Day 3: Kit Ship's Log--Weather, Partly Cloudy High in Upper 60's, 3 foot seas forecast--Sick Bay Report: Capt. Steve Suffering With Back Strain, Dan's Cold Improving, Bob's Shoulder Still F'ed Up. (Procrastination being one of my faults, I'm writing this after spending a week snowmobiling in Land O' Lakes, WI) When Capt. Steve climbed out from the galley this morning, he was bent in half and he was moving very slow. Evidently working in the cramped area of the head the day before gave him a serious lower back spasm. Fortunately, I was carrying some muscle relaxer pills prescribed after the deer accident and I gave him one every 8 hours for the next two days. They offered a small amount of relief at the very least. His job was going to be pretty tough to ... read more

Day 1-Kit Ship Log----Weather: Cool, High of 74 Degrees, Wind North at 15 Knots--Sick Bay Report: Marilyn Breathing Better, Chest Pain Relieved. Dan Laid Low With Head Cold. Bob Right Shoulder Unusable From Deer Accident--Off to The Marquesas (The blogs are coming in late because of sailing for 5 days with no internet and two days at Hawks Cay Resort with no internet connection) For some reason that escapes me now (Hmmmm), we were running a little late this morning and arrived at Stock Island Marina around 10:00 AM to meet our sail boat and crew. Our sailing vessel for the next 5 days is named "Kit" and is a 38' Catamaran. The captain is Steve Krug and the first mate is his wife, Kathy, who is our chef for the trip. They've been running ... read more

Tomorrow we start our first "adventure" trip with Dan and Marilyn Flaherty since our trip to the Bahamas last winter. Not too many people would call a trip to the Bahamas an adventure trip, but every trip we make with Dan and Marilyn is an adventure, trust me. This trip should be more interesting, at least for me and hopefully for all four of us. I've been on a sail boat only once on Lake Michigan on a friend's boat many years ago. Ever since I learned to fly at Southern Illinois University, I've wanted to learn how to sail. I think I'll get a pretty good lesson on this trip. We're chartering a 38' Catamaran along with the captain and his wife. They are based on Marathon Key and will be meeting us at Key ... read more

Amazingly, we awoke Tuesday morning and it wasn't raining. Today we leave dear old Trout Haven, Jim and Don heading northwest to Fayetteville and Ray and I heading northeast to Carbondale, IL. Our ride will be another roughly 330 mile day. After checking the weather forecast, it looked like we may have dry riding today. I went outside to take some pictures of Don's bike. It's a Harley Sportster, but you'd never know it. He bought it as a wreck for $600 and rebuilt everything on it. He added saddle bags and a trunk. He also added a whole lot of other things, using copper for all the accents. He did all this work himself. Really interesting. After saying our goodbyes, we rode off in our separate directions. Ray and I stopped at an old gas ... read more

Jim and Don got on the road this morning and the weather in Fayetteville has improved for them. The forecast here in Heber Springs was for morning drizzle and then clearing. Ray and I awoke to some of the densest fog you've ever seen. Looking out from the deck, you couldn't see 100 feet. It was supposed to clear up and it did around 1:00 in the afternoon, so we spent the morning in the cabin waiting for the weather to improve. As I've mentioned, this cabin is fantastic. It's called Trout Haven. My friend Jim is one of the owners and they do rent the cabin out. If you ever want to go to the Ozarks, this place would make for a memorable stay. The area is beautiful. There is fantastic trout fishing in the ... read more