Anna in Beaufort (Phase 3)

Thur, Jun 19

Lordy, I'm getting tired!  Trying to keep up with these girls is wearing me out.

Another active day - this time on the sailboat.

Winds of 20 knots+ made for a vigorous sail.

I'm really pleased with how far Anna has progressed in handling Eureka.  Today we had a minor crisis.  We rolled out the mainsail a little (we had the geneoa (the big sail on the bow) reefed quite a bit because of the high winds) and when we were ready to roll it in, the topping lift (which holds the main up) got wrapped in the mainsail as it was rolling in.  This can be a real crisis with high winds and you can't get the sail in. Anyway, Anna jumps right in helping me get everything back under control.  Great job.  I'm real proud of her.

Running down Taylors Creek

Potato chip lips

After all this, we decided it was time for some fun, so we dropped the anchor and went swimming for a while.

Ponys running on the beach at Shackleford.

I'm tired.

Fri and Sat, Jun 20 & 21

Friday the girls give me a day off and they go shopping  -   again.

Anna helps Mimi put the shades up on the back porch

Saturday morning we go downtown for breakfast and the girls decided that today is the day for dresses.  They DID stand out in Beaufort

The Beaufort Bucket List for the week.  I think they got it all done.

We have more to continue the next time I come down to Beaufort. This time there will be two 13 year old girls so all of you people who are friends with Papa better wish him some luck!

This is our first experiment trying to load a video on the blog.  This is the work of 2 young teenage girls who have grown up using technology and it is amazing how creative they are.  

Tomorrow Anna leaves for a week at Camp Don Lee.  But she'll be baaaaccck~

Anna in Beaufort (Phase 2)

Mon, Jun 16

We have to give Anna some down time today.  She's having a hard time keeping up with her Grandparents.  (I know that there will be a response to this).

OK. I am not having trouble keeping up with Mimi and Papa. If anything they are having trouble keeping up with me! I am the one tubing and swimming and running and screaming and jumping and going crazy so yes Papa every now and then I will need a nap. Just like you need a nap cause driving the boat is oh so difficult.

We did manage to get in a little shopping.  The girls always have enough energy for that.

OH MY GOSH. My legs were about to fall off. You guys reading this have no clue how mentally and physically exhausting back porch decor shopping is. I so wish I had a picture but Papa didn' t give us a camera. But we got the cutest painting that matched the back porch so amazingly that I might cry. (Smears of course) Guess how much we got it for? Well I can't tell you cause that would probably be violating the invisible women shopping code or something that says we don't tell outsiders the price.

This afternoon Anna and I put the kayaks in the water and did a little exploring on Taylors Creek.  A beautiful afternoon with my beautiful granddaughter.

AWWWW! Thanks Papa!

Anna being "cool" while paddling

We went to First Deep Creek off Taylors Creek and the horses were everywhere.  At one point, we counted about 20 in view.

The real actual number I counted was 22.

I GOT A PICTURE OF PAPA ON THE BLOG!!! WHOOP WHOOP!!!

OK so I was holding up my hand to show Papa the 'blue fuzz' I got off of a rope. I was really just tricking him to come up close to me so I could grab the back of his kayak and  I could take a break.

Tues, Jun 17

I don't see how the girls can shop this much.  All morning!!

This afternoon, we picked up Allie and went to the Club Pool.  They played in the pool while I unsuccessfully tried to replace the sink faucet on Eureka.

Underwater us-ie! (Howie's version of a selfie)

The real beauty

After returning to the house, Allie, Anna and I went kayaking.  We went to the same area that Anna and I went yesterday, First Deep Creek.  However, we got there right at low tide and a nice sandbar is in the middle of the channel.  And the girls decided it was time to get down and dirty!

Two babes on the sandbar

^^^ I don't think daddy would approve of me being called a babe

Two kids learning digging in the sand!!

I'm  PLAAAYYYYYYING in the mud. Just PLLAAAYYYING in the mud! (read to the tune of singing in the rain.)

Making "dirt angels" in the sand

A mermaid stranded on the beach

After this Allie started a mud fight. We both were fighting for our lives as we flung sandbar mud at each other at crazy high speeds and crazy terrible accuracy.

Anna wants to see if she can get in the kayak without turning it over.  Not a chance!

I MADE IT IN FLAWLESSLY! 

A nice outdoor shower to get all the dirt out of their hair.

I'd bet that they don't want this to get around

OOH! You guys this was the mud fight aftermath I was telling you about up there!!!

Wed, Jun 18

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on my point of view for the day, today is my birthday.  One of the big ones that ends in a 0 (and it ain't 40).

GGGGOOOOOO PAPA! It's your birthday!!!!!!!!!!

This morning I was awakened early (for me) by two girls jumping into my bed singing some awful song about birthdays.

Ouch. Papa, that was a wound to the heart. I am now wounded. I thought our singing was amazing.

But it is another great day, not because it's my birthday, but because Anna is here.  She always makes life "interesting" (she doesn't think that's the correct word - she says she's more than just "interesting"!)\

Why interesting? Why not FUN, CRAZY, AMAZING. There are so many more adjectives you can use that don't have a good and a bad meaning!

