Back to the Islands!

OK, it's for real. The crew of Enee Marie will be heading back to the islands on Aug 8-9. As I'm sure you all remember, Enee is on the hard in Martinique. We'll have the yard put the boat in on the day we arrive and we'll put the sails on and make ready for sea the next day. Then, weather permitting, we'll be off to Grenada and maybe Trinidad where several of our friends are. We fly to San Juan, spend the night, and then on to Martinique. We'll stay at Mismo's favorite hotel. This will be Mismo's last visit to America by the way. Between airline fees, pet friendly hotels, and veteranarian visits her trip cost about the same as ours! Good thing we love her! (little bitch. . . )

It's has been a great stay in Chicago. We worked on maybe staying through December but apparently I am un-hireable so it's much easier to be poor in the islands than in Chicago. Still, Chicago in the summer is about the best place in the world to be. This weekend alone there was the Lincoln Ave. Street fair (yummy corn dog!), The Newberry Library book fair, Cubs baseball(still in first!), and the Venetian Night boat parade. Best of all is all the really fun and 'quality' time spent with daughter Leah and her husband Jason. Since I've arrived Leah has finished up her thesis, prepared her talk (to be given later this week!), found a very exciting job downtown Chicago, and found a new and very slick apartment near the lake and the ball park. Fun times. Too bad we'll miss the actual move (right!!!)

So, stay tuned for more sailing stories from hurricane season in the islands. Supposed to be great sailing this time of year . . . . when there's no hurricane.

Enee Strapped Down

As we bask in the glow of maybe the best Cub season EVER we received a picture from the nice people Carenantilles Marina in Martinique. See, the nice straps tied to the concrete blocks holding Enee down to the earth.

We have a Doctoral Thesis defense lecture to attend (daughter Leah. . . nice going!) and a wedding at the end of July. After that we are pretty much done up north and probably heading back to Enee. I know, hurricane season will be peaking. But we are only about 30 hours from Grenada if we need to run south which we will probably do. We are only 2-3 days from Puerto Rico as well and Salinas makes a nice hurricane hole as well. In any case you get a LOT of warning these days about coming storms so we should be able to plan accordingly. So to our loyal readers who have been looking for the continued adventures of Enee Marie thanks for waiting. We should have much to report in a few weeks. In the meantime sit back and enjoy the Chicago Cubs kicking the hell out of the rest of the national league.

For those who like to track hurricane development here's an excellent site: weatherunderground.

Summer in the City

.....back of my neck gettin' dirty and gritty.....

Lots of fun in the city happening over the past month. Here are a few pictures that tell the story:

The Bean

- a very interactive sculpture at Millennium Park near Lake Shore Drive projects a unique perspective of the city.









But wait -- this is even better! This is one of two 'facing' very tall fountains where kids of all ages play. Also at Millennium Park these fountains change how the water flows.


Look -- it's now a waterfall coming off the top and . . . . . .















It's lots of fun!












Chicago is a town full of summer festivals.

For example the Old Town Art Fair where Jason, Leah, and Andrea bought some very unique artifacts. If you look close you can see Andrea's new blue earrings.








And of course the ever popular Taste of Chicago -
where you can sample food from butter soaked corn on the cob to rainbow sherbet ice cream with every ethnic dish you can think of in-between.

Including of course - BEER!















Yes there are also many parades including the ever popular Gay Pride Parade.
Everybody is so happy this day. The dancing is quite spectacular. The floats are flamboyant. The crowd is ecstatic. And the beverages are ever so plentiful. Especially outside Monsignor Murphy's on Broadway.

Scott and Jason have discovered that pink lemonade with a 'twist' is the perfect beverage for the event.















Glad to report that Burnham Harbor is still one of the best harbors of the world. Or at least on Lake Michigan. We were able to visit with several of our Chicago sailing buddies including Chuck and Marybeth and Larry and Pat - pictured above.


The 4th of July weekend was spent at the lake house in Indiana. We had a great time with Scott's sister's family. Even though we had a few rainy days, water sports - fireworks - 'pit' and hearts card games - a thousand piece puzzle - hot tubbing - and never ending amazing meals made for a fantastic weekend. Thanks Teyemas!














So we begin July with a bang. Cubs are still in first place and won 2 out of 3 from the dreaded Cardinals. We have 3 family birthdays to celebrate this month: Erika T, Scott W. (otherwise known as captain snappy), and Jason (aka Dr. J). Happy Birthday to all.

Finally our token Mismo photos - just because she's the wonder cat!