Island Daze: October 18, 2008:
Where to start...?
First of all you will note that the "dispatches" have a new title and there is a reason. On June 4th, Genevra Leader and her boat "Gigi’s Island" came into my life. It was a conspiracy from the "get-go." A friend of mine Bill Morris and Gigi’s cousin Tom decided we needed to meet. After careful and secret negotiations they quietly coerced us into contacting each other via e-mail. When Oconee and I reached Matthews Point in early June Gigi "hitched up her big girl britches" and with much trepidation, drove down from Deltaville, Va, (where Gigi’s Island was at the time) and we met for the first time. The rest is history as they say.
To make a long story short we decided to leave Oconee under the care of my best friend Mike Yount and my son Noel for the winter and return to the Bahamas in the fall of 2008 in the "Island." We both are "older and wiser" and realistic when it comes to relationships but nothing ventured nothing gained. And we both saw something in each other that made it worth a try. Wish us luck.
The summer was a whirlwind of visiting friends and working on the "Island" to get her ready for the next stage of her life (and ours). I swore I’d never have another schedule but this summer was nothing but schedules.
I rented a car and took off on a month long trek (read marathon). First, Raleigh to visit my Son and daughter-in-law. Cary to visit Gigi’s Son, Daughter-in-law and Brennan Grace, her 15 month old granddaughter (what a cutie). Asheville to visit Gene Edwards and his new bride. John and Vicki Skemp near Madison. Bill Morris and Donna in Knoxville. Tom and Sheril Spight and his extended family near Atlanta. Charlie and Freddie Nichols in Atlanta. My brother Richard and his family in Birmingham. My aunt and uncle Al and Christine Jenkins in Athens. My cousin Chris Dunn in Columbus (GA). My middle brother Ronnie and his lady Kathy in Stone Mountain. And for the finale Gigi flew into Atlanta for a "brothers" reunion at our place on Lake Sinclair in mid-August.
The rest of the summer was just a blur including 2 trips to Annapolis, MD, to have gear added to the "Island" and constant work to get the her ready to head. The "to do" list never seemed to get shorter - for every item we struck we added 2 more. But we did take time for some fun or sometimes the fun just came to us. Like the "Blues Cab" in Annapolis.
It had been one of those frustrating days so G and I decided to go into Annapolis and treat our selves to a supper that someone else had to cook. After supper we poked our head out of the restaurant and it was raining. There were three cabs just down the block we ambled over to the first cab. He didn’t speak English and did not know where Jabin’s Boat Yard was (Jabins is largest and best know boat yard in Annapolis area). The second cab was no better, as-a-matter-of-fact we left the first and second cab drivers discussing the location of Jabins and wandered back to the third cab in line. It was a beat up old GM something-or-other with "Blues Cab" painted on the side.
George, the owner, was a nice Black man that said, "Shoo I knows where Jabins is." We hopped in and were off. George glanced over his shoulder, welcomed us to Annapolis, and asked, "Do you folks like "The Blues?" "Of course," we said in chorus. George popped in a tape and started singing. George, as it turned out, was from New Orleans and had spent most of his life singing with the likes of BB King. Old Vic was in heaven. The ride was over all too quickly and we left George chewing the fat with the night watchman at Jabins.
Sometimes good times just come to you when you need it most and expect it least. Life is like that and I’ve learned to open my mind and heart and embrace them when they come.
We are currently in Clubfoot Creek near Beaufort, NC. If you would care to follow us on a map I use a program called "Yotreps" to chart the location of the "Island." If you go to "http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/reporter_list.php" and scroll down to my radio call sign, WDD4242 - Oconee, and click on "track" it will bring up a map with "Gigi’s Island’s" last location. The system is not as accurate as I would like. It lops off all but whole minutes of Lat/Long so it will sometimes be as much as a mile off, but it’s close. If you want an exact location I always try to post an exact Lat/Long in the comments. Then you can enter them into any mapping software you like and it should have the "Island" within a few feet of our actual location.
The next post will include a few stories from our trip from Deltaville, VA, to Clubfoot Ck, NC and (with luck) there will be some photos also.
Fairwinds and Rum Drinks,
Vic
Where to start...?
