i'm going to cheat a bit today and copy an e-mail i sent to my father. it's still got the news o th' day, so it's cheating just a wee little bit...:
hey there papa!
nice to hear from you. hope things are going as well as can be!
getting things right the first time is way overrated! and the power of understanding is often way underrated! doing things right the second or third or hundreth time is just fine. i'm pretty sure Jesus would agree. amazing grace is an awfully good thing!
even though the picnic is 1995 years later than previously announced, pam and i still won't be able to attend as it is 6 days or so before we return from our first journey on cricket.
things are going very well out here on the chesapeake! today we broke our daily sailing milage record with 35+ miles (honestly, it was for 19-20 miles as the crow flies, but we had to do a huge tack to get out of the rather large potomac river mouth. such is the nature of sailing). however today we also got to experiance some of the best winds yet, even though they were contrary. we sailed much of the day at a speedy 5-6 knots. cricket lept and pounced through the 4-6 foot waves. quite a wild ride! not for those with the seasick gene, and fortunately for me the dna angels passed over my doorposts!
we went right by a lighthouse ( the smith point lighthouse) that is owned by a couple from winona, mn.
here's a good article about it:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/24/AR2005122400836.html
and here's an interesting blog page about the lighthouse:
http://lighthousestars.com/2007/10/08/smith-point-lighthouse-extreme-makeover/
it's a cute, old, round, concrete building thrusting right out of the bashing waves a few miles out from the potomac. it was not a good day to visit, however. the wind and waves would have either cut the visit way short, or worse, extended it indefinately! anyways, it didn't look like anyone was home.
we are anchored tonight in a nice spot up the big wicomoco river, off of sandy point. over to starboard there's a line of cabins, much like the lake cabins on minnesota's 10,000 lakes, with little sandy beaches and boat docks.
we were briefly visited by a pair of women on kayaks. they admired owen and cricket, and we admired their kayaks. we would like to get a pair of them aboard someday to explore shallow areas. our dinghy, jiminny, does a wonderful job of dinghying, but his outboard is a bit loud and smelly to sneak up on local widlife.
there is the sound of crickets, or frogs, or something coming from the shore. the wind is blowing relatively gently over our bows (of course... we're anchored). the breeze sometimes brings with it scents of a nearby seafood packing plant in the true workingman's town of reedsville. maybe not the best smell in the world, but it does help remind us of this place of the sea, of which we are blessed to be part of today.
owen, the cat is happy to be done with the pounding up and down of the day! he spent the day on the floor of the cabin, trying to find a place where he wouldn't slide downhill everytime we tacked. he's a good sport, though. never complained once! he is now cheerily prancing about the deck of the boat, batting at this line and that line, looking over the edge at the calm harbour waters. every once in a while he checks in on my lap, purring and nudging my face with his cool, whiskery nose.
i love you, papa! pam sends you her love too. please deliver loving hugs and kisses to mom for us too!
On Jul 20, 2009, at 2:24 PM, "WELLUMSON HOWARD"
Greetings again ...
I try to do things right the first time, but I find as I get older, IT'S Harder.
The date for the picnic is August 9, 2009, NOT August 9th 14th.
Any other corrections will be appreciated.
Howard
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