Sunday-Monday, November 29-30

We are in Greensburg, Indiana tonight after a long day of driving in the rain, fog, drizzle, etc.   

Glad to be here and on home tomorrow.

 

Sunday - I went to 9:00 Mass at St. Joseph's and Grandpa, Luke and Blair did just fine!   The kiddos arrived home from the lake around 1:00.   Ryan had left earlier for the long drive back to Pensacola.     Bob and Judy arrived with the boys around 6:30.   They had a really fun weekend in Atlanta at the football game with several from Brooke's family, and a trip to the aquarium.   We had delicious pork shoulder bar-b-que sandwiches that Philip did on the Green Egg.    We celebrated Drew's birthday (16 on Tuesday) with ice cream cake from Stone Cold Creamery and presents!     Said our good byes before Brady, Mark and I went out to Daisy for the night. 

 

Monday -   Michael took Philip, Annette and Luke to the Concord, NC airport to fly back to Fort Lauderdale.   They all left at 6:30 AM and Michael had business today in Greensboro.    I got Blair dressed after breakfast and then she was off to school and we were on our way around 8:45.    The heavier rain had started last evening and continued most of the morning!

 

It was a really fun weekend and we will certainly miss our toddlers - so sweet with the cute things they say, their giggles, lots of tea parties, building many towers with cardboard blocks,

 and non-stop energy!

 

Thru the past several years, I have mentioned "Aunt" Ginny (our friend, Pat's aunt) from time to time.   I always enjoyed visiting this delightful "true, blue Southern lady" who was so classy and just delightful!    "Aunt" Ginny passed away Saturday evening 2 weeks shy of her 103rd birthday.    She will be missed by all and our sincere sympathy to her family!

 

Few more pics from this past week...

 

 

Our little scholar with her (really grandpa's) specs and typing on Grandpa's computer

The Lukester enjoying Blair's chair

Sweet Brady

Our boys...

Michael, Philip, Ryan

Drew's ice cream cake  

How can our oldest grandchild be "16"??? 

 The Birthday Boy (tomorrow)!

Good-bye November and welcome to the hustle and bustle of December!

 

 

Saturday - November 28

Today we just hung out with Luke and Blair who kept us on our toes.....whew, forgot how active and busy and rambunctious 2-year olds can be!    Almost 45 years ago that Mark and I had our twins, but we were much younger, too!   HA.......there's a reason God gives us babies when we're young and grand babies at this stage of our life and then, we can give them back to Mommy and Daddy!!!!!

 

Mark went to St. Joseph's for 5:00 Mass....I will go in the morning!

 

We played outside this pretty day, played in Daisy, played with toys all over the house and just a good day.   Bath time, story time and nighty night to all....

 

Lots of pink at this house, but didn't bother Luke! 

Tea for two 

The inseparable I-pad

Bedtime story with Grandma

Luke was mesmerized by the Frosty the Snowman special on TV tonight

 

 

 

Wednesday-Thanksgiving-Friday, November 25-27

Hello from sunny North Carolina - hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and made new memories wherever and however you celebrated!  We have been enjoying our family time but missing Anne, Patrick Liam and Connor)  Here's what's been going on the past few days...

 

So, we've been having lots of fun with Luke and Blair, with Brady spending 3 nights on Daisy, several games of euchre and poker, football and basketball games, bean-bag toss, wrapping presents, eating, and more eating.    We went to the Catawba Country Club for Thanksgiving dinner - it was fabulous with many stations to walk around in the beautifully decorated (for Christmas) rooms to pick 'n choose from a wide variety of traditional items.    Brooke's parents, Bob and Judy, her brother Scott and Leigh, Caroline and Cooper were all with us - 18 strong!    Had a great array of appetizers for the late afternoon as we cheered the Panthers onto another victory, more cards, visiting, etc.

 

Bob and Judy took Drew, Davis and Brady to Atlanta for a 2-day getaway and the big Georgia Tech/Georgia football game on Saturday.    Michael, Brooke, Philip, Annette and Ryan all went to the lake to relax and enjoy some bonding time.    Even got in a pontoon ride.  That leaves Grandpa and me to hold down the fort with our 2 very busy, active toddlers!   

 

So proud of Patrick Anne and the boys as he has been collecting and saving all his tip $ for the past year when he's performed either with his Jury's Out band or his piano shows......he gave a donation of over $1,100 to the Home Sweet Mission along with 2 turkeys.   Nice article and picture in the paper.

