Thursday, December 27, 2012

Merry Christmas "Dummie"

Merry Christmas everyone. We hope you are having a safe and wonderful holiday with your family and friends. We are lucky this year because we get to see almost our entire family. One kid home from college, one from Ohio and one from Minnesota. Brenda's sister Karen and husband Peter drove all the way from central Alabama. Mike's sister Kim and her husband Roy came from Arkansas. Mike's younger sister Lisa and her husband Mike from Wisconsin and some nephews and nieces to boot. Our family is small these days, but we sure are spread out across the country.

So what did we get for Christmas you ask? As we posted earlier, we ordered a new 115 headsail for Wrinkles as a gift to each other. Santa gave Brenda a book on galley cooking. We received a Sodastream soda maker from the kids and two coastal self-inflating life vests from Karen and Peter.

Brenda also gave me a book on fishing which is appropriately titled, "Fishing For Dummies". Apparently my meager efforts at fishing the past two years didn't impress her. Gee, I've caught two entire fish in just two years of fishing. I'd considered that well above the "dummie" level.

Mike

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Winter Wonderland

Southern Wisconsin certainly looks like Christmas today. We have already received 11" of snow with no signs of it letting up. The weatherman says up to 18" is expected. Combine this with 30 to 35 mph winds and you have quite the winter storm.

Today we are enjoying having our college age son Matt and his girlfriend stranded at our house. We have the house all decorated, Christmas tree lit, Christmas music playing, Brenda and Kelly baking cookies and the coffee smells great. Other than having to snowblow our long, long country driveway, this is the way holidays are supposed to feel.

We hope you take time to slow down and relish the holidays. It can be a special time of year.

Mike and B

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

New Headsail Ordered

B and I ordered our Christmas/birthday/anniversary present. A brand new headsail for Wrinkles. This past summer we replaced the mainsail which was in pretty sad shape. After seeing how much difference that sail made in the handling of our 23 we knew we would soon be replacing the headsail.

We shopped around and asked for input from the Com-Pac Owners site members on suppliers for the mainsail. In the end we felt that FX Sails was the best option for us. The sail arrived on time as promised and met all our expectations. So when we decided it was time to add a new headsail we knew FX Sails was the place to go. We ordered a 115 which is setup for a CDI FF2 furler. The sacrificial is going to be Royal Blue to match the hull color.

Wrinkles is going to look pretty spiffy next spring with her new sails on. We're betting she will be more fun to sail as well.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

10,000th View

How cool is that! We will pass the 10,000 view threshold this week. Our ramblings and idiocy have actually been seen by quite a few people this year. It has been fun to relate our mistakes, triumphs, learning and love for all things sailing.

We hope that you have found our posts interesting, informative, educational....... Who are we kidding? Hopefully you at least enjoyed an occasional chuckle at our goofiness.

We hope you continue to follow along as we progress toward a cruising sabbatical. We feel we are becoming sailors and look forward to all the new things we will experience and learn in the next couple of years.

Join us on the rest of our journey.

Mike and Brenda

Saturday, December 15, 2012

I kinda won the lottery?

Brenda's ingenious plan for a quick retirement via winning the lottery was a complete and total failure. We still had to go to work on 12/13. The good news is that we went to the Cheeseburger In Paradise restaurant/bar with three couples we have known forever to celebrate my 55th. Good food, great drinks, laughter and friends made for a wonderful evening.

Front L to R Penny, Mike, Brenda, Joni

Back L to R Scott, Jim, Trish, Mike (Doc)

I said I kinda won the lottery in the title and I really did win. My reputation preceded me and I was gifted a bottle of Drambuie. No wait for it.......TWO bottles of Drambuie. Sweet! I did win the lottery!

My sailing buddy Jim even sat down at his industrial sewing machine and made up a custom bag for my Drambuie bottle. I have to be the only guy in the country with a handmade, sailing themed, Drambuie shaped storage bag.

 

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

12-12-12 Big Spender!

Brenda told me that with my birthday falling on such a cool date that I had to buy a lottery ticket. What!!!! My wife telling me to throw money away on gambling is not what I have come to expect from her. You have to understand that as a couple we have gambled a total of maybe $100.00 bucks in our lives. We're just not big gamblers at heart.

