It was time for a vacation. It sounds strange to say, but it was time to visit family and friends and so we took a vacation. We left AfterMath at Lamb’s Yacht Center in Jacksonville, FL where the annual maintenance was taking place, and after spending a couple of days at Kelly and Craig’s house, we hopped in our rental car and started on our way. First stop, Annapolis.

Rush and Walt were happy helping to plant flowers in the yard.Ford’s only job was to look cute for a quick photo shoot.

John had not yet met Ford, our newest grandson, then two weeks old, so that was our first mission. Walter and Rush, Ford’s big brothers, hadn’t seen John since Christmas and they were thrilled to show off their new baby. They love to talk with John about boats and planes so “Bop” was whisked away quickly so the three could catch up. There was also a lot of landscaping going on at Jeff and Sarah’s house and I was happy to get my hands back in the soil again. Walt and Rush were great helpers with planting and giving those new little plants an extra fertilizer boost.

Don Kirk is sorely missed by this group of good friends.  We have been through everything together from the time we all met and were having babies till now, when we are all grandparents.  It is a group of friends like none other.

As the week ended it was time for another road trip, this time to Connecticut. One of our dear friends, Don Kirk, passed away last September. He and Jan moved to North Carolina a couple of years ago, but a memorial in our hometown of Bethel was planned for Saturday, May 6^th. We didn’t want to miss it. Jeff wanted to attend too, so the three of us started on our way shortly after dinner late Friday afternoon. Saturday morning we went to breakfast in the town in which all of our children we raised, passing by familiar sights and the house that we called home for 28 years. The service was lovely. Jeff enjoyed seeing old friends from school and we loved seeing our “gourmet group”, an incredibly close group of seven couples who met as young adults and grew up together as much as our kids did. Jeff stayed at his friend Greg’s house Saturday night and, after a fun dinner in town with the gourmet group, we went to John’s brother, Jim’s, and sister-in-law, Julie’s house in Southbury, CT.

Stacey and her horse, LucyJust another horse at the barn – but who could resist this face?Jeff and Stephen.  Two great guys!

We loved having time with Jim and Julie. On Sunday, Jeff transferred to their house as well.  After Julie and I made a visit to the barn where our niece, Stacey, keeps her horse, we were all able to spend time with Stacey and our nephew, Stephen, for Sunday night dinner.

From the top of Mohawk Mountain in Connecticut

Jeff moved on to see his friend’s new farm in Newtown, CT on Monday and then continued on to Groton to see another friend graduate from Officers Candidate School at the Coast Guard Academy.  John and I  took a nice ride with Jim and Julie through Litchfield and the surrounding areas, and ate lunch at an eclectic little restaurant. Later, after we returned to Southbury, another of John’s brothers, Rich, and his girlfriend, Kathy, stopped by on their way back to Newport, R. I. from Florida.

Brothers!  When Rush gets stuck, Walt gives a helping push with his four-wheeler.Yes, that’s John on Walt’s four-wheeler.  Some things you are just never too old for.Serious fence building taking place here.After a day of hard work a hot dog roast and s’mores cooked outside on the fireplace are the perfect dinner.It was a rainy day, but Jeff and Sarah found the perfect place for us to do a photo shoot – the Naval Academy, right near their house.John thought of asking Jeff to get our picture with the grandchildren.  I am so happy to have this.It is oh, so hard to not be silly!

Tuesday afternoon, Jeff picked us up and we drove back to Annapolis. For the next couple of days we just enjoyed our time with Jeff and Sarah and the boys. John and Jeff worked on building a fence, I got some time to take some pictures, and we both got to spend some fun time with our grandsons.

Saturday, May 13, came too quickly and we were on a plane back to Jacksonville. The fun part was that Kelly and the kids picked us up at the airport. We went back to her house for a little while to visit before getting Kirby at the animal clinic where Kelly is a veterinarian. We returned back to AfterMath that evening, but we only had to wait to the next day to get to spend time with her family again on Mother’s Day.

