Returned to Corpus Christi - Had Surgury - Recovering

Leaving Carrabelle;

So after the phone call from the Dr that said Steve had tears in both his right knee and his back, we went to work getting Sandpiper set up for our going back to Corpus Christi. Of course Steve was a nervous wreck with all the advice from all the people who have had back and knee surgery as well as those who haven’t and the Fla docs opinions (and he sincerely wishes to thank everyone as it gives him some idea what is ahead and he is such a BABY when it comes to stuff like this).
So why we were getting ready to go there were a couple of parties along with Thanksgiving and Christmas with fried turkey, smoked turkey, ham, etc. etc. etc. Had a pot luck and lots of looper boat people for the Thanksgiving party. Then lots of fun smoking the hams at Norm's which was a real blast followed with a Christmas get together on the porch.  Then the night before we left there was a get together at Bobbies & Brendas. So somehow during all that we got Sandpiper ready for us to be gone. We got a Carrabelle friend James to watch her while we are gone as well as the marina people told us they also would watch her and we left Carrabelle on  for Corpus Christi. 

Arriving in Corpus Christi

So we left Carrabelle on Monday Jan 2, 2012, got to Corpus Christi late Tuesday (Carol's 70th bd) and it has been non-stop since then. First was the welcome back from all our friends and family in CC as well as at the marina. Then we have been getting CJ ready to stay on and do some cruising around here and getting the house ready for Steve’s rehab. But the good news is that CJ was about 90% (still have to put the sails on and do a couple of minor repairs and she is ready to go) and the house is 80% (small things to do and have to get a new washing machine).

That being said, we started relaxing and got to feeling more like ourselves. Steve was actually feeling good, his knee is giving him some trouble and he is being careful with it but he has no pain going up and down ladders etc. His back felt fine just a little stiffness in the morning and if he overdoes it some. He is doing his exercises (besides the 12oz curls) and is wearing his back brace during all work exercises. Only “stressful” issue was what will the Dr. say and recommend (Steve was worried if it will  hurt – such a BABY ).

We went to the Drs Monday the 17^th so the anticipation of that was over then (12 oz curls, tequila, rum or all three in the cockpit shortly followed).

The Doctors Decision - What and When 

Well we went to the Spine Doc and the Knee Doc on the same day. That reminded us of why we don’t like to go to the Doc. Even with appointments it was a long wait before getting to see them . But the results were worth the wait, well as far as the back goes. They poked and prodded, asked lots of questions, checked and hopefully double checked and said NO Back surgery required at least not now. They indicated that everything showed the “normal” wear and tear for a 70+ year old and Steve needs to lose a little weight and get some exercise to strengthen the “core”. Will be going to physical therapy to learn the exercises recommended to strengthen the core and to hopefully strengthen the knee. But that after knee surgery and recovery from it. The knee Doc after his poking and prodding, questions, etc. said/confirmed that he needed surgery which was scheduled for the next week. He indicated that it will take 4-6 weeks till he is comfortable with us getting on the boat to sail/motor/cruise but we can do that. Knee surgery will be on 25th.

So all that being said, it looks like knee surgery, recovery at the house for 4 weeks, start physical therapy to strengthen knee and learn/practice back exercises, do a couple of short sails/anchor outs on the boat and then return to Carrabelle mid April to cruise the Florida panhandle for the summer/fall.

The Surgery - 1/25th

We were up at 0530, at the surgery center at 0720, in pre op at 0800, in surgery at 0930, in recovery at ????? (Steve asleep, Carol came in about 1230), Home around 1310. All went well. Now Steve has got to follow the directions and then see the Dr. for a follow-up next Thursday. Looks like 6-8 weeks before everything internal will be completely healed, may get to go back to the boat for happy hours after 4 weeks but that is all so will be at the house most of time.

Thanks to all who were thinking and praying us. Carol now had the hard job to make him behave.

Recovery at Home

The first week was not a lot of fun. Doc said to "be normal" and do NOT just stay in bed or be a couch potato. So Steve tried, well he found out normal meant walk a little, stand still very little, rest a lot between being "normal". Good part was there was very little pain so did not have to take the pain meds. And as long as he paid attention to what his body and Carol said and when resting found a position with "toes above nose" all went mostly well.