So today as I turn 55 (GADZOOKS!), I plan on becoming rich when all my numbers are drawn. Oh well. I've wasted $20 on stupider things. Take sailing for example...........

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

How much would it take?

The weather is turning cold, so while we are snuggled on the couch, we have paper, pencil and calculator ready.  If we sell the house, what will we be able to afford?  Can we take a sabbatical and sail to points south?

As most of you know, we plan to sell up and sail for one to two years. After cruising we would settle down in the Gulf Shores, Alabama area to work and play.  Great plan if we can figure out how to pay for it.   We thought it would be a good motivator to look at our assets and debts to see if the plan was feasible.  So, how does it look?  Well, let's say it is doable.  The depressed real estate markets have certainly set us back, but at the same time we aren't getting any younger.  We don't want to look back in 10-15 years and say, "I wish we would have ....."

The good news is that there are a lot of good bluewater sailboats out there going at very low prices.  The plan is to look for one of the boats on our short list (see our Short List page) and get acquainted with it in Alabama.  Once we are satisfied it is cruise ready, we will point her south and see where we end up.

It's exciting to think about.  It's scary too.

As Mark Twain so eloquently wrote, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did do.  So throw off the bow lines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.



Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Christmas wish list

Oh baby could we write up a whopper!

We received an email from Brenda's sister and her husband yesterday asking for hints on what we would like for Wrinkles this Christmas. To be honest we didn't have much of a wish list (other than dreaming about a new headsail) since this fall has been a bit expensive. Weddings and college tuition seem to strain our meager income, so wishing for sailing goodies seemed out of the question. It was fun to think about what we would add to Wrinkles in 2013 if money wasn't a concern.

Our headsail is pretty sad and that is number one on our list. Unfortunately it is also big bucks.

Auto/manual inflate Coastal Life Vests. We have the typical life vests that every recreational boater has aboard and don't wear them as often as we should. We believe that the less cumbersome inflatables would encourage us to wear them more often.

Nicro Vent or similar. The cabin vent doesn't function anymore and the cover is cracked.

New galvanized chain to replace the well used 20' section on our anchor rode.

Well, you get the idea. We could write up a list that Santa would guffaw at and return to sender. Still, it is fun to dream.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

"By the board"

To go by the board is to go over the side of a ship. So, if your old wooden mast came down and you cut it loose to float away, "It went by the board." Nowadays it is a pair of those overpriced sunglasses that goes by the board.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Annual To-Do List

Anyone who has ever owned a boat knows that they require constant repairs. Wind, water, sun, docking miscues and other operator errors all plot to keep the To-Do list growing. Add to that the owner's wish list of improvements and upgrades and you have a work list that runs off the first page.

The first items we put on our To-Do list are ALL the jobs from the previous list that we never got around to. You just have to remember that the list will never come to an actual end. It just keeps regenerating itself. So carry over items are just a fact of life in boat maintenance. Two years ago our To-Do list was so long that we assigned a priority level to each item. 'A' for high priority, 'B' for medium priority, 'C' for really don't need to do this but it is pretty cool and I'll probably do it first.

Last winter when we adopted Wrinkles, we once again had a pretty good sized To-Do list. She had been in a slip in Florida since she was new (1988) and the lines, fabric and wood all needed upgrading. Here is a copy of the list we put together at that time.

Com-Pac 23/3 To-Do List

Mast raising system DONE

Straps on bimini DONE

Throw pillows

Replace halyards. DONE

Add battery DONE

Wind vane DONE

Mast light DONE

Sew jib sacrificial

Outboard DONE

Varnish wood DONE

Rope organizer

Lunch anchor mount

iPad mount

Stove works?

V-berth cushion and sheets DONE

Cooler sized to fit under v-berth DONE

Porta-potty DONE

Interior wood cleaning DONE

Winch lube DONE

Clean KINDA DONE

Order Wrinkles logo and hull #'s INSTALLED

Ladder steps(add wood) DONE

Depth sensor DONE

Add fourth posts to bunks on trailer

Fix trailer winch strap DONE

Tongue jack replacement DONE

Compass? DONE

Mast electrical upgrade WIRES IN, NEEDS NEW DECK FITTINGS

Spreader boots DONE

Quick tensioner on back stay

Quick connects for forward shrouds

Nicro fan cover

New flares

Fix gel coat by stern quarter PAINTED BOAT

Hatch trim and screen

Spare tire

Hey, we did pretty good on that list! We also did quite a few other jobs on Wrinkles that weren't on this list. Our wish list also contributed a new main sail, new Bimini cover (made on B's new heavy duty sewing machine) and a nice 12 volt fan in the cabin. So, when we picked her up she looked like this.

