So we need to make a decision

We probably don't want to wait more than a couple of hours to make this decision, it is 0800 on Saturday now.  The weather is deteriorating a bit here, the inside of the boat is a mess, as we have to store things below when we are gone that normally are stored above in the cockpit.  The wind and rain have picked up so heading up the mast won't happen today, nor will replacing the chock that tore off of the bow while we were gone take place.

So I think, in all, we will head for Houston to get the house ready to rent come Tuesday.  Have to pull the carpet out and replace it.  Also have to figure out why the french doors are giving us a bit of trouble.  The house shifted 3/8's of an inch. 

The challenge is we need to get out of Charleston soon.  My goal is to be out of here by the 20th, but earlier would be better.  It starts to get cold and blustry (is that a word?) here, and we want to be back below Lat 31 (Hilton Head) before it really gets cold here in the Harbor.

So today, we have to decide - and soon.

In the meantime, we may see you guys on the docks for Sundowners in Kemah on Sunday.

Best for now,

JonNe'

We Really Want To Get Back To The Boat!!!

Okay, we are tired of being gone.  We miss JonNe' (our Tayana 42) a lot! 

We arrived at Travis on Sunday, October 16th, and sadly, discovered my Uncle George had passed away during the night, and we had missed getting to see him.  We rented a car from Avis and drove south to Los Angeles on Monday morning.  It is a 6 hour drive, and needless to say, we were pretty well beat when we got there.  My cousin, Trisha, was more than hospitable and opened her house to us while we were there.  By Tuesday morning, it was obvious nothing was going to take place until the following week as far as the funeral was concerned, so Renne' and I made the decision to try to head back to the East Coast until the funeral.  By Tuesday evening we were back at Travis to try getting a flight back to Andrews.  It didn't happen.  We also looked at a flight to Hickam AFB in Oahu, HI, but we ended up passengers 85 and 86 with only 73 seats available. 

By Thursday, it looked bad for the East Coast, so we headed up NAPA Valley for the day.  Friday, we were South of San Jose to visit our friends Kathy and Mark Stanton, whom we had not seen in 6 years.  We enjoyed two lovely days with them and thirteen different winerys (is that with a y? or ie?).  By the end of two days, we couldn't look at another glass of wine!

Monday, we headed south down Hwy 1, along the coast of California.  What an incredible drive!  I really enjoyed driving through the hairpin curves there, with the view of the ocean on our right (starboard) side and the hills to our left.  We stopped at San Simione to see The Ranch at San Simione, or the Hearst Castle.  Talk about opulent!  However, it did remind us of the cathedrals we had seen in Spain during our August trip there.

The funeral was Tuesday morning, and it was a wonderful ceremony.  Now the Siewers side of this clan tends to view funerals as a celebration of life rather than a maudlin, sad time.  In all, with the reception later in the day, at my cousin, Dave and Charlotte's place, we did indeed celebrate my Uncle George's life!  It was a good time, and great to see all of my cousins.

But yesterday, Wednesday, we headed back north to Travis, and today, we are waiting, again, for a Space Available flight back to Washington, DC.  The first of two flights was delayed until tomorrow.  The second will leave in two hours.  We are hoping to be on that flight.  If so, we will be back in DC by about 9pm tonight.  We will decide if we start driving then or wait until the morning.

More when we get back.  In the meantime, have a few glasses of wine at your own dock tonight, and we will see you for sundowners tomorrow night in Charleston Harbor.  Until then, drive safely and live life to the fullest!!

Jon and Renne'
(JonNe')

So a continuance or our Land Cruising

Renne' and I had planned to fly Space Available on a military flight from Andrews Air Force Base to California on the Monday (October 10) after the boat show, but didn't realize it was Columbus Day - no one flying that day.  So we waited for the flight on Wednesday, and that flight was cancelled.  So as we were driving out of Washington to head back to the boat in Charleston, I looked at Renne' and said, you've always wanted to see Niagra Falls - let's go!


So off we headed NORTH!  5 hours later, we were in New York.  We decided to stop in Cornwall-on-Hudson, near the Military Academy at West Point.  So Renne's wanted me to see her house there.  So we drive by and Renne' wants to knock on the door!  So she announces that she built the house, and the owner invites us in!

After 2-1/2 hours, they had invited us for dinner and to spend the night!  We had other plans however, and left to find Renne's friend, Brenda.

her friends, Raelyn and Charley

and Pamela J

(Renne's smiling as I put this together!)