Madison just couldn’t resist getting right into the tide-pool, dress and all.Carter makes everyone smile wherever he goes.  Michaela is getting so grown up these days.  It’s hard to believe she will be 10 this summer!The perfect way to spend Mother’s Day.  With family and on the beach.

Mother’s Day was warm and beautiful, unlike the weather we experienced in Maryland and Connecticut, so we piled into Kelly and Craig’s van and went to Fernandina Beach. There we had a wonderful lunch and then walked along the beach. The children played in tide pools, of course getting wet and sandy, and we all had a wonderful time.

And finally, we had our picture taken with Kelly’s kids after dinner on AfterMath.

Monday was spent provisioning the boat again, and, as Kelly chauffeured me around to do so, we were able to spend the day together. There was shuffling of kids between school and dance class, but we ended up aboard AfterMath for a pizza dinner with the grandchildren. Of course it was sad to say goodbye again, but we are so happy we will be seeing them in just a few weeks when the whole family will gather at Jeff and Sarah’s house for the Fourth of July weekend.

It was great fun watching this helicopter practicing in Brunswick, GA

As always, it took a couple more days for the boat to be ready with last minute adjustments and fixes, but we didn’t get to see kids again as there was school and work for them to attend. On Friday we left Jacksonville and started our way north, stopping along the way at various anchorages in Georgia. In Brunswick, where we stopped to fuel for the first time since the east coast of Puerto Rico, we were entertained by a Coast Guard helicopter’s practice right near us. Today we are near Savannah, the only boat in an anchorage, waiting for some thunderstorms to pass by.

The waters are different here than in the Caribbean for sure, but we are happy to be here, nearer our family and in calm seas.  Everyday is still an adventure.  There is so much to see!  We are now looking forward to our weekend in early July with all of family at Jeff’s house in Annapolis,  We haven’t seen Jason and Lisa since we got back, as they were sticking close to home awaiting the birth of Lisa’s daughter, Ashley’s baby, Jace, who just arrived last Wednesday!  It’s so hard to get everyone together with births, work, school, and activities, but we will do it and I can’t wait!

Here is where we are today:

John drove me to Ft. Lauderdale on April 16^th to catch my plane to Annapolis. It was exciting to think that I was leaving AfterMath and would return just a few days later with our sixth grandchild as part of our world. My flight went well and Jeff picked me up in Baltimore the day before the new little guy’s arrival, which happened to be Easter Sunday. After a fun evening with Jeff, Sarah, Walt, Rush and Sarah’s parents, Mike and Susie, everyone scurried about packing and getting ready for the new baby who was scheduled to be delivered the following day.

Walt Rush

Ford’s arrival.  April 17, 2017

On the morning of Monday, the 17^th I enjoyed playing with Walt and Rush while the rest of the crew headed off to the hospital. Around noon I received a message that Sarah and Jeff were moving to the delivery room so I handed the boys off to Diana, their new au pair, and made my way to the hospital. Although it was just a couple of hours it seemed like a long time until those of us who were grandparents were actually called to the room where we could finally get our hands on the newest little boy of the Daigle and Dunn families. Ford Nelson Daigle was perfect at 7 pounds 8 ounces and 19 ½ inches long. Just a short time later Susie and Mike went back to the house and picked up the big brothers and the family of five was together for the first time.

Ford came home wearing the outfit John picked out for Jeff’s homecoming 35 years ago.

Walt loves his 4-WheelerSilliness with brothers!

For the next couple of days there was some shuttling about back and forth to the hospital so everyone could have a chance to visit and cuddle with Ford. Sarah and the baby came home on Wednesday, much to everyone’s delight. Both mother and baby are healthy and well and we are forever grateful that we have a new grandson to round out the Jeff and Sarah Daigle family.

AfterMath at the dock with a big sister LRC.