And this is how she looked afterwards.

Now that she is all tucked away for her winter beauty nap, we are dreaming of sailing and celebrating that old holiday tradition of making next years To-Do list.

 

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Sailor Lingo - "By the board"

So what does "By the board" mean in a sailor's world?

Could it be;

  • How a wooden ship's value is determined?
  • A disciplinary method for that pesky first mate?
  • Settling disputes by playing a game of Monopoly?
Well, probably none of these ideas. Let's hear your guesses.

 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Favorite Boating Joke

Every time we hear this joke we laugh. Enjoy!

Where's the boat?


A magician was working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean.

The audience would be different each week, so the magician allowed himself to do the same tricks over and over again.

There was only one problem: The captain's parrot saw the shows each week and began to understand how the magician did every trick.

Once he understood he started shouting in the middle of the show:

"Look, it's not the same hat."

"Look, he is hiding the flowers under the table."

"Hey, why are all the cards the Ace of Spades?"

The magician was furious but couldn't do anything, it was, after all, the captain's parrot.

One day the ship had an accident and sank.

The magician found himself floating on a piece of wood in the middle of the ocean with the parrot, of course.

They stared at each other with hate, but did not utter a word. This went on for a day and another and another.

After a week the parrot said, "OK, I give up. Where's the boat?"


Sunday, November 11, 2012

Captain's License?

Brenda bought me a nice custom hat way back when we were sailing our Com-Pac 16. It was really neat, but it had "Cap'n Mike" stitched on it. Most people would think nothing of it, but didn't seem right to claim the title of Captain when I had done little to deserve it. Today I still feel that a person shouldn't use a title that others have done so much to earn. So, I won't wear that lovely cap until I have earned the right to do so.  Then I will wear it with pride.

Well since I already have the hat, I might as well get working on the license to wear it. Do I need a Captain's license? No. I don't plan on doing any commercial work as a sailor, but it is something that I want to accomplish in my sailing life.

I found a study aid book by Charlie Wing, but it just didn't do the trick for me. Recently I downloaded an app called "NavRules" on my iPad. What an effective way to quickly study, review and test the information contained in the Colregs. It features a digital version of the rules, quizzes, flash cards, pictures, diagrams, definitions and more. It makes it fun and simple to spend a few minutes to an hour learning the rules.

I don't seem to be able to memorize large amounts of information like I used to. I require lots of repetition to organize and retain all the lights, shapes, rules of the road, distress signals, sound signals..... Way too much for us gentlemen of a certain age.  I'll just need to keep working at it until it sticks somewhere in my ol' noggin.

I've started collecting all the mnemonics (Red Right Returning) I can find to aid my studies. I'll put them all on one page for others to use when I get a decent collection of them together.

 If you are comtemplating getting your Captain's License as well, make sure you are keeping a log of all the days and nights you spend aboard. One of the biggest hurdles in the licensing process is the proper documentation of  360 days of boating experience.  We have a log going back to August 25, 2007 and wish that we had started it earlier.  So, keep a log even if just for fun.  It will come in handy if you want to charter a boat as well. 



.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Empty Boat

Now we are really, really done sailing for the year. We spent some time Sunday after the Packer's game off-loading all the stuff we had on Wrinkles. My goodness....how did we ever manage to float. When we loaded in the Spring, we weren't sure what all we would need...so we made sure we had everything on board that we might possibly need. Do you really need 3 cans of three bean salad to make it through the weekend? Well, we "needed" much less than we thought. Kind of like life in general. We can get along with so much less than what we think we have to have.

