Limerence Update #47

Visit to the United States

January  2003

Temperature 83d

After two years of cruising a visit to the States is culture shock. The hot new musical groups are unknown to us. Faces on our favorite news programs have changed. New model cars pass us on the highways that baffle us. In the grocery stores, the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and the array of all sorts of luscious cheeses and meats are overwhelming. The services and technology, resources and conveniences, are shocking to the senses when one has traveled for a long time away from the country. We are indeed fortunate in the United States to have so many choices and freedoms.

 In the past weeks we have luxuriated in long hot showers and freezers with ice dispensers!  Wandering for hours in bookstores, reading daily newspapers and watching our favorite television news has been a treat!  However, the constant barrage of war talk is exhausting and depressing. We feel we have missed a lot and are trying to catch up with the mood of the country. When 9-11 happened, we were making a passage south along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Not to have been in the States during that time makes us feel that we have reentered from Mars.  

We left Limerence in the Panama Canal Yacht Club in Colon Panama. Colon is on the Caribbean side of the Canal and services all boats coming and going through the Canal. We are safely docked with our air-conditioner strapped to the center hatch keeping our boat dehumidified and hopefully mold free. Our friends on CAVU, Deb and Rob Morgan, are supervising Limerence in our absence!  

Our first stop from Panama was Miami Beach Florida. An easy two-hour drive west took us to son Jason and Deb Allen’s home in Fort Myers. Florida is lovely in the winter! We got in the Christmas mood by touring the Edison property located on several acres along the harbor in old Fort Myers. It is the former summer retreat of Thomas Edison and family. Thousands of lights and decorations turned the historic residence, laboratory and guesthouse of the estate, into a wonderland. After a few days with the kids, we returned to the East coast to check out Fort Lauderdale. We were happy to find plenty of options for docking Limerence in June. Fort Lauderdale has turned from a spring break destination for college kids, into a sophisticated city with lots to offer. 

Jason Allen and Cassie	Debbie Allen

Christmas and New Year’s holidays at Mother’s home in Georgetown South Carolina were relaxing and peaceful. Georgetown is north of Charleston, on the Inner Coastal Waterway. It is a charming provincial town with restaurants, galleries and shops on Front Street, and along the boardwalk on the Black River. We always see cruising boats anchored in the river, and are drawn to the downtown area several times during our visits to Georgetown. The weather was balmy during the day in December, with cool nights in the 50’s. We walked the beaches of Pawley’s Island some days, shopped in Myrtle Beach, then returned home to Mom’s to build a fire every night. There is no substitution for our Mom’s care and feeding!

Margo and Bob Reynolds	Mom--Doris Athey and Judy

The month of January was spent in San Diego, home of this year’s Super Bowl game. Again, we lucked out with day after day of unseasonably warm and sunny weather. We visited family and friends and enjoyed an endless stream of reunions! Our good friends, Maureen and Buzz Hatheway offered us the use of their lovely home for the month as they were off on a tour of Cape Horn! It was great to have a kitchen and not have to live in a hotel for weeks. We used their garage to sort out loads of things from the self-storage unit here. We are consolidating everything with Anchor Moving and Storage in Milwaukee. We pay about $55 a month to store books, china, silverware, paintings and memorabilia. Experienced cruisers warned us not to save anything other than family treasures. Who wants to pay to store coolers, winter coats and blankets, couches, lamps and end tables, for years on end? We will have to go on a shopping spree when we return someday from cruising. 

Richard, Katie, and MAX	Paulie and Don	Howie and Chris	Camilla and Dean

Our mail is forwarded monthly to us from Mailboxes Etc., Rosecrans-Shelter Island. Owner, Mir Ali and his staff, helps us by packing up our first class mail, small packages and boat parts, and forwarding them to remote locations. When we get to a marina that will receive mail, we email Mailboxes Etc. with the address, and they Federal Express our package. We also notify our pharmacy – Point Loma/Shelter Island Pharmacy – to fill a three-month supply of prescriptions for us and deliver the package to Mailboxes Etc. We set up these personal relationships with businesses in San Diego before we left to cruise, and it has worked well.

MailBoxes Etc. gang	Doug and Daniel	Doreen and John	Lesley, Keith and LAUREN

We visited our doctors and had routine medical checkups and procedures. Our medical report card was almost straight A’s! We have not had any medical problems while cruising other than pesky skin fungus from the heat and humidity. A Cortisone cream takes care of most things. We have also twice used Cipro – a prescription antibiotic- for traveler’s diarrhea that seems unavoidable. Most drugs can be bought over-the-counter in Central and South America, to replenish the medical kit.

Carrie and Pat	Lynn and Steve	Mike and Cheri	Susan and Drew

We have relished in the long visits with friends and family. We scheduled a party last time here, and felt we didn’t have the “quality” time with friends. We are up-to-date with most people and hope some will come see us as we cruise! Son Jake Decker came to San Diego for a week, and with Drew Decker who lives here, we had a family dinner reunion with Sharon and Howdy Pratt. (Drew and Jake’s Mom and Step-Dad) Another highlight of our trip was to attend a “gig” and watch Drew play the bass guitar with the band, Mark Jackson. They cut a CD recently and are a well-know group in Southern California.

Mark Jackson Band	Stephanie and Drew	Marilyn and John	Linda and Chuck

We are leaving San Diego in a few days to move onto Milwaukee Wisconsin, Florida, and finally return to Limerence in February. We will spend a week in the frozen tundra land with family Scott and Barb Allen and grandson Nicholas. We have our long Johns ready! We lived in Milwaukee for almost thirty years and are looking forward to seeing our family and many old friends. A final swing through Fort Lauderdale will warm us up before returning to Panama. Our sons, Jake Decker and girlfriend Robin, and Jason and Deb Allen are dropping in for the weekend.  

Decker-Pratt family	Drew Decker	Cousins - Beth and Wayne

As we reflect back on our wonderful visit to the States, we appreciate our family and friend's continued interest and encouragement as we cruise. We love to see comments in our "Guest Book" and encourage others to step out of the box and try this lifestyle. It's fun to see and experience other countries and cultures, however there is no place quite like home.

Fair winds friends,  Judy and Doug Decker

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