Thursday, April 20^th, came quickly and I was back on a plane headed to Ft. Lauderdale. I took an Uber back to North Palm Beach and climbed back aboard AfterMath that night. Early the following morning we left our dock and started back up the ICW. It was a beautiful day outside and we enjoyed our views of the waterway as we moved along to Fort Pierce. There we found an anchorage in Faber Cove and we dropped an anchor. As soon as we thought we were settled we got a call on the VHF radio from a homeowner on the cove. He saw us in our Hatteras LRC and offered his dock for us to tie up to. One side of the dock was already taken by his 58 foot Hatteras LRC, but he kept the other side open for visitors of this type of boat. We pulled anchor and took him up on his kind offer; Vince and his wife Mary were wonderful hosts. We enjoyed our visit with them in their home and loved seeing the two sister type boats together.

Traveling along the ICW

The beach at Marineland

Over the next couple of days we moved along and anchored at the Pinada Causeway, then in Titusville. On April 24^th we planned to anchor, but the winds were really blowing so we pulled into Halifax Harbor Marina where we met up with Jason and Lisa a little over a year ago. The following morning we continued up the coast to Marineland Marina, a quirky little spot that we stopped in on the way south. Across the street from the marina is a truly gorgeous beach and Kirby and I spent some time there that afternoon.

The bridge near Marineland is beautifully decorated.It was interesting to see some of the damage left by Hurricane Matthew, the hurricane that we were happy to dodge back in Grenada over the summer.The lighthouse at St. AugustineSt. Augustine is very picturesque from the water.

Several years ago, while sailing the ICW with Jeff, we saw just grass from the low vantage point of the cockpit of Prerequisite.  Here, I went to the fly bridge to see what we had missed.There is always something different to see along the way.Getting close to Jacksonville.One of the most fun sunsets I have ever photographed.Our view from the dock at the Metro Marina.

Continuing along, on the 26^th we made it to St. Augustine where we picked up a mooring for the night. The following day we continued up the ICW to the St. John’s River and tied up at the Metro Marina in Jacksonville. This marina is a real treasure for cruisers. Unless there is an event, boaters are welcome to tie up at the lovely docks for free and, if you want to plug into electricity, the fee is nominal. We witnessed a spectacular sunset that evening and really enjoyed our stay next to the sports complex there.

Heading to Lambs Yacht Center

Finally on the 28^th we made it to our destination for a couple of weeks, Lambs Yacht Center in Jacksonville. Before long Kelly came to pick us up. She took us to run a few errands and then drove us to the airport where we rented a car for our stay in the area.

At the butterfly festival

Michaela on Peaches.Kelly’s turn

On Saturday, while John worked on the boat a bit, Kelly and I took Michaela, Carter, and Madison to a butterfly festival at a nearby nature center in town. We had a wonderful time with all of the crafts and displays there, and, of course, loved the main event of being able to visit with all the butterflies in the enclosure. Everyone had dinner together that evening and we were happy being with our family again. Sunday, April 30^th, Kelly picked me up again and we went to watch Michaela’s horseback riding lesson. Not only did Michaela ride, but so did Kelly. This was great fun for me, as I hadn’t seen Kelly ride since she was not much older than Michaela is now. It was an altogether great day.

AfterMath was hauled on Monday, May 1^st to clean and check the bottom as well as to replace zincs and to paint the running gear. We moved out for the event and spent the next couple of nights at Kelly and Craig’s house. Kirby finally got to a groomer on Tuesday, and we prepared for our next journey – a road trip to Maryland and Connecticut that was to start on May 3^rd.

So, after all of our time overseas, and after loving being in all of those islands, we still are finding it wonderful to be near family and to enjoy the ease of being back in the states. We look at our pictures of our time in the Caribbean and those of our friends still there with a bit of whimsy, but we know we have lots more time aboard AfterMath and our adventure is far from over. We love our vagabond life and we are not ready to move back to land yet!