 

A few pics from yesterday... 

Here come the troops.....

Annette, Brooke, Blair, Mark, Philip, Luke and Brady 

Part of our group - so many blessings!

Philip, Annette and Luke 

Drew, Blair, Brooke, Michael

Brady, Davis

 

Sweetie Pie 

 Caroline and Blair on the neighbors' trampoline

Luke - a man on the move

Good way to corral these two!

Sometimes...ya gotta love this technology!

 

Michael is ecstatic these days with his beloved Iowa Hawkeyes and Carolina Panthers both undefeated...

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday - November 24

Hello from beautiful North Carolina where the sun has been shining all day and just delightful to be out and about.   Brooke and I took off this morning after we dropped Blair off at school (Grandpa took the boys) and hit 3 grocery stores, Starbucks and then home to put it all away and start chopping and dicing and getting a big ole crockpot of chili going.   

 

My cousin, Clarine passed away this morning after an almost 4-year battle with glioblastoma (brain cancer).    I am so very sad for her husband, Bert and their family, including their first grandchild, Nate (4 months) who lives in London.    But it brings me comfort that she is finally at peace and reunited with her parents and other loved ones.    She was only 66 and lived in Roanoke, VA.   Her body will be donated to science.   Clarine was a bridesmaid in our wedding.

 

The Florida troops arrived around 5:00 this afternoon - lots of activity with Luke and Blair.

Busy, busy household for the next few days!

 

Had chili and corn muffins for supper - delish!!!

 

All ready for school 

All bundled up cause Baby it's COLD outside! 

Luke enjoying his first tea party with Mommy

 

Enjoy all this pre Thanksgiving hustle and bustle!

 

  

Monday - November 23

Another perfect travel day.....and sooo pretty in NC with lots of fall color in the mountains!    Left Lebanon at 7:30 (central time) and took a different route thru Hot Springs avoiding some of the mountains and also enjoying a good lunch at The Iron Horse Station.

 

Arrived in Newton at 2:30, unloaded furniture, and put our stuff and clothes in Daisy.    So good to see the kids and kiddies......Blair was napping when we got here.   When she woke up, I knocked on her door and went in and the look on her face was priceless...."MEEMAW"!!!!    And then immediately, "PAPA", and so off we went to see "Papa"    She can say Grandma and Grandpa real plain, so maybe she'll eventually forget these other "endearing" names???

 

Sweet Blair (aka Chatty Cathy) 

Grandpa greeting the boys after school

Brady and Davis 

Pretty pansies in North Carolina

Grandpa, Blair and Brady

"If you're happy and you know it, touch your toes" !!!

 

Had Chinese take out for supper - yum!   Homework, showers, storytime - another day is done!

 

Good to be back on Daisy and tomorrow night, Brady will join us for a sleepover!   One more day of school and then 5 days of vacation!

 

Ryan, Philip, Annette and Luke are arriving tomorrow afternoon!    Brooke and I made out the grocery list and we have our day all mapped out!

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday - November 22

It was a beautiful day for travel ad we never saw a single cloud all day long.    We had breakfast with the Campbell's and Mark fixed pancakes.   We all went to 8:00 Mass and then after a little shuffling around, we were on our way in the truck with furniture, clothes, Christmas presents and other stuff.

 

It took a little over an hour from Bloomington heading south till we finally ran out of the snow/ice.   And tah dah....nice dry, clear roads.    We had 9 degrees when we got up this morning and the temps got to 39.    I drove 160 miles and tonight we are in Lebanon TN.    Had a delicious dinner at Los Compadres with excellent margarita/ beer AND our waitress carded both of us???  

Ya just never know!

 

Several people have asked us from time to time if we miss our house?   "No not really".....we are gone so much and we certainly did not miss raking leaves this fall and then shoveling snow yesterday!!!    I'm sure when the Christmas Season rolls around and the decorating would normally start (Thanksgiving weekend), my memories will come on strong cause "I LOVE CHRISTMAS" and went all out decorating (5 days worth).

 

Around 5 1/2 hours to Blair and boys tomorrow....yippee!!!!   So hard to believe this is Thanksgiving week!    2015 has just flown by!

