Weather forecast for July 14, 2019:
Cocoa, Florida
Low 79 high 94
Southeast winds, 5 to 9 kts
Captain’s Log: June 11, 2019 thru July 13, 2019
We woke up at 4:00am on Tuesday, June 11th and drove to the Orlando International Airport to catch an 8:00am flight to Cincinnati. Our plan was to spend a week in Cincinnati and a week in Detroit before heading back to Cocoa Village.
Our good friend Robert was waiting for us when we touched down in Cincinnati. He drove us to my Mother’s apartment where we picked up our vehicle for the next two weeks. After a nice visit with Mom we headed to our friend Bebe’s house where we settled in. Bebe and her husband Rick were out of town for the entire month; we had their beautiful place to ourselves. Later that evening we met Robert and Karen for dinner and drinks.
The next morning we picked up our teen-aged grand-daughters Ali and Caroline and then drove to the Kings Island Amusement Part where we met our daughter Jess and her three girls Leah, Anna and Livy. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time with the kids. I even met the challenge by my girls to ride several of the large roller-coasters. My brains were rattled a bit and my back was sore but my manhood remained intact.
That evening, as I was nursing my battered body, Shirley learned that the Cincinnati Art Museum had a special exhibit featuring the ‘art’ of the annual Burning Man Festival. Attending Burning Man has been on our bucket list ever since we found out about it five or six years ago. Even better, admission to the Museum was free on Thursday evening. So, after our daily visit with Mom, we were going to have an afternoon of culture.
According to Wikipedia:
“Burning Man is an annual event held in the western United States at Black Rock City – a temporary city erected in the Black rock Desert of northwest Nevada, approximately 100 miles northeast of Reno. The late summer event is an experiment in community and art, influenced by ten main principles: radical inclusion, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, gifting, decommodification, participation, immediacy and leave no trace. The event takes its name from its culmination, the symbolic ritual burning of a large wooden effigy ("The Man") that traditionally occurs on the Saturday evening of the event.
Participation is a key precept for the community – selfless giving of one's unique talents for the enjoyment of all is encouraged and actively reinforced. Some of these generous outpourings of creativity include experimental and interactive sculptures, buildings, performances and 'art cars', among other media. These contributions are inspired by the yearly theme, which is chosen by the organizers”.
We found the exhibit interesting and enjoyable but limited in the number of sculptures, 'art cars' and other related media. That said, it was well worth the price of admission.
We departed the museum and drove down to The Banks of downtown Cincinnati where we met our friends Robert and Karen; it was “Rockin’ the Roebling” night at Smale Riverfront Park. It was a very cold night for mid-June in Cincinnati; with the wind blowing and the temperature in the mid-50s, we had to wrap ourselves in a blanket that Robert had brought along.
To our great surprise and delight, the Marty Conner Band was the opening group. Marty played at our wedding reception and it was really nice to catch up with him once again after his gig was up.
The next band up was Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle; a local favorite. This band had a very interesting opening monologue: before their first song the drummer thanked one of the band’s very loyal female fans. Then, acting as the proxy for that fan, the drummer made a marriage proposal to another one of their very loyal female fans. She accepted, the two women joyfully embraced, kissed passionately, and every body cheered and clapped. It was very nice; strange, but nice.
The next morning, Friday, June 14th, I dragged Bebe’s lawn mower out from under the deck, filled the gas tank and then cut grass for the first time in a very long time. Years ago, after I sold my house, I promised myself that I would never cut another blade of grass for as long as I lived; so much for promises to myself. Actually, I enjoyed it.
While I was cutting the grass, Shirley was conducting conference calls and working on her laptop. Later in the day we visited our friends Shawn and Kimberly and then ate an early dinner at Wabi Sabi, our favorite sushi bar just down the street from our old condo in Covington. After dinner we spent about one hour at the Italian Festival at Newport On the Levy and then walked over to Mansion Hill, our very favorite dive blues bar.
We love Mansion Hill! It had been over one year since our last visit but the same familiar faces greeted us as we walked in. A terrific three-piece blues band started playing at 9:00pm and we stayed for three sets. Shirley spent a lot of time on the tiny and crowded dance floor shaking her stuff; I got onto the act a time or two myself. At 11:30 we headed for the Palm Court Bar in the classy art-deco Netherland Plaza Hotel in downtown Cincinnati, another one of our favorite places, for a nightcap.
On Saturday, June 15th, five of my seven siblings converged on Mom’s tiny apartment for several hours. It was really nice to see two of my four sisters and all three of my brothers in one place with Mom again. The night that my Father died was the last time that we were all together.
Mom expressed her concern that the siblings would lose touch with each other once she was gone. We promised her that we would not let that happen. We all agreed to set aside the third weekend in April (Mom & Dad’s wedding anniversary) every year for a family reunion in Cincinnati.
After our little gathering at Mom’s place it was time to have some fun; we were about to celebrate Shirley’s 60th birthday at the Ludlow-Bromley Yacht Club (the LBYC)!