Just like our house, we are busy paring down the accumulation of all the, "We'll need that someday!" stuff. How we managed to load up poor Wrinkles so quickly is a mystery. Do you think Mike really needed 5 pairs of reading glasses? How about those 6 Tupperware storage containers that fit perfectly in the port berth wall storage with absolutely nothing in them? Well, you get the picture. We need to do a better job next season of only putting things aboard that we will actually use... although we do really like that three bean salad.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Best and Final Sail

We needed one more sail and we got it. The storms had abated and finally we had the weekend we had waited for. We launched on Saturday morning to cool temperatures and an empty lake. All those sailors who had already pulled their boats were second-guessing their decision. Not us - we KNEW we were going to get in one more sail.

The faithful Mariner started (with a few more pulls than normal) and we motored out of the launch area. We immediately raised the sails and the wind filled them with a crisp autumn breeze. The winds were 10-12 mph with no gusts and we were able to glide across the lake. We took up our usual home-game anchor outside the Memorial Union and listened to the Badgers battle for the axe against Minnesota. As we bobbed, we took in the view of the beauiful Wisconsin fall scenery. At the Hoofers launch, the crane was pulling masts and boats for the season.

After the game, we pulled anchor and headed out to enjoy the winds. We tinkered with sail trim in spite of our reputation of ignoring the wrinkles. Our new main sail performed beyond expectations. Unfortunately, the head sail is showing its age. Looks like Santa might have to help us out with a new one this year.

Lake Mendota
We received a call from Matt, our youngest son, saying that he and his girlfriend were in Madison. So we pointed back to shore and anchored up where we had been a few hours earlier. As Mike rowed the dinghy in to shore, we passed a gathering of partying frats. They cheerfully offered us a beer as we slid by and commented that our dinghy looked like something out of a cartoon. Granted, their vision might have been slightly impaired. State Street, as usual, was a cacophony of sights and sounds of revelers celebrating the win. We enjoyed a tasty supper at Casa de Lara and the time spent with Matt and Kelly.

We rowed out to our cozy boat, anticipating a chilly night of about 40 degrees. We had extra blankets and we fired up the Weems and Plath oil lantern to reduce the moisture and add a little heat. Not to worry - we had a calm night snug in our v-berth and slept in like a couple of teenagers!

Tenny Park off Lake Mendota
In the morning we heated up water on our single burner butane stove and enjoyed a magnificent spread of coffee, tea and oatmeal. The wind was picking up and the sun was shining, so we sailed off the anchor with Brenda at the tiller. Again, the winds were perfect, the waves rolling, and the sun shining brightly. Sailing doesn't get any better than that.

Brenda skippered while Mike played with the video cam and the loose footed main settings. Brenda wanted to ensure she remembered the various points of sail so we tacked around the weather buoy for practice. When we got hungry, we headed across to Picnic Point for a lunch of soup and sandwiches. The shoreline treated us to beautiful fall colors, wood ducks, smells of shoreline campfires and wonderful warm sunshine.

With our bellies full, we sailed off anchor again to what we knew would be our last sail of the season. We sailed for about four hours in growing winds with slightly gustier conditions. Brenda experienced her first round-up with one particularly strong gust. These Com-Pac boats know how to take care of their owners. We set up for one long last tack toward Marshall Park. It was an interesting sail since the winds couldn't decide whether they wanted to howl or purr.

A view of the Capitol from Lake Mendota, Madison, WI
It was a great way to end the season. It made it easier to accept the end of the sailing season. It is never easy to pull out for the last time, but we were content. With one more perfect landing and an uneventful teardown, we headed Wrinkles to her winter resting place for her beauty sleep.

Thank you Wrinkles for such a fun first season!

 

Thursday, October 25, 2012

WHERRY

A wherry is a boat designed to carry cargo and passengers on rivers and canals. It is distinguished by its long overhanging bow that was designed to allow passengers to be dropped ashore without getting their little footies wet.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Sailor Lingo - WHERRY

Another great nautical word for you to add to your vocabulary.

Could it be....

  • How sherry is pronounced after imbibing a few?
  • Short for where are you?
  • Wary of a female?

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Our Top Ten Places To Sail In 2013

 

As our sailing education continues, our desire to find new playgrounds grows. We would love to trailer Wrinkles down to Mobile Bay and the Gulf Coast right now, but with one kid left in college we know that is not in the cards. So where do we hope to actually sail next season? We developed a wish list for next year that includes our previous favorites of Lake Mendota and Green Bay as well as other bodies of water that interest us.

