward to being back "at sea" tomorrow early.

We finished scraping, sanding, oiling the starboard rails this morning. I finished my novel and David got up. BIG breakfast on board and then I beat the shit (dust, cat hair, gunnerrr, stuff) out of our pilot house rug. A perfect place over the dock railing with the north wind blowing strongly all the dust away. It is sooooo gratifying to watch the dirt leave on the wind and/or float away in the water. Apologies fishes and turtles and other aquatic creatures/life.  Then on to the rails. They are beautiful now. We've noticed that the port side rails, finished in Morehead City less than a week ago, are fading. So the future luster of the starboard rails is questionable but for now they are beautiful.  We finished them in time to get a shower and semblance of lunch before our new friend, Penny, picked us up.

What a delightful time with Penny and Joe. Penny took us on a short drive to see the land and beautiful sights. Then to their modular home which was so pretty and on a beautiful lot with lots of green grass and bushes and trees and BIRDS galore...cardinals (male and female), goldfinches, chipping sparrows and a grey bird I didn't recognize. David saw a woodpecker. We chatted and chatted about our various boating experiences. They have quit cruising but had done so for 7 years starting at her age 62, his 67. So, we're sort of on their schedule. Lots of stories and we all shared pretty equally even though they had more experience than we. Joe was a rocket  scientist, as he told me when we met yesterday. "Wow, I've never met a real rocket scientist before." We both laughed. She worked in a job but was totally involved in theater on the technical side "after hours." So we all had lots to talk about. Joe also showed David some stuff about single side ban radios and weather which is one of the reasons we wanted to visit w/them. Joy all around. A couple we hope to remain in touch with.

Back at the boat we've redistributed the stuff on the aft deck, tied things down, put the beaten rug back down, checked the engine fluids, checked the tides and winds for tomorrow, bought eggs and bread and ice and are ready to push off early in the morning.

life is good. We are blessed in so many ways including, especially, friends....the new ones and the ones who've been with us for years.