Goodbye to the Chesapeake

We entered the Chesapeake from the Dismal Swamp on May 7th. We left it today June 28th at it's most northernmost point, the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. Sunrise this morning was beautiful....

Shelley and I have been on the boat the better part of the last year, and today was the first day it really rained on us for an extended period. Naturally the rain came when we have Shana and the three grandchildren, Max, Leo, and Rylee on board. The rain was so heavy that we lost most of our visibility just as we were entering the C and D canal. This canal is about 15 miles long, with no locks, and connects the Chesapeake with Delaware Bay. We are now in Delaware City and may have to stay another day to let some weather blow by. All three of the grandkids are enjoying the boat with no problems so far. Even on six hour days like today, they fill their time with bird watching, reading, and sitting on the bow watching the Bay go by. Max and Leo have been helping me run the boat, and they are both learning how to read a chart.

Their highlight I am afraid, has been running the dinghy around the Sassafras River. Max really likes the ding, and is now pretty good at starting, and operating the dinghy. He and I had a beautiful ride this morning in the fog and mist. It was dead calm, a perfect day for the ski boat. But instead it was just Max and I skimming across the water chasing geese. The Sassafras is a fresh water river at the top of the Chesapeake, so Shelley and the kids enjoyed a swimming and diving adventure from the front of Rock Chalk.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to make the 50 mile run down Delaware Bay to Cape May, New Jersey. The bay can get rough so we would like a good weather window. I will let you know. Marc

Back on Rock Chalk

Here is Lukas in Shelley's arms. He was so much fun. Also, this was one of the photos taken at Checkers. It was really great having all our friends and family join us for this big wedding.

What a week. Congratulations to Caitlyn and Charlie, who at this moment are enjoying Maui on their Honeymoon. We have had a few text messages, and they are having a great time. Thanks to all of our family and friends, who took the time and expense to come to Los Angeles for this fabulous wedding. It was an event of such high class, that most of us will never see the likes of it again in our lifetime. I have run out of adjectives to describe it, but for those of you there, you know what I mean.

Shelley and I also stayed another 4 days after the wedding to watch Lukas, and for me, that rivaled the entire wedding in fun and importance. This is one very well behaved boy of 10 months, and he was a delight to babysit for these last many days. In fact when we left Wednesday afternoon, I had a hard time leaving Luke. As I was handing him to his Grandma Amon, he turned in her arms and reached out for me. I took him back for one last big hug, and he buried his head into my neck. If you know anything about me, you know that I lost it. It took all I had to leave.

But then life goes on....

Now we are back to the boat, and frankly it feels comfortable. As hard as it is to leave family and friends, our kids and grandkids, that little guy in LA, and a normal life in Austin, it feels good for Shelley and I to be back in our "home". As my Daddy would say, I have crossed the Rubicon, and now its onward.....

We will re-provision the boat tomorrow, then Shana, Max, Leo, and Rylee fly in on Sunday for a week of high adventure. This will be really fun showing the kids the northern part of the Chesapeake, the C and D Canal, that connects the Chesapeake with Delaware Bay, then out into the Atlantic Ocean to New York City. We will be anchored at the Statue of Liberty for the Fourth of July fireworks. I am thinking this will be a week that Max and Leo will never forget (and Shana and Rylee will have a great time as well). It occurs to me that there have been many events in 2011, that I will never forget.

Rock Chalk has waited patiently for us while we made our trek back to Austin and LA. She seemed a bit lonely when we arrived, but with some cleaning, and re-adjustments of her systems, she is ready to go. It is really hard to believe that we are now on a four and a half month journey that will take us 3500 miles from Annapolis to Canada, and back down the rivers to Alabama. I trust this boat, and feel it is a great platform to live this dream. I will keep the blogs coming as we make our journey.

What a journey, this life. Marc

Landlubbers

Well we have been ashore for a week now, and both Shelley and I are missing the sea and Rock Chalk. We left her in Kent Narrows across the Chesapeake from Annapolis to fly back to Kansas to help Erin move to Austin. We got that done, and are now in Austin waiting to fly to Los Angeles for son Charlie's wedding next week.

We are excited about the wedding. It is going to be a fabulous event, and we are so happy that Charlie is marrying a wonderful young lady in Caitlyn Amon. They both met at Tulane, and since we first met Cait in their freshmen year, we knew she was something special. Charlie is a very fortunate young man.

At the same time, I am really anxious to get back to the boat and continue our journey. It has been great seeing friends and relatives in Kansas City, Wichita, and Austin. We have really missed our kids and grandchildren, and this break has allowed us to see all the kids and all 5 of the grandchildren. We are hearing from our boating friends who are all now in New York or up the Hudson River as they head for Canada. We are far behind, but we will catch up.

The plan is to be in New York for the 4th of July, then up the Hudson right after the holiday. With good weather we will cross the Erie Canal by mid July, and into Canada by July 25th. We'll see.

I have been hearing from many of you who have been following this adventure on this blog and living our dream along with us. I have met a really nice couple up in Cleburne, Robin and Angie Houghton. They have become good clients, but we have really enjoyed talking with them about boats, The Great Loop, and living on the water. Robin has never sailed in the Caribbean before, but because of our talks, he and his wife have booked their first charter with the Moorings in the BVI this October. Cool.

So I have neglected the blog since we left the boat, but I will resume as soon as we get back on the boat, June 26th. Thanks for all your well wishes. Marc