STILL.... waiting on Oscar

Yep, that's right. Still no baby. Just like the women in our family, Oscar has his/her own schedule.

Speaking of babies. We received an e-mail from Donnie & Marilyn (M/V Kasey's Choice) the other day along with a few attached photos of Tourist (our baby). I had asked them to check on her if they had time when they got to Florida. Donnie (looking to stay out of Marilyn's way while she cleaned Kasey's Choice) drove over and got the tour from the folks at River Forest. Every thing checked out OK. Just waiting for our return.
Back in May when we left the boat we had concerns about the humidity in Florida during the hot summer months and the possibility of mold growing inside the boat. We were also concerned that our Space Bags would lose their seal and allow moisture to get inside and ruin the items we stored in them. Happily I can report that all is well and intact.

Interior shot of Tourist. Notice the space bags on the table with the air still sucked out of them! Perhaps we can do an "As seen on TV" commercial for them.

Tourist with Broulee behind her inside the building at River Forest. Nice to know our boat had a friend close at hand. Just a note: Tourist is 48' and Broulee 42'. They look like toys inside the buliding.

Thanks to Donnie for checking on Tourist and taking the photos. It was reassuring to know that the service we're paying for is being delivered in fine fashion by River Forest.

Waiting on Oscar

Well, the boating season around northwest Illinois has come to an end. The marinas have been popping boats out like popcorn with almost every slip now empty. Seems strange to be sitting here thinking about putting Tourist back in the water in about two months. Why two months you ask and not now? Well we're waiting on Oscar!

That's right. We're waiting on Oscar, our soon to be born grandbaby. Seems Matthew (Pam's son) and Mandy were having a watermelon seed spitting contest and Mandy forgot to spit one of the seeds out.

That's water in her glass!

Needless to say Pam is beyond excited. Oscar is her first grandchild. Just  for the record, Oscar isn't going to be the name of the baby but since they don't know what the sex is yet they refer to it as Oscar. (Guess who will call it Oscar no matter what sex it is?)

Pam has been busy with baby showers and all the stuff that goes with being a Grandma. She's even trying to will the baby into the world early so she can spend more time with it before we head to Florida. As for me, I've been getting things put away for the winter and even decided to start sanding and teaking our deck chairs from Tourist that we brought home with us. No sense waiting till the last minute!

Sanding. One of my favorite things!

It got cool enough to stoke up the fire pit while I was sanding.
Once back at Tourist the plan is to hang out at Legacy Harbour once again until mid-March. Send Pam home for a baby fix and then start or continue (we've done the rivers section already) on the Great Loop. The Loop is roughly 5,000 to 6,000 miles by water that encircles the Eastern half of the U.S. You can check it out at http://www.greatloop.org/. The trip will take almost a year to complete when you consider visits to home, sightseeing, weather delays, etc. It should be grand adventure!