Went to Surgeon/Dr after the first week to have him look at knee and recommend the next steps. First he said that it is healing well and was surprised that it was only a week ago that he operated on it as it was in good shape. I thank him, his staff, the surgical hospital and its staff and CAROL for it all. He did say that I had arthritis on the knee (thanks mom) and gave me a pill to help or at least see if it would help in the internal healing of the knee surgery. Recommended that I continue to take care of the knee with NO climbing ladders, going up or down stairs for at least 2 more weeks. Will visit therapy in two weeks to start learning back exercises and perform some knee work.  Next visit is March 15.

All in all we are pleased and looking forward to Mid-March when we are hoping to get full clearance and “get-it-on” again.

In the meantime, we are taking care of business at the house and all is well.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers especially for Carol. I am trying to behave and she is great in helping. Nuff said there.

Time to visit the Boat (s/v CJ)

Ok, 2 weeks passed. We worked a little on the house, did Income Tax, caught up on paper work and tried to be busy and not overdo.

Yeah, got to go to the boat, not go out on boat just visit. I just thought yeah. Climbing the ladder to get on was a chore, then the ladder down into the salon from the cockpit. Found a few things to do as we were having the outside (toe rails, handholds, cockpit, etc) wood refinished (it looks really good) and so was picking up from that and steve did a bit more than he should (DAH). Took 3 days to recover and set back his PT but he did learn his lesson and has settled down some.

Current Status

We are hopping for a good report (go back to the boat and continue your cruising) in mid March. We will do a couple of short cruises around here till around April 2.

We are still planning on going to Sandpiper mid April. We will cruise the panhandle of FL as well as some land cruising in the truck. Do have a cruise planned to the South Carribeen the first of November and will return to Corpus Christi after that for Christmas, yearly physicals, Texas Cruising, and visiting family and friends.

I will attempt to update this a little more regular now that i am feeling "a bit more normal"

Cheers

Steve and Carol

land locked for awhile

Going into the Dr appointments, our plans were still to get the knee surgery done, establish a relationship with the spine surgeon, do rehab on the knee, cruise around the area for a bit and return to Carrabelle mid April to cruise the Florida Panhandle and do some land yacht (via Ford Truck) cruising. Maybe even a 3 or 4 day Cruise not on Sandpiper to the Bahamas. Time will tell

Update from Carrabelle

Well it has been awhile since we sent our last news out. Then we told you about the grouch (steve) who found a person who has helped his back etc, plans to go back to CC for physicals etc and then on to Brunswick, GA, getting our truck and bring it to Carrabelle, the dingy cable breaking again and the dingy winding up in the water, and getting the new bimini.

So what have we done since then and what is next.

Done since then – NOT MUCH – Ain’t that the way it is supposed to be. In general we have just been enjoying life. With the truck here we have explored this part of Fla and it has been great just to git stuff when you need it. Of course the boat maintenance is ongoing as anyone who has one knows. The good part of that is that work is good for the mind and body. The bad part is it interrupts margarita time.

The one thing of note about the boat is that the issue of the dingy lift keeps popping up. We finally got all the good solid parts and the issue fixed. BUT as we did not have a salt water washdown to clean the anchor Steve installed one and it works great. But when wiring it up to the distribution panel, low and behold the dingy lift struck again. It appears like when the cable jammed and snapped the lift motor drew so much current and the terminal board was not of the quality and amp size required there was some overheating. To the tune of melted wire installation, crystallized terminal boards and charred back panel. The odd thing is no circuit breaker popped, the smoke detector did not sound, and everything electrically worked fine. Whew – Well that is almost all fixed still have one terminal board to replace (the ole parts on order thing).

On a SAD SAD SAD note. Cat is no longer with us. He was a GREAT boat pet and we miss him every day. He was getting old (somewhere around 16-18), had cancer, but he still was a good pet. We did not want him to suffer so put him to sleep a couple weeks ago. Even the people on the porch miss him.

