Man Overboard!

Changing dreams into reality is hard work. Of course, anything worthwhile usually is. Between all the interruptions of holidays, computer crashes, and unscheduled trips that had to be made to take care of emergencies, we finally came to that momentous occasion for all boaters... the shakedown cruise. It's the first time you actually take a new boat out onto the water. Or, an old one you're trying to restore to its former glory, like we are.

The GLORY B. passed with flying colors. Along with the wonderful family crew the Captain put together for the occasion. Personally, I only had one bit of a meltdown. It happened when my son (who happens to be in the Coast Guard and takes these things seriously) decided to surprise everyone with a “man overboard drill.” Because that's how they happen in real life. By surprise. Believe me, one never plans to lose anyone over the side.

Before I go any further, I should explain that as a writer I get very attached to certain things. Odd things, mostly, that have to do with my sense of atmosphere. Shells, rocks with gold veins running through, a particular tea kettle, and the Captain's mustache (which he has had for all the years I've known him). One of my favorite things aboard the GLORY B, other than the mermaid hooks to hang things on, is the life ring that frames the porthole on deck. For some reason, I love that old thing. So, imagine the horror when my son suddenly flings it out to sea when we are clipping along quite nicely and hollers, “Man overboard!”

The exercise being to see how long it takes to get the boat turned around, and come up alongside close enough to recover it, again. Just keeping it in sight all that time was nerve-wracking. Especially when it would disappear for a few seconds in the trough of some little swell of sea. Not that I couldn't replace it with a brand new one if we should happen to fail the test. It's just that it was one of the boat's original items, older than our crew, and one of those magical things that had gained a bit of life “by reason of use.” Sort of a touchstone, you might say.

It took us five minutes to recover. Due partially to being slowed down by about a foot of sea-growth trailing from our bottom that we haven't scraped off, yet. Which is not good enough (if it had actually been a human), but we will get better at it, I'm sure. At least we got it back! Alas, I have no film of it, since the last thing on my mind during all the excitement was pushing the button on the camera. Something else I learned about myself, and will have to adjust to, or there will never be any truly exciting shots of our adventures.

I did get a few pictures, though. So that you wonderful armchair travelers could get a bit of a sense of what it's like to come aboard...

Not Going Home This Year...

A long time ago (when I was quite young), I had an opportunity to travel across the United States and stop at any place I would like to see. Being an avid lover of history, such an opportunity felt like Christmas, to me, and I got busy making spectacular plans. 

I wanted to follow the Santa Fe Trail, visit ghost towns and gold mines (yes, I had gold fever even way back then), canoe through the Everglades, touch the crack in the Liberty Bell with my own hands, put flowers at the feet of the Stature of Liberty, and eat lobster, fresh off a fishing boat, in Maine.

I bought a U.S. road atlas, and spent many enjoyable hours planning that trip. When I finally turned it over to the Captain (who had said we could go anywhere, and do anything I wanted), he was a bit shocked. Which was somewhat devastating to me, because I had been so sure we liked the same things. “Oh, it isn't that,” he said. “It's just that a trip like this would take at least three years.” We didn't have three years. We were simply going across country to attend college. Many years later, we did do that trip (it was an anniversary present), and it took us six.

A very wonderful six years.

Now, it seems we are on the verge of doing something of the same thing, only this time, by boat. A wonderful boat, that is turning out to be so much more than we originally believed. And, once again, I have scheduled way too much in too short a time. Starting with the fact that during the five months I scheduled for my MYSTERY TOUR, we have only made it to half the destinations, so far. Which the Captain says is quite all right, because who would want to hurry through the “adventure of a lifetime,” anyway?

So, we are not going home this year.

We are going on...

Where in the World?

This week, we took a detour from our MYSTERY TOUR to attend a family wedding in San Diego, California. Perfect weather, perfect temperatures, on what was named "America's best beach" as recently as 2012. We had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends, and discovering many places we would like to return to. Not the least of which was the historic  Hotel del Coronado.

Not because it is so beautiful (it is!). Not because of all the history (120 years of continuous operation), or even because it boasts of standing on the most beautiful beach in America (it does!). We would like to return to this HUGE famous hotel mostly because we… um… never found it. True, we saw it coming and going from our various activities that revolved around the wedding. Passed it several times, in fact. Even made a note to come back and explore whenever we had an hour, or two, of free time. 

Which we discovered we would be able to fit in on the afternoon of the great event. So, we arranged to meet some of our family there and look around. As you can see from the picture, this place is definitely not small. Nor is it hidden within a maze of winding streets. But since time was limited, we decided to use… the GPS to get there. 

Big mistake.

Here are the three phrases that bamboozled us. "Analyzing traffic conditions," "Recalculating," and "New route." Times two. Because we were going in two different cars with two different electronic devices. Which both parties trusted more than their own common sense. That still might have worked out, if not for the propensity of Internet droids to fill in any blanks with the "next best choice." 

Add to this mix the fact that the greater portion of businesses in the district have the word Coronado in their name, and you can see why we immediately got separated, missed each other by car lengths on numerous occasions, and ended up in several rendezvous locations that turned out to be somewhere else. 

We finally did meet up with each other… at the wedding… and had to agree that was one of the craziest hours any of us had spent in a good long while. So, I wrote the experience off as a "goofy family thing" and made a mental note to come back, sometime. Without all the electronics.  I find the history of the place beyond intriguing.  A good location to fit into a future novel, maybe. I've even heard there are hauntings, but those are probably just rumors. I'm sure about one thing, though…

Our experience could definitely make the cover of the "GOOSE CHASE GAZETTE."

