So Jody & I were missing our annual trip to the East Coast. For the last 30 years we’d driven from Cali to the Right Coast for the Boat Shows. Believe it or not, we missed it!
And so it was we found ourselves standing in the Sacramento Airport at 5 in the morning for a quick flight to Dulles Airport in Virginia, Where Jody’s sister Anna picks us up, and we spent a great night at their home in Middleberg. They loaned us their Cadillac, and in the AM we were burning up the road to Maine to visit friends Jeff & Debbie at the home on Square Pond.
For two days we enjoyed the lake in their boat, swam and generally had a couple fun evenings.
But then it was time to head to Vermont to see Tania Aebi & Carl in Corinth. First we made a quick stop at the birthplace of Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Latter Day Saints.
For the next two days we relaxed, hiked (well, Jody & Tania did!) and enjoyed the camaraderie of old friends, including Chris Doyle, who wrote the cruising guides for the Caribbean. We’ve gotten to visit every year for a decade or more.
But then it was time go head to Mattapoisette Massachusetts for a surprise party for our good friend Tommy Brownell. He just turned 75 and is retiring. Jody & I have sailed all over the world with Tommy & Sharon for almost 30 years!
The surprise was as good as it could be. His sister lives on the shore of Buzzards Bay, and he thought the party was for his granddaughters birthday, but people had flown in from all over the word to help celebrate! There are five of us who have been lucky enough to sail together over the years, including Jeff & Debbie Kolod, JB Currel, Doug Shipley. We were all seated at a table in the middle of this huge tent they’d set up next to the “Brownell Docks” (100 year old pier) on an acre of beautiful lawn that went right up the the waters edge. It was magical, and they had more food there than can be imagined, from lobster rolls to a “fresh seafood” appetizer table with fresh oysters, jumbo shrimp and lobster.
The next day Jeff, Debbie, Jody& I joined Tommy & Sharon at their home, for the 30th anniversary of our annual lobster feed. Every year for the past 30 years Jody & I stayed with them for the Newport Boat show. It was a tradition!
But once again, in the AM Jody & I loaded up into the Caddie and headed south. We needed to get back to Middleburgh, VA to spend the night, and in the morning we’d rove south to Raleigh, North Carolina, to visit my brother, “Dr. Al The Kiddies Pal.” He is 82 and just came down with dementia. It was really a surprise when we got to where he is staying. He was very pleasant to be with, and we had a good visit. His new cat seemed to take a lot of his attention, and it was really great to see him happy.
In the morning we once again headed north, back to Middleburgh, where they were about to have a huge 4th Of July Party at the Creighton Farms Country Club. They had all kinds of Bouncy Houses, trampolines and games for all ages. At 9 PM we started seeing fireworks shows all around us, and then at about 10 minutes after, the “real” fireworks show started. It went on for what seemed like an hour, with a huge finally that lasted at least 10 minutes!
To this point the trip had been idyllic. Couldn’t have been better, so we should have expected what happened next.
To start, we had a 3.5 hour layover in Charlotte. That wouldn’t have been to bad, but we had a 4 hour delay! We finally arrived in Sacramento for our two hour drive home, at 2AM.
BUT WAIT! There’s more!
Ya see, a couple days later we were visiting Bidwell Park in Chico (a nearby town). The next morning the Park Fire Started (to welcome us home??) and as I write this it has burned over 300,000 acres, and is still, out of control!
But living in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, you know they’ll happen, just like Floridians know they’ll be hurricanes, Nebraskan’s know there will be tornadoes, and Texans know there will be floods. It’s the cost of living we all pay!
In all, it was a great two weeks, and we are already planning further adventures!
