Friday, July 8, 2011 – Florence, Alabama

We spent over five weeks off the boat visiting family and friends back in the Midwest. On our way to Clear Lake on Memorial Day weekend, we stopped overnight in Aurora, Illinois, (Chicago suburb) and visited our eldest son and his family. We enjoyed going for a walk in their neighborhood and then later playing with the three rats that have become part of their family.



The next day, we stopped in Guttenberg, Iowa, about the time our friends, Bob and Susie, were to come through Lock 10 on the Mississippi River. After locking down, we helped them secure their 25-foot sailboat, Heron, at the dock and walked uptown to visit with them as we enjoyed some lunch. We plan to hook up with them on Pickwick Lake later this summer and do a bit of cruising together.



We arrived in Clear Lake on the evening of Tuesday, May 31, just in time to join Gale’s mom, dad and brother outside as they grilled their dinner. Early on June 2nd, Maureen headed north to Minneapolis to spend four days at a yoga teachers’ training conference learning about restorative yoga and pranayama (breath work). Mid-June we were able to spend some extra time with our two youngest grandsons when we brought them up to Clear Lake from Des Moines for a few days. 
 


Much of our time over the next few weeks was taken up tending to small maintenance-type jobs around the cottage and enjoying the Lake. The Fourth of July is always a big deal in our hometown with lots of people around for the six-day carnival and the huge fireworks display. This year was no exception.
 
Early on July 8th, we loaded up the car and headed south. We were in Iowa City by 10 am and stopped there for a few minutes to visit our son, Kelle, who just graduated from the University of Iowa in May. He is getting ready to pack up and leave Iowa for Rochester, New York, where he will begin medical school in August.
 

The drive to Florence was an easy one and we arrived at the dock around 8 pm. After unloading the vehicle and starting the air conditioning on the boat, we walked over to the marina’s grill for some pizza and beer. What a great end to a nice trip!