Location: Chula Vista Marina, Chula Vista, CA
We're just back from Heather and Derek's wedding. They got married on the 4th of July at the Barr Mansion in Austin, TX. Everything went well and we got to spend a lot of quality time with family. After the wedding, the happy couple went to Hawaii for their honeymoon. You can see their wedding pictures at Melissa Glynn's blog site, under Blogs - July 6, 2015
melissaglynn.com
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| Heather, the happy bride, getting ready for photos. |
Prior to leaving for Austin, we spent more time working on our boat projects. One of the other boaters here in the marina recommended a small machine shop to assist with the windlass repairs. Dave took everything apart and took the windlass housing, along with the gear assembly, to the shop. They looked at everything and agreed to do the repairs at a reasonable cost. We left the pieces and parts there and ordered some replacement clutch cones. We still need to drop off the clutch cones so that they can press on the starboard one, then the repairs will be complete and we can re-install the windlass on the boat.
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| Windlass gear assembly |
The machine shop also agreed to build a base and post for a fishing table so we dropped off materials for that. Dave still needs to attach the table to the base and then we will be set-up to clean and fillet all of the fish that we catch.
We've been kayaking on Mission Bay a couple of times and tried out some different types of kayaks. We still haven't found the right ones to buy but have some better ideas on what attributes we like and dislike. We started jogging again using a recommended schedule for beginners based on time instead of distance. It combines running and walking where you gradually increase your run time while decreasing your walk time.
One Saturday afternoon, we went to the theater and saw Motown the Musical. Another weekend we went to the boat show at the Sheraton and got some ideas for future projects on our list. We rummaged through our old clothes, kitchen cupboards and storage areas and filled four large bags with "stuff" which we dropped off at a veteran's thrift store. It's nice to have some extra space on board. We also discovered that some of the local casinos have buses that run from the Palomar Trolley Station (one station down from us), so we spent a day out there. We played enough Pai Gow poker to get comped for two free buffets and, although we didn't win any money (we didn't lose our shirts either), we had a good time.
Just prior to departing for Austin, my mom-Louise and her neighbor-Barbara, came for a visit. Mom had agreed to cat sit while we were in Austin and Barbara's daughter lives in San Diego. They did a lot of sightseeing while they were here including the zoo, old town, a trolley tour and Balboa Park. Barbara left on July 1 and Mom stayed until we returned.
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| Barbara relaxing on the stern. |
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| Louise relaxing on the stern |
We left for Austin on Saturday, June 27. We spent the first few days relaxing and enjoying our time with Ben and Cat and Heather and Derek and the grandkids, Maggie and Benjamin. The weather was hot so Barton Springs, a local swimming hole, was one of our favorite hangouts during the day.
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| Derek, Heather and Dave at Barton Springs. |
Austin has a lot of new restaurants so we sampled a few in the neighborhood where we stayed. Some of the notable ones include: Odd Duck
http://oddduckaustin.com; Barley Swine
barleyswine.com; and Chi'Lantro
http://www.chilantrobbq.com
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Chef at Barley Swine. We sat at the bar and
got to watch them prepare everything. |
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Pig buns at Barley Swine - stuffed with
porkbelly and peaches. |
We rented a house in a neighborhood near Zilker Park, Barton Springs and Town Lake so that all of the Herndon's from out of town could stay together. Dave's brother Pete, his wife Cathy and their daughter Erin, Dave's sister Julie and cousin Lynne all arrived on Thursday night. We cooked dinner at the house and caught up on the latest family gossip. Friday morning we meet Ben, Cat and the grandkids, Maggie and Benjamin, at Barton Springs for a swim. Back to the house for lunch and then Dave and I went out to the Barr Mansion for the wedding rehearsal. Later that night, Dave and I went to the rehearsal dinner while Pete, Cathy, Erin, Julie and Lynne went to Chuy's for Tex Mex. We warned them before they left not to eat too many chips, but, of course, they couldn't resist and ate four baskets full, along with a few margaritas, before their meals arrived.
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The "Kids Table"
Rehearsal dinner |
Saturday was wedding day. We went to Barton Springs for a swim in the morning, had sandwiches at the house for lunch and then prepared to go to the wedding. Dave and I went early for pictures prior to the ceremony.
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| B and Dave dressed up and ready to go. |
Most of the photos were taken outside in the heat so we hung out in the air-conditioned mansion between pictures.
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Dave, Ben, Maggie and Benjamin cooling
off inside the mansion. |
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| Benjamin and Maggie playing on top of the air-conditioning vent. |
The wedding was fun. The ceremony was held outside under a huge oak tree. After they said their "I dos" we moved into "the barn", a large air-conditioned reception area. They had a cocktail hour featuring Texas beers and alcohol along with New York wine, a sit-down supper, speeches and then dancing.
Sunday we invited everyone over for a backyard cookout at our rental house. The grandkids played in their pool and the sprinkler while we sat around telling stories. Derek's parents, his sister and her boyfriend and their friends from Oregon stopped by. Heather and Derek stopped by for a bite to eat and then went on their first date as a married couple - to see Back to the Future, one of their favorite movies.
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| Cathy, B and Lynne preparing food for the cookout. |
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| Chicken kebabs ready for the barbecue. |
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| Maggie and Benjamin playing in the sprinkler. |
Monday morning Julie left to fly back to Maine and Lynne went to Wimberly to visit some friends. Cathy, Erin and I went shopping on Congress Avenue while Dave and Pete cooked ribs and made jalapeño poppers for supper. We all went over to Ben and Cat's for happy hour and so that Erin could give Maggie her birthday present, a new dress-up dress.
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| Maggie in her new dress. |
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| Pete and Dave relaxing. |
We played with the kids for a while, went back to our place for supper and then went to watch the bats at the Congress Avenue bridge. We saw a few but they didn't stream out as we expected so it was a little disappointing.
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| Waiting for the bats at the Congress Avenue bridge. |
Tuesday morning we took Pete, Cathy and Erin to the airport for their flight back to New Hampshire and then Dave and I drove to Houston for doctor appointments, etc. We returned to Austin Wednesday afternoon and had some downtime.
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View of Town Lake.
Cathy, Erin and I walked along the shore a few days
and Dave and I did our runs here. |
Saturday morning we went to watch Maggie take her swimming lessons and play in the pool.
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| Maggies on the kick board during her swimming lesson. |
Sunday was Maggie's 4th birthday. Dave and I went to Wimberly for lunch with friends and to see their property and new house. We took a drive along the Blanco River and saw all of the devastation from the recent flooding. Massive trees were snapped in two and only foundations remained where there used to be houses. Amazing what the power of water can do. We went to Ben and Cat's for supper, sang happy birthday and watched Maggie play with her new toys before heading back to the rental house. Monday we flew back to San Diego and the boat. Mom was there to greet us and to tell us tales of her adventures. Tuesday we took her to the casino where we won playing Pai Gow and the slot machines. She got on the plane and headed home on Wednesday morning.
We'll end this blog on a sad note... Doofus, one of our cats, passed away. We had her for 15 years and she brought us a lot of joy. I can remember when we first brought her home from the SPCA and she hid behind the dryer and under the couch for the first few days. I finally dragged her out and made her sit on my lap. She was a momma's kitty from that day forward. She did a lot of traveling with us, first across the US and into Canada in the RV and for the last few years on the boat. She was a funny kitty, always good for a laugh and we will miss her.
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| Doofus in her chair on the stern. |
Until next time...