 

 

Saturday - November 21

It's a winter wonderland here....1st snowfall of the season with 3" and it was very wet, BUT beautiful to look at.    We finished packing up our stuff and Mark loaded up the truck for what goes to NC and took a load to storage.    Brenda picked me up at 10:30 and we were off to meet Jody and then to Connie's in the country - roads were so so....snow still coming down and winds picking up.

 

Scenes from the country of first snowfall

 

We had a wonderful brunch with the Monday Night Friends - great food, chatter and so much to be thankful for as we 11 gals have been friends for over 40 years!    We exchanged gifts and drew names for secret pals for next year.   

 

Back row:   Marsha, Linda, Jody, Brenda, Pat, Sue

Front row:  Donna, Nadine, Connie, Tamara, Ruth

 

Connie's gorgeous table set for a fabulous fall brunch!

 

The drive home was slippery and at times, almost whiteout conditions!    

Mark met me and we went onto the coliseum for the boys hockey game - they lost 7-4.  

 

Anne and Patrick have a "Fall Ball" ($ raiser for new addition to school) tonight.   We are staying at their house with the boys and their friend, Blaise.

 

Ordered Avanti's for supper

Playing Blackhawk Monopoly

 

3 Amigos

Connor, Liam, Blaise

 

Burrrr...down to 9 (NINE) degrees tonight!   We are oh-so-ready to get outta here!

North Carolina here we come!

 

Friday - November 20

NO wind today - alleluia!    Skies were blue but then the clouds rolled in late morning and snow is on the way!    We met friends Rose and Larry for breakfast at Carmela's - always enjoy their company and a good meal    Mark and I took off for the storage unit and loaded up some furniture in the truck that we're taking to Michael and Brooke    More stuff to put in storage as we are moving out of Eastland Suites.   Tonight is our last night here till December 1st.

 

Then off to the mall for our daily walk and back home.   I picked Sue up at 12:30 and we went to Lake Bloomington at Sue Hoff's gorgeous home for PEO dessert meeting.   

 

We packed up more stuff and Mark will load up our bags in the truck and make one final trip to storage tomorrow.    Big snowstorm to hit the Midwest but hoping we wont get too much (1-3" predicted).   Tomorrow is our Monday Night Friends Christmas brunch and gift exchange.   We are traveling to the country (about 20 miles) and what are the odds that we would be dealing with snow this early in the season,    Trying to get a date that all 11 of us could agree on was a challenge this year, so tomorrow was the best choice but now the weather to worry about!

 

Tonight we went to Caffe Italia for delicious pasta and  chianti - hadn't been here in a long time - excellent and very close to our "home".

 

Have a great weekend and be safe if you're out and about in the snow!

 

 

 

 

Thursday - November 19

Those beautiful deep blue skies were deceiving today as the winds were still strong and with temps in the low 40's, it was just darn COLD!    We were  up and going early, 1st taking the truck to GMC to try and fix Mark's Bluetooth.   Unfortunately,  Apple and GMC are not real compatible?    Sometimes it works just fine and other times.....calls won't go thru or we get cut off.   Back to hotel for breakfast, walked at the mall, went to storage and dropped off a bunch of our stuff and then home a bit.

 

I met Claire at Rosie's for delicious lunch - been awhile since we had been together so lots to catch up on!    Mark hunkered down here with a nice fire and good book.

 

I stopped to visit Norma along-time neighbor from Jackson Street )after lunch and we had a good chat.   Then home to do laundry.   We ventured out to Panera for light supper of soup and sandwich which hit the spot this chilly night.   

 

My niece had an online children's book party tonight - all done on Facebook.   Not sure I kept up with it all, but amazing what they can do with all this technology!

 

 

Wednesday - November 18

   I was battling the wind all morning while out and about shopping, but had good luck.   We had gusts as high as 50 mph.

 

Stopped at Zoup for Soup and brought back here for a nice hearty lunch -

chicken potpie for Mark and chicken fajita for me.

 

Mark got his yearly physical this afternoon (good report) and I walked at the mall.    Had a good chat with Nadine (Monday Night Friend) who was a bell ringer for Salvation Army.

 

Wrapped a few more gifts and getting our stuff together - what goes to NC, what goes back into storage.   We'll be moving out of here on Saturday morning.    The Amazon packages have been arriving almost daily and are delivered right to our door - can't beat that!!!

