from Iceland

Different keyboard, limited time - flight not too bad - gorgeous new boat, great people, incredible scenery so far - wearing out the camera!!!

Love you all. Will check in tomorrow.

Our bags are packed.....

Our bags are packed,
We’re ready to go….

Gee, that sounds familiar. Even without the song lyrics, it is what we’ve been doing a lot of this last few weeks.

But, in any case, the bags ARE packed. I can’t believe we got all our stuff into two bags (one each). We’ll probably still come home with clothes that we didn’t wear. We have definitely gotten better over the years. We’ll definitely not run out of things to read, and I’ll not run out of sock yarn.

I don’t know how much, if any, I’ll get to write. Entries will be sporadic at best. I hope we’ll have a great time that I can tell you about later on, and with some great pictures to share.
-------------------------------------
This photo is of houses on Tangier Island, VA, from our trip last year.

 

Getting ready

As always, it felt SO good to get back in the pool and get some exercise. Even the abbreviated WalMart run as good.

We’ve started getting, as we say, pseudo-semi-undisorganized. The camera bag is packed, and I’ve started getting clothes out. John brought the suitcases up. Tomorrow I’ll wash and we’ll start on the packing process.

I had given our next-door neighbor a couple of Bobby’s tomato plants, and the dear man brought me a couple of tomatoes tonight. I’ve already eaten one. Yum!
-----------------------------------------
This is a church window in Tangier Island, VA.

 

Resting up.

We worked really hard today at doing absolutely nothing today - just getting rested up for the next trip. We did find out that, if we wanted to get haircuts before we left, we had to do it today. So we did have to leave the house to get “coifed”.

The predicted scattered thundershowers showed up, and we got about 0.2” of rain. That’s always appreciated.

We’re going through all the papers we have about this trip so that we don’t take the unnecessary stuff with us, and don’t forget the necessary stuff.

One thing that allows us to travel so much with an easy mind is that we have such great friends who take care of things for us at home. Many thanks to all of you!
-------------------------------------
This is the house we had on Douglas Lake. It was on a point of land, and the second photo is the point from the house.

 

 

A brief stop at home

We got home about noon - not a bad drive. We’ve made reservations for “our” beach house for 2011, so we’re optimistic. We did have a great week - always enjoying being with our family and friends. We even got to see Matt and Jesse for a couple of days. Jesse and his current girlfriend rode over from Norfolk on motorcycles, and it was still special to see him. Matt came up from Atlanta, and even Bobby came up with his fishing boat for a couple of days. All in all, it was a terrific week!

I only left the place once but several folk went into Sevierville to go antiquing - as well as the usual grocery run. The food was terrific, but it was unusual to have no seafood during the week.

We had 1.5” of rain while we were gone. We pretty much sat around today, getting caught up on computer stuff and going through the mail.. Now, we’ll have to start planning on what to pack for the Iceland/England trip. There’s not too much time to get that done. I don’t think we’ll do anything this complicated again.

I’ll get our photos from this week into the computer tomorrow, but this photo is another one from last year’s trip which included Tangier Island, VA.

 

Off line

Our house at the lake doesn't have wifi - so the addicts among us are in deep withdrawal. The place is great otherwise.

I came into town with the "grocery-run" this morning, so I could get dropped at Starbucks and get access. I probably won't come in again this week... so no more entries until probably Saturday.

We're almost ready

It did get up to 97 today, before dropping quickly as the showers moved in. We got 0.75” of rain, and it was nice to see things cool down into the 70s.

We’ve pretty much got things ready to load into the car in the morning. And, with any luck, we’ll be able to sleep a bit later, too. I’m just looking forward to getting to the “beach”. We may be headed a bit north, but Jimmy Buffet will be the music of choice.
----------------------------
Approaching Tangier Island, VA.

 

Nothing but heat!

The official temperature was 100 today - first time in triple digits for two years here. At least, there's a front heading this way, so the temps will drop into the 80s tomorrow.

John managed to get through some of the red tape and get an international driving permit. Now he'll be able to drive when we get a rental car in England. We're glad to get that straightened out.

Ann and Al said that they were ready to back away from independent travel - they just didn't want to deal with the arrangements and glitches. I think we're about to come to the same decision. Note that this doesn't mean we'll be staying at home - just more likely to let somebody else take care of the arrangements.
-----------------------------
This was our first look at Tangier Island, VA.

 

Mini-heat wave ???

Officially, it got to 98 -99 here. And we have 99 predicted for tomorrow. Don’t plan to visit this area in the summertime.

A couple of us helped at the studio today, moving some of Vicki’s stuff to her home. I got one of her paintings that I’ve always liked. We’ve traded paintings over the years, so this was a chance for me to get another one. I don’t know when I’ll get all my pieces brought home from the gallery. They can stay there as long as she needs some things hanging on the walls.

The woodworker in our group made me an “island” for my new kitchen. He used the drop-out from the new countertop (where the sink went) for the top of it, so it matches. There’s a wine rack under the top, a shelf for folded towels, and lower shelf for some small appliances. He just delivered it today, and it really looks good.

It felt great to get back to the pool this morning - that exercise really does help. To say nothing of getting caught up on all the news from the swimmers.
--------------------------
I love patterns - especially these made by the pier pilings.

 

Nothing is sure except change

I slept until 8:30 this morning - and it felt pretty good. I did two loads of laundry last night, and will wash again on Friday (before leaving on Saturday). At least, we don't have to worry much about clothes at the lake week. I did a short trip to WalMart, and went through the mail.