So here are our top ten sailing destinations for next season.

1. Lake Mendota (of course we will sail our local lake)



2. Lake Carlyle, IL (our annual trip is a must do)





3. Ephraim, Door County (another annual trip that we wouldn't miss)





4. Apostle Islands (Bayfield as a base)




5. Door County Loop (Sister Bay - Menominee, MI - Ephraim?)




6. Green Lake, WI

 

7. Lake Geneva, WI

 

8. Lake Winnebago, WI (Appleton)

 

9. Put-In-Bay, OH

 

10. North Channel


 

The top three are already being planned. Any ideas on the the other destinations?




 

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Mighty Merry Too

Since I have had work commitments keeping me from sailing recently, I have been reading about sailing to make myself feel better.  I decided to read Mighty Merry Too for the second time.  It was so much fun the first time that I had to read it again.  Check it out in our Bookshelf Page.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Superior Run

Mike just finished reading Superior Run by Tom Wells.  Check out our bookshelf for his review.  Looks like Brenda needs to add another book to her to-be-read list!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Non-sailing days.

Not all adventures have to be on the water. Today it was much too nice out to stay inside, so we made an impulse decision to grab Grama (Mike's mom) and head to an apple orchard and view the changing colors along the way. The trees are just starting to show their fall splendor and the bluffs around Baraboo were picturesque. The apple orchard was disappointing, but the carmel apple and apple turnover were good. We sat outside where the fall sunshine felt good on our backs.

The gem of the day turned out to be a stop at Delaney's Surplus just outside of Baraboo. It has been 20 years since we last explored this funky conglomeration of used, surplus, industrial materials and assorted junk. It hasn't changed. You just never know what you will find. However, the best part is the sculpture garden outside. Thirty some years ago, the owner started utilizing all the odd metal components and began welding them together to make some very unique sculptures. From six inch tall critters to house size structures that look like they are from a science fiction movie set, you are constantly ooohing and ahhhhing at every turn. Willy Wonka would be proud. For example, feathers on the bird-like creations were made from the blades of garden shears.

Chains, sprockets, gears, pipe, extinguishers. padlocks, engine parts...basically anything made of metal were utilized to make amazing creatures. In one area, 5-12 foot tall "musicians" were arranged in an arc around the 15 foot tall "conductor". All of the "muscians" had an actual instrument incorporated into their bodies. Some even moved to create chime and bell sounds when the wind blew.

The centerpiece, titled The World of Evermore, was just unbelievable. Tons of metal pieces and parts were welded together to create what looked like a model of a .... hard to describe. It was like a time machine and model of a futuristic city rolled into one. Why they were not charging admission was way beyond us. We must have wandered for at least 45 minutes to an hour and we didn't see it all. These pictures don't do the place justice. Here is the link to his website: World of Dr. Evermor

After that mind-boggling experience, we headed into Prairie du Sac for coffee and chai tea at the Blue Spoon overlooking the Wisconsin River. That lead to a walk down to and along the river so we could soak in a little bit more of the beautiful fall day. Grama recalled earlier days when she would canoe down this stretch of river and camp overnite on the sand bars.

Funny how we somehow always seem to end up near the water.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

The sailing was great...until we stopped!

We were sailing along on Saturday afternoon in typical Wrinkles fashion. An easy downwind point of sail, sun shining, talking about the big beautiful homes along the shore we were following just enjoying the day. The boat was gliding along so nicely until it came to a very quiet stop. Dead in the water, stuck on a low spot that neither of the attentive crew had noticed was all around them. This was the first time we had explored the shoreline of this particular bay and you would think the crew would be paying some attention to the water depth (or at least turn on that depth sensor).

We tried the usual solutions; power in reverse, weight to one side of the boat, weight forward with no luck at all. Our boom doesn't have a topping lift, so we couldn't swing it out to the side to use it as a lever. We'll try rigging up the spare halyard as a temporary topping lift next time. Time to either start kedging out with an anchor or jump in the water and see if the reduced weight would allow us to push the boat out. Since he weighs "slightly" more than Brenda, Mike jumped in and pushed Wrinkles to freedom. Another lesson learned along with a good laugh. We certainly sail with a Wrinkles In Our Sails mentality.

