Headed back south

Wednesday, October 21st:

Good friend (and previous crewmate, Vincent DeFelice) drove Ed, Lucas and I to Grand Rivers, KY - Green Turtle Bay Marina where we have been docked since May.

We had a plan....

Remodel the interior of "Chartwell"; now Great Mates II over the summer as it was a close proximaty to home in Mooresville and we figured there would be good craftsman in this area since there are lots of wonderful houseboats, sailboats and many other craft. WOW, what a summer.

First things first. The last several months have been lots of hard work and keeping many lists. But, it has been a time of growth, learning and challenge.

Not only have we gotten used to our newly and beautifully remodeled home in Mooresville (thanks to nephew Dave Wezn and son, Lucas Prosser) but we've enjoyed entertaining friends and family while having the privilege of caring for grandson Dominic Scott (now almost 3) every Monday and a few other days inbetween. What a joy and blessing!

Also, we have been so excited to watch the maturity of daughter, Emma while in Bloomington IN at college while she excels as a student and a worker at the "Bakehouse on the Square" as an assistant manager.

Then, there's son-in-law Billy who is serving in Afganastan, checking in often except when he is in the mountains. And, beautiful daughter and momma to Dominic, Audra who is enjoying getting back into the working world parttime and using the gifts that our Lord gave her as a Recreation Coordinator for IN Job Corp students.

Now, we are in the final days of assisting Lucas and his finance', Stacey while they are planning their wedding to take place in Key West on Nov 10th. How fun!!!

We had a few visitors over the summer to Great Mates II while in KY Lake and they ALL worked for food and drink.

Good friends, Steve and Teresa Helming visited. During their stay, one night late Lisa heard something up on the back deck. Ed ran up (in his underwear) only to find a racoon running away after getting into our trash bag and most specifically, a wine bottle. (must have had a little left). Course, when Steve Helming heard the raucous, he came running up the guest stateroom stairs and said to Ed, "are we under attack?" (I think he still has nightmares of watching Ed in his underwear chasing a racoon off our boat).

Then there was a visit with friend Jeff Losh, his friend, Mindy, sister in-law, Donna Moulder and husband Dave along with Lucas and Stacey. Jeff brought his go fast boat and we all enjoyed the Lake while working on Great Mates II, drinking, eating and laughing....ALOT.

And friends, Rod and Brenda Titus who came down to assist with many projects on the boat while sharing in our excitement of owning this beautiful vessel. Rod will be cruising with us from Mobile Bay to Key West in a week or so. (more then)

No words can express the grateful heart for Donna and Dave Moulder and all the work they've done on this vessel. They've removed old mirrors and installed new beautiful teak framed and beveled mirrors. They've installed new BIG salon windows and installed a creen door on the back salon door and the galley window. THANK YOU!

Matthew DeFelice and wife Jen. thank you for enjoying our vessel with us and Mathhew, thank you for your craftmanship in machining needed divices.

And, past crew member, Vince, THANK YOU for our beautiful "hi-lo" table made from walnut trees on your property.

Now, the craftman we encountered and hired in KY. Sharon, Jaison, Amy and Wendy, Mr. Oliver, Gary, Clifford and many others who assisted us in making Great Mates II....ours. THANK YOU!

Many trips to Lowes, WalMart, Jeff & Emily's IGA, Patti's, Uncle Bills,and Roof Top Brothers Liquor store in Paduca.

Now, we journey south with son, Lucas as crew. How cool!

We departed Green Turtle Bay on Friday morning, October 23. It was raining, cool and we took on 826 gal of fuel before departure. (of course, diesel has gone up alot since we left Ft. Lauderdale in the spring. ($1.75 in Ft. Lauderdale, $2.70 in KY).

We are in day two of our journey south and we know many of you are praying for our safety. THANK YOU.

We are excited to share this and future blog postings with you.