Saturday, 11/1/08 Day 273
Today was fun. We hung out at the yard all day. Josh and I played outside most of the day. There is a huge field that must be the size of 3 football fields. It is empty, besides a tree here and there, and a bulldozer, a steam roller, a pit, scattered wood, and an abandoned dock near the boats. We play in the pit as our "foxhole". We barricade it and hide and shoot imaginary enemies, or we pretend to shoot each other. Today we played baseball in the field. We used the wood as bases. It was a good, 3-inning game that ended in a tie: 6-6.
The sun was shining from bright blue skies all day long. It was beautiful weather. We took advantage of it. We even went dinghy exploring! The main goal was to find a place to stay off of the boat for the next 2 weeks. We looked into some Aqua Lodge houseboats of which there are a dozen or two at a marina across the water, but none were available for rent. We also got out at the Dockside Inn to see about renting a room, but we nixed that idea too. We'll find a way soon enough.
This afternoon, we had something really cool happen. A Black Labrador Retriever came up to the boat wanting to play. She had a collar, but the only tag was a county rabies tag. We played with her for the rest of the afternoon. She was very friendly and patient, and would sit, lie down, and shake. She liked sticks. We ran all over together. She came in the foxhole too. She had a bad problem with other dogs, though. Once, she got into a fight with a lady's poodle! In the evening, though, she ran off. It was fun to play.
We ate dinner and watched a movie. It was Fly Away Home. It was sad at parts, but a good movie. Once, we paused the movie to go to the bathhouse. Guess who we met? The dog we played with earlier! She followed us to the bathhouse and back, and barked when we went up into the boat. I wonder if she'll be around in the morning? Today was great!
Sunday, 11/2/08 Day 274
Today was like yesterday, but cloudy and colder. We stayed inside for most of the day. Josh and I did play some baseball. It was much more comfy and cozy inside. With the space heaters running inside, the outside made you feel like a jumbo ice cube!
We did get some good news today. Some cruisers that Mom & Dad met through another cruiser friend at the Caribbean 1500 Rally in Annapolis, MD (see 10/9/08) have a summer house right here in Deltaville, VA. They said that we can stay in it while we're here!! That'll be great! We spent most of the rest of the day packing clothes, toys, school books, etc. for our week or two. We should move in tomorrow after we get a rental car. I can't wait!
This evening, we played the Game of LIFE. It was a long, but fun, game. Mom won, against all odds. Today was great!
Monday, 11/3/08 Day 275
We moved into the "summer house" today. I put it in quotes because it's not just some tiny beach house, but a huge, beautiful house on the water with a big lawn and a really great pier for fishing in a private community with a lot of fall color, and it couldn't be better!! The weather was as gorgeous as the house today - bright and sunny and warm. We spent the whole morning waiting for the Enterprise Car Rental. They are famous for the fact that they'll pick you up. They picked Mom and I up and drove us to their place in Gloucester, VA. Gloucester is about 30 minutes away and is also where Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Trans-Atlantic Diesel, and some restaurants are. We went on a lot of small roads to get there. The fall color is great! I've never seen so much color on trees in my life. I love it!
Mom and I were going to get a Chrysler Sebring (aka a little nothing car), but is smelled like smoke, so they gave us a free upgrade to a Dodge Charger (aka big, cool muscle-type car). I had to convince Mom, but she doesn't like the Charger that much! Dad does, though! Enterprise was late in picking us up, so we had to race back to meet Ms. Nancy (who owns the house), Dad and Josh. We got a tour of the house and grounds. Their pier is great! It goes out all the way to a shelf so boats can tie up in the deep water. That makes great fishing for all sorts of fish! Awesome! They have a very high-tech TV with the highest cable and everything! Once more - awesome! Their house is very nautical, too, and there are model sailboats and signal flags everywhere! Awesome! Plus, there is high power wi-fi, great views, a big kitchen and more! We are going to have a great time! Mr. & Mrs. Lipscomb are so nice to let us stay here.