Also on a kind of sad note, our cruising plans are on hold for awhile. We will be returning to CC by truck sometime in January (probably during the first week). We hope this is not the end of our cruising plans but may delay them for awhile. As you know Steve has had some issues with his back and recently his knee. Everything seemed to be doing a lot better, little to no pain, walking instead of waddling, etc. and then we went to CC and had our physicals as well as visited friends and family. Everything was great, we had good reports, fun with friends and got to wish a couple good luck on their start of cruising, enjoyed the family and started back to Sandpiper in Carrabelle. While going over a bridge in Mobile we got a call from our Dr. which is putting our plans on hold for a bit. What happened is that while in Corpus Christi for our Physicals, our Dr. had Steve get MRIs for his back and knee. On the way back to Carrabelle, she called and indicated that he has a torn knee and back. So, we are staying here for the remainder of Nov and Dec to get the boat here ready to sit for awhile, possibly putting her up for sale, and to get opinions from Doctors here as to what we should do. Then we will return to Corpus Christi in Jan to get opinions from the Doctor there. While getting the opinions and making the decisions, we will probably stay on CJ like old times. If he has to have surgery, we will do it in Texas and do rehab in Corpus and stay at our house for the rehab. Then we will look at which boat we have and how much he can do and then determine where we are going to cruise (may be continue current “plans”, cruise Texas again which ain’t bad, or do cruise ships and be spoiled, or land cruise. Only time will tell.

In the meantime, all is well in Carrabelle. We have Turkey day planned for on the porch and Christmas parties/boat parade etc.

More later as it happens

Still at Carrabelle - after 1 month

Well, got a call yesterday checking to see if all is well as we have not posted anything for awhile. Sorry All is well and what is happening follows.

The first week was catch up. We got our mail, answered it, cleaned the boat in and out, got some supplys, ordered some parts, and got re aquainted with the porch and happy hour.

Had a birthday. Steve is OLD and celebrated his 70th. Birthday his present was a Fishing rod and reel for offshore stuff. Got a number of offers and am heading that way as soon as we can and this is kind of what we looking for. See picture.

Party was a blast. Rum punch, cake, chips and popcorn and lots of laughs.

Then the setback. Got parts for our Strainers. Woops wrong ones. Called the Strainer people. ordered the right parts to overhaul all the strainers, got the parts in and now all strainers have been pulled, cleaned, and new gaskets etc installed. Took awhile but it is done.

Then did booring stuff, worked on boat a little, ordered a few more parts, got haircuts, did happy hour, installed parts, did happy hour, went to eat as favorite restruant for anniversity, did happy hour

Had hotdogs, happy hour, corn on cob, and watched fireworks for July 4th. Lots of people at marina for the fireworks.

Well, Carol said Steve turned 70 and is falling apart. He forgot to move his foot when turning and strained his knee. OUCH. Then in favoring his right messed up his left. Old man is he.
He much much better now.

Carol went to Corpus Christi. We decided that as we were going to stay here till after Hurricane season and then go down the west coast of Fla, accross the state through the Okeechobee, and then up the east coast of Fla to Brunswick Ga. to stay there until warm enough to go to the Chesapeake for the spring/summer/fall, and return to Brunswick for the winter (those are current plans), we might as well get our truck and have it here, leave it here while we travel to Brunswick, come and get it or have one of the Carrabelle crowd bring it to us. So she went to CC, visited with family, checked CJ and is back with the truck. So we might go see some sights while we are here. Time wll tell.

While Carol was gone, the marina hosted a KIDS fishing tournment. It was a blast. Lots of kids and parents. lots of hot dogs and watermelon and best of all lots of fun for the kids and some of us also. Each kid got a rod and reel and most got a trophey of some kind. It was kool.

Part of the c-Quarters crew having sausage for breakfast before the mob arrives

 some partaking of hot dogs and watermellon

Gathering for the food

So that is it. We are settled in and enjoying the full time cruisers life and all is well.

Left St. Pete - traveled - Arrived at C-Quarters Marina in Carrabelle

Well, the evening before we left, a friend came over, we had goodbye hugs and kisses, drinks on the flybridge while watching the airplanes and sailboat races. We said we will miss all this but it is time for the next step.