 

 

 

 

Tuesday - November 17

Just a miserable day with lots of rain and with the strong winds, it came down sideways - hard to hold onto an umbrella!     Mark went to the dining room for nice hot breakfast and then had appointment with his dermatologist.

 

We exercised and I did my therapy (McLean County Orthopedics called and I'm starting back up with Lee and team on December 3rd.)   I had the fireplace going and listened to some Christmas tunes while wrapping gifts.   Trying to get most or all of the NC kids/kiddies done so we can take with us next Sunday.

 

Late morning we went to the storage unit for a few things.    We had planned to walk at the mall, but it was raining so hard and by the time we got inside, we would've been soaked and then what to do with our wet coats and umbrellas?    Decided to walk up and down the many aisles at the storage building - Mark's great idea.   We were nice and dry and no one was around!    After that we went for dentist appointments and saw 2 couples we've know since we moved to town in 1971.   We see Sharon and Dave at church off and on, but had not seen Jim and Jennifer in a very long time.  

So, here we all meet at the dentist!!!

 

Mark went back home and I picked up a package at Anne's, got a Starbucks (my lunch this yucky day that really hit the spot).   Got a haircut and been back indoors since as the rain is beating against the windows.

I drove to Ann's and then rode with her to the Busy Corner for Sublettian gathering of Ann, Deb, Jane, Marilyn and myself.    Good supper and nice long chat with these crazy friends!    Sooo many laughs and I refrained from having pie, but rest of them enjoyed their desserts.

Rained all evening and still coming down!    The staff at Eastland Suites brought a bottle of wine tonight and nice note welcoming us!    I'm just liking this place more and more!

 

 

 

Monday - November 16

Busy day running around and not pleasant with rain, wind and chilly temps!   I left around 8:30 for the Grove Street Bakery to pick up pastries for Mark's birthday and share with our Monday morning breakfast group.    Just 8 of us today, but fun as always.   Mark had blood work done before breakfast, too, and we were each on our way!

 

I did a little shopping and then met the BBB (babies, books, bridge) friends for lunch at Destihl.    Hadn't been with most of these gals in a year, so lots to yak about! 

 

Long-time friends...

Ruth, Karen, Cathy, Pat, Sue, Sharon

 

Had planned to run a few more errands after lunch, but it was so nasty out, I came back to our place and then later, Mark and I were off to the pain management doctor for my neck.   Dr. Nauer is very nice (his son Will and Liam are in 5th grade together at Corpus Christi).    He took x-rays and nothing significant showed up.....could be from a past trauma?    Only thing that comes to mind was the accident 5 years ago crossing the street in St. Pete.....even though that's a long time ago, something could've triggered it?    But he's thinking arthritis and/or nerve issues so putting me on Neurontin - low dose to start with.    Not sure whether therapy will continue or not - they will let me know.

I will go back December 16th - see if the pills work before they do an MRI or injections.

 

So good to get back "home" and flick the switch for a nice warm fire and a cup of tea!     Enjoyed "home sweet home" for about 2 hours and then Brenda picked me up and we were off to Baxter's for dinner with the Monday Night Friends (7 of us) . 

Good food and friends, but now so good to be back home!

 

The "S" word is in the forecast for Saturday...yikes!!!  

 

 

 

 

Saturday-Sunday, November 14-15

Absolutely gorgeous fall weekend with lots of sunshine and temps in in the 60's (Bloomington got to 66 today)!    We left around 10 Saturday morning for Amboy and our niece, Katy's wedding.    It was a lovely ceremony and mass at St. Pat's.   We visited Mark's Mom and then several of us went to 4:30 mass at St. Pat's in Dixon and I got to see my cousin, Eileen who is always a treat!    We then went to the wedding reception at the Elks in Dixon which was a lot of fun!

 

Katy and Mike

 

The groom, Mike, is the 6th "Michael" in the family!!! 

  Welcome!!!

 

Sunday morning we visited in dining room of the Comfort Inn with the family.....just 5 weeks till we're all together again for the Chamberlain Christmas!   Yikes....

 

Onto Mendota for breakfast with Bob and Linda at Cindy's - back to their house and I helped trim the tree.   Their house looks sooo nice and Christmassy and since I won't be doing any decorating this year, was really fun to get my "fix" by putting on the ornaments!

