Land side...

Daughter Eldest and family (sans Son-in-Law who could not get out of work) were in St. Louis to reunite with Grandson Eldest after the months he spent helping us move First Light. That part of the clan headed out a few days ago to return to their boat in Florida. Though the live-a-board lifestyle comes with more than its share of goodbyes, this was one of the harder parting moments we have had. There is simply no telling when we will be together again. As their van disappeared around the corner I went "for a walk". You know, it's good for my heart.

We could not have moved the boat without Grandson Eldest's help. It must be admitted that any teen-aged grand son is likely to come complete with a few (slightly) irritating habits. And I am sure the same can be said for any mid 60 year old Grampy T. We jostled and joked our way up the ICW and to near the north end of the Chesapeake Bay. We practiced music together. Along the way he discovered Deb's guitar and picked up what is likely a lifetime habit of guitar playing. He also figured out how to dock and undock a twin-engined 42' trawler, did a good deal of boat work, and played a bit of poker, (for plastic chips only). It was the kind of trip the stories of which will likely to be passed along for a generation or two. The guitar habit had him looking for an instrument of his own to purchase before heading back to FL with his family. That had him and I checking out the local music stores. He found his guitar. In spite of his urging I didn't add anything to my Uke collection...but I did add a djembe drum to the electric drum kit, table-top electric kit, and pan drum collection. The table top, pan drum, and new djembe will go with us back to the boat. The electric drum kit stays in St. Louis.

It is likely to feel like a long winter. In addition to living with grand kids again and maybe working (if the shop will have me back) having a new kind of drumming to delve into will help keep me busy. Unlike the others, the djembe is played without sticks or mallets. 

Since the family's departure, we have worked on settling into land life again. It took me a few minutes to remember what buttons needed pushed in our car to get things set up. Unlike when we first came ashore after Kintala, this stint of living on a boat has came with quite a few road miles. So it wasn't much of a shock being back out on the highway. Which is not to say that St. Louis drivers are any less crazy than they were when we left. The house is far more insulated from the weather. It is pouring rain right now, but you wouldn't know that without looking out the window. I suspect the wind is gusting as well, but you can't tell that from this chair. The ice cream in the freezer isn't soft. We don't count how many times we flush the "head" and no one worries about running the water tanks dry. But there are no dolphins or pelicans, no spectacular sunsets or quiet anchorages either. 

With First Light safely on the hard for the winter and little interest in going to work on the boat with snow in the forecast, boat related projects will be curtailed to not much more than trying to figure out how to get the boat to St. Louis next year. Given how plans for this past summer worked out? Well, we will just take each day as it comes.