Sailing Terrapin

The first week of June brought a crazy schedule but it was all in the name of fun. We decided to head to Boulder, Colorado to see sailing friends and while we were there - indulge in a couple of concerts. The first night was a reunion with Elaine and Peter on "Bob", Malcolm and Elia on "Orion" and Cathy and Ralph on "Free Rein". We shared good food and great laughs and talked about experiences we had together as well as where we have been since we have sailed away from each other. Last time we saw Bob and Free Rein was in April in Cuba and the last time we saw Orion was in February in The Saintes, Guadeloupe. In the sailing world, when you leave an anchorage, it is a likely possibility you may never see these great friends again. If and when you do have the chance to meet up again, we take the opportunity to enjoy and reconnect. Boulder was definitely worth the trip!

After an early 7am flight back to Atlanta, we picked up Kala from Summer Camp and headed to North Carolina to see the Lawsons. Frank, Susan and Trey (missed you Caroline) are like family and it was great to see them....and of course, it was so.much.fun! Frank & Susan have a boat on Lake Fontana, so we packed up the dogs, some snacks and headed out. We spent the day water skiing and jumping off cliffs and just having a great time. The next day we were headed out again, back to Atlanta.

Mike and Heather have been friends with Baxter since college and it is always great to catch up. It has been a few years since we've seen them and as luck would have it, we enjoy the same music and we decided to partake in another stop on the Summer Tour. Afterwards, we did the traditional concert dinner after the show and were exhausted by the time we were back at our hotel.

The next morning was a longer drive of 10 hours to Washington, D.C but well worth it as we would get to see Baxter's sister, Anne Marie and one of his nephews Keegan - who just happened to be visiting from Alaska. Baxter and I checked into an extremely seedy Motel 6 and then headed to pick up Anne Marie & Keegan a bit after normal dining hours. Thankfully, they were patient, flexible and it was fun to hear about the week ahead for them in DC and catch up on Alaska happenings. I was sure to text Anne Marie the next morning to let her know we survived the hotel seediness.

Like a rolling stone, we headed out the next morning for Rhode Island to meet Pete and Tammy on "YOLO" and Lee and Cheryl on "Hippocampus" for dinner. The last time we saw Pete and Tammy was in April in Cuba and we left Lee and Cheryl in March in Leverick Bay, British Virgin Islands. As always, it was great to meet up again thousands of miles away from where we have all been.

While we were so close to Boston - we had to call Ted and Maggie who we met on Stella Blue in the Bahamas in 2012. We are so lucky to have stayed in touch with them over the last 5 years and we have been able to periodically reconnect. Unfortunately, Maggie had plans that weekend, but Ted met us at our hotel in Boston and we all headed out to Fenway Park for a concert together. Great times watching people, enjoying music and trying to figure out what a Chewbaca puppet has to do with the music (inside joke but had to throw it in there for historical purposes).

From Boston, we were getting close to our deadline for leaving from the Chesapeake so we headed south for a quick stop in Annapolis to pick up a water maker. We had lots to do the following week to get Terrapin and ourselves ready for an offshore passage.