 

Mark and I walked around our "new" neighborhood - lots of restaurants and other businesses, including several medical offices and 4 day care centers.    Perfect day for a walk outdoors!

 

Anne, Patrick, Liam and Connor came over late this afternoon to see our "home"....good visiting with them.   Mark and I went to Mandarin Garden (our favorite Chinese spot) for yummy egg rolls and Mongolian Beef

 

We did face time with Blair tonight + Brooke and a little bit of Drew!

 

Liam went to the Notre Dame football game yesterday, had so much fun and enjoyed the final score Notre Dame 28 - Wake Forest 7

Here he is with friends in front of "Touchdown Jesus"

 

Liam, Jack and Drew

 

Have a great week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday - November 13

It's Friday, the 13th and the wind blew all day, but it was sunny and bright.    Big improvement coming tomorrow.

 

We got 2 loads of wash going and then enjoyed breakfast in the dining room.    Got the laundry finished and then Mark and I went our separate ways - his errand list was bigger than mine!!!    Anyway, we both had good luck and the Christmas shopping (by foot or online) is well underway.    I met Barb for lunch at Panera and we had so much fun (2 hours worth catching up). 

 

Picked Mark up and we went to the mall this afternoon, walked and did a little shopping.

 

Tonight we went to The Bayern Stube, a wonderful German restaurant in Gibson City (45 minutes east of here).    This has been around since 1981, but we haven't been here in many years.    Our Mid Illini boating friends (19) had a really nice evening - good to see old friends and meet some new members!

 

Tah dah....around 6:00, the wind finally calmed - cold out but no wind makes a big difference!

 

Liam is going to a Notre Dame football game tomorrow against Wake Forest!    What a neat opportunity - have heard there's nothing quite like a game at Notre Dame.

 

Praying for the innocent victims and their families in Paris and yet another senseless tragedy. 

  God bless them all!    I'm heartbroken for them and the ongoing violence around the world!  

 

Our niece, Katy is getting married tomorrow, so we are off to Amboy/Dixon for a fun family celebration.   I'll be back in touch Sunday!    Have a great weekend!

Thursday - November 12

Chilly blustery day after all the storms last night.    We lucked out as no damage or power outages here, but many areas nearby were affected.   We enjoyed seeing Ryan and the Blues on the Today show with Al Roker.    Al was in Pensacola at the Naval Air Museum yesterday for Veteran's Day and as part of his visiting all 50 states and reporting the weather in a week's time1  

 

Mark went to breakfast in the dining room and enjoyed a nice hot meal which is different each day.   I was off to therapy at 8:30 and more measurements and evaluation taken by Lee.   Some areas are showing improvement, but still really hurts.    Monday I will see neck specialist, so will be anxious

to see what Dr. Naour has to say!    I am so tired of this constant "pain in the neck"!

 

After therapy I met Mark at the storage unit and we did some more organizing.    Brought a few more bins to our suite - time for the "warm woolies".    I ran a few errands and got a manicure.    Mark got a haircut and then we met at the mall which is very close to where we live now.    It is time to get these bods in shape......been a while since we've exercised, walked on a regular basis and have done no biking in a long time.    So......we went around the confines of Eastland Mall a few times and felt good and plan to do this daily.    So much to see with all the shoppers already out and about, the decorations all up, etc.    Mark has the weight bench, weights and ankle weights set up in our living room, too, so..........no excuse to not "get it together" before all this good holiday eating starts.    

 

The wind is so strong - everyone is holding onto their hats or whatever they can grab.    This is supposed to continue into tomorrow!   

Mark celebrated his birthday tonight with Anne, Patrick, Liam and Connor at Monical's and I went with some of the Monday Night Friends to a dinner/holiday auction at the Doubletree benefitting Special Olympics - very nice!

The winds are still a'blowing and it's darn chilly!  It's to be 28 by morning!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday - November 11

THANK YOU to all our Veterans for their service and for those currently serving our country including our son, Ryan!    God Bless you all...

 

 

We left Columbia around 8:30 and had sunshine for a while, but mostly a cloudy day with the winds blowing stronger as the day went on.   We kept reading and hearing about the nasty storms coming to the Midwest with severe thunderstorms, heavy rain, strong winds and possible tornadoes.

