Woke up to the sounds of rain...predicted to clear off around 10...hopefully that will cool things down a bit. Becky and Larry are scheduling site seeing adventures. We are going to take care of some personal business (bills, etc) and boating things. Then the only things on my list are another trip to Arlington Cemetery and time with Kathy. Guess I've made too many DC trips to get very excited at this point. The heat yesterday (in the 90s) about did us in...we walked a couple of blocks (passed a huge open air fish market...busy, busy, busy) to a restaurant last night. It too was a little more open air than was comfortable. Can you say humidity???

Floyd has almost forgiven me for suggesting that we buy and work the Monticello jigsaw puzzle. It took lots of hot tamales and Dt Dr Pepper...and a couple of days. (Don't tell but I'll be looking for one at Mt Vernon today....hehehe) It did keep us busy and out of Jim Henry's way. Though the dinette was a little difficult to eat and work on with all those puzzle pieces in the way. The neat thing is that puzzle shows exactly how Monticello looked when we were there...those tulips were in full bloom and gggggooorrrggeeeooouuuss!!!! I'll admit we have had some cases of good timing. First on the cherry blossoms and then the tulips. April did have a few good moments....

As glad as we are to be underway, we are sad to have left Bob and Hilary behind. I can not even imagine how we would have made it through the trials and tribulations of April without their generosity and support. They housed us when we had no place to stay; they fed us when we were hungry; they made us laugh when we were down; and they took us away from marinas and boat when we needed a break. What a delightful friendship we formed...such a blessing! We look forward to seeing them on our way back down and are hopeful they can make time to join us somewhere somehow!!! Notice this photo was aboard and on our last night in Lottsburg and Bob is wearing his official TUMBLEWEED crew shirt.

Do you see the man among the engines? That is Jim Henry working on the starboard transmission (which is running like a top). Notice the steps to the left...that is the entrance into the boat...that whole engine area is normally the salon floor. I'm sure he is as glad as we are to have this job done ----finished----over!!!.

Day two and all is well...sort of. The shaft locks continue to be an issue...but 101, nothing major. We spent last night at Aquia Creek Marina, a real character place. So bad that we couldn't get off the boat. Period...if others hadn't been there to help we wouldn't have been able to tie up stern lines or have had electricity. We barely had electrical flow as it was. They'll be getting a call from the Captain about all that I'm sure. Crew Becky is bucking for a promotion...she manned the galley this morning to treat us all to wonderful egg sandwiches. We are headed to tour Mt Vernon then on into DC this afternoon. Heat today could be an issue...predicted high is in the 90s....what happened to that cool spring breeze????

Though maybe today is better. We left Lottsburg at 6:30 AM...Crew awoke to the sounds of those Merc Cruisers firing up. First mate and Captain had it all under control...feels soooooo good. We were ahead of schedule...horns blasting as we passed Jackson Villa. Yes, lots of waving from Bob, Hilary and even Riley the cat. Bob may have gotten a little carried away with a starting pistol. Hope the neighbors weren't too alarmed. The weather couldn't have been better...we are headed to Aquia Bay Marina about 65 miles up the Potomac River. Tomorrow we'll make a stop at Mt Vernon for a quick tour before docking at Washington Marina, right across from the Mall area. That will begin our week in DC. Our crew changes here as Becky and Larry will leave us on Tuesday and Floyd's buddy, Gene Payne, is joining us on Thursday. My college pal, Kathy Clark, and her husband Bill live in Alexandria. We plan to visit their townhouse and spend some time with them. OOOOHHH, feels good to be cruising and looking at new scenery. We will pass back this way to return to looping and visit Bob and Hilary one more time.

Last day in Lottsburg went well..though nothing is ever like we plan. It all worked out fine. Boat is ready...supplies were schlepped...rental car returned..BIG checks were written...I even got a hair cut. Bob and Hilary joined us (remember Bauman's are here) for very casual dining...steak and our last bit of Rockfish (we used Peter's famous Garlic pepper and real butter...I followed his instructions to a T...and yes, Bob and Hilary wanted the recipe...Thank you, Peter and Jack). The crowning moment however was all six of us drinking Tumbleweeds and listening to the Sons of the Pioneers sing "Tumbling Tumbleweed" while sitting on the aft deck of our TUMBLEWEED. Wow, doesn't get much better than that!