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| DC Building prepped for the AMERICA 250 Celebration |
True to form, we did have a couple of construction areas, but our delays today were not as bad as last night.
Knowing Greg and Jenn had a previous commitment at the studio, we stopped in Delaware for Chick-fil-A's salads for dinner. Their Cobb salad with crispy chicken is one of our all-time favorites. The Frosty Lemonade also went down really, really well on a hot day. Pete adopted for the Dragon Fruit and Pineapple Frosty, which was equally as good and had a slightly strawberry tasting.
We arrived at Greg and Jenn‘s around eight. It felt good to no longer be on the road. Splitting the trip into two days makes the drive seem eternal. Somehow, a 19-hour drive doesn’t seem as bad, especially when we have good audiobooks to listen to.
Pete called a local auto shop, European Motor Works. He explained our situation to Alex, who invited Pete to bring the car over now. He said he can check the freon and top it off immediately if needed. Unfortunately, 2 valves are leaking. They can be replace on Monday. The shop is only about 3 miles from the house. It is clean, well-organized shop with about 8 bays in a warehouse, with mechanics who are very accommodating.
Friday, 7/3/26 ~ Greg was supposed to be working the Sail4th celebration in NY harbor. Unfortunately, his Coast Guard boat is out of service due to issues. They were
I took "screen shots" off the TV. NBC did a great job using drones for spectacular shots! The others were from Facebook with credit to the owners of each. Poor Tillie. We interrupted Tillie's beauty rest as we watched!
Some additional Facebook posts regarding the SAIL4th and the storm last night that blew through the Sandy Hook anchorage where the ships were anchored. Again credit to the wonderfully talented photographers.
The tall ships in the storm!
Heather came over to hang out with us. She also spent time showing me how to style my hair using my natural curl. For most of my life I swore that my hair was thick, wavy, and frizzed a lot. But curly - no. Now, I learned I just need wet hair, product, a curl separating brush. This should come in handy for those hot, humid days to come.
America 250, also known as America's Semiquincentennial, (Just read. Pronunciation is optional and tongue-twisting!) It coincides with the the FIFA Soccer World Cup 2026 being hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico. There has been some really exciting games. Currently, the US team is still in the running, heading to the “Round of 16.” What a time for people to visit the US! Saturday, 7/4/26 ~ Greg & Jenn had plans with friends to do a bar crawl over in Lambertville. I was glad we had no plans. It was very hot, 101, humid, with little to no breezes until the powerful thunderstorms rolled in later in the day with strong, damaging winds, torrential rainfall and intense lightning & thunder. They did considerable damage throughout the Northeast. Trees toppled and power lines went down, lightning strikes set a number of homes ablaze, cars crashed on slick roads, while high water damaged property and disabled cars. As for the America 250's Sail4th in NY Harbor, the USCG Eagle had one of her sails rip and a number of ships dragged anchor. The Mall in DC was emptied around sunset, as people were evacuated into the large buildings along The Mall’s perimeter. Fireworks on the Hudson and East Rivers in NY went off early in between storms, while in DC, they began at 11:15 PM after waiting for the storms to pass. Both shows were non-stop for 40 minutes from multiple sources. DC reportedly set a record for the most fireworks in a single show ~ over 800,000! Facebook lit up with many of the celebrations around the country.
Las Vegas
The air shows with the Thunderbirds, touring the Tall Ships &
The Ball Drop in Times Square signaling "July 4th" has arrived!
The NY City Library and Lady Liberty with light shows & celebrating aboard
the International Space Station!
And then came the fireworks . . .
Washington, DC Mount Rushmore
Due to storms, NY's fireworks went off 30 minutes early . . .
while DC's held off for 2 hours & where Mother Nature insisted on contributing to the display!
Monday 7/5/26 ~ I took advantage of the cloud cover and cooler weather after a downpour to walk Tillie. Of course, I found a few photo opportunities, too!
Cool raindrops and a bee seeking shelter from the rain.
Pete dropped off the car to European Motor Works for the AC repair. They were finished around four and the AC is running great!