 

Arrived back in Bloomington around 4 and checked into our "new home" at Eastland Suites.    Got our stuff unloaded, unpacked and just like a couple of little kids, all giddy about our new "digs".    At 5;15, we walked to the main building for happy hour!    Then across the street for a quick supper at KFC before settling in for the night..   When we came out of the restaurant, it was raining and of course, very windy.   Good night to be in as the winds howl but we have a nice fire going!

 

 

 

 

Tuesday - November 10

We were up early and said our good byes to Ryan as he was off and running before 6:30 to work and the start of the '16 season.   No time off till the holidays!    We so enjoyed our time on Terraphobic and all the Blue Angel festivities these past 5 days!    We'll see Ryan in NC for Thanksgiving.  

Gosh, that's just 2 weeks away!

 

More good byes to Mark and Denise who are back cruising with San Destin, their destination for today.    They are such a neat, fun couple and so happy we could reunite here and hoping to see them sometime, somewhere again!

 

Bye bye Mark and Denise.....till we meet again

 

And bye bye to Terraphobic - what a great home for the past 5 nights.    If it wasn't so far and so $$$ for fuel, we would have "loved" to have this be our winter home while Ryan is training in El Centro!

But Daisy will work just fine!

 

Packed up our stuff, loaded up the car and on our way to The Ruby Slipper, just a few blocks from the marina for a fantastic breakfast.    This place got great reviews and has 4 locations in New Orleans and the newest in Pensacola.    Food and service were thee best!

Mark's cheesecake-stuffed French Toast with apples/caramel and pig-candy bacon! 

My breakfast sandwich with fluffy homemade biscuit, scrambled eggs w/Swiss cheese and a fried green tomato + pig-candy bacon!!!

 

Not exactly sure what pig-candy bacon is, but sure was good!

 

Leigh Frosch (wife of the past commanding officer and #1 pilot) had texted me that if we hadn't left town, she had something for us?    After breakfast, we went to their house and got to see she and Tom and her parents.....she handed us a gift bag with 2 beautiful stem less wine glasses with the Blue Angel insignia!   Wow....what a lovely gift from very dear friends!   We will never forget their warm hospitality this past year and just always going out of their way to make us feel welcome +++ their kids are so great!

 

Around 10:15, we were on our way and it was chilly with misty rain and heavy clouds - ugh!    But once we got to Prattville, Alabama, the clouds parted, the sun peaked out more and more and rest of the day, it was all clear blue skies!    I drove for 2 hours and we stopped somewhere in AL for lunch at Jack's (not Jack-in-the-Box - just Jack's).  It was fast food but really good.

 

Tonight we are in Columbia, TN and have 460 miles to go tomorrow!

 

Yesterday I posted this picture but totally forgot to me mention something unique...

Jill, Regina and I are all "Mothers of Twins"

 

Jill has boy/girl; Regina has twin sons and I have Michael and Anne...what fun visiting with these "new" friends and comparing notes!

 

We went to Stan's Café across the street from our hotel for some good home cookin'.   This place has been in business since 1947 (same as Mark)!    It was a former service station and restaurant in the day, but now a gift/souvenir shop and popular spot to eat where the waitresses wear shirts that say "Hey Y'all"...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday-Monday, November 6-9

 Friday – Woke up to some nasty fog in the marina.   Mark and Ryan tinkered around on the boat, Ryan went for a run and I walked downtown – this historic area of Pensacola is really nice with shops, eateries and neat architecture.   Although we’ve never been to New Orleans, from pictures we’ve seen, downtown Pensacola resembles NO to some extent with all the wrought iron balconies, neat flickering street lamps, etc.

Then it was off to the air show.    Mark and I stopped for a few things for the boat along the way and happy to see the sunshine.     So fun to be with our Blue Angel friends again and meet new ones.

In 2010 when Ryan was deployed on the USS Nimitz, I met Kristen the wife of another officer in Ryan’s squadron thru e-mail.    She took Ryan “under her wings” since  he had no spouse and worked with me on getting calendar squares made for the guys to enjoy while they were gone those 7 months.    Kristen and I have been e-mailing thru the years and I’ve so enjoyed all her pics on FB, the birth of her tiny twin sons 4 years ago and now her sweet little McKenzie, 18 months.    Kristen and family recently moved to Navarre, FL from Lemoore, CA and we finally met today at the NAS Pensacola air show.     What a very special family!