The LBYC is a very large, canopied barge moored on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River about 5 miles downstream of downtown Cincinnati. It is a happening place during the summer months and we had a wonderful time! Family, many friends and a few total strangers wished my bride a Happy Birthday while enjoying strong waters and good conversation. It was a late night.
On Father’s Day Shirley and I took Mom to the cemetery to visit Dad’s grave. It was the first time that she had actually walked up to the stone and, standing in the light rain, it was heartbreaking to hear her talk to Dad and tell him that she would be joining him soon; we fought back the tears.
After leaving the cemetery we drove Mom around the old neighborhood that she and Dad grew up in; we drove past their childhood homes and other memorable spots; we even drove past Seton High School and Elder High School, Mom and Dad’s respective alma-maters. She really enjoyed this trip down memory lane.
We took Mom home, met our daughter Jamie for a short Father’s Day gathering and then later that evening headed for Marysville, Ohio and our daughter Erica’s place.
Shirley and I always look forward to spending time with Erica and her husband Shawn at their beautiful place outside of Marysville. Relaxed life in the country is similar to being on the water and, with their 37ft Island Trader sailing ketch high and dry in their back yard, it almost felt like we were sitting in a secluded anchorage.
We sat around the fire pit and talked until close to midnight. Shirley had to go to her Kellogg plant in Zanesville, Ohio, the next day while I got to hang out with Erica for the day. A wonderful meal, drinks and more conversation followed on Monday evening. The next morning we were on the road to Detroit by 5:00am.
We had to be at Josh & Lisa's place in Oxford, Michigan by 10:00am to relieve Lisa's mom, who was babysitting their three girls while Josh & Lisa enjoyed a much needed getaway to New Orleans. We were on duty for the next three days and two nights.
With three little girls and two large dogs running around the house, we had our hands full (at least Shirley did). When not on conference calls or working on her laptop, Shirley spent her free time doing girly things with Ashlyn, Sophie and Sara while I played with the dogs, played a few card games with Ashlyn (the oldest), watched a movie or two and grabbed a couple of naps.
Our grand daughter Carlee’s high school graduation party was scheduled for Saturday, June 22nd. We had committed to helping prepare for the big party and we were excited to be at Rachel’s house (Carlee’s mom) on June 20th to begin preparations.
My job was to keep our four-year-old grandson Paxton occupied while Shirley worked on party-related tasks. Rising to my assignment, I quickly got a flat tire and then locked the only set of keys that we had in the car. Fortunately for me, Paxton was fascinated by the police officer who used his special tools to unlock the car. Paxton later enjoyed watching the car being lifted into the air while a mechanic removed, plugged and remounted the tire.
Carlee’s graduation party was a big hit with over 75 adults and about 25 high-schoolers coming and going throughout the day. The party went well into the late evening; everybody had a great time.
We spent Sunday cleaning up the party residue and relaxing. On Monday we headed back to Cincinnati for doctor and dentist appointments. On the morning of Thursday, June 27th, we took Mom down to Smale Park where we met our daughters Jess and Jamie and five of our six granddaughters. It was a beautiful day and Mom had a great time; she even road the giant SkyStar Ferris Wheel.
That afternoon we said our good-byes to everyone and headed for the airport. We made it back on our boat in Cocoa Village just before midnight.
The following week was spent preparing the boat for our departure from Cocoa Village Marina. On July 4th we joined our friends Doug and Kae for a beach party outside of their condo near Port Canaveral and then returned to Cocoa Village for a symphony concert in the park and then a huge fireworks display. It really felt like the 4th of July!
On Saturday, July 6th, we drove to Playalinda Beach at Canaveral National Seashore where we walked the beach all the way to the barrier that NASA had erected to keep people away from the launch pad areas. On our treck back up the beach we watch a guy fight a huge stingray for about 30 minutes before he finally landed it. After pictures, he released his fascinating catch.
A gentlemen from Mack Sails finally showed up on Friday, July 12th, to install our new sail. I used our electric winch to hoist him 63 feet to the top of the main mast to install the masthead fitting. It took us about six hours to complete the installation and rig the sail.
Our big, beautiful, bright red head sail will make Perfect Love look even more stunning than she already is. We can’t wait to fly our new ‘Big Red’ for the first time.
We did our provisioning on Saturday afternoon and then, later in the evening, walked over to Cocoa Riverfront Park for the big Apollo 11 Moon Landing 50th Anniversary Party. We saw Rick Armstrong, son of the first man to walk on the moon, and several other Apollo and Space Shuttle astronauts. The Alan Parsons Project put on a great concert to wrap up the evening. It was a really cool.
As Alan sings
"Where do we go from here now that all of the children have gown up
And how do we spend our lives knowing nobody gives us a damn"
..... well, we go sailing.
Looking back over the past two months, we spent about 75 days at Cocoa Village Marina; much longer than either of us had originally anticipated. But no worries, we saw some amazing spectacles, visited some beautiful places, made some great new friendships that will last a lifetime, and had a lot of fun. These things are what this cruising adventure is all about. New adventures await as tomorrow we set sail for New Smyrna Beach and points beyond!
Until next time, may your tomorrow bring fair winds and following seas.
(click on the picture below, it is a video)