At 0700, 6/17/2011 we drove Sandpiper out of slip F19 at St. Petersburg Marina with Admiral Carol at the helm. The deckhand Seaman Steve tied up the deck, stowed lines, secured fenders, etc and we were underway. In Tampa Bay we encountered fishermen using balloons as floats, large schools of bait fish, some bigger fish jumping (could have been tarpon I guess) and the escorting porpoises which we never get tired of. We just enjoyed the trip and all the sights until the first of 7 bridges. To say this all but one of the bridge masters were very polite and helpful. all the bridges did was slow the progress for us down as they had opening schedules and of course we missed them all. We took this route to see all the homes, hotels etc and it did not disappoint. We enjoyed the slow leisurely pace and the sites. For the most part, the other boaters were courteous. At Clearwarter that changed a bit as everyone seemed to be in a big hurry. There was a lot of traffic going out and coming in at the Clearwater Pass but all was well. We got to the outer buoy, made a starboard turn and set the Autopilot to take us to Anclote Key. Delightful trip with water clear and a sea state of 2-3 (NOAA would have said the significant wave height was 2 feet - which means the average of the 1/3 highest is 2 feet and you might encounter 4  footers at some point). They were on our beam and we were and are grateful for stabilizers. Arrived at Ancolte with lots of daylight left and not being tired we continued on for a couple more hours and anchored in 22ft off the west coast from Hernando Fla. Had a problem to try and fix. About an hour after leaving St. Pete, the airconditioning stopped working. No salt water cooling. We decided to check it out after we anchored and if it was the pump, fix it when we got to C-Quarters as with the port holes open and with fans the boat was livable. After letting the engine room cool a bit, Seaman Steve found the problem with the Admirals help at the AC control switches. The pump ok, the tailpiece from the seacock had a leak that caused the pump to loose its prime. new tailpiece from ships stores and the AC was up and cooling again. Real issue is that the previous owner had used brass and the salt water running through had corroded it. spares are brass. Job in Carrabelle is to replace all brass tailpieces with bronzee. Spent a great night with the boat rocking us to sleep.

Left anchorage and proceeded to try for an anchorage off Steinhatchee. Long day (11 hours) but a good trip in clean water with again an acceptable sea state. It got a bit higher as we approached Steinhatchee but still acceptable. Anchored the boat, She pitched a bit especially in a freshening West wind but again acceptable and "normally" the wind lays during the evening so all would be ok. After arrivals, a meal, and showers we off to sleep and a scheduled 0700 start in am. Well winds did not lay. they freshened even more. The sea state got a bit wild but not dangerous. But we pitched in sets of 5 then rolled in sets of 3. It was a wild night. Note: we found out later from locals this was NOT the place to anchor with a west wind and the full Moon and it tides. "It's always like that" and now i know it also. It is NOT the place to anchor with a west wind and a full Moon". Would have stopped short or continued going if we had known better (my fault as i really did not tell any of the locals that we had ideas to stop and anchor there. if i had, they would have told me). Around 0730 the seas and wind started calming down and by 0830 we left heading to Dog Island off of Carrabelle.

The next leg was the most interesting and can best be described as a three parter.

• The first part being from the Steinhatchee anchorage to about 1/3 the way to Dog Island. Wild, roller coaster are good descriptors. The wind was still out of the west with the moon still effecting so the swells were big with some wind swept waves on top. Nothing breaking or dangerous and luckily could keep them on our quarter for a comfortable as possible ride. Again thanks to the people who invented stabilizers and autopilots.
• The second part was awesome. 1-2 ft seas 5 knts wind and a beautiful ride. We saw fish of all kinds, lots and lots of porpoises. One pod of 10 to 12 stayed with us for 30 minutes. One mom and dad had a baby (around 2-3 ft) and were teaching it to surf the bow wake. and then the big sea turtles. It was great and i wish all could enjoy it as we did.
• The third part was the worst. Not bad, just the worst. It reminded me of the Texas gulf. Sets of ever increasing size swells with very confused wind waves in between and on top. Water started changing color and became sandy and dirty (locals are saying the Mississippi floods are causing a lot of runoff of all the rivers. Sandpiper was well up to the task and we were very comfortable. When we made the pass from the gulf into George Sound by Dog island, the swells were on our stern and i learned how this boat handled that (Better than me but the Admiral was pleased so we were both happy). Pulled into a well protected cove at Dog Island and spent a calm restful remainder of day and night. Saw one of our Carrabelle friends in their boat and had a brief chat about being back and meeting on the porch the following day. Life is good.

The next morning left anchorage at 0700 to catch slack tide in the river when we docked. It worked good and we slipped into our slip with no issues at all.

So we are back to the small town that has character and a lot of characters. Was welcomed back by all on the porch last evening. Will be here for awhile and will keep you all up to date.

