Danger gone all things righted time for a road trip we're all excited

After the fact for us Hurricane Matthew became a non-event very quickly. Sunday afternoon the sun came out but it stayed breezy for several days. Not so fortunate for other places and some not so far away. My daughter in Florida and son right here had no damage but areas we planned to visit and areas not far from here were devastated. We thank God we had no damage and pray for those who did.

Prepared for the storm.

Looking out during the storm.

We had one order of business after the storm that had been scheduled several days earlier. We had an unusual odor from our generator once when starting so we called for a repair. The repairman came out Monday after the storm but so he could check out the genset I had to remove everything from our 2 cockpit lockers for him to do his work. Then add to this the prep we had done for the storm and our boat was crowded and confused. The mechanics review didn't take long and we discussed some repairs and he was gone. Now we had the challenge to stage the boat for the rest of the day and then change it in the morning when we leave.

Driving in Virginia headed into West Virginia.

For some time we had planned to head to Chicagoland about the 11th of October for some family events. We had planned to leave the boat in Charleston and make the trip but with the storm we opted to stay at Cherry Point so now we are and ready to leave from here. On Tuesday morning we got up early and rearranged the boat so the mechanic could have free and easy access to the genset to do the repairs needed and then we headed off to Chicago.

First stop was in Champaign, IL to celebrate Seth's birthday on October 12th. We arrived shortly after noon and settled in for our few days stay. After Seth finished work we drove over to Gibson City, a small town about 30 miles away for dinner at a German Restaurant- Bayern Stube at Seth's request. A bit unusual since none of us eat like that usually so a special treat for his birthday.

At dinner with Seth.

Thursday we had the chance to again meet up with a college classmate, Greg Haugens and his lovely wife Valerie at another great Champaign restaurant, Desthil. We also met Greg about a year ago in Champaign and we enjoyed the time catching up. It's always great to see friends from so many years ago but it's like nothing to catch-up right where we left off. Hopefully Greg and Val will come visit us down island.

Dinner with Greg and his lovely wife Val.

We also used some free time in Champaign to do some shooting at an indoor range. Would like to shoot more to stay in practice but time and opportunity usually restrict that.

So after our birthday celebration and reunion we headed to Chicago for more family events.

On Saturday the 15th Linda's brother had a surprise birthday party thrown for him by his wife at Nieto's Restaurant in Highland Park, Il. It was great to see and catch-up with many family members who came to the party. We plan to travel back to Chicagoland for Thanksgiving so we'll get to do it all again.

Family at Stuart's birthday party.

But the big event was Linda's dad Al Lee being honored by the Chicago Blackhawks at their game on the 18th of October. Linda's Dad at 96 is among the few surviving WWII vets. Al was sponsored by Dan Harrington who had been the manager of the Brookdale facility where Al had been living. Dan is an avid hockey player and knew about the program and nominated Al for being honored.

Al and Linda at the United Center with Dan Harrington who sponsored Al for the night at the Blackhawks..

At the game Al, who had to be in a wheelchair, was rolled onto the ice and along with another veteran and an active duty service member stood for the playing of the National Anthem  with spotlights on them and being honored by all the fans. After the honor was over and Al was being wheeled away a referee skated over and gave him a game puck to thank him for his service. During the game that Al thoroughly enjoyed many people came over and shook his hand and thanked him. As we were wheeling out many other people thanked and honored him.

All the service veterans being honored on the ice.

Linda's Dad, Al Lee as seen on TV.

With the festivities over we planned to head back home. After one last visit with Linda's Dad we hit the road for an uneventful trip back to Cherry Point.

We noticed leaves changing indicating Fall was fast approaching and highlighting the need for us to get on south. Going through the higher elevations along the route it looked like winter would be here soon although the temperatures remained friendly.

Getting back to the boat and ready to go.

This was about our 6th or 7th trip off the boat since we moved aboard and each time it's fun and we get excited but we miss our home at sea and miss the close comfort of being together and afloat. It feels normal and sleeping on a bed that isn't moving feels odd. So as excited as we were to do the road trip, we're happy to be home to visit my son again and moving on south with all the danger gone to stay warm.