Our Visit Home (Part 1)

Our goal coming up the East Coast was to make it home for Father's Day which we accomplished with a couple of days to spare. We celebrated that special day at Star Restaurant in Dubuque, Ia. with our parents.

OK. So maybe we just drank our meal!

Of course our primary reason for coming home was to save our marriage. It was time for Pam to get her Grand-kids fix. Little did she realize that I'd start to corrupt Oscar.

Cigars & cocktails on the deck for the boys.

In spite of my attempt to corrupt Oscar the girls had an err in judgement by leaving Elliette in my care for a short time.

I'm subliminally teaching her a few colorful words. That'l teach them!

One of the favorite activities for Oscar is laundry time. He's fascinated by the washer.

I want a ride in this thing!

We did manage to bum a boat ride on M/V Vagabond one evening. It was great to be back on the river!

Anchored behind an island in the Mississippi.

We traveled to Cedar Rapids, Ia. to my daughter's house for a Mary Kay party.

Hey girls! I need some eye liner.

Pam and I have both been making the rounds to the doctors for our annual poking and prodding sessions. I like a friendly doctor but not Too friendly if you know what I mean! Beyond the doctor visits Pam has been busy with the grand kids while I have been taking care of some household projects.

When I married Pam one of the deals I struck with her mother was that I didn't have to attend family reunions. Unfortunately Pam sometimes has to go. This was one of those years. She went and took baby Elliette who won the prized spoon given to the youngest in attendance. It was a day in the 90's and in an effort to keep Ellie cool they put her in the trunk with an umbrella to block the sun.

All we need is some duct tape to hold the umbrella in place.

It's been hot and dry since we arrived home and our yard is a burnt shade of brown. One of my projects was to fix the sprinkler system. Thankfully I found most of the information I needed online and began to eliminate potential causes one by one with no success. An online chat with the manufacturer told me to do what I had already done. Thanks! Finally I traced it to a short in a sensor and got it working. Now I suppose I'll have to cut the grass. Maybe I'm not so smart?

Of course we've been catching up with friends while home and our begging worked securing us another day on M/V Vagabond. The water level is about 4 feet higher than normal which opens up anchorages not normally accessible.  With temps in the 90's one of these spots is where we headed. Once the hook was set it didn't take long to inflate the "Princess Chairs" and get in the water.

A Southbound tow going past the entrance to our anchorage.

Life is Good!

While the current is running swift in the channel, our anchorage had none. We stayed in the water until almost dark. Needless to say after 2 cigars and 1 or 2 drinks we were all in a relaxed state of mind. Dinner didn't get delivered until the 10ish hour which led me to take a short nap before dining.

For some unknown reason the girls wouldn't let us sit with them?

Trouble makers!

Following dinner we pulled anchor and slowly cruised back upriver to the dock arriving around 1 A.M., safe and sound.

Have a safe and Happy 4th of July!