Almost There and Happy Halloween

Oops! Forgot Andrew's picture below.

Almost ready. Wind howling tonight in Inner Harbor, and rainy. Today, my friend Bart flew up from NC to take home my last car, the old black Jeep. We met my family........
Anna

Nana Pat and Anna

Brother, Foster, Niece Denise, husband Erik

at the Irish Pub a few blocks away for a great farewell lunch. After a couple Stella beers, I was more relaxed and we had a great time. I received a wonderful homemade card from Anna, saying, Don't go away again. How sweet. She is 4 and can print pretty well. So, after seeing John and Nancy, last week, have said goodbye to all the family.

Will finish stowing, and fuel and water up, and depart for Norfolk tomorrow, and after a good rest, will depart there, perhaps, Tuesday or Wednesday. So, Happy Halloween and goodbye.

Past and Present - Transition From Living Memories to Making New ones

Below is a picture of the stone at Arlington National Cemetery, and the picture should say it all. To these two wonderful people, I owe my life, so much of my happiness, and now, this dream, which is coming true as I sit here and type. Words fail me. Tears still well up, and overflow. They were the best, and I miss them daily, but believe they are are still nudging me forward, and know that they are looking down, smiling, wishing me the best.

I printed the picture below today, taken a few months ago (WHY didn't somebody say "Suck your belly in, Uncle Denny!!!!) - my niece, Denise and nephew, Erik's beautiful, happy family (that's Anna Catherine and Andrew Foster in arms), to hang on my Annah Foster, and I am looking forward to getting a pic that was taken of them with my brother, Foster, Jr. and wife, Pat this past summer, to do the same.

I will miss seeing these guys grow up, but hope and pray that they will come and find me some day, and visit, laugh, reminisce, swim, snorkel, and have the same happy times on vacation that my parents gave me.

Today, I brought another load of food aboard, as well as the Perkins spares, and after one 'last' trip to Harbor Freight, TWO 1M candle power spotlights (one was on the clearance rack for half price), as the one that came with AF bit the dust before I departed for Annapolis last week.

I arrived last night about 9 with the old black Jeep loaded with FOUR dockcart loads, and hauled them out, and tried to stow as I unloaded - only dropped 8 cans of canned chicken and a pack of 8 toothbrushes in the water doing it - so it took over 4 hours. God willing, I will make one more trip to Pittsburgh for one more load of T-shirts, towels, bedding, and some canned goods, and that will be it for driving home.

I closed on my rental properties on Wednesday. Josef, the buyer, is a great fellow, a foreign born American Patriot, who understands what it is like to live in a socialist state, under the thumb of the party bosses, and fears, as I do, for the future of the USA.

It is customary in his homeland to toast a business deal, so we met later that evening at the "shop" in McKees Rocks and went over keys, history, and hoisted a couple excellent Golden Pheasants, and did a couple shots of scotch. Bless you, Joe and may your investments prove profitable for many, many years.

After a tremendous amount of hard work, everything that can be done IS done, for the closing of Alden Road and it will occur on time, or even earlier. My friend, former neighbor, Maggie, is one super real estate agent, and no one could have worked so hard for me and the sale of my home. If you live in Pgh, and have an EXPENSIVE house to sell, email me for her name - you will not regret it. I don't want her to have to work that hard again, for that small a commission! I love you Mag, and God bless you! You da best!

My step sister, Nancy and husband John are driving down from Philly tomorrow for lunch, to say goodbye. I am so sorry that I never made it up to see their new home, and so glad that I made it to the new beach house in NJ. They came down last summer when I arrived and I took them for a ride down to the Key Bridge and back. They brought daughter Courtney, and a college friend, and for that day, AF had aboard the sexiest, best looking, bikini-clad girls on the Chesapeake. No pics to publish though, or I could be arrested, or at least blasted by her Mom and Dad.

So, I am fluid. In transition. Finally. Going from living with memories, to the future, and new memories. A last adventure. Looking to the future, tempered with wonderful memories.

So, back to work, stowing. Where am I going to put all this stuff? And what am I forgetting?

Cold and Rainy in Baltimore

Phew! What a week! I came down to Baltimore last weekend, to move the boat to Annapolis on Monday for a haul out and bottom paint on Tuesday. Spent Monday morning trying to save the sale of my rental properties and realized later that afternoon that I couldn't make Annpolis in daylight, so kept working and departed about 830 pm. Putted down the Chesapeake and arrived about 4am and cruised up and down the Severn River (to Paul's Hidey Hole) until 730 am when I called the boat yard. Went in slowly to find the yard docks crammed with yachts for the power boat show and the way in to the lift slip was lined on both sides with new yachts, but there was a man on the stern of each with a boat hook, in case I lost it and got too close. It went perfectly and I crept in with out incident. AF was on the hard within an hour, and one of my nightmares proved wrong. The bottom was in pretty good shape. My brother drove down and took me back to Baltimore and we drove up to York, Pa where they bought me dinner and a couple scotches, and I crashed after being up for 36 hours straight.