While she stayed there, I headed farther north to Rochester to see my Uncle Dean and his lovely lady friend, Sue.  Haven't seen Dean in 12 years since my dad's funeral.

 While in Rochester, I ended up crossing the Erie Canal at least 5 times, so I decided to stop and take a few pics. 

 This is lock #32 - the Erie is pretty much used only for recreational traffic right now.  Not much commercial can fit through the locks anymore

 The trees, as of October 13th had gotten to this point in their color change between New York City and Rochester.  It will be a late fall color bonanza this year!

Got back to Washington and Andrews Air Force Base on Saturday and finally caught a flight to Travis Air Force Base via Washington State on Sunday.

 this is a pic of the C-17 we flew from Andrews to McCord to Travis

 Now this actually was the aircraft we flew out - actually we were not supposed to take these pics

 This is Renne after about 4 hours of flying - still had 2 hours left to go - the cabin was so large, it was difficult to keep it warm.  So the temp - at 30,000' was about 54 degrees.

So Where Else Would You Expect Renne'?

We're Cruising, Just Not On JonNe' Right Now

Renne' and I have been feeling a bit guilty lately. 

We are cruising on JonNe', but at this moment, haven't been aboard her for 4 days shy of a month.  As we have been so attached to JonNe', for so long, it is as if we have left her to forage on her own while we are out LAND CRUISING for a while.  I decided, just this morning, that we are STILL cruising, and we would be doing this in a foreign country too.  We just haven't arrived in a foreign country yet!!

When we arrived in Charleston in August,

 Fort Sumpter - start of the Civil War

 Downtown Charleston from Charleston Harbor - One of the early ports renowned as a haven for early pirates:  Anne Bonny, Bartholomew Roberts, Edward Teach (Blackbeard), and numerous other ne'er-do-wells.

 USS Yorktown at the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina

 Bridge over the Cooper River

we were so excited about the prospect of joining Doug and Barbara on their adventure in Spain.  Prior to leaving we stripped JonNe' bare of all her sails, her canvas, cushions, ice chests, anything that might blow away should she experience a hurricane or tropical disturbance while we were gone, and added an extra set of dock lines.  While we were in Spain, Hurricane Irene decided to pay her a visit, yet she visited on the good side of the neighborhood (east side of us), yet she was still pretty rude with 40+ knots of wind.  So to to top that visit off, Tropical Storm Lee came roaring northeast out of the Gulf of Mexico and hit JonNe' from the West (the bad side of a tropical disturbance) with 50+ kts of wind.  We called the Cooper River Marina, and they had already added just one extra dockline to one cleat, and they said she was doing great. 

When we returned to her on September 6th, we were (all three - Renne', me, and JonNe') tired and needed the comfort of just resting together.  It took two weeks to get everything put back together and functional again!

So several things began to appear on our schedule:  Our granddaughter, Junniper's birthday (Asheville, NC), the Annapolis Boat Show (Annapolis, MD), my Uncle George was very ill (Los Angeles, CA), etc.  So at the end of September, we headed north to Columbia to see Renne's family for a few days, then up to The Cliff's at Glassy Mountain to see our friends, Buzz and Carol Buvinghausen, and on to Asheville for Juniper's birthday by October 2nd.  While we were in Ashville, our friends, Bill and Coreen Hamilton just happened to show up and we had a fabulous time all the way around with family and friends.  From there, we headed directly to Annapolis, MD for the Annapolis Boat Show.  People would ask if we were looking for anything in particular, and we would answer, No, but wanted to see what was new.  As it turned out, there wasn't much in our price range we need on the boat (thankfully).

While in Annapolis, we met up with our longtime friend, Malcolm Jones (both Renne' and Malcolm remind me always they have known each other LONG before me!!), Gina Gibson and her husband, Bruce Senay, and also Greg and Valinda.  That was a great weekend!

So enough of my rambling for this portion, meet us in the San Jose' area of California at a nearby winery for a glass tonite.

Jon and Renne'

The Pyrenees Mountains of Spain

First of all, we apologize to those of you who have expressed concern due to the lack of input on this blog.  We have been very busy since we arrived in Charleston Harbor by getting ready to travel, traveling, recovering from travel, working on the boat, getting ready to travel, traveling, recovering from travel and working on the boat!  

So here is the next installment!

