When we were on the go all of the time, when we were in and out of the country, or even up and down rivers and the coast, what we missed the most was being able to spend time with our family and friends. Now that we are more grounded, although still afloat, we take the opportunities to visit, to do things, and to witness what we missed over the past years. Again, in this mostly photographic journal, we document another month of important events in our lives and that of our friends, children, and grandchildren.
Over the summer, we were able to have Madison and Michaela each spend a day with us, and then we took off to Jacksonville for boat maintenance. Carter patiently awaited his turn to spend the night on AfterMath, and finally the day came. How we loved having this adorable little boy to keep us company!Each time we had one of the kids, we tried to find something special to do. Carter had requested Legos on his arrival, and his wish was granted. The next day we took off for the Pinball Palace, and what fun that was!
Several weeks before the actual date, Kelly asked me if I would like to go to a bat festival in Gainesville, FL. It would be hard to say no to an adventure like that, of course, so on October 26th, off we went. The bats were great and so were all of the activities for the kids.
Next up, in our line of events, wasa visit aboard AfterMath from our dear friends, Susan and Dick. We have been trying for a visit for such a long time and it finally happened! We had so much fun having them with us.Of course, we had to go to Driftwood Beach!
No visit to the area would be complete without visiting the historic district of Jekyll Island.Brunswick was having a Porch Fest the weekend Dick and Susan were with us. Bands played at varying times on porches throughout the historic district of town. Only in its second year, the festival was just amazing and so much fun. We can’t wait for next year and I think Susan and Dick will be back for it again.
A colorful and friendly gnome.
Soon it was Veterans’ Day and I asked Kelly if she and the kids would like to go to the parade that was held on St. Simon’s Island to celebrate the day. It was a typical small town parade and lots of fun.
The only WWII Veteran in the parade.
Off to Savannah Bee Company for tastes of honey.
Fun in downtown St. Simon’s
The kids were introduced to the tree spirits on St. Simon’s and Madison couldn’t wait to go back and look for more.
The next big event was in the U. S. Capitol. Jeff received a promotion to Commander in the Coast Guard. What an amazing day that was! We were given a wonderful private tour of the building and were able to watch, with great pride, as our son moved up in the ranks. The kids were absolutely adorable as they saw the Capitol for the first time and watched the ceremony of the promotion.
Changing Papa’s bars to fit his new rank.
One beautiful family. We are so proud of them.
That’s us with Jeff and family and Sarah’s parents, Susie and Mike. Such a great day in our lives.
One tired little guy. He makes my heart skip a beat.
Jeff and Sarah’s friends, the Bloomshields, were there for the ceremony and the tour too.
The underground train in the Capitol
Next up, Walter’s 8th birthday. Instead of a big party, he asked Jeff to take his friend and him fishing. When they got back, there was plenty of cake and snacks for everyone waiting.
A very exciting birthday present!
We can’t forget to include Clyde Dog!
Rush joined in on the motor fun on his four-wheeler
The next day was my kind of fun! Off to downtown Annapolis to take photos for the annual Christmas Card.
Walter
Rush
Ford (best known as Chacho)
Before we returned to Georgia, there was one more thing to see. Rush is playing hockey this year and we got such a kick out of watching him on the ice!
As we look back at these pictures from over the past several months, we fully appreciate the times we spend with our family. Somehow it never seems like enough, though. Our arms itch to hold the kids again, to talk with them, to read them stories, to explore the world, and to give them kisses. They are growing up so quickly. In the blink of an eye, they will be off to college and beyond. We take such pleasure in the calls and videos we get. We are so lucky to be grandparents to these wonderful children and to be able to watch them grow and prosper.
Also, looking back at these times, we know we are fortunate to have such wonderful children who are happy and healthy. We love knowing that they have careers that they enjoy and that they are all doing well with them. We know, too, that we are lucky to have good friends that mean so much to us and who are willing to visit aboard. Life really is good – and we are still enjoying Life on AfterMath.
Procrastination is a terrible thing. I usually do not procrastinate, but when I do, it’s because I have let things get too far away from me. For those of you wondering where we are now, I will tell you that we are still living aboard AfterMath. So much, yet so little has happened, it seems. Over the next couple of weeks, I will try to catch up, mostly in picture form, as to where we have been and as to what the future holds. I have always said that this blog was more a journal for me than anything else, and I do want to continue to document our Life on AfterMath until we move back to land, whenever that may be.
While still in Jacksonville, FL for annual maintenance,I enjoyed walks through the nearby nature park.
Back at the dock at Lamb’s Yacht Center, we enjoyed watching this gentleman paint the name on this boat.
The name is complete!
While we were at Lamb’s, Hurricane Dorian became a threat. Jacksonville brought their fireboats to the marina for safe storage. This is just one of four boats near us. We were even able to tie up to their 75′ fireboat, and, therefore, we were very well protected and completely safe. One day, while still in Jacksonville, we decided to take a sightseeing trip to Green Cove Springs, which, while we are living aboard, is our legal residence. Although we had toured our mail forwarding service on 411 Walnut Street there, we had never taken time to see the town. It was a lovely place to visit!
This is the actual spring for which the town is named.
This is an external tank for liquid hydrogen fuel for the space shuttle.To get a feeling for the size, note the semi truck parked in front of it. We have absolutely no idea how it got to Green Cove Springs or why it is there!
Finally it was time to return to Brunswick, GA. We were anxious to see the Golden Ray, the cargo ship that had overturned right off the coast of St. Simons and Jekyll Islands earlier in September. It was quite the sight to see. The ship is 650 feet long, contains 4200 cars, and is very close to land. It remains there still today, although they are working very hard on its removal.
Back to the pretty shrimp boats so common in the Brunswick area.
In late September, I was thrilled to make the trip to Chincoteague Island with some of the best friends anyone could ever want. We stayed at Becky and Judd’s home and had a wonderful girls’ weekend together.
Chincoteague’s famous ponies are in the background.
Just a couple of days after I got back from Virginia, John and I took a trip to Orlando to visit with Jason, Lisa, and Jace. Jason and Lisa treated us to a wonderful character breakfast where the food was great and we had as much fun as Jace did seeing all of the the famous Disney clan.
Of course, it is always interesting to go out to see how they are doing with the Golden Ray project. This was taken on Jekyll Island. From Jekyll, you see the colorful bottom of the ship.
More of the ship. The last two are images taken from St. Simon’s Island, where you see the top side of the ship. Note the people and the tent on top to get a small perspective of how huge this ship is.Early October brought the Coast Fest in the park adjacent to Brunswick Landing Marina, our home base since May.
The best part of boating life is, of course, meeting new people and making new friends. One beautiful day in mid-October, we set out with our friends from the S/V Tammy Ann, Tammy, Rick, and Max. They were in their dinghy and we were in ours with Kirby. It was a great day of exploring the area around us.
These boats are part of the environmental clean up crew for the Golden Ray
The same day as our adventure with Rick and Tammy, we headed out to Jekyll Island with more new friends, Don and Carol. It was to be the night of a super moon, and we invited them to join us as Don is a fellow photographer.
So, for the months between mid-August and mid-October, some of our time was spent in Jacksonville and some back in Brunswick, Georgia. We have loved touring the Golden Isles, as this area which includes Jekyll Island, St. Simon’s Island, and Brunswick, is called, and have really begun to appreciate the marshes, the waters, and the islands here. More travels and experiences are to come, so be prepared to see our further adventures in posts over the next several days.
Life on AfterMath 