The days dissolve in ordered disarray. John and I strive to maintain plans yet, the hours laugh at us as they unfold according to their own hidden wishes. The weather, too, changes as it desires. The blissful balmy breeze of Thanksgiving gave way to thirty mph gales that screeched like harpies later that same night.
We are still so in love with each other and the excitement of the journey as we head for the Carolinas...However, we continually pray for more patience and grace when the boat's walls shrink in on us...
We also continue to meet phenomenal people. Thanksgiving day, as we prepared to search out a canned turkey, the owner of the marina we were anchored off of came in his boat and like an angelic apparition offered us free showers and a Thanksgiving feast at the marina. Blake and Dante raced up and down the docks with other "boat kids". Seldom have we met people so kind and giving. They treated us like family and in true form, we feasted!
They also gave us the inside scoop on some free docking in the beautiful city of Portsmouth...right across the river from Norfolk...home to an incredible fleet of navy ships. We are resting here until Monday morning when we will depart early and head for North Carolina.
I think we are beginning to look more like live aboards...ragged sweaters and carefree unsteady saunters...for me it finally begins to feel normal.
Dear R,
ReplyDeleteWe don't know what is more delightful and informative--your superb narrative or the great images. Keep both coming! Actually, reading your blog is like turning a chapter of a favorite book with all the characters we know and love. Yes, we do want to see "how it's all going to turn out."
It is quite remarkable about your Thanksgiving experience. It made us feel wonderful to know that a stranger's hospitality and warm heart were extended to our wanderers on the sea. There is a great moral and spiritual lesson to be derived from that act of kindness. I'm sure it did not go unnoticed by Blake and Dante. That is exactly what you and John have been trying to inculcate and pass on to the boys all these years.
We trust that you're bound for warm waters and will be checking in from North Carolina before long. Not a minute too soon, I'm sure. Very cold suddenly in New England--aren't you glad you left! Keep the faith, maintain vigilance, hold each other dear, and rejoice in the day and the experience. After all, it is the voyage that matters even more than the destination, and your mutual love is what holds it all together.
Love to all,
Dad & Mom
Darlings, it's wonderful to be following you this way! C called and said you'd gotten through the Great Dismal Swamp (!) and I've just spent a half-hour looking at the maps online to see where everything is. I had to expand the map at the Virginia/North Carolina border to see the canal---and there it was! and there you must be. Fascinating account of how and when (and why) the canal was built---a good history lesson for the scholar on board.
ReplyDeleteR, do you realize that the first line of your last entry is perfect iambic pentameter?! "The days dissolve in ordered dissarray" It is a great first line for a poem. Beautiful. I do expect that the days will become more 'arrayed' and allow you more leisure to pursue your writing. I hope so ;-) The photos are priceless---I love seeing the cats, too.
Here's hoping all the storms and cold weather are behind you (we woke up to snow flurries this morning) and you have winds only rough enough to make the sailing fun. You don't want to get bored with it all! We send our love and a big hug to each of you; you are constantly in our thoughts and we are beginning to talk about hooking up with you somewhere along the way! Love, M