We spent the rest of the day moving stuff (like 10 loads of laundry, LITERALLY) and shopping for some supplies. We also got some treats that we can't have on boat, such as Eggo waffles. That's all for a great today! J J J
Tuesday, 11/4/08 Day 276
Today is the 4th day in a row that I've said "Today was great!" That's because all these days were great! Today was pretty awesome. We did school for the morning and went to Hampton, VA in the afternoon. What's in Hampton, VA? The Caribbean 1500, full of boats headed south in the rally. Who's in the 1500? S/V Imagine! Because we have a car, we could drive 1 ½ house to see our friends. We ate a drive-through lunch on the way down. We would have been there sooner if we didn't have to drive 15 min. out of our way, through the woods of Virginia, past Backwoods Lane, to pick up a transmission. The forest is in every color, from the blue-green pines to yellow, orange, red and almost violet in the deciduous trees. It is very pretty. I wish we had this in Texas. Where I'm from, there is no such thing as fall or fall color. It stinks!
We played with Imagine all afternoon. We also played with s/v Stray Kitty, a catamaran with kids. They were going to put on some show, and I helped make invitations. We did a bit of this and a bit of that. The adults talked the entire time. That's like them. They can talk for hours. We all had a fun time.
On the way home, we past Sam's Club, so we stopped to do some shopping. We bought pizza for dinner and Mom & Dad covered the whole store. Josh and I checked out all the cool movies and video games. We also watched a preview for the Transformers movie, and it looked awesome! I want to see it, but it's PG-13. I'm 12, but it will still be hard to pull that one off. Mom is pretty strict.
It was dark when we got home (that's now the house). We saw some deer. They are all over around dusk. One guy joked once that if the deer population ever got thinned out, several body shops would go out of business. That's how many people hit deer with their cars around here. We have to be careful.
I just remembered something. Today is Election Day. I say GObama. I think he'll win. The Democrats have won all of the debates. Polls say that the majority of the country wants the change he can provide. We're tired, though. We can't stay up to see who wins. I'll write more tomorrow. Good night.
Wednesday, 11/5/08 Day 277
Today was pretty blah. We stayed inside all day. It was cloudy and rainy! We did school for about half the day, and played/hung out the other half. The only exciting thing was in the evening.
Bob Rossi (s/v Brittany de la Mer) just happened to be in town, picking up a car. He came over for dinner. We had pork roast and twice baked potatoes. Delicious! For dessert, we had homemade strawberry frozen yogurt. It was blended strawberries, ice, and vanilla yogurt, chilled close to solid. That was also yummy. Mr. Bob is coming over tomorrow too. Hopefully tomorrow will be better than today.
Oh, forgot to say - Obama won! This election has made history!
Thursday, 11/6/08 Day 278
Today was still only okay. It was still cold and rainy, but the house has heat. Mr. Bob came over for breakfast. Mom made a cinnamon coffee cake in the great oven that goes above 325° (the one on the boat does not!). Bob showed us how to use SKYPE. That is a free program that lets you talk online to other people using a microphone. Then Daddy and Bob went to go look at our boat, and Josh and I did school.
By the time school was over, and Dad was back (Bob left from the boat), it was late afternoon. We ran errands in Gloucester, VA. We went to Trans-Atlantic Diesel, Wal-Mart, and Home Depot. We are dinner in town at Quizno's Subs.
That's all. As you can see, we didn't do much today. I think it will get better, weather-wise, tomorrow. That'll be great!
Friday, 11/7/08 Day 279
Today was a 3 on a 1-10 scale. It did get nice and sunny outside, but my day was bad. Dad told us in the morning that we needed to get done with school by 11:30, when he came home for lunch, and then we would get the car and all drive somewhere fun. We finished school by 11:45. But after lunch, Dad did not drive us all somewhere fun. He said he needed to drive 30 minutes to Trans-Atlantic Diesel through the woods and that we all had to come. What a way to ruin the day! We were all hot in the car, but Dad wouldn't let us roll the windows down or turn the A/C on. When we got back, we went to the boatyard. We had gotten a bunch of packages of boat stuff. Josh and I got yelled at by Dad for playing with giant boxes and playing with a rope. We did get to play in our foxhole. Mom and Dad talked with another guy in the boatyard for a half an hour, at least. When we got home, we had 45 minutes before we had to go to a potluck party. In that time, we showered and made sausages. The potluck was at Dozier's Marina. We were invited by the family we met on Halloween. We had an o.k. time. We played Life with Sam, but even that was only o.k. I just had a bad day. It's supposed to get gray again tomorrow. Today has been like the only day I can fish. And it's been wasted! That stinks! L
Today was fun. We hung out at the yard all day. Josh and I played outside most of the day. There is a huge field that must be the size of 3 football fields. It is empty, besides a tree here and there, and a bulldozer, a steam roller, a pit, scattered wood, and an abandoned dock near the boats. We play in the pit as our "foxhole". We barricade it and hide and shoot imaginary enemies, or we pretend to shoot each other. Today we played baseball in the field. We used the wood as bases. It was a good, 3-inning game that ended in a tie: 6-6.
