One of the joys of returning home is seeing your old friends. When you are sailboat cruising you develop very intense friendships, simply because of mutual interest, the sheer amount of unencumbered free time, the magical places you visit, and the mutual dependencies bred by the environment.
With old friends you share history, memories, and the opportunity to get caught up with each other's lives. Sometimes for cruisers it is difficult to get your old friends to truly understand what you are doing. We frequently are asked: "What about pirates?" "What about storms?" "Where do you get food?" With cruisers conversations frequently center around broken boat parts, heads that won't work, and where to find real whole milk. They say you can't go home, but we give it our best shot once a year.
We met our friends Randy and Monique at a wonderful Italian restaurant out in the boonies of Woodinville. Meryl and Monique used to fly together for Pan Am and share that elan vital that only former Pam Am flight attendants seem to have. Randy and Monique were about to depart on a 3,000 mile motorcycle ride from Seattle to Sturgess and then on to Milwaukee for a Harley Davidson rally. Monique rides her own Harley and graces a set of leathers like a Hollywood movie star.
Our next stop was and overnight visit with Jim and Mary Ann who live on Beaver Lake in Sammamish. Jim used to crew on Phoenix, my 26-foot Thunderbird sailboat and Jim and Mary Ann visited us on Flying Cloud when we were in the Exumas. We enjoyed sitting on their veranda overlooking the lake and talking about the good old times racing with the Thunderbird fleet. Jim and Mary Ann, along with their daughter Megan, took us on a tour of Beaver Lake in the 12-foot aluminum fishing boat. Great fun!
We also had the opportunity to have dinner with Paul and Irene, who also visited us on Flying Cloud while we were in Hope Town, The Abacos. We had a wonderful time exploring the environs of Hope Town, including Meryl taking Irene on her first kayak ride and me snorkeling with Paul. We spent the night sipping wine and laughing about all the fun times we've had together. I've always admired Paul's undying optimism and Irene's infectious laugh and endless stories about her extended family.
Our final get together was with a group of former Thunderbird sailors who are now known as "The Old Salts." The boats included Zephyr (Rod and MaryHelen), Nutter Butter (Don and Jan), Mahina (Larry and Ann), and Alio (Gary and Sheri). As always we relived old races and laughed at all the fun times we had together cruising. It was also wonderful to see Gary's wife, Sheri, who is making great progress recovering from a stroke she suffered one year ago.
And when we talk about friends, we can't leave out Jim and Chris, and Annie and Tryg, who are more like family than friends. They all have offered us their houses, their cars, and their hospitality over these past years. We are fortunate they have had a chance to visit us on Flying Cloud and we sincerely hope they will be back again for more visits.
With old friends you share history, memories, and the opportunity to get caught up with each other's lives. Sometimes for cruisers it is difficult to get your old friends to truly understand what you are doing. We frequently are asked: "What about pirates?" "What about storms?" "Where do you get food?" With cruisers conversations frequently center around broken boat parts, heads that won't work, and where to find real whole milk. They say you can't go home, but we give it our best shot once a year.
We met our friends Randy and Monique at a wonderful Italian restaurant out in the boonies of Woodinville. Meryl and Monique used to fly together for Pan Am and share that elan vital that only former Pam Am flight attendants seem to have. Randy and Monique were about to depart on a 3,000 mile motorcycle ride from Seattle to Sturgess and then on to Milwaukee for a Harley Davidson rally. Monique rides her own Harley and graces a set of leathers like a Hollywood movie star.
Our next stop was and overnight visit with Jim and Mary Ann who live on Beaver Lake in Sammamish. Jim used to crew on Phoenix, my 26-foot Thunderbird sailboat and Jim and Mary Ann visited us on Flying Cloud when we were in the Exumas. We enjoyed sitting on their veranda overlooking the lake and talking about the good old times racing with the Thunderbird fleet. Jim and Mary Ann, along with their daughter Megan, took us on a tour of Beaver Lake in the 12-foot aluminum fishing boat. Great fun!
We also had the opportunity to have dinner with Paul and Irene, who also visited us on Flying Cloud while we were in Hope Town, The Abacos. We had a wonderful time exploring the environs of Hope Town, including Meryl taking Irene on her first kayak ride and me snorkeling with Paul. We spent the night sipping wine and laughing about all the fun times we've had together. I've always admired Paul's undying optimism and Irene's infectious laugh and endless stories about her extended family.
Our final get together was with a group of former Thunderbird sailors who are now known as "The Old Salts." The boats included Zephyr (Rod and MaryHelen), Nutter Butter (Don and Jan), Mahina (Larry and Ann), and Alio (Gary and Sheri). As always we relived old races and laughed at all the fun times we had together cruising. It was also wonderful to see Gary's wife, Sheri, who is making great progress recovering from a stroke she suffered one year ago.
And when we talk about friends, we can't leave out Jim and Chris, and Annie and Tryg, who are more like family than friends. They all have offered us their houses, their cars, and their hospitality over these past years. We are fortunate they have had a chance to visit us on Flying Cloud and we sincerely hope they will be back again for more visits.
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