Blood and Water ...

7 June 2015

party time !

Saturday was our Bon Yoyage Party at Tower Harbor Yacht Club.  We didn't know what to expect or who would show up... The weather was fickle all morning and afternoon.  Sunny, warm, windy, really windy!   Cold ...
We started the morning giving a few boat tours and reuniting with good friends.  The miles or years had not diminished our friendships.


By mid afternoon, more friends and family were arriving and festivities getting underway.  The weather cooperated, thaaaank you! winds died down and temps went up.
Burgers grilled and side dishes served.  Cake too.

Jim's family

Kathy's family

We felt soooo honored so many of you came.  There was around 100 of you!!!  Some from just down the dock, or a quick car ride away, some from a couple hundred miles away.

Jim and I have lived our adult lives far from our families... blood relatives.  Over the years, we made friends of course.  We also learned that these friends can 'become your family'... no DNA to link us but family non the less.  Which brings me around to the heading... Blood and Water... The saying goes, blood is thicker than water.  In our case, it's a big slurry.  But in the end it really doesn't matter.


Friends, family... blood, water (and sometimes wine) make us who we are.

Someone at the party asked me, "Why would you want to leave all this? So many friends, such a great area?"
The answer? ...   We.  HATE.  Winter.  (in the Midwest).  Leaving friends and family will be the challenge.
But we look at it like this.   3 or our 4 kids are a plane ride way.  We have to travel to see them anyway.  Our daughter is finishing college at Grand Valley, then her degree can take her wherever she pleases, so again, a plane ride away....
Many our of family and friends have said they would love to meet up with us in 'exotic' places.... like the Erie Canal! or the Chesapeake Bay or the BVI's so.... the decision came back to Old Man Winter.... Did I mention... We. HATE. Winter... ?  Desicion made.  Ice will now be in our glass.... Not under our tires (or the keel) !

Back to the party.  We had a great time!  Thanks for all the well wishes and tasty food and hugs and (tears welling up in eyes now) so much love.  We will have to sneak out in the middle of the night or I will be a blubbering idiot and not be able to see the dock lines to cast them off....
Ok.  Enough.... Back to the party, again...

We purchased an almost new life raft last winter.  so... what to do with the old one?... Jim and I decided to hold a raffle at the party and give the recipient a super duper valuable prize... or I should say 'experience'... Must be present to win!  The nieces and nephews distributed tickets for the drawing... Then the winning ticket was called....dunt dunt dunt...  dunn !

Michael won!  He had the privilege of pulling the cord to the old, outdated life raft.  We had no idea if it would even inflate.  (What a dud if it's too old to inflate after all the anticipation... )
A few aggressive tugs and    POW !  The ballistic canister breaks open the fiberglass case.  The raft inflates and wa-lah! We have a 6 person life raft on the lawn.  Pretty freakin' cool if you ask me.  All the 'lifesaving' gear was inside, still usable and everything is getting repurposed !

So the parties over.  Reality on the horizon.  A few more dinners with friends, another sail coming in the mail.  Oh, and one last hair cut !  Jim says he's going with me to learn how to cut my hair.... Hmmm... he seems  a bit eager to learn. He did mention he would be getting rid of all the mirrors on board the boat this week... Do you supose they are connected ?

6 person life raft ...