Memories of Dad (Ervin)

Here are a few short stories/memories of Dad (Ervin)...
From Ron and Margo, friends from Winnemucca, NV... "We've been thinking about lots of good times with you (Louise, aka Mom)  and Erv - playing pinochle, camping at Virgin Valley and Blue Lakes, at Wilson reservoir...fishing trips and beer drinking trips. Won't ever forget the big boxes filled with all kinds of beer, newspapers, and ice!

From Max, Ervin's youngest brother:  When Ervin got out of the Army in 1957, he rode the bus home from Aberdeen, SD to Ellendale, ND, met Max at the elementary school and gave him a ride home on his shoulders.

From Max and Mom:  When Max was here for Kevin's wedding in December 2009, Dad, Mom and Max walked up to the donut shop for coffee almost every morning.  In the crosswalk, near the donut shop, a dime was stuck in the asphalt and every day they kicked at the dime.  In the summer of 2010, once the asphalt had softened from the heat, Dad called Max and asked him "Do you want your half?"  Max wasn't sure what Dad was talking about until he said "The dime".

Here is a picture of Dad, Mom, my friend Sheila and me from Mardi Gras, New Orleans, February 2012. We were in Pat O'Brien's drinking hurricanes, after spending the morning walking through the French Quarter...

Here is a picture of Dad at my Aunt Alice's (Dad's sister's) 80th birthday party in Austin, TX, March 2012.

This is a picture of Dad getting loaded on the Leer Jet in Rock Springs, WY on July 4, 2012 to come home to Colusa.

That's it for today.  More memories to come.

Detour

Location: Colusa, CA 

 I have taken a slight detour and am on the west coast in Colusa, CA where I grew up and where my parents and brother live. My dad, Ervin Erdelt, passed away on Saturday after a very short struggle with cancer. He and my mother celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 2nd. They were RVing in South Dakota and headed to my dad's school reunion in North Dakota. They went up to Pierre for the night and had dinner out and then went back to my mother's family's farm in Wood, SD. Four days later, on his birthday, June 6th, he was outside filling the RV water tank. He didn't feel well and told mom that he thought they should go to the doctor so they went to the hospital in Winner. The doctors there drained some fluid off his lungs, did a biopsy and diagnosed him with lung cancer. He quit smoking back in 1971 and the doctors said that smoking was not the cause. After a couple weeks of recovery, the doctor told them that he was well enough to take the trailer back to Colusa, meet with his regular doctor and determine the type of treatment that would be best. So, they headed home through Nebraska and Wyoming. They made it to Rock Springs, WY. The high altitude and the smoke from the nearby forest fires got to dad and he went into the hospital there. Because they have been RVing for many years, and mom doesn't drive while the trailer is hooked up, they had insurance that would get them and the trailer home if a medical emergency occurred. They called the insurance company and were flown back to Colusa in a leer jet. They arrived here on July 4th and on July 7th the doctor here recommended that he be transferred to Enloe Hospital in Chico. Some additional tests were done and it was determined that there was really nothing they could do so we transferred him home into hospice care on the 12th. He was so happy to be home and relieved to be out of the hospital. He had a good afternoon that day, talking to my mom, my brother, me and his youngest brother, my uncle Max. We have been spending a lot of family time together since Saturday, telling stories, looking at photos and sharing memories. My dad's sister Alice and her husband Raymond were here on Saturday and Sunday to help us remember him. At his request, we are not having any services. He is being cremated and his ashes will be buried at the Veteran's Cemetery in Mandan, ND Here is the link to his obituary, http://www.mcnarymoorefuneralservice.com/obituaries/Ervin-V.-Erdelt2302060691/#/Obituary He was a wonderful husband, father and brother and was well liked and respected in the community. I'll gather up a few dad stories and some photos and will share them in the next post. 

Please, spend time and appreciate your family and friends. Tell them that you love them, give them a hug and forgive petty grudges. Life is too short.

Successful First Cruise

Location:  Great Bay Marine, Newington, NH

All systems are up and running and we made our first voyage of 2012 on Sunday, July 1st.  It was time to change marinas from Wentworth-by-the-Sea to Great Bay Marine.  We were lucky and had a few guests on board to help us with the boat and to enjoy the day.  Two of Dave's classmates from Mass. Maritime and their wives joined us late Sunday morning at Wentworth.  We had lunch, got to hear a few stories and pulled out of the marina about 2:00 p.m.  It was a beautiful day with light winds and calm seas so we spent a few hours cruising out to and around Isle of Shoals (and got to hear more stories).  We headed back in around 4:00 p.m. to catch the incoming tide up the Piscataqua River.  The current is pretty strong is several locations in the river and if we didn't catch it right, we would have burned a lot of fuel and not made much headway.  As we traveled up river, there was a lot of boat traffic headed down river after spending the day watching the air show from Pease Air Base.   While we were offshore we got to see some stunt planes and the Blue Angels flying in formation.

When we arrived at Great Bay, we had a small birthday celebration for the Mass. Maritime graduates (all three are turning sixty this year), with, hopefully, many more to come.  It was great to spend the day with friends and have the boat running smoothly.

As promised, here are a few pictures from our travels so far.  This first picture is of the Blue Ridge Mountains, taken from the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We didn't spend much time there this drive up.  But a few years ago, while pulling the trailer, we spent some time and did some hiking in the mountains.

This is a picture of me, standing on Monkey Island, on the day we arrived at the boat.  Monkey Island is the top deck of the boat, mainly used to watch sunsets while drinking a cold beverage.

We are traveling with our two cats, Doofus (on the left) and Puddy (on the right). This is a picture of their stressful life aboard the boat. Both have been with us for many years and have traveled across the US and into Canada with us in our trailer and have settled into their new life as live-aboards. Doofus got a little sea-sick on our first cruise but was recovered by the time we tied up at our new location. Puddy is continuing her normal role as our greeting committee when new people come aboard.

This is last night's sunset at Great Bay Marine (the picture was taken from Monkey Island). 

 We spent the day doing a few more chores, having lunch with Dave's Dad (lobster roll for me (again!) and visiting Dave's Mom.  Tomorrow, more chores and hopefully we'll get to see some local fireworks.  Happy 4th of July to everyone.