Wanderings

Goodness! So many weeks have passed since I have sat quietly in the corner and pulled together a post. I have heard from some of you followers wondering where we are, what’s happening. Hurricanes mostly. One that chased us and one that went elsewhere…Thank God!

We left for the Gulf Coast on the 30th of August in order to get to Destin and be settled into 704 for Labor Day weekend which is always our annual homeowners meeting AND the kickoff of college football.  Our daughter Jacquie stole away from here brood of boys and joined us for a great evening.

The HOA meetings are always pretty much the same but Mac has been a board member for many years and its important to us to pay attention to our investment. This year we have a renovation to our common area underway and we really wanted to see the progress, get a tour, and hear the reports. Check.

By Saturday noon we were perched on the couch with several kickoffs looming on the telly. If there were ever a perfect spot to watch football it is our Destin place, 704. In between plays and during commercials and time outs we step out onto the balcony to take in the action of the pontoon rentals, the jet ski idiots, the seasoned holiday weekend locals, and the fishing fleet.  It’s always been our go-to place to begin our favorite season. I’ve been known to walk outside and let out a “whoop” after a particularly great play just executed by one of our favorite teams.

Mom loves the balcony as much as we do and we passed the next few days taking in the view and enjoying the sunsets with a side eye to the weather channel to monitor Gordon. This tropical nuisance appeared to be headed straight for the Mississippi coast so Mac decided on Monday morning to drive over to batten down. As luck would have it, it was Mom and I who got the brunt of the wind and rain and spent a tense couple of hours hunkered in our bunk room after our phones blared tornado warnings.  For two days she and I were socked in while the Mississippi coast was bone dry! The good news is it was a mild blow!

My Grandma duties began on Thursday of that week when we headed west to Jacquie and Wes’ house in Pensacola to care for the boys for the long weekend. It was a great treat to have special time with each one of them and enjoy the gorgeous surroundings and their cozy home. Mom fell in love with Rhya, their new German Shepherd, and the feeling was certainly mutual. We spent the weekend taking in the salt breezes off the bay snuggling our boys, pulling their toes, and visiting our Pcola pals. We were delighted by an evening with Diane and Mark, and some Roll Tide time with Brooks and Elaine.

Teaching Elliot to play solitaire

Brunch on the harbor in Destin

Bozo’s!!

Watermelon french fries, a LeeLee specialty.

Day drinking with MeeMee and Katie at Brady’s

On to Gautier we went late Sunday to check in on the MS world. Five days of cleaning house, yard, and deck and catching up with some good friends over cocktails. It felt good to be this long on dry land with projects that were long overdue and friendships that required catching up. Mom was a champ! She was the one token Great Grandmother at two special grandparent masses at Resurrection Catholic School where Harris and Maggie both go to school. She sat through Harris’ football game and never complained when it  drizzled.  She experienced Brady’s and Bozo’s (the real Bozo’s! not the new fancy one) and she shopped and supervised at the Lee Tracy Ocean Springs location. What a road warrior she was!! I guess that’s where I learned my gypsy ways!

The entire time we were on this journey the news of Florence was getting more and more frightening. The Lord was good to us and spared our homes and boat on the southern South Carolina coast. Our prayers continue to be with the people of northern South Carolina and North Carolina as they continue to be battered by flooding. We are no strangers to the prep drills when storms threaten so we had our plans in place and with the help of Shawn and John, our family on Hilton Head, we were set for the worst. Thankfully Florence went north and we delivered Mom  back on Monday the 17th as planned and are now back on board for a few weeks. I’m well aware of the fact that this blog is supposed to be about cruising life on the ICW. It has morphed into stories of road trips and dirt! The summer’s been hot. We’ve been too long at dock relying on power to keep us cool, but there’s a bit of a nip in the early morning air and I reached for a sweatshirt a couple of times this week so expect some new news from the waterways soon. Meanwhile thanks for following !