The sun was shining from bright blue skies all day long. It was beautiful weather. We took advantage of it. We even went dinghy exploring! The main goal was to find a place to stay off of the boat for the next 2 weeks. We looked into some Aqua Lodge houseboats of which there are a dozen or two at a marina across the water, but none were available for rent. We also got out at the Dockside Inn to see about renting a room, but we nixed that idea too. We'll find a way soon enough.
This afternoon, we had something really cool happen. A Black Labrador Retriever came up to the boat wanting to play. She had a collar, but the only tag was a county rabies tag. We played with her for the rest of the afternoon. She was very friendly and patient, and would sit, lie down, and shake. She liked sticks. We ran all over together. She came in the foxhole too. She had a bad problem with other dogs, though. Once, she got into a fight with a lady's poodle! In the evening, though, she ran off. It was fun to play.
We ate dinner and watched a movie. It was Fly Away Home. It was sad at parts, but a good movie. Once, we paused the movie to go to the bathhouse. Guess who we met? The dog we played with earlier! She followed us to the bathhouse and back, and barked when we went up into the boat. I wonder if she'll be around in the morning? Today was great!
Sunday, 11/2/08 Day 274
Today was like yesterday, but cloudy and colder. We stayed inside for most of the day. Josh and I did play some baseball. It was much more comfy and cozy inside. With the space heaters running inside, the outside made you feel like a jumbo ice cube!
We did get some good news today. Some cruisers that Mom & Dad met through another cruiser friend at the Caribbean 1500 Rally in Annapolis, MD (see 10/9/08) have a summer house right here in Deltaville, VA. They said that we can stay in it while we're here!! That'll be great! We spent most of the rest of the day packing clothes, toys, school books, etc. for our week or two. We should move in tomorrow after we get a rental car. I can't wait!
This evening, we played the Game of LIFE. It was a long, but fun, game. Mom won, against all odds. Today was great!
Monday, 11/3/08 Day 275
We moved into the "summer house" today. I put it in quotes because it's not just some tiny beach house, but a huge, beautiful house on the water with a big lawn and a really great pier for fishing in a private community with a lot of fall color, and it couldn't be better!! The weather was as gorgeous as the house today - bright and sunny and warm. We spent the whole morning waiting for the Enterprise Car Rental. They are famous for the fact that they'll pick you up. They picked Mom and I up and drove us to their place in Gloucester, VA. Gloucester is about 30 minutes away and is also where Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Trans-Atlantic Diesel, and some restaurants are. We went on a lot of small roads to get there. The fall color is great! I've never seen so much color on trees in my life. I love it!
Mom and I were going to get a Chrysler Sebring (aka a little nothing car), but is smelled like smoke, so they gave us a free upgrade to a Dodge Charger (aka big, cool muscle-type car). I had to convince Mom, but she doesn't like the Charger that much! Dad does, though! Enterprise was late in picking us up, so we had to race back to meet Ms. Nancy (who owns the house), Dad and Josh. We got a tour of the house and grounds. Their pier is great! It goes out all the way to a shelf so boats can tie up in the deep water. That makes great fishing for all sorts of fish! Awesome! They have a very high-tech TV with the highest cable and everything! Once more - awesome! Their house is very nautical, too, and there are model sailboats and signal flags everywhere! Awesome! Plus, there is high power wi-fi, great views, a big kitchen and more! We are going to have a great time! Mr. & Mrs. Lipscomb are so nice to let us stay here.
