Layla-Bayla, Days 3, 4, 5 and 6

We could have stayed forever! There were dinners out, dinners on the boat, snacks from Fresh Market, fireworks, boating, museums, the beach, and the zoo. On the boat, there were talent shows, beauty padgents, games and swinging from the port hole. There were crabs and shells and barbies and movies.

There was ALOT to do in six days and she made the most of it!

Here's a few pics from the rest of her trip!

The Lord has done great things for us! We are glad! Psalm 126:3

Layla-Bayla: Days One and Two

I just bubble on the inside when I think of writing this post. Layla (our 6 year old granddaughter) was able to come down to the boat for a few days this summer, and SHE WAS A HOOT!

It's amazing how amazed a 6 year old can be over things that we, as adults, take for granted.

First let's start with the plane ride...

Once we're 40,000 ft. in the air - "Ba, I never knew the earth was this big"

In route, over the ocean, in Florida, when lighting struck - "Ba, do you think Mama, Brynn, and Cale are okay. They don't like storms." (Remember they are in TN)

We're flying over Ft. Lauderdale after dark - "Ba, I never knew Florida was this beautiful at night".

Ge and I both smiled and smiled and smiled at her innocence, wonder, and openness to the world.

On the plane, she decided that she wanted to be a pilot when she got older. Ok, not a bad idea. However, the decision to be a pilot was further cemented when we got to the airport, and she saw that there was a pilot Barbie. Thinking we could get one cheaper at another store, we told her not yet. Bad decision....

We spent half of the next day going to stores to find "Pilot Barbie". (By the way, it doesn't exist outside of the airport, so Layla was happy to get Dog Sitter Barbie, which she played non-stop with for the entire trip).

Our next quest was for a life jacket.....pink, by the way! After looking at several stores, we had to have a LONG TALK that pink life jackets do not exist in Miami. Although, there was a little crying (I mean, who wouldn't cry if their life jacket couldn't be pink), she settled on a periwinkle one with pink and a girl water skiing on it. AND,.....we might as well throw in some new sunglasses for the boat, too!

So, as you can tell, day one and two were, mostly, spent shopping!

Next we're off to the fun....




In every thing give thanks...1 Thessalonians 5:18

Sisters

Let me start by saying that my sister is a "girly-girl".

Next, let me say that she was, also, my first "guest" on the boat in Florida!

I knew it would be interesting from the beginning when she showed up and her suitcase dimensions were 3 feet by 2 feet by 18 inches, and the things on her feet weren't, lets say, exactly what I would call "boat" shoes.

Did I mention that my sister is a "girly girl"? She doesn't go anywhere without a blow dryer, curling iron, and a bag of makeup.

Our boat, on the other hand, is much more of a "camping" experience. You know, the shower optional, same clothes for 3 days, mirror and electricical plug in different rooms kind of vacation.

As always, she and I had TONS OF FUN! She and I don't have "to do" anything to have fun together. We just, simply, like being in each other's presence.

So, in honor of my "girly-girl" sister and our "first boat guest", I make this post.

My sweet sister, I'm looking forward to many more trips with you!

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly...1 Peter 4:8

The Weekend Alone

Gary is in Florida.

I am in Tennessee.


No new news, right?

However, he has Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. I have Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off. So, it seems so useless for him to be in Florida and for me to be in Tennessee.

Really, I wish I was going there. He is moving the boat to a new slip, checking out the town of Coconut Grove, going to a new Marine store to buy the stuff we still need for the boat...fun stuff. Stuff we like to do together.

I will, definitely, go down next weekend.

I know it's the "adult" thing to do - to stay apart this weekend, but it is NOT FUN!

So, I'm, officially, turning the blog over to Gary. It's his turn to post about his life in Florida this weekend.

I hope for adventures!

Matt 28:20 I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

The Last Day

I was hoping that I would have pictures to add to this, and the last few, blogs. But, guess what? They're in Florida and I'm not. So, I decided to go ahead a post about our last day and add the pictures later.

We only had about 20 miles to go to get the marina where Gary had decided to "make his home" for the next month. We thought that would be an easy 20 miles, but NOOOOO....we were wrong.

We had stayed in North Miami the night before, and we never realized how massive Miami waters would be.

The first "massicivity" (is that a word) was the Port of Miami. You know those interstates that have about 25 bridges going "every which direction". Well, trust me, Miami makes those look like "a dirt road." So not only did we have to go under bridge, after bridge, after bridge, but boats were coming from every direction and there were "so many options" on which way to go.

The ICW goes away a couple of times and we are in "who knows where", and then, we were back in the Intercoastal again.

Once we got through that, we hit open ocean to Coconut Grove. That wasn't scary...Just BIG!

It's a little overwhelming to see the big, wide ocean in front of you and know you're going "that way".

Through some "snazzy" GPS monitoring, Gary found Dinner Key Marina, where he would be staying and we began our decent into the Marina.

What we didn't know was the Dinner Key is the training center for Olympics sailing.

Oh My! There were, what seemed like, 1000's of sail boats. They were like flies, coming up on us all of a sudden, swarming around us. We were engulfed. Unfortunatley, we were so overwhelmed with navigating through them that I forgot to get a picture.

Then they were gone as quickly as they came. I still don't know where they went.

Now, we're inside the marina, and we are told to dock in Slip 56. Okay, sounds easy enough. Once again, not so. There are 580 boats "living" at Dinner Key, and we looked like a "little fish" in a "big pond."

It took us an hour to get the boat in the slip, the boat tied up properly so that we wouldn't be back in the ocean during high tide, and then we were there. (picture of "there" below)



A hot shower and a Chart House dinner later, we were relaxed, even happy.

Monday, I had to leave him. Not too happy about that, but, for the that day, we enjoyed the moment and be were thankful that we, not only, made it, but LOVED it, and are looking for to whatever God brings to our future in Florida.

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Thanks, Cala and Craig...

Just wanted you to see the glasses you gave us. When I washed dishes, I washed 7 of the 8, so they are, definitely, being used.

Ge wanted to "model" with them! Exciting, huh?

Should I Be Scared?

Ba: Should I be scared, right now, because I'm not.

Gary: No, but you should be tense.

Ba: Good, because I am.

That was our life on Saturday.

We traveled 35 miles in 6.5 hours. It was COLD, RAIN, AND FOG!

Fortunately, we were in manatee zones for most of our travels. That's good because boats can only go at idle speed. That's bad because it takes 6.5 hours to go 35 miles.

Things didn't get tense until the Intercoastal and the open ocean met. The only thing, between the two, was a sea wall.

As Cara says about Gary - he has a plethra of useless information...The sad part is that I think it was a compliment.

Anyway some of Gary's information regarding the ocean and the Intercoastal meeting was this...when we get close to the open ocean the air will cause fog (I can't remember why), and will move into our path. BOY, was he right.

The other unfortunate piece of the puzzle was that collision of air hit right when we were beside six, yes, six, cruise ships. We looked really small when sitting beside really big cruise ships. Thank heavens, they were sitting still. Between the fog and the cruise ships, it was, to say the least, intense, but we kept plugging and got through it.

We didn't make it as far as we had hoped, which means we have another 20 miles to go on Sunday. But, then we should be at our "first" final destination - at least, for a month.

Psalm 37:7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.