Catching Up...

Well, fellow travelers… a week has passed in a whirlwind of visitors, moving aboard activities, and settling in. The GLORY B is officially ours. Now we begin the weeks of scraping, painting, and other general repairs that make up the underside of any adventure. All of which results in not very interesting blog reading. But not to worry…

I have scheduled some short research trips that have more to do with mystery than far away places. For one thing, I happen to be in the heart of territory where my next few books will reside, and there is plenty to look into right here. Coupled with a short jaunt to Hollywood less than two weeks away, I'm sure I will be coming across some very interesting material. Starting with this colorful little town of Poulsbo, we have landed ourselves in. 

Not that it doesn't have quite the normal activity and population of most such places. The difference is the historic waterfront section where we happen to be located. Which not only contains all the places I like to frequent within walking distance, but does so in a most colorful and appealing way. One of the things I enjoy most are the church bells that ring out the hours, and play traditional hymns for half an hour at noon and 6pm. They can be heard over the entire waterfront, and envelop it with a feeling as if God just walked by and gave you a quick hug. But then, maybe that's just me.

Then there's the Sons of Norway hall that I can see whenever I poke my head up out of the hatch. And why does that interest me? Because one of the manuscripts I'm working on is about a lady who rents an office up there for a summer tourist business. Just above the kayak rentals a short distance away. From which vantage point, she can see some very suspicious-looking things going on in the harbor. But it can be quite dangerous poking your nose into other people's business, because…

Yes. I think there will be more than enough interesting subject matter to work with, here.

Settling In…

Being in a new work environment always takes me a while to settle into. Even when it's wonderful. Especially when it's wonderful. I find myself taking long pauses just to breathe in the atmosphere, and puttering around with this, or that, to get everything "just so." Sharpening pencils, Steinbbeck used to call it, when a writer does such things before actually beginning to write. 

Today, I mostly sharpened pencils. 

Not that I don't have some exciting projects to look forward to, because I do. I can't wait to get started on them. I just keep getting side-tracked. For instance, I had two pleasant visitors today that I couldn't ignore. Neighbors, I think. One was a seagull who came by to crack open a mussel shell on one of the brass deck fittings. Something tells me this little trick has been done many times before. 


Not much later, a harbor seal came up for air beside the boat and brushed against the side while meandering by. About half an hour later, he (or she) came back on the other side and did the same thing. When you have been on the prairies as long as I have, it's hard to pass such things by. I love all the life that goes on along a waterfront.

Tomorrow, I'll do better, maybe, but I'm not sure. Meanwhile, I'm sitting here at 10:30 at night, still trying to get Monday's blog on. The hatch is open, I can see moonlight and stars, and a cool breeze is coming in. And now there is a pitter-patter of some night bird up on deck… 

Glory B! What a welcome I'm having!

A Great Day...

It's more than a "Video Log Friday" today, fellow travelers, because it is also the release date for the first in my series of "Stella Madison Capers" … which I am very excited about. Not only is this character close to my heart for many reasons, she has also graciously agreed to help us with the repairs and restoration of the GLORY B. My goodness, it just doesn't get any better than when everyone starts pulling together on a project.

So, paddle on over to the Pelican Book Group site if you get a chance, where HOME BEFORE DARK can be bought for only a dollar. Is that great, or what? Not to mention, I will be giving five copies away absolutely free, in honor of this new little release. To get your name in the Captain's Hat for a drawing, just leave a comment on this post (don't forget to include an email address, so I can get in touch if you are one of the winners). Meanwhile…

Have a blessed weekend, and I'll see you on Monday!

The Real Thing, or Not?

Half of life seems to be just waiting for things. I'm waiting for negotiations to be completed on the GLORY B. I'm waiting for Stella Madison's visit on Friday. I'm waiting for a release date on THE PANDORA BOX, and I'm waiting on decisions on two young adult novels that are very close to my heart. I guess you could say they are part of my heart.

Having spent a lot of time on a farm, I've learned something about waiting by watching animals. They never fuss about it. The longer it takes, the more determined they get, and -- most importantly -- they never take their eyes off what they are waiting for. For instance, if a dog sees you walk through a door, he will sit there and watch that door until you come out, again. 

If the weather is bad, creatures that you normally see out-and-about all day, will "hole up" somewhere to wait it out. Doing little else but sleeping. And if life gets too rough for turtles, they go into a dormant state that can last months (even years) until times get better. They have survived drought and famines that way. And, oddly enough, they live longer than almost any other creature on the planet. Hmmm…

Myself, I tend to get involved in something absorbing when I have to wait for things. Mostly reading. I get a lot of books read and reviewed during times like these. But I'll tell you, when something comes up on your horizon that you've been waiting for years to come through, the wait can get pretty intense. And I don't mind saying the Captain and I are in for some pretty big changes when these things finally get here. Which suddenly makes me realize I maybe should be packing instead of just sitting around. 

Because I have a feeling this next leg of the MYSTERY TOUR is going to be the best one, yet. Besides, if there's one thing I've learned about God's way of doing things, the whole situation could change in the blink of an eye. And usually does.

Wednesdays are the days I said we would talk about divine appointments. Any ideas out there how you can tell if an encounter is, or isn't, one?

I'm listening...