More showers came late in the afternoon. We ordered dinner from JoJo’s. Their thin crust pizza is now one of our all-time favorites! Totally Delicious!
Tuesday, 7/7/26 ~ I had an appointment for a procedure scheduled today. It was canceled by the office two weeks ago because of my blood thinner. Believe it or not, the doctor wanted to see me before the procedure. I asked for an appointment for 7/2 or 7/3 as the procedure was on 7/6. I told her of my 2-week time frame in the area, but the first appointment they could give me was the end of July. She already canceled the procedure, which will only be rescheduled one I meet with the doctor. No way are we making another trip up for the procedure that I arranged seven months ago! I will simply reschedule with an office when it’s more convenient. Grrrr! Instead, I worked on the blog and downloaded pictures. I made a lot of progress.
Tuesday, 7/7/26 ~ I had an appointment for a procedure scheduled today. It was canceled by the office two weeks ago because of my blood thinner. Believe it or not, the doctor wanted to see me before the procedure. I asked for an appointment for 7/2 or 7/3 as the procedure was on 7/6. I told her of my 2-week time frame in the area, but the first appointment they could give me was the end of July. She already canceled the procedure, which will only be rescheduled one I meet with the doctor. No way are we making another trip up for the procedure that I arranged seven months ago! I will simply reschedule with an office when it’s more convenient. Grrrr! Instead, I worked on the blog and downloaded pictures. I made a lot of progress.
Wednesday, 7/8/26 ~ We were up and out by 6 AM, leaving Tillie behind and off to the dentist we go! Did well with no traffic and were there in plenty of time. Once finished, we went to First Watch in Newark; a first for us. Breakfast was delicious. Then we were off to Dick‘s Sporting Goods and not one of my favorite things - shopping for good walking shoes. I did my research, which Pete thought was crazy until I explained how the shoes were built differently: placement and type of support, makeup of the soles, heal/toe drop, construction, materials and innovation supporting various parts of the foot. Hence, I went in knowing the specifics of what I needed. Alex, my salesperson, fully understood my parameters. Even with a HUGE selection of shoes, a couple of my choices weren’t in store, but could be ordered. Out of the 10+ pairs I tried on, one pair fit the bill perfectly!
While we were out, Pedro texted. His son, heading to work on our engine, smelled smoke as he passed the electrical pedestal on our dock. Our splitter and one of the power cords are burned. He agreed to purchase new ones for us and add it to the engine install.
Tilly did well while we were gone. We weren’t hungry for lunch and barely hungry for dinner. Don't mind blaming our delicious breakfast!
Thursday, 7/9/21 ~ I woke up around 5 this morning, realizing there was to be a launch from Cape Canaveral early this morning, so I checked my app, NextSpaceFlight, just as the rocket launched. I was able to capture screen shots, hoping and succeeding capturing the climb as well as the jellyfish created by the rising sun illuminating the vapor trail. Since this launch headed to the northeast, it appears heading back to the horizon. It was still early, but I managed to catch a few more winks before Pete and Tillie rose and headed for their walk.
The moon also made her appearance & booster separation
SpaceX has unbelievable cameras onboard that captures remarkable photos.
Then there is the NSF's ground base cameras that capture the launch
and the jellyfish vapor trail from Cape Canaveral!
We headed down to Chris & Kel's to go through some things in storage and of course visit with the kids and grandkids. Their basement is now finished. They did a wonderful job and I love every choice they made. It’s beautiful, welcoming , homey, and comfy!
Heavy, flooding rains hit around dinner time as we spent some time with Chris, Kel and Riley. Hadi is with friends at an amusement park & campground. Hope they made it back before the storms arrived!
On our way back to NJ, the 'check engine light' lit, with the side mirrors' warning lighting up when braking. The warning light hasn’t turned off, but nothing else negative happened and no problems getting back.
On our way back to NJ, the 'check engine light' lit, with the side mirrors' warning lighting up when braking. The warning light hasn’t turned off, but nothing else negative happened and no problems getting back.
