8/14/15
Catawba Island, Lake Erie, Ohio
Posted by Bill

Well…we’ve been back in the real world for a week now, and some times the real world ain’t so bad. As in previous visits, we can’t believe we ever dealt with the rushing around, the traffic, the road construction and living with appointments, without even a thought. It was the norm, but now the contrast with our cruising life style is striking.

We spent a few days in Columbus, having several visits with kids and grandkids…that was awesome!! We miss them terribly, and we feel being away from them is the “true cost” of cruising. Tricia’s sister and her husband offered us a place to stay (for which we are grateful) and we got to spend some time with them, which was very nice. We are fortunate to have many friends in the area, and we had several happy hours of 10 or so people to catch up. We miss them as well and it is always fun to get back together. We had several appointments with our doctors as they are also still here in Columbus. On top of that we did some shopping at places we know we can get bargains, and stocked up on a few things. We don’t usually have a car, so we took advantage of having the rental. The time in Columbus was pretty busy with all of the above and the time went fast.

Then we made our way up to Lake Erie. We still have a house there that has been sitting empty for almost a year, and I was anxious about what we were going to find there. Other than being a little musty, everything was good! We got it cleaned up, ran to the store for a few things, and settled in, cocktails on the front porch looking out at the lake…all is good! Tried to start our Jeep Wrangler in the garage and could not get it to turn over. The battery was purchased in 2007 and sure enough, after having it tested, we needed a new one. It is running pretty good now. Now we will begin working on the yard (which has been neglected), and will spend time with our many friends here. Ultimately, we need to decide if we are keeping this house, or put it up for sale. We were hoping that our kids would use it more and that we would spend part of the summer here, which would justify keeping it. The weather is great in the summer, much more comfortable than in North Carolina where the boat is, and it is nice to have a real bathroom, kitchen, and a washer and dryer for a few weeks!!

While we are here we will need to start ordering the stuff we need to get the boat ready to head south again. The planning process begins! In retrospect, I guess the “real world” isn’t so bad…it is really great to spend time with family and friends!!!