  McKenzie, Joel, Kristen, Gabe and Ty

Really enjoyed the air show today – flawless performance by the Blues and huge crowd as Pensacola “loves” their Blues and pulls out all the stops for this homecoming weekend!

Back to the boat for showers and clean up but first, stopped at “Island Office”  (boat that came in while we were at the show) to say “Hello”.   We met Mark and Denise in Annapolis in May shortly after we gave some of the Blues a ride on Catrina.    They are doing the Loop and we were neighbors in the marina and now here again at Palafox.   They got to meet Ryan and some of the others.    We’ve kept in touch with their blog throughout this entire adventure – what a trip and so many wonderful memories.   Denise and I have kept in touch and we knew they would be here for this weekend.    Really good to see them for a brief visit and then we were off to Leigh and Tom’s home  (commanding officer and #1) for a big,  big party……fun with the team members, their families and lots of friends of the Blues.   Food, oh-so-much-food and enjoyed a really fun, casual evening.

Saturday – Happy Birthday, Mark!!!   

68 years young

The Birthday Boy started the day off by scrubbing the swim platform on Terraphobic and amazing how that tannic acid can be removed with two $1 bottles of toilet bowl cleaner from Dollar General!!!   Foggy again this morning….ugh…..last hurrah for the Blues to fly today and big concern “if” the show will go on!   At 7:30 AM, they made the announcement that the show has been moved up from 2:00 to 11:30.     What a wonderful last show – just so awesome watching this team perform for the very last time together (3 of the team - #1, 4 and 5 are leaving).    So, it was a bittersweet time with lots of emotion.   So thankful the weather held off and they actually did a high show!      We came back to the boat visited with Mark and Denise and also had a few family members of #1 (Boss Tom Frosch) come aboard Terraphobic as they had late lunch at Jaco’s.

Tonight we got all gussied up for big party with the Blue Angel Alumni at Seville Quarters, about ½ mile from the boat.    Weather was very threatening, but just a light rain when we arrived.    What a party with so many people, so much food and drink and then a short program saying good-bye to the 2015 team and introducing the 2016 team.    More emotion as these guys and gals came on stage with lots of hugs to thunderous applause!    They had 3 large screens to watch memories from this past season.  It wasn’t raining when we left around 10:30, but during the night, the heavens opened up and it has been raining cats and dogs since and to continue into tomorrow!

Sunday – The rain let up for a bit and so we took the boat a short distance for a pump out, fuel and then a short ride.  

Enjoying our 1st ride on Terraphobic

  We were back in our slip and off to 11:00 Mass (Mark and Denise, too) at St. Joseph’s and this was quite an experience with much singing, clapping and just general overall joyous celebration that lasted 1 hour, 20 minutes.

Back to Terraphobic to change and then off to Change of Command.    This ceremony was held at the Naval Air Museum with all the pomp and circumstance of a military event.    

Change of  Command with our new #5 pilot 

 It's official!

We said our good byes to the Blues family friends we’ve sooo enjoyed so much this past year at a reception afterwards at the Hangar!    Back to Terraphobic, changed clothes (something warm and dry) as the rain started up again and wind picked up.     Ryan was off to last farewell with his teammates and Mark and Denise came aboard Terraphobic for drinks.   It rained hard and the winds blew all evening.    Around 7:15, we 4 walked up to Jaco’s for dinner – what a night as the rain just kept on and on but so fun visiting with Mark and Denise.

Mark and Denise

Monday – Misty rain in the morning.    Mark and I went to The Bodacious Brew for yummy breakfasts-to-go.    We all did odd jobs on the boat and tidied up before Ryan’s friends came aboard around noon.   Great boat ride with wine, beer, snacks and lots of chatter!

Jill and Rob

Regina and #2 pilot son, Matt

Michael, stunt pilot

Cheers!

Jill, Regina, Pat

 

#1 and #5 pilots for 2016

Ryan and Ryan

 

We had a wonderful dinner with Boss Ryan and our Ryan at Dharma Blue - charming old house with all different kinds of chandeliers, brick fireplace in middle of dining room and so neat to get acquainted with the new Skipper of the Blues. 

So that wraps up the past 4 days here in Pensacola!     Great fun and last hurrah with the Blue Angels till we meet again on March 12, 2016 in El Centro, CA.   

 Tomorrow, we start for home (800+ miles)…hope we have a good travel day and some sunshine!

Good night from Pensacola....