The America 250's Sail4th is now heading to Boston. One of the things I learned is that there is a lot of camaraderie between the crews of The Sisters. During their stay in NY, each ships' chefs headed to another ship to cook some of their nation's favorite foods for the crew. Rumor has it, everyone enjoyed and ate very well!
Credit for these 3 beautiful photos goes to the US Coast Guard
Early this morning the crews weighed anchor and began the race. The unique feature of the Five Sister's Race is that it is reserved exclusively for sailing ships built according to the same legendary design at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, between 1932 and 1958. The U.S. Coast Guard Eagle, Portugal's Sagres, Romania's Mircea and Germany's Gorch Fock are four of the so-called Five Sisters. The 5th is the Gorch Fock 1, which is preserved as a museum. They are all square-rigged tall ships. The four crews raced around Cape Cod before gathering with other ships on Friday, and then joined the Parade of Sail into Boston Harbor on Saturday. Germany's Gorch Fock claimed victory in this historic race of tall ships. It is the first time in 50 years that these vessels sailed together.
Friday, 7/10/26 ~ On Greg’s recommendation, Pete went to Auto Zone. They did a courtesy, computer diagnosis and printed out the report along with error codes. I know where Pete will be spending sometime on the internet!
Pedro texted Pete. The boat engine works great, and so does the AC onboard. YIPPIE!
We met up for dinner with Jim & Effie in Freehold. What a cute main street, with great architecture, great vibe, plenty of eateries, but no time to explore. Storms were closing in again. Instead, we had great burgers at The Court Jester. Lots of catching up and time passed too quickly.
Saturday. 7/11/26 ~ Now with some free time, Pete researched the error code, which corresponds with an engine air leak.
Sunday, 7/12/26 ~ Pete met George for lunch. Their meetings always take place at Red Robbin. Both men enjoy the great burgers, the streak fries, discussing a little bit of business and catching up.
Monday, 7/13/26 ~ Today, I had another 2 of my medical appointments. We left at 6:30 am. It is a 2.5-hour drive. With no traffic, we made the 9:20 appointment in Rehoboth, DE with a bit of time to spare. Yea, I know it’s crazy to travel so far for medical appointments, but I have great respect and a wonderful relationship with my doctor. Having the portal for communications makes things easy when we are cruising.
On our way heading back north to Newark for the second appointment, the engine began running rich and almost stalled numerous times. This “running rich” was one of the symptoms of an air leak as the computer tried to compensate. Pete called European Motor Works while enroute. Once back in NJ, Pete and Greg dropped off the car. Well, we definitely will not be heading back to Florida tomorrow!
Tuesday, 7/14/26 ~ The car was repaired. When Pete went to retrieve it and pay, Alex told him that when the engine cover was put back after the AC repair, there was an area where gasket had folded on itself. There is no charge for this repair. WOW! We can now add “honest and reliable” to our Yelp review!
Jenn, Greg and we headed to JoJo’s for a farewell dinner. Once back, the car was loaded and we went to catch some sleep before our 2 am wake-up alarm.
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| Bridge in Jacksonville |
The car was unloaded, and and the AC turned on. It just took a while to cool down the boat, but the AC is working great! The canvas went up and the “stuff” was relocated from our bed. Then it was time for showers and then to bed.
Thursday, 7/16/26 ~ Pete returned from walking the dog and reported on the redecorating the birds have done on the boat while we were gone. What a mess!
The awnings went up. Then Pete kept his medical appointments in Boca while I cleaned the aft cabin and put the “stuff” back into our “basement.” The galley was also thoroughly cleaned. Now, it’s time to make up the grocery list.
Friday, 7/17/26 ~ No rest for the weary! Shower pump died and, oh yea, I forgot to mention that yesterday, we smelled ‘burning plastic’ and thought the AC had additional problems. Thankfully, it was only the microwave giving up the ghost!
Pete purchased a new shower pump after verifying it wasn’t a bad float, which he replaced a few weeks ago. When the new pump didn’t work, further investigation revealed the wire connections had been compromised with water. The wire connections were no longer waterproof. After rewiring the new pump and rechecking the old pump, both work fine. The new one is installed while the old pump will be in reserve.
