Archives

Charlotte, NC

Apr9

3/23/18 – 3/25/18: We left New Bern feeling good about our decision to bring Shanti there, but now it was time to return home. It was getting close to the expected birth of our grandchild, and we also had to get prepared for the continuation of our sailing journey. But before we left North Carolina, we stopped by Charlotte to spend a weekend with Kate’s brother and family.
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The search for a new marina

Mar2

3/2/18 – 3/22/18: After the shower, our thoughts turned again to the upcoming sailing season. Our boat was “on the hard” in Kingston, NY, and we had decided to finish our originally planned journey. We would backtrack on the Erie Canal to the Oswego Canal, which would take us to Lake Ontario. From there, we would resume our journey out the St. Lawrence Seaway to Maine. We would then follow the east coast south and find a new home for Shanti. The only problem with the plan was we didn’t know where to take her! So, off we went on one last road trip to find a new marina.
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Rockford, IL

Feb24

2/24/18: Even before we left Pensacola Beach, they were forecasting a huge storm in the Midwest. It was about 3 or 4 days out when we left, and we hoped to make it back to Minnesota before it hit. We were throwing a baby shower in Rockford for Samantha and Brad the following weekend, and we offered to drive Kate’s parents and aunt to the shower. So, we left Pensacola Beach with a little sadness (we were leaving sunshine and beach for a snowstorm??), but also with some excitement, too. We knew we were going to be grandparents, but we didn’t know if they were having a girl or boy. They planned to announce that at the shower.
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Pensacola Beach, FL

Feb13

2/13/18 – 2/15/18: Samantha and Brad’s baby shower was coming up, and we wanted to get back to Minnesota to get Kate’s parents, as well as all the party supplies we had there. But we still had a few days before we had to make the trip back. We really didn’t have anything planned after New Orleans, so as we were talking about ideas, Kate says, “I think we should go and sit on a beach for a couple days”. Good idea! We looked at the map and decided to spend our last couple days at Pensacola Beach in Florida.
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Memphis, TN

Feb9

2/9/18: After stopping in St. Louis to see the Arch, we looked ahead for another place to stop. Our route to New Orleans too us right through Memphis, and what’s in Memphis? Graceland! OK, off to see the place “The King” was always most happy: his home.
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St. Louis, MO

Feb7

2/7/18: After we returned to Minnesota from Arizona, we planned on making a trip to New Orleans. Neither of us had been there, but we had heard a lot of good things about the city, so off we went! We also wanted to take our time and see some things along the way, and the first place we decided to visit was the famous Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
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White Sands, NM

Jan28

1/28/18: On the way from Roswell to Sierra Vista, we passed White Sands National Monument. We wanted to stop and visit the park, but on that day the US government was shut down and the park was closed. Thanks, Washington! When we left Sierra Vista, we debated going up through Santa Fe into Colorado, but since we weren’t able to see White Sands (Thanks again, Washington!), we decided to head in that direction instead.
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Sierra Vista, AZ

Jan23

1/23/18 – 1/27/18: We arrived in Sierra Vista about noon and planned to spend several days visiting with Pat’s dad and Lin, his wife. We had been there a couple times before, but our last was about three years ago, so our visit was long past overdue. Each time we come, they take us to new and different places, and this time was no exception.
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Roswell, NM

Jan22

1/22/18: Since returning from New York, one of the first places we wanted to visit was Sierra Vista, AZ. Pat’s dad and his wife, Lin, have lived there for the past 15 years or so. We hadn’t seen Pat’s dad in about a year, and hadn’t seen Lin in almost three. It was well past due for a visit. We finally had a window of opportunity at the end of January, and took advantage of it. As we were looking at the map and route we were taking, we saw that Roswell, NM, was right on the way. We definitely had to stop there!
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Austin, MN

Jan16

1/16/18 – 1/18/18: While we were on the Erie Canal, one of the people we travelled with (Brian) talked about how much he loved Spam (the Hormel meat product, not the junk mail variety). Kate mentioned that there was a Spam museum near Rochester, MN, and we joked about visiting it while we were in Minnesota. While we were in Scandia, we kept talking about going there, and after things settled down a little, we said “Why not?”. So, we packed our bags and made the trip to Austin, MN, home of the Spam museum!
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Bethel, NY

Sep13

9/13/17: We decided to start our “road trip” in Kingston. We saw on the map that Woodstock was close by, so we decided to visit the location where the famous 1969 music festival was held. Contrary to popular belief, however, the weekend festival was not held in Woodstock, but 60 miles away in Bethel, NY. But it was still (somewhat) on our way back to the Midwest, so we decided to go to Bethel to see it.
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