We spent the rest of the day moving stuff (like 10 loads of laundry, LITERALLY) and shopping for some supplies. We also got some treats that we can't have on boat, such as Eggo waffles. That's all for a great today! J J J
Tuesday, 11/4/08 Day 276
Today is the 4th day in a row that I've said "Today was great!" That's because all these days were great! Today was pretty awesome. We did school for the morning and went to Hampton, VA in the afternoon. What's in Hampton, VA? The Caribbean 1500, full of boats headed south in the rally. Who's in the 1500? S/V Imagine! Because we have a car, we could drive 1 ½ house to see our friends. We ate a drive-through lunch on the way down. We would have been there sooner if we didn't have to drive 15 min. out of our way, through the woods of Virginia, past Backwoods Lane, to pick up a transmission. The forest is in every color, from the blue-green pines to yellow, orange, red and almost violet in the deciduous trees. It is very pretty. I wish we had this in Texas. Where I'm from, there is no such thing as fall or fall color. It stinks!
We played with Imagine all afternoon. We also played with s/v Stray Kitty, a catamaran with kids. They were going to put on some show, and I helped make invitations. We did a bit of this and a bit of that. The adults talked the entire time. That's like them. They can talk for hours. We all had a fun time.
On the way home, we past Sam's Club, so we stopped to do some shopping. We bought pizza for dinner and Mom & Dad covered the whole store. Josh and I checked out all the cool movies and video games. We also watched a preview for the Transformers movie, and it looked awesome! I want to see it, but it's PG-13. I'm 12, but it will still be hard to pull that one off. Mom is pretty strict.
It was dark when we got home (that's now the house). We saw some deer. They are all over around dusk. One guy joked once that if the deer population ever got thinned out, several body shops would go out of business. That's how many people hit deer with their cars around here. We have to be careful.
I just remembered something. Today is Election Day. I say GObama. I think he'll win. The Democrats have won all of the debates. Polls say that the majority of the country wants the change he can provide. We're tired, though. We can't stay up to see who wins. I'll write more tomorrow. Good night.
Wednesday, 11/5/08 Day 277
Today was pretty blah. We stayed inside all day. It was cloudy and rainy! We did school for about half the day, and played/hung out the other half. The only exciting thing was in the evening.
Bob Rossi (s/v Brittany de la Mer) just happened to be in town, picking up a car. He came over for dinner. We had pork roast and twice baked potatoes. Delicious! For dessert, we had homemade strawberry frozen yogurt. It was blended strawberries, ice, and vanilla yogurt, chilled close to solid. That was also yummy. Mr. Bob is coming over tomorrow too. Hopefully tomorrow will be better than today.
Oh, forgot to say - Obama won! This election has made history!
Thursday, 11/6/08 Day 278
Today was still only okay. It was still cold and rainy, but the house has heat. Mr. Bob came over for breakfast. Mom made a cinnamon coffee cake in the great oven that goes above 325° (the one on the boat does not!). Bob showed us how to use SKYPE. That is a free program that lets you talk online to other people using a microphone. Then Daddy and Bob went to go look at our boat, and Josh and I did school.
By the time school was over, and Dad was back (Bob left from the boat), it was late afternoon. We ran errands in Gloucester, VA. We went to Trans-Atlantic Diesel, Wal-Mart, and Home Depot. We are dinner in town at Quizno's Subs.
That's all. As you can see, we didn't do much today. I think it will get better, weather-wise, tomorrow. That'll be great!
Friday, 11/7/08 Day 279
Today was a 3 on a 1-10 scale. It did get nice and sunny outside, but my day was bad. Dad told us in the morning that we needed to get done with school by 11:30, when he came home for lunch, and then we would get the car and all drive somewhere fun. We finished school by 11:45. But after lunch, Dad did not drive us all somewhere fun. He said he needed to drive 30 minutes to Trans-Atlantic Diesel through the woods and that we all had to come. What a way to ruin the day! We were all hot in the car, but Dad wouldn't let us roll the windows down or turn the A/C on. When we got back, we went to the boatyard. We had gotten a bunch of packages of boat stuff. Josh and I got yelled at by Dad for playing with giant boxes and playing with a rope. We did get to play in our foxhole. Mom and Dad talked with another guy in the boatyard for a half an hour, at least. When we got home, we had 45 minutes before we had to go to a potluck party. In that time, we showered and made sausages. The potluck was at Dozier's Marina. We were invited by the family we met on Halloween. We had an o.k. time. We played Life with Sam, but even that was only o.k. I just had a bad day. It's supposed to get gray again tomorrow. Today has been like the only day I can fish. And it's been wasted! That stinks! L
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