No sooner had we arrived back in El Masnou from our sailing trip to San Feliu as posted on August 29th, Barb had us planning and preparing the next leg of our adventure – a trip to the Pyrenees Mountains.  We were in Port Masnou just long enough to get our bearings, our wash done, some grocery shopping done, a few Tinto Veranos (actually wine coolers or Sangrias), and then off for the train station.  We rode the Metro north to Girona in Northeastern Spain where we rented a car.  Barb and Doug had bought a Garmin Neva GPS prior to leaving the states with Europe already loaded into the software.  

So off we drove in a new Peugeot with a 5 speed transmission with our lives in Doug’s hands.

 

Our first overnight was at a hotel in La Vall de Boi.  The Pyrenees Mountains are spectacular.  These are 5000’ above sea level in the northeast of Spain, and rival anything the Rockies in the U.S. have for dramatic landscape!  I can tell you, the movies you see of the hairpins in Europe are nothing to actually riding in a car through them.

 

The drop-off here, three feet from the roadway, was about 300 feet down the mountain side.  I was not sure why there were not many guard rails for the roads, but this is not a place you would want to have been drinking much, and really not someplace you would want to have to pass a large truck. 

This next one however, was even MORE of a drop off than the other one!!

 

This was a small community on our way to Vall du Boi – You can see several different construction periods in the walls of this building.  Interestingly, this was just one building, but if I remember correctly, it housed several families.

 

The date on this building placed it at 1783.  Property in this area of Spain is tightly regulated.  In an effort to preserve the history of this country, new buildings cannot be built on property that already has a historic building on it or ruin without incorporating the ruin into the new structure.

 

As we were her in August/September, most of the gardens, farms, and flowers were in full bloom!

Grape harvest was not far off – Renne’ saw this bunch and couldn’t resist taking a picture!

Here is Renne’ admiring the photographer!!

 

By late afternoon, we reached Erill la Vall.  The roadway Doug drove up to get us there was NERVE WRACKING!! But we arrived and the community of probably 250 individuals was beautiful.

 

The church below can also be seen in the photo above, just in the center of the picture.  

And as you can see in the photo of the community sign the church is also the scenic center also.

The church was even more stunning in the evening light!

 

As the sun set, the temp also began to fall, and it was the first time Renne’ and I had been forced to put on a jacket since leaving Houston!  But what an adventure!

The following day, Saturday, we headed off for Esta Mariu, Spain. 

 

There were no differences in the roads, but our confidence in Doug’s driving had improved markedly.  We were no longer biting our fingernails as he made his way around the tight turns (we had none left), and our spirits were high!  But to be honest with you, the drop off from the roadway was even more impressive!

 

One of the startling vistas was the terraces for farming that have been developed over the centuries.  You can see them up the hills.  These take many years to create.  The man-days required to move the rock, terrace the land, till the soil – and the effort just to walk the hillsides made our minds sore.

But we found the cultivated fields all over this area to be beautiful

This is the village of Esta Mariu.

The Pyrenees Mountains of Spain

Our hotel was the Cal Texido.

The rooms here were very nice.  One of the amenities in the brochure was a hot tub waiting to soothe your sore muscles.  As it was near 70 degrees that afternoon, the four of us went looking for the tub.  All in our bathing suits, we arrived to find it full of cold water.  The desk clerk had led us out find it, and she promised it would be warm very shortly.  At that point, she got a hose, attached to the hotel hot water heater, and proceeded to empty the tank into the spa.  After she left, we all kinda looked at each other knowing it wouldn't be anywhere near "HOT", so we abandoned the idea and went back to change again into street clothes.  These two gentlemen looked at us with interest, but remained cordual while three others joined them for what appeared to be their idea of an afternoon at "Starbucks".

Up this road, we found many houses in various states of condition.

If you look closely at the picture below, you will notice that the stones of the wall on the left foreground still have mud as mortar between the stones.  I found if you just ran your finger along the seams, the mud would easily crumble.  It is interesting to note these walls are 5 or 6 centuries old, or perhaps older.  The stone mason in the background is repairing the walls as the owner is remodeling this near ruin and pulls 4-5 stones out at a time, and replaces the mud with concrete based mortar.  It is very labor intensive.

The ruin below is up for sale, just waiting for someone to remodel it.  It appeared on close inspection that someone had attempted to remodel it years ago and had abandoned the project.

 

This is not just a walkway, this is actually the road going through the village where people actually drive cars!!