We are having a blast. If you can, come join us. If you can't try and live it through our blog. Life is great and this is Life now for us.

more later

Steve & Carol aboard

m/s Sandpiper

Preperations to leave St. Pete continued and we finally left

Wow, when last we wrote we were Preparing to Leave St. Pete. Well we prepared and prepared and prepared and prepared, .... and finally left.

First we said we were leaving in the morning, and God laughed at our plans, and we sent the message "Just checked all the weather stations and it looks like we probably won't be leaving St. Pete until Friday 17th instead of tomorrow.  Tomorrow looks ok BUT there is the possibilities of 2-4 etc in places and the Admiral don't like 4 footers and Friday looks like it will be more like she (me too) likes so we leave then. We will probably Not anchor at Anclote Key and just go straight to Dog Island or Carrabelle out of Clearwater". And as we were all prepared with waiting on the final news to be shown and going to bed to get a good nights sleep, God was really laughing and reminded us about Storms.

We are still getting used to Florida versus Texas Gulf and weather. We were reminded that and it was a good thing we were at the slip in St. Pete and not out there where we initially planned. We had a rain storm/thunder storm/lighting storm or whatever else you want to call it. Totally unexpected but the Florida people call it good and want more like it today and tomorrow. It had all the things a Thunder Storm/Squall Line has, HIGH wind (We clocked 50 at the boat-news reported 63), lots of wave action (we were in 18-20' of water with about 300 yards to the breakwater and had 3 to 4'whitecaps at the boat - low tide and white blowing water over the finger piers is how we measured it), and of course the rain, lighting and thunder etc. The news and the people who live here say, that is good we got needed rain, cooled us off, and it is getting that time of year, hope tomorrow we get the same. Well we said, our issue is they sent out no warnings (e.g breaking into or scrolls on tv for the line that hit us - had sent some earlier for a line south of us and predictions were none for us. They did a great job of describing and explaining why it occurred during the weather at 2300 which happened to be in the middle of the storm), and if this is "normal" and they predict more and want more, we asked ourselves; what would it be like if we were out in the Gulf 80+ miles from shore and run into one of them. We did not like the answer. Would we survive? YEP but we don't need the hassle. And we know it is going to happen sometime even with the best of planning but let us not jump into it if we feel there is going to be something to make us uncomfortable. So we looked at alternative ways of dealing with the issue of DAILY storms and some of them not predicted. We looked at it before but not as close as we should have we think especially if we are going to be out of reach of a divert port/anchorage.

And so we thought about it the next day, we scoured all the weather outlets, we talked to people and then decided to leave the next morning. The plans were to pull out of the slip around 0700. ICW to Clearwater then offshore to Anclote Key. Anchor at Anclote key and then follow the bend at the 3 fathom line anchoring each evening before any storms, ride them out if required, get some sleep and continue the trip around the bend till we anchored at Dog Island to go into C-Quarters the next morning.

And at 0700 the following mooring we were off and running (or better classified as a crawl as our trawler is a slow but steady beast).

Steve & Carol aboard
m/v Sandpiper

Preparing to leave St. Pete

Well we have been here 3+ weeks and it is time to return to our West Florida home base of Carrabelle. And we are looking forward to it. Still have a lot to do in that area along with 3 fishing tournaments out of the marina we will be at plus a good hidy hole from canes. And the bonus of a lot of friendly folks in a great little place. Plan is to leave here Thursday, travel the ICW to Clearwater, go off shore and anchor at Anclote Key, leave there at midnight and go straight across to Dog Island where we will anchor and go in to C-Quarters marina in Carrabelle Sat morning. Then we will watch the boats come in that afternoon/evening for the Kingfish tournament.

The trip to St. Pete was well worth it. Of course we got to see our friends. For those who did not know Pam and Bill, they had their boat at CC Marina right down from us. They moved back to Flordia and we got to see them at their new marina. They were very very helpful while we were here by showing us around, helping us get stuff we needed and just enjoying each others company. Thanks Pam and Bill. Unfortunately, Bill has a new job with the same company that keeps him away from St. Pete so we did not get to spend as much time as we wanted with him. But there is always the next time.

The marina here is very good. It is large (I guess at least 2 to 3 times the size of CC Marina) and on Tampa Bay. The Facilities are excellent. Our only like would have been for floating docks but that seem to be something there is little of in Florida at least right now. Our slip allowed us an unobstructed view of Tampa Bay and that made it quite nice. There is a Sailing club at the marina and every day there is at least one group of sailboat races going on. On Friday evening is biggest race with last Friday having 28 boats. We also have seen Tarpon in the marina with two of them cruising around our boat. Along with lots of other fishy objects in the water but no Manatees were sighted.

