While Max and Bob work at preparing us all a meal. Ann and I have "Rope class." I teach her how to tie eight different knots... The Bow line knot, the square knot, the cleat hitch, the clove hitch, the rolling hitch, the figure 8, the single sheet bend, and 2 half hitches.
By the time our meal was ready, Ann had successfully tied each of the knots... but was more than ready for any excuse to put away the ropes for a while! "If I ever had aspirations of becoming a pirate... having to learn all of those knots, has killed that dream!" she teased.
"Just keep practicing them and you will soon know how to tie them without even thinking about it, and you will also know when you need to use each one."
"Yeah, when we left St Joe... I was clueless about ropes, knots, and shit. But Rick is a great teacher, and if he has to resort to "and the rabbit runs around the tree and into the hole" to describe the steps of tying a knot... he is patient enough to do that...which makes it so much easier to learn... or at least it did for me!" Bob explains
"Let's Eat!" Max calls out "My belly is convinced that my throat has been cut...been so long since I sent anything its way!"
As we enjoy our meal, Ann asks "So how much further do we travel before we start working our way west"
"Well, from where we are right now...we will continue on the NJICW until we get to the Manasquan Inlet... then its 20 miles of open water until we get to Sandy Hook Harbor...then about another 20 until we get to New York Harbor and the Hudson"
"Once we are on the Hudson...its about 130 miles...give or take a few until we get to the Erie canal"
"When we get to New York, will we be able to see the Statue of Liberty?" Bob asks excitedly
"Yes, I will make sure that we do! I've never got to see it, other than in pictures...and I kind of look at it as the unofficial halfway point on this journey. So, I wouldn't miss this opportunity for the world!"
"COOL!" Exclaimed Bob.
"The sooner we can move on through there...the better I will like it" says Max "I'm not a fan of big cities... nothing but concrete and smog and far too many people, for my liking!"
"I honestly think that you may be surprised by what you will see when we get there" Ann comments "Yes, the New York metro area is a huge place and there is LOTS of concrete and smog and a lot of people. But that is the "made for tv" version of New York that most people think of, when someone mentions New York. While I do prefer to live in a less populated area... My husband and I used to drive to New York occasionally on business...and we would venture down to Broadway and catch a show or something. We even went for long walks in Central Park...which was a lot of fun. Just had to be aware of your surroundings at all times, was the only drawback."
"I'll reserve my judgement on it until after I have seen it. But as a general rule... give me a choice between being elbow to elbow with a large crowd of people; or spend a day in a swamp, up to my knees in brackish water, with snakes and gators all around me. I'll choose the swamp over the people... I would certainly feel a lot safer!"
"There are dangers all around you, no matter where you go. Big City or Muggy Swamp... it's all about what you are most familiar with, that determines how much you feel about your personal safety." I say "It's not so much about the danger, because that is all around you no matter where you go or what you do. It's the "unknown" that tends to make your poop get slick. You know just enough to be aware of potential for danger...but you are not familiar enough with the area to know exactly WHAT those dangers actually are!"
We all pitch in to clear the table and get the galley cleaned up.
Max and I go up top to enjoy the evening breeze and have a beer. Ann and Bob join us, and I mention to Bob "Have you noticed anything that we have missed since you and I left St Joseph?"
"No" she replied "I can't think of anything at all, that we have missed."
"My point exactly!" I say.
She looks at me with a puzzled look on her face...
"WINTER!" I say, "You and I have been traveling together for a little over a year...and we have not had to experience the snow and ice and frigid cold of a midwestern winter!"
"Hey! You 're right! We went from spring to summer to a few days of fall like weather... then back to summer when we got to Florida, then spring again all up the east coast...and here we are back to early summer like weather! Awesome!" she said, as she did a little "happy dance" for emphasis.
Ann asked, "Do you guys need another beer?"
"Don't make a special trip, but if you are going below deck anyway, yeah we could use another round" I say. Max nods his head in agreement.
Ann goes below deck and returns to the foot of the steps with a couple of cold beers which she sets on the top step as she motions for Bob to come get them.
Bob and Ann whisper something to each other...Bob nods her head in agreement... brings the two beers to Max and I and says "I'm going to go help Ann with something" then scurries off down below deck.
Max and I drain the last few drops from our first beers and crack open the cold ones. "Man, oh man! These are going down so smooth and easy, you could easily get yourself into trouble, if you don't watch out!" Max says.
"Got that right!" I say as I pull out my cell phone to check for any new messages.
About halfway down my emails...I see one from my attorney back in Kansas City.
"Just thought I would bring you up to date, on all that has been going on.
