Uneventful, pleasant ride up to Norfolk...Waterside Marina...close to the Sheraton where we will attend our sixth (and final) Looper Rendezvous. We will meet other loopers also headed north this summer..we hope to play hopscotch with them at marinas along the way. Dakota will make lots of friends...in fact, most will recognize him and completely forget they ever met us!

That little drip around the new raw water empellor is still dripping...but we understand they have ordered the part and will have us scheduled for first thing Saturday morning...sure hope they don't break something in the process. Oh, the joys of boating! We are starting to look at plans and places to visit...woo hoo...let the fun begin....but first a little Looper craziness!

Shoulda guessed that would happen....everything was going so well...according to plan .. We told them Monday early afternoon about that little drip around the impeller they had just replaced....we have also been saying since we arrived that we were leaving on the 3rd....why oh why would you wait until closing time on Friday to send the guy to check it out?? Well, because then you have to order the parts to fix it...and then people can't do the things they need to do.... Though, in  reality, Floyd says we'll be fine. We still plan to motor up the canal into Norfolk and attend the Looper Rendezvous.  Then on Friday when the crazies head North, we'll let them get out of the way and come back here for those repairs. Parts won't need that "overnight shipping"... And we'll be on the schedule first thing Saturday morning....we'll have laundry etc right here....so it could work.....then again???? It is our boating adventure!! At least today the sun is shining....now send some warmer temps!

Another great visit with the Jackson/Derby household....though they did appear a little startled at our  arrival (seems they were expecting us on Wednesday....oops, it's Tuesday). But once we got over the shock of that, things went very well....they fell in love with sweet Dakota....and Hilary fixed gourmet meals and , of course,  awesome desserts ( to hell with that diet).... And she presented us with an absolutely georgeous oil painting she'd done of the Hudson River Valley. ( cause, you may remember they traveled the Hudson River with us five years ago!) So blessed!! Their neighbors, Patrick, Betsy and son Tripp joined us for supper on Wednesday evening.....Dakota won more fans....his club is ever growing. We said goodbye Thursday morning, drove into cool rainy weather...arrived at Atlantic Yacht Basin in time to do major grocery shopping. Today the rain continues...we've just got one thing for the marina to finish...all other things are checked off the list. Weather is suppose to clear tonight and start warming up tomorrow. We are "all systems go" to head into Norfolk on Sunday...spring looper rendezvous begins on Monday.

yep, yeasty ear infection...so medicine for that...almost two hours at the Banfield Vet in local PetSmart and $150 later and we are good to go....who said anything about a cheap dog??  But totally worth it to see him feeling better already.

Boat trial run went well and showed just a couple of things that need attention...like that chart plotter that doesn't "play well with others"...oh, and that small leak in our new impellor...we are already on the list so hopefully these things won't be a problem. Another stormy front is heading this way Thursday but things are on schedule to clear and be warmer for our Sunday departure.

For now, we are off on a road trip in our tiny rental car...up the way a couple of hours to reconnect with the folks who adopted us in the Spring of 2010 when we experienced one of our worst return to the boat adventures...Bob Jackson and Hilary Derby in Lottsburg saved us from being homeless..Floyd plans a foray into DC Wednesday for a visit to a Shrine Temple....Dakota and I are just gonna hang with Hilary while enjoying land water pressure and romping in a yard...

We plan to return here on Thursday ...when serious chores and prep for a Sunday departure into Norfolk Waterside Marina for that Looper Spring Rendezvous will be waiting....

Cool rainy days make it easy to complete those inside chores....but more than difficult to walk the dog! So Dakota is bored but the boat is cleaner! Floyd took off on Saturday to visit the Portsmith Naval Dockyard Muesum and attend a MTOA lecture about the history of Norfolk....Dakota and I enjoyed some home alone time, took a llloooonnnggg walk across the canal to a revolutionary battle site and then a short nap. Sunday we attended the Virginia International Tatoo at Scope Arena in Norfolk and had a delightful dinner at the Freemason Abbey restaurant. Today is laundry, test run, and Dakota to a vet day. His ears stink...and we know that means yeasty ear infection...so off to get that treated before it gets outta hand.  Stay tuned to see how all that turns out!

We arrived safe and sound on Monday afternoon...just as planned. And while I must say the boat wasn't where we had requested, they were quick to make that right. The process of unloading and exchanging of rental cars took until evening...we stayed in yet another LaQunita, had a great seafood dinner and tried to sleep. Sometimes the excitement of being so close makes it difficult...we have spent the rest of the week cleaning, organizing, double checking repairs, re-fixing repairs, and stocking those empty shelves. Oh, and entertaining the dog!!  All part of returning to the boating life. Parked behind us is INCH-N-ALONG....Mike and Lois crossed the gulf with us last January...we have reconnected with John and Dianne, TUTTO BENNE, who live in Williamsburg.  Their boat is at Deltaville Marina now and we hope to cruise with them sometime soon. They came down for dinner last night. We also plan to see our friends Bob Jackson and Hilary Derby in Lottsburg next week. They so kindly adopted us five years ago when boat return was at its worst!! This time the circumstances should be more pleasant.

 For now, it's time to chill a little...Floyd has ventured into Norfolk to tour another maritime museum and attend a lecture sponsored by MTOA...Dakota and I are going to complete a few projects and have some fun of our own...yes, blogging is now being checked off. Rain is predicted for tonight...but rest of the week looks good. We leave here next weekend to attend the spring Looper Rendezvous in the heart of Norfolk...then head North...it could start warming up about then.

We've spent one long year away from TUMBLEWEED...following Shocker Basketball and playing with friends, kids, grandson and dog...but we are anxious to get back to the boating life. We pick up the rental car on Saturday morning, April 18th, and head east ASAP...we plan to be living on board TUMBLEWEED sometime on Monday, April 20... Plans are to boat around to Lake Michigan and return to Kansas before daughter Kelli gives birth to grandchild #2 sometime the first of September...we have some other excitement planned as well. I'll try to get a 2015 itinerary posted...as I really have nothing to do for a while...HAHAHAH