We had a little trouble for the first week or so. I again tried to do something i shouldn't have without help and hurt my back. It did not cause me the problems as before but i had to move slow, rest, etc and it is still a bit tender but we are doing fine. And right after we got here, Carol indicated she appeared to have a problem with one of her teeth. And she did. A large chunk was missing of the side of one of her wisdom teeth. Of course this occurred on a Saturday evening so we had to really wait till Monday to get it fixed. Found a dentist office within walking distance of the marina. They were GREAT and they fixed the tooth (did not pull it) and no problem since.

Speaking of within walking distance, the downtown area of St. Pete is awesome. There is a lot to do or a little to do which ever you want. There are lots of parks. It is VERY walker friendly. Plenty of restaurant if that is your desire. A major grocery, museums,  etc. etc. and it is very clean. There is a Looper (loops around the downtown area) trolley that you can ride for a quarter (a dime if you are 65+). And a great little downtown airport right next to the marina. Carol and I spent a lot of time on the flybridge watching the planes. Lots of small plane traffic and apparently people learning to fly.

Altogether we had a good time here. We would highly recommend staying here but not for just one night. A week at a minimum, The downtown area is great. the rest of the town is a big city with anything you need. Public transportation is  excellent.

A few pics;


Sailboat race seen from our flybridge

Airport seen from our flybridge

Airport seen from the Pier in St Pete

Part of the Marina as seen from the Pier. We are the next to last boat on left side

Downtown as seen from the Pier

Hope all is well where you are.

Steve and Carol aboard the m/v Sandpiper

In St. Pete

We are in St Petersburg.  Great trip. Wedid not get to leave as planned. As we indicated, we were leaving CarrabelleThursday to visit friends in St Petersburg.  Well, the husband has been working in Georgia and was finishing up Thursday and wanted us to wait for him so he could go on the boat with us from Carrabelle to St. Pete. ( he loves boating) he should get here about 7:00  so we waited for him.   We talked to another boat that left near Tarpon Springs last night and docked right next to us a few min ago and they said it was beautiful over night and a little chilly but no waves and a hugh moon.

So Bill got to Carrabelle and we left Friday Morning. Started the Genset and the engines, warmed them up, slipped the lines and backed Sandpiper into the river current and we were underway around 0900. Had been looking for a nice weather window and we got it.

This is us leaving Carabelle;

The roughest (maybe 2-3) it got was when we left the bay and into the Gulf at the pass of Dog Island  and St. George Island and a short way into the Gulf. It was the tide and within a couple of hours it got really good. Hit the bouy and set the autopilot and off we went for 27 hours. It was beautiful out there. Water was clear, saw lots of fish from flying fish, to porposes, to Maui-Maui, and some we got no idea, acouple of turtles and that night a lot of stars. That was awsome. Then at midnight the almost Full Moon. Hard to explain, you would just have had to been there. Here is a couple of pics to try and describe the trip.

The sunset

Breakfast - notice the heavy wave action in front of us

Bridge at St Pete

So we got  to the marina, Pam was waiting, and their were hugs all around. We checked in got to the slip, had an arrival after getting Sandpiper settled in. Then it was  Bill and Pam off to their home and we off to the shower and a LONG nap. Later we all got back together and had dinner. After they left us at our boat, we were trying to relax and lots of "gunfire" went off. It really was firecrackers and we were treated to a great fireworks show. Bill called and said he had arranged it just for our arival (yeah right).

Later  Carol discovered she had broken about a third of her right bottom wisdom tooth (probably from biting her tounge with me and Bill around). It did not need an emergency denist trip  so we waited until today (Monday) to get it fixed. Found a GREAT denist downtown about 1/2 mile from the boat. All is fixed and we ready again (as soon as the deadner wears off).

So now we are kind of settled in again. Got a couple of things to do on the boat (as always) but no major issues and she did GREAT on the trip. Will reprovision for our trip back to Carrabelle later, hope to go on a couple of day trips in the area and just see the sights of western Fla and visit some more with Bill and Pam.

All is well and Life is Good here. Hope is is whereever you are.

Steve and Carol aboard m/v Sandpiper