Research was done and a new microwave was ordered. We have a limited cubby into which a countertop microwave must fit so the dimentions are critical. It will be 2 weeks before it arrives.
Saturday & Sunday, 7/18-19/26 ~Heat, humidity and storms, and more days of hibernation!
Research was done and a new microwave was ordered. We have a limited cubby into which a countertop microwave must fit so the dimentions are critical. It will be 2 weeks before it arrives.
Saturday & Sunday, 7/18-19/26 ~Heat, humidity and storms, and more days of hibernation!
Sunday was a good day to hibernate and watch the Soccer World Cup finals. Spain waws dominant over Argentina, but were only able to score a goal in extra time. The games were fun to watch with their talented and dramatic teammates (faking all those supported injuries!), the massive crowds, and to hear of the record ticket sales and prices that were exorbitant. However, I think it was the memorable social media from soccer fans from other countries, who posted their experiences of fun, great food and genuine friendliness they found here in the US: Buc-ee's, Target, Waffle House, ranch dressing, regional BBQ, super-sized food portions, and the Viking Ro(w).
Borrowed from the lifestyle section or the Associated Press ~
World Cup tourists from other lands have taken in more than just the food and the size.
Their views of the United States — in many cases forged through the sometimes distorted establishing shots presented by the news media, TikTok and fuzzy word of mouth — are now informed by what they’ve seen with their own eyes. And in many cases, the spectacles have contradicted — or at least augmented — what they knew when they arrived.Many landed expecting the politically fractured country that global headlines often trumpet. Instead, they found Uber drivers brimming with recommendations and locals willing to open their homes to strangers. Even as game attendees grappled with the sticker shock of ticket prices, some Americans they met didn’t even know the World Cup was going on — or didn’t care.
Now for the impressive STATS! (Thanks, Google!) ~~
- The were 104 matches with 16 host cities ~
- In the US: New York/New Jersey (9), Dallas (9), Atlanta (8), Los Angeles (8), Miami (7), Boston (7), Houston (7), Kansas City (6), Seattle (6), San Francisco (6), Philadelphia (6)
- In Mexico: Mexico City (5), Guadalajara (4), Monterrey (4)
- In Canada: Vancouver (7) and Toronto (6).
- Average Attendance 65,490 per match.
- Stadium Occupancy 99.7%,
- Total attendance/tickets sold for the matches: 6,810,966 fans (Yup! that is almost 7 million!)
- Previous total attendance record: 3.59 million fans (for the 1994 World Cup hosted by the US)
- Fan Festivals: More than 9 million additional fans attended official FIFA Fan Festival Events across North America.
And with all those people at all those venues, everyone was safe and had a great time! Many also caught some of the celebrations for America 250. What a fantastic, interesting and non-boring time to visit!
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| Proof Mother Nature is having a bit of a tantrum! |
The microwave arrived earlier than predicted. This is good!!! Pete was able to install it on Saturday, but not before removing the old one and repositioning the fluorescent light from above, to the side of the cubby.
Sunday, 7/26/26 ~ Another hot, humid and no air kind’a day. Good day work on the blog.
At just before dinner, we went to our MyNextSpaceFlight App to watch the launch of Starship 13 and their link to the SpaceX / National Space Federation for the Livestream. Everything went well until T-02 seconds. It was interesting to watch the engines suddenly shut down while the launch bay filled with steam from the cool down water bath. It was later reported that the computers aborted the launch due to 3 of the engines failing to ignite. The launch has been postponed for at least a day.
Monday, 7/27 /26 ~ Another hot, humid and no air kind’a day. Good day work on the blog. Afternoon storms once again split around us. Too hot, too humid, and no breeze to groom Tillie.
Yes, Starship 13 was able to launch this evening.
Tuesday, 7/28/26 ~ It is nice to be popular. Heard from kids, sibs, family & friends with lots of birthday wishes. I hate adding the years, but never all the love and wishes!