First of all you will note that the "dispatches" have a new title and there is a reason. On June 4th, Genevra Leader and her boat "Gigi’s Island" came into my life. It was a conspiracy from the "get-go." A friend of mine Bill Morris and Gigi’s cousin Tom decided we needed to meet. After careful and secret negotiations they quietly coerced us into contacting each other via e-mail. When Oconee and I reached Matthews Point in early June Gigi "hitched up her big girl britches" and with much trepidation, drove down from Deltaville, Va, (where Gigi’s Island was at the time) and we met for the first time. The rest is history as they say.
To make a long story short we decided to leave Oconee under the care of my best friend Mike Yount and my son Noel for the winter and return to the Bahamas in the fall of 2008 in the "Island." We both are "older and wiser" and realistic when it comes to relationships but nothing ventured nothing gained. And we both saw something in each other that made it worth a try. Wish us luck.
The summer was a whirlwind of visiting friends and working on the "Island" to get her ready for the next stage of her life (and ours). I swore I’d never have another schedule but this summer was nothing but schedules.
I rented a car and took off on a month long trek (read marathon). First, Raleigh to visit my Son and daughter-in-law. Cary to visit Gigi’s Son, Daughter-in-law and Brennan Grace, her 15 month old granddaughter (what a cutie). Asheville to visit Gene Edwards and his new bride. John and Vicki Skemp near Madison. Bill Morris and Donna in Knoxville. Tom and Sheril Spight and his extended family near Atlanta. Charlie and Freddie Nichols in Atlanta. My brother Richard and his family in Birmingham. My aunt and uncle Al and Christine Jenkins in Athens. My cousin Chris Dunn in Columbus (GA). My middle brother Ronnie and his lady Kathy in Stone Mountain. And for the finale Gigi flew into Atlanta for a "brothers" reunion at our place on Lake Sinclair in mid-August.
The rest of the summer was just a blur including 2 trips to Annapolis, MD, to have gear added to the "Island" and constant work to get the her ready to head. The "to do" list never seemed to get shorter - for every item we struck we added 2 more. But we did take time for some fun or sometimes the fun just came to us. Like the "Blues Cab" in Annapolis.
It had been one of those frustrating days so G and I decided to go into Annapolis and treat our selves to a supper that someone else had to cook. After supper we poked our head out of the restaurant and it was raining. There were three cabs just down the block we ambled over to the first cab. He didn’t speak English and did not know where Jabin’s Boat Yard was (Jabins is largest and best know boat yard in Annapolis area). The second cab was no better, as-a-matter-of-fact we left the first and second cab drivers discussing the location of Jabins and wandered back to the third cab in line. It was a beat up old GM something-or-other with "Blues Cab" painted on the side.
George, the owner, was a nice Black man that said, "Shoo I knows where Jabins is." We hopped in and were off. George glanced over his shoulder, welcomed us to Annapolis, and asked, "Do you folks like "The Blues?" "Of course," we said in chorus. George popped in a tape and started singing. George, as it turned out, was from New Orleans and had spent most of his life singing with the likes of BB King. Old Vic was in heaven. The ride was over all too quickly and we left George chewing the fat with the night watchman at Jabins.
Sometimes good times just come to you when you need it most and expect it least. Life is like that and I’ve learned to open my mind and heart and embrace them when they come.
We are currently in Clubfoot Creek near Beaufort, NC. If you would care to follow us on a map I use a program called "Yotreps" to chart the location of the "Island." If you go to "http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/reporter_list.php" and scroll down to my radio call sign, WDD4242 - Oconee, and click on "track" it will bring up a map with "Gigi’s Island’s" last location. The system is not as accurate as I would like. It lops off all but whole minutes of Lat/Long so it will sometimes be as much as a mile off, but it’s close. If you want an exact location I always try to post an exact Lat/Long in the comments. Then you can enter them into any mapping software you like and it should have the "Island" within a few feet of our actual location.
The next post will include a few stories from our trip from Deltaville, VA, to Clubfoot Ck, NC and (with luck) there will be some photos also.
Fairwinds and Rum Drinks,
Vic
No comments:
Post a Comment