Oriental, NC

 Getting back into the boat routine....I didn't pack many groceries for this trip....so I did a pretty large Walmart delivery order.  I can't believe they deliver out here in the boonies!!!

I have almost no provisions on board since the boat has been closed up in the searing heat for the past month.  So my order was pretty large!

It was nice to have someone else tote it all to the boat for me!!! (I did tip them man!)

Then later in the day I did a bunch of washing outside....the boat hasn't been washed in several months so it was really, really grimy!  This is the northern facing side of the boat and it always gets a little algae growth.

But a little bleach in the wash water and she's good as new....well, as good as she ever is now.....

Oriental, NC

 Back to the boat at last!  All is well - just very hot still!  Hopefully next week will bring a serious downturn in temp and we'll sail away!

No real interest in Oasis yet, but that's OK.  The broker said things usually perk up when the weather breaks in the fall.  

We'll do some mowing and cleanup - there's a little patina of green algae/mold on Sojourn's deck as I didn't clean it very well before we left a month ago.  Some bleach and elbow grease will solve that....tomorrow.

Pittsboro, NC

 It's time for book club!  Not a full crowd as one of our members has Covid and a few are traveling.....

I got things in the basement tidied up after many months of neglect....set out refreshments.

I made a little chocolate cake, dusted the pan with cinnamon/sugar instead of flour for a crispy tasty crust then poured a simple syrup over it while it was still warm before drenching in warm chocolate icing.

Lindy arrived via golf cart...

 

And Duane certainly has no interest in book club, nor does Lindy's husband Dick....so Dick invited Duane to escape for a flight around town.

They did an air tour of the two big manufacturing plants going in near by - the huge Toyota battery plant  and the Wolfspeed chip wafer plant. 

 The meeting was fun as always....we've been a club since 2009 so we discuss books but also catch up with regular life....

We'll be going back to the boat in the next day or two. Looks like extremely pleasant weather coming up next week with highs in the 70's!

Pittsboro, NC

 Time in Pittsboro is winding down....after I host book club next week, we'll head back to the boat for a while.  

Our local library has started a neat offering - they will loan you 10 books of the same title for book clubs!  It's all neatly packaged in a tote bag and ready to hand out at the meeting. 

Pittsboro, NC

 We continue to have beautiful weather!!  Amazing for August in central NC.  

The Trump rally went off at the Asheboro Airport without any major hitches.  I was not there....they did a "fly-by" at the airport on the way to the Greensboro airport to land.  If you're wondering, the Trump jet is too heavy to land on our runway.  

(From a Youtube clip)  If you look closely you'll see the snipers on the museum hangar rooftop.

I did find a live feed and watched about 30 minutes of Trump's speech.  Trying to keep an open mind and listen to what he's saying.  Sorry.  Nothing much worth hearing though.  And really just stream-of-consciousness whatever-comes-into-his-brain goes out his mouth. Puzzling how such a silly guy could be a hero to so many.

Pittsboro, NC

 I continue to do some chores, foot getting better but I'm very careful not to over-do...had to take the car in to have a screw removed from a tire....luckily I had paid for the "road hazard" warranty years ago and was surprised when they told me there was no charge!

I'm not going to the Asehboro airport  since it will be swamped for the Trump rally today.  My employee is there today to hold down the fort - the secret service is using the terminal building as a IT headquarters with temporary wires all over the place.  Since the airport is closed for the day, we won't be selling anything!! 

They did send a recovery crew from Atlanta yesterday to retrieve the King Air...slow process.  (Bobbi's photos, thanks)

Amazing, but they got the landing gear down and locked to store it on the ramp until the NTSB comes to investigate.  After that, they will likely dismantle it and haul it away for repair.

 

Pittsboro,NC

 I unexpectedly spent a day at the airport....early in the morning I got a call that a King Air had a gear collapse and skidded off the runway while landing.  Luckily, no one was injured.

But the plane certainly was!

There was debris on the runway where the aircraft contacted the asphalt as it slid....so the City sent a crew with an industrial riding blower to get everything off the runway.  I spent a good amount of time with the FAA as they were investigating.

And of course, the airport is in a frenzy - if you've ever wondered, this is what it looks like behind the scenes as they set up the red carpet and grandstands beside the hangars.

 

After a tiring day - driving home I was treated to a cheery rainbow.  Just what I needed!

Pittsboro, NC

 I was contacted Friday.....Trump and Vance are doing a rally at the little Asheboro Airport.....you won't believe everything that goes on behind the scenes to make one of these events happen!

On a brighter note, my foot/leg seems to be healing a bit! 🦰

Mills River, NC

 Fun visit with my folks, out to Mexican dinner with some of my siblings and Mom. It is close to Denise’s birthday….and we mentioned that to our very nice waitress….Denise was willing to play along!

After a fun breakfast the next morning at Denise’s it was time to hit the road.  Mom and I posing for a photo in the front yard.

And a short visit with Granny before we head back to Pittsboro!

Mills River,NC

 Another lovely day, view from my mom’s house.  

Hendersonville,NC

 Beautiful day today!

Traveling to the mountains

 We’re making an unexpected trip to the mountains to attend Duane’s aunt Ivory’s funeral.  Sad but she had a long good life!  Well visit with my folks as well.

Pittsboro, NC

 You know it's a slow news day when I post random food photos....my prep for stir fry for dinner.  I tossed the tofu in corn starch and fried it crispy for a nice one dish meal over jasmine rice.  (the green bean looking things are edamame that Lindy had given me out of her garden.  I shelled those, of course).

Pittsboro, NC

I was doing some "purging" on my Iphone - mostly deleting hundreds of photos that were repetitious or just unneeded now. I "fell down the rabbit hole" though...and realized that I hadn't backed up my photos in about 6 months.  So I pulled out the external hard drives and started that process as well.  All of this while I've overtaken the kitchen table with my 2025 European trip planning.  Quite the chaos but good timing as I rest my foot!

 

Pittsboro, NC

 I know, I’m lazy with the blog lately.  Still nursing my foot with some success  

It’s very wet here with rains from Hurricane Debbie leftovers  

We lost power a couple of times.  Looks like one tree fell but otherwise all is fine. 

Pittsboro, NC

 I went to the airport this morning to do some monthly paperwork - it's just easier to do it in person.

 

....busy today with 3 business aircraft.  My foot is slowly getting better - I tried to stay off it as much as possible!

Pittsboro, NC

 Sorry I haven't been blogging lately....we're at home doing home-chores.  I'm trying to stay off my foot as much as possible as I'm still battling this silly plantar fasciitis that I've had for a couple of months.  It got particularly bad the last couple of days in Oriental running back and forth between the boats.  I've got lots of remedies - ice, a rigid "boot" device, orthodic shoe inserts, compression socks and some brand new Merrell shoes.  I seem to be on the mend but will take it easy a few more days.  Beautiful and green at home looking towards the runway!