With Heather and I cruising the Rhine in September, I don’t want to run into problems with walking, especially on the cobble stones of the old towns we will be visiting. I started physical therapy for my knees. I was very surprised to find that my knees are strong and healthy. It is my ankles and flat arches that are the problem! Hopefully, the PT should also help with my balance.
It was another day of no breezes, so no dog grooming.
Wednesday, 7/29/26 ~ I made Crockpot Turkey using 2 small turkey breasts. I never checked when I bought them if they were boneless. They weren’t, so I needed to debone the one so both would fit in the pot. We now have lots of leftovers in the freezer, enough for 4 main meals and a couple of lunches. Not bad for 45 minutes of prep time and another 30 of carving and packaging the leftovers. Oh yea. . . I also needed to reorganize the freezer so it all would fit. Definitely worth the time!
We were able to catch a 2-hour window where the breeze came up and the sun hid behind the clouds. Tillie finally reclaimed her eyesight. We knew that her hair was getting long when she couldn’t catch the treat we tossed to her. Getting groomed is not one of her favorite things. She hits the “that’s it!” mark about 20 minutes before we are done. Once done, we have a ton of hair to remove from the cockpit as well as ourselves. It’s worth it as she’s back to being cute.
Tuesday, 7/28/26 ~ It is nice to be popular. Heard from kids, sibs, family & friends with lots of birthday wishes. I hate adding the years, but never all the love and wishes!
With Heather and I cruising the Rhine in September, I don’t want to run into problems with walking, especially on the cobble stones of the old towns we will be visiting. I started physical therapy for my knees. I was very surprised to find that my knees are strong and healthy. It is my ankles and flat arches that are the problem! Hopefully, the PT should also help with my balance.
It was another day of no breezes, so no dog grooming.
Wednesday, 7/29/26 ~ I made Crockpot Turkey using 2 small turkey breasts. I never checked when I bought them if they were boneless. They weren’t, so I needed to debone the one so both would fit in the pot. We now have lots of leftovers in the freezer, enough for 4 main meals and a couple of lunches. Not bad for 45 minutes of prep time and another 30 of carving and packaging the leftovers. Oh yea. . . I also needed to reorganize the freezer so it all would fit. Definitely worth the time!
We were able to catch a 2-hour window where the breeze came up and the sun hid behind the clouds. Tillie finally reclaimed her eyesight. We knew that her hair was getting long when she couldn’t catch the treat we tossed to her. Getting groomed is not one of her favorite things. She hits the “that’s it!” mark about 20 minutes before we are done. Once done, we have a ton of hair to remove from the cockpit as well as ourselves. It’s worth it as she’s back to being cute.
The highlight of our day was running the engine! She is back to purring and running beautifully. We didn't realize how much noisier she had become over the years. We look forward to taking her out for a spin, but the weather will need to cool down and the daily storms take a break. To not disrupt the universe, we are celebrating. . . quietly. This is us whispering, "whoopie and hallelujah."
Sunset and the rising full moon made interesting with the clouds
Thursday, 7/30/26 ~ We were up and heading out the door by 8 am. Tillie wasn’t happy we were leaving her. Pete had a follow-up with the pulmonologist at 10 in Atlantis. It takes 90 minutes without traffic. Unfortunately, around 9 the office called and needed to reschedule as doctor is out sick. We will see her next Wednesday.
I used the time to do some sewing projects while Pete did the laundry. One of the fitted sheet I made for our mattress has blown out one of the corner seams. I hand-stitched it as well as repairing Tillie’s bed. Her bed is made by Kong, which makes near-indestructible items for dogs. This bed might have held up better if she didn’t try to dig her way though it. Over the weekend, she was able to split the rear zipper, access the stuffing and make mounds of green clouds under the table.
More storms continue to roll through the area in the afternoon. It is called Florida’s rainy season for a reason.
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| Sunrise on July's last day! |
. . . And with that, another month in Florida come to an end. The one thing to look forward to in August is that it will be hotter and stormier, BUT on the plus side: we are also getting closer to the cooler and calmer months of the "season" in Florida and return of our friends come November!
~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~ K & P
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