The big news of the day was our gallery meeting. It was the first time I'd seen Vicki since her grandson's funeral. I hated that we weren't able to be here - I really wanted to be here for her, but..... Anyhow, as you'd expect, it was a tremendously emotional time for everybody. The ceremony was with full military honors, so everyone was drained.

Vicki has definitely decided to close down her whole shop and gallery by the end of July. She said she was mostly ready, but Taylor's death really let her know how much she would rather spend her time with her family than having to be at the shop/gallery. And who can blame her. This business has been the focus of her life for 37 years, and she's finally ready to move on.

My problem is for me. What am I going to do now??? At least we’re going to be traveling for a while, and I don’t have to panic just yet.
---------------------------
The waterfront at Crisfield, MD.

 

Always good to be home, even briefly

Home at last! We left the motel at 7 a.m., and got home about 6 p.m. It was a long day in the car, but with five drivers, nobody had to drive too much. I got lots of knitting done, and some naps were taken, too. The traffic wasn't as bad as I had feared.

By now, everything has been put away, and I've even started the wash. I'm looking forward to sleeping late in the morning. Nothing to do except a gallery meeting at 2 p.m. I'll probably get to the grocery store sometime during the day, though. And John will probably get some rowing done.

It's always good to be home. And now we start getting ready for our week at the lake.
----------------------------
Another view of the morning clouds over Crisfield, MD.

 

A Long weekend

Yesterday was full from about 8 a.m. until 11 p.m., and I was just too tired to write anything. The “girls” in our group went our looking for antique shops, and had a good time looking at stuff. That’s not really my thing, but I enjoyed the company. Margaret and Allan’s fiancee Tina have gotten to be really good friends, and our friend Lisa (the one who got married in May) made up the group. They finally brought me back to the hotel, and looked a little more, before we went for lunch.

We only got in a short rest before it was time to get dressed and head out to get Allan (the father of the bride) to the wedding site. It was on a farm about 30 minutes away. It was a lovely place, and by getting there early, we managed to stake our claims on some chairs sort of in the shade. It was still pretty hot during the 5:30 wedding. After a break for photo-taking, the reception and dinner was held under a tent set up nearby. It was a nice evening, and cooled off quickly once the sun went down. We didn’t know anybody except our immediate party, but we all had a good time.

We got back to our hotel about 11. The hotel was terrific. It’s part of the Clarion chain, but the building was originally the City Hall. The spaces were so interesting - conference rooms had been council chambers or courtrooms. One of our groups room had been the mayor’s office. It made for a fun experience.

We went back to the farm this morning for a light brunch - bagels and fruit - and then quickly headed off back south. We’re in Winchester, VA, tonight, so should get home before dark tomorrow - but a long day of driving. We’ll be looking forward to getting rested up.
--------------------------------
Morning sky in Crisfield, MD.

 

Long day today

Arrived about 12:30, and got into one of our rooms. The hotel is in the old City Hall, and it is elegant and interesting. We walked around the area, looking at the neat old buildings and taking photographs. We came back to the room to wait for the others to come.

Allan and Tina went off to the rehearsal and dinner. John's cousin and spouse met us and we went out to dinner - DJ and Lisa got here about 5 p.m. We had a great dinner, and when we got back to the hotel, the First Friday Art Walk was in full swing - band playing and lots of galleries open. Of course, we had to take some of those in. Fun to do, but sort of a busman's holiday for me.

We sat up in the business center of the hotel and talked and laughed and drank. Allan & Tina got back and we heard all about the rehearsal, etc. All had gone pretty much as expected, so now we'll be ready for the wedding on Saturday.
------------------------------

 

Car time.

We got away bright and early this morning - at 7. We each took turns driving, so nobody got too tired - except from being in the car for 10 ½ hours. I got a bunch of knitting done. There was lots of traffic, so no cruise-control stretches.

We ate lunch (reubens and pastrami sandwiches) at a little place called the Pink Cadillac Diner near Harrisonburg, VA. And we stopped for the night at Hagerstown, MD. That a long damned drive! We looked on google for a place to eat dinner, and wound up at the Hempton Hill BBQ. Each of us had a great meal - BBQ brisket sandwich with sweet potato fries; crab bisque and shrimp salad; chicken tortilla soup and crab cakes; crab bisque and peel-and-eat shrimp. Each dinner was excellent. And they brought us some sweet potato biscuits - what a terrific new taste sensation. We’ll have to try those at our lake week.

We’ll be off and driving again first thing in the morning - only about a 5-hour drive tomorrow.
=======================
I really hate that we’re going to miss being at Taylor’s funeral. I know it will be very crowded, but…
The service will be on Saturday - with full military honors.
=======================
Overlooking Chesapeake Bay from the Turkey Point Lighthouse.

Getting ready

I got some Friends of the Library business done today. I think we have an author for our November Annual Meeting. I sent this author a formal proposal. I’ll let you know who it is as soon as we receive confirmation and acceptance. I surely will be glad to get that part of it nailed down. Next will be getting the caterer for the lunch.

Gallery time took up a good part of the day. The artists who exhibited during June was taking her work down, and Sandy (another of the artists) and I hung an assortment of the group’s work for our July show. A haircut finished off my “outside” stuff for the day.

I came home and got our bags packed, so we can make an early get-away in the morning. We’re headed north for Allan’s daughter’s wedding on Saturday. Margaret came in, and we got some of the stuff loaded in her car.

The laptop, of course, will be going with me.
================================
Taylor’s funeral will probably be this weekend.