The rest of the weekend was wonderful sailing as the winds were better than predicted on Saturday which made for some pleasurable time on the water. On Sunday the winds really started to kick up with some nice strong gusts. The sailboats were all trying different tactics to deal with the stiff winds and it was fun watching how each of them was doing. There were boats with just their main sail up, others with jibs only, and some with their outboards on heading back in. Lots of flapping sails and luffing everywhere. We sailed Wrinkles with a double reefed main and a matching reef in our jib furler. This combo worked really well as the boat handled the conditions easily while still attaining hull speed. One gust still got our rail in the water which is surprising with so little sail up.

Sunshine, good winds, a great boat, and time on our hands to enjoy it all! Perfect!

 

Sunday, September 9, 2012

QUINCUNX the mystery word

I'd be amazed if more than one of you knew what this odd word meant. In maritime usage it means a piling with five posts: four in a rectangular shape with single vertical post in the middle.

This maritime lingo is just plain fascinating.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Lights on the Lake


We were feeling water withdrawal. It had been two weeks since we had sailed when we got a text from our sailing buddies checking to see if we were available to watch the Lights on the Lake with them on their Hunter 235 sailboat. Mike had attended a funeral earlier in the afternoon while Brenda was delivering our son to another year of college. We rendezvoused at the house around 6 o'clock and headed to the lake. Lights on the Lake is a parade of boats all dressed up in lights so they would look like floats. The boats "paraded" along the shore of Lake Mendota to the applause and cheers of people gathered on land and those of us lucky enough to be on the water.


The marching band alumni were treating everyone to their favorite Wisconsin Badger songs while other floats had dance music playing to make it a festive atmosphere. After the parade we were even treated to a nice fireworks show.

Sometimes being on someone else's sailboat can be fun too!



Saturday, September 1, 2012

Sailing Lingo - QUINCUNX

It is hard to believe this is a real word, but it is and your challenge is to decipher it. I won't even dare to try coming up with my usual silly alternative meanings. Although if you play Scrabble this may be your new favorite word.

Good luck!

 

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Next time let's remember to...

Every time we sail it seems we come away with some new trick or lesson learned to add to our bag of tricks. Some things we learn by accident and some are well thought out. How jealous we are of those of you who have been sailing a long time. Oh the lessons you could teach us!

This year at the Carlyle Lake Rendezvous, Rich, our resident sailing expert, gave each of us a pocket-sized notebook made with waterproof paper. The idea was that we would use the notebook to jot down our to-do list while the ideas were still fresh in our minds. That turns out to be the easy part. After writing the ideas down, you have to remember to take the notebook off the boat. If you are good and remember that, then you need to remember to look at it before your next trip. And finally, if you have accomplished all of the above, you need to DO what was on the list!

Fortunately we remembered the first three steps...now we just need to find some time to accomplish what we had listed.

 

Monday, August 27, 2012

Our Daughter's Wedding

This last weekend we celebrated our beautiful daughter's wedding on the Majesty Star river boat in Stillwater, Minnesota. She married a young man that we really like and the wedding was a truly fun event. There was some light rain falling which required the service to be moved down from the top deck to the third deck, but the crew, family and friends made sure everything worked out.

The great food, cruise, music, drinks and fun guests made for a very memorable wedding. The Captain said he had been doing these wedding cruises for thirty years and this was one of the best he had seen. It was such a pleasure for Brenda and I to just sit back at times and marvel at our three wonderful kids and their friends having such a good time dancing and laughing together. Brenda even said, " You know, we've done a pretty good job, we have great kids."

I must say that I didn't expect to become as emotional as I did during parts of the wedding. I certainly love my daughter, Tina, but I felt that I was prepared for her to become a bride. She was radiant, beautiful and glowing as she danced the night away.

We want to thank all of our family and friends for helping us in so many ways to make this a spectacular wedding for Tina and Tony.

The happy couple were supposed to be flying down to the Gulf Coast today for their honeymoon at our condo. It looks like tropical storm Isaac may turn into a hurricane and make that impossible. Fortunately Tina is a lot like me and will roll with the punches and find another way to spend their time off.

We love you Tina and Tony. Congratulations and let's talk grand kids for Brenda!