Here is a pic of AF in the lift slings as they brought her to land:

I worked on my home on Alden Road until midnight Thursday and got up at 3am and drove down to Baltimore where I parked and Wes here at Inner Harbor East drove me down to pick up AF. Thanks, Wes. I called ahead and AF was launched when I arrived, and I was able to get underway about 2 pm, after worrying about backing out of this narrow slip. Out came the guys with boat hooks, manning the sterns again, but I crept out, and the fellow hollered, "What did you need us for?" But there had been a Nor'eastern the day before, and I went right out into the remnants - 25 mph winds from the north, and chop and drove at about 1.9 knots for many hours, and slower when the gusts hit just right. But the further north the calmer it became and by 9pm, when I arrived at Inner Harbor, it was glass and no wind, so I brought her into the slip alone with no troubles. Just plain worn out.

I got the power hooked up and walked directly up to town to James Joyce Irish Pub, and ordered 2 meals, and some vodka, as I hadn't eaten all day and was frozen stiff (Did I mention it was also 42 degrees when I left Annapolis?) Out having a smoke, a fellow spoke to me, and I asked him and his 3 buddies to join me. They are here for the schooner races and were living on his boat, and had had the cr+p beaten out of them just getting to the starting line, so quit, anchored and drank. Great guys on an interesting old boat, and we have just returned Sat. night from carousing Fell's Pt together.

And the rain continues. But I have my WM space heaters - thanks, Bart - and the boat is relatively dry and warm and she sports 2 coats of new bottom paint, and new zincs, and a greased up prop.

What a great life I have now. Even after freezing my fingers and feet for 7 hours in the fog and rain, when I arrived here safely, I thanked God, and Annah and Foster for this wonderful life I have now. I LOVED it!

3 Weeks to Go

I drove down early this am so I could get to the Annapolis Boat Show today, and buy some LED light bulbs. My back is killing me tonight from all the standing and walking. Also ordered 2 solar panels to be shipped this week here to Baltimore.
Great news Friday night. Accepted an offer on my home in Rosslyn Farms, and hopefully the deal will go thru and close Nov.12th. Great job, Maggie! Still have problems setting a closing date for the rental properties.
Taking Annah Foster to Annapolis tomorrow, where I will anchor out, and take her in early Tuesday morning for a haul out and bottom paint. Was going to work on the dink while this was going on, but now, I have to run back to Pittsburgh so my brother is coming down to bring me back to the car in Baltimore.

Lots and lots to do, but slowly the list is getting smaller - and truth be told, I am leaving whether it is all done or not. Picture of my home above.

My parents bought this house from Ray and Alice Cathcart in November 1955, and raised my brother and I here, as well as making room every summer for Nancy to come out from Philly. It was a wonderful home; not because of its size or construction, but because Mom and Dad made it a wonderful home, full of love, and laughter, sacrifice, and wealth. I will miss her in many ways, and wish the new owner as much happiness there as we had. Both Dad and Mom died in the bedroom where they slept together for about 50 years. Dad said he always wanted it to look like a little cottage in the country. And 6 miles from the Hilton Hotel and Point State Park! The lasting mark we have left are the hand prints in the concrete of the garage dated 1956. I was 3.

Shuttle-ing back and forth from Pgh to Balt

Well, I arrived at the marina in Baltimore last night after midnight, and proceeded to haul 3 loads from the old Jeep. Got to bed around 245 and up before 8am to move car, or it would be ticketed. 50+ mph winds buffetting the boat today, and it is actually too windy to work above decks, so I am stowing what I have brought with me. (Where am I going to put all this stuff???) The salon was full of boxes when I arrived, full of stuff I have bought online these past weeks, including a shipping tube with a 9 ft aluminum pole to mount my new wind generator and many sq yards of canvas products to sew a new bimini top someday. The pump I bought to change oil was NOT shipped and that was something to do today.

The holds are filling up fast, and I have not bought food and beer and wine and liquor YET. Everyone I know here is wondering where my water line will be when I have everything loaded aboard. My friend Wes suggested I just convert to a small container ship, and stow it all on deck. Most of my clothes are aboard, and now I find that I have to pack to go back home, instead of vice versa. I am really looking forward to throwing away the cold weather stuff, and pray that I won't even need to bring it to the boat, although I did buy some longjohns at WalMart the other day. The set I bought before last winter's trip to St Maarten were life savers, since it was 39 degrees the day we left in about 30 kt winds.

Getting close now. Just a few weeks to go. What will I forget to do, or buy, or fix? Oh, well. Gonna go, right or wrong, so no sense worrying.