Allie tried out snorkeling

This afternoon Allie comes over and we take Asitshdbe, the powerboat, out to Shacleford and Sand Dollar Island, followed by enjoying the traditional Maritime Museum Wednesday picnic and alumni sailing.

The Sail Camp has moved to a new location on Taylors Creek while the new bridge and bypass are being built.  Anna and Evan will be attending the last two weeks in July, so it was nice to check out the new location and I think Anna enjoyed getting back into the Opti with Allie for a while.

I was told later that the girls were singing YMCA and acting out the motions with their legs.  I would never have figured that one out.

 It was also a challenge as to who could keep their legs up the longest without falling out of the tube on the very bumpy ride.

A Hermit Crab takes over the conch shell

I TOOK THIS PICTURE! YAYAYAYAYAY IT TURNED OUT GOOD!

Getting ready for sail camp

I am in an opti. I kinda forgot that optis were only allowed to go so far away from the dock but it somehow clicked in my head once I figured I passed that point. I could tell the counselors wanted to tell us to get back but once they saw how old we were I guess they just let it go. So thank you to those counselors for not totally embarrassing me!

Anna in Beaufort (Phase 1)

Fri, Jun 13

Just so you know the cooler blogger is in all italics 

It's Friday the 13th and a full moon, supposedly bad luck.  But my luck is good today because Anna is going to Beaufort with me.  I pick her up at her Dad's office in Raleigh and we go by to see my Dad for a few minutes and wish him a Happy Fathers Day because we won't be able to be with him on Sunday.

OK Papa's blog readers guess who's back! 

Anna teaches Grandpa what a "selfie" is or as Howie from AGT would describe it, an us-ie

Grandpa had no clue what I was doing but when I showed him the picture he was cracking up. Or however much you can crack up at 98. ;)

Riding with Anna for 4 hours in a car can get real "interesting", when she's not singing, she's screaming, when she's not screaming, she's laughing, when she's not laughing, she's talking, etc., etc., etc.  I did not have a problem staying awake.

^^^That is probably the most accurate description of the car ride Papa has told yet. You see, it was 4 hours in a 2 by 2 ft square, who wouldn't go crazy?

Tonight we went out to dinner with our Friday night crew at a new restaurant on Town Creek. Unfortunately, that didn't turn out well - the service was terrible.  So we had a drink and ended up at Finz in downtown.

It was not 'ended up' we chose to go to Finz and it was DELICIOUS!

Sat, Jun 14

The girls take off before I get up to bicycle downtown for breakfast and I went to workout and swim.  When I returned, they had a boat trip planned with Clara's friend and her 14 year-old granddaughter. HER NAME IS ALLIE.

Ok. We were up well before Papa. I got up at 6:30 (I know still kinda on school schedule) and went for a run, came back, showered and biked down to the boardwalk for breakfast with Mimi before Papa was even thinking about getting up. 

We hit the water for a great day on Shackleford.

Late this afternoon, we got a call from Hilda and Danny to meet them for dinner.  Before I know what's happened, we end up with most of the neighborhood meeting for dinner at Spouters Inn.

Johnb, Jay, Danny, Hilda, Clara., Anna, Dave, Madelyn, Jean, Rob, Tiffany

Notice my new shirt- I got it at the General Store in case you were wondering.

Madeline and Anna having fun downtown

Sun, Jun 15

Fathers Day and the I have a great treat. The girls go out with me on Eureka for a great day of sailing.

Yeah, we're going sailing!

I was like (I included the extra like in there for you Tony) REALLY excited about going sailing and wearing Papa's doohigey or whatever it is called.

It's really fun to watch Anna as she begins to understand how to sail a "big" boat.  Although she has been sailing on Eureka many times, today is the first time she really gets a chance to really sail it.  And she does an incredible job learning how to use all the lines, steer by compass heading and by visual reference, remembering all the knots.  Before the end of the day, she is quite at ease with the whole thing. Like to the point where I could steer with my foot!!!

qt
The new kid language for cute in case you guys were wondering

However, when she initially gets on the helm, we're in crowded waters, with a strong wind and going through the inlet.  For a few minutes, I think she wanted to panic.  But she got through it and in a little while we're in the ocean heeled over 40 degrees and she's loving it.

Uh, of course I wanted to panic I'm there in a 32 ft boat with not very much control learning how to sail it. Yeah Papa no worries here. Just for the record Papa would not take the helm because he said being scared and struggling through it 'builds character'

I cant figure out how to delete pictures so I'm just gonna say thank you so much Papa for those very flattering pictures. BTW (kid language for by the way) I am asking for a voice operated wheel if any of you guys have one. The wheel did not respond when I resorted to yelling at it. 

We sailed in a 15-20 knot East wind, tacking to the Cape, then run downwind back to the inlet for a smooth ride.

OK- maybe I did not sail the whole time... It was pretty exhausting.

It could not have been a better day for confidence building.

My Girls!

Notice the daredevil in me as I have 1 leg over the railing thingy. Or as Papa calls it a 'safety line' or whatever.