Thursday September 25 Our routine at Long Beach Island since last Sunday: Wake up to howling wind with Tessa surging and heeling at the dock as though we are underway in choppy seas. Determine the cause of unidentified bumps and thumps. Adjust dock lines and move bumpers. Log on to NWS forecast for a weather update. Read out loud to each other and groan with frustration. Check Northeast Buoy Reports. Groan some more. Head up to the showers and dump another $4.00 into the laundry facilities. Every other day, walk to Uncle Will’s Diner for their famous 222. Two eggs, two meats, and two pancakes for $2.22. PERFECT for sailors on a cruising budget. Pay Marlene at the office $100 clams for another day of dockage. Get harassed by Rick the TowBoat U.S. Captain about getting our butts handed to us if we venture out. Get harassed by jovial Ernie the Dockmaster about getting to see him another couple of days. Start Tessa projects. Walk to the local Tru-Value hardware store and Morrison’s Marine to spend money on parts and accessories. Take a break from projects at noon for a beach walk. Struggle to make headway in the ripping winds and abort beach walk. Walk around Beach Haven and try not to spend any money. Abort that also and return to Tessa. Work on projects until it is finally 5:00 and time for Happy Hour at Tucker’s. Meet up with our new friends and savor a cheap draft beer and a couple $5.00 appetizers for dinner. Enjoy the comraderie and hear stories from the locals. Head back to Tessa and drift off to sleep to howling wind with Tessa STILL surging and heeling at the dock as though we are underway in choppy seas. We’ve been traveling these choppy seas for four days and haven’t made a lick of headway to Cape May New Jersey, our next destination!! Truthfully, we’ve made memories to treasure here at LBI with family and some new friends. Due to the weather delays we have also gotten “bonus time” with Cuzzins Patti and Phil, who own the beach house that our family has had the pleasure of vacationing in for many summers. Phil heads to their home in Philadelphia each Monday and returns on Thursday afternoon, so we will have the pleasure of dining together again at the Black Whale tonight. Patti gets around town on what I have dubbed her ROBO-BIKE, so we’ve visited with her each afternoon. Another bonus by being delayed…Patti’s brother cuzzin Chuckie and family, INCLUDING CARA, are vacationing at Cape May next week. Assuming the updated forecast is correct, we will arrive there Saturday or Sunday and get to spend some unexpected quality time with them. Until then, we are staying positive and enjoying the journey without spending too much time worrying about the final destination, which is sounding more and more like Key Biscayne. Captain Gary called his buddy Peter from the Great White Party Excursion Catamaran that he captained last year. Peter was so pleased to hear from him, as he had lost Gary’s cell phone number and resorted to sending a letter to reach him regarding their need for him to return. They want their favorite Captain back! According to Peter, they have a mooring ball with Tessa’s name on it, so long as it’s still available in December. Starting to sound like a plan! But there is lots in store for Tessa between now and then. Our friends Jim and Missy from Myassis Dragon will jump on board in Baltimore and cruise with us for two weeks. Boardwalk Captain Don Dunn may hook up with us at Cape Fear. Chas will join us in North Carolina and cruise for as long as he has leave from Fort Bragg. We plan to hook up with our great friends Dave and Lynnette Werning in early December in Florida, and then Dick and Molly from Molly B when they personally deliver Gary’s Jeep, which Molly is driving from Port Clinton to Fort Meyers. Our crazy friends Jaclyn and Lenny Kromer have promised to visit along the way, what better reason for Jacklyn to take her very first plane ride??? David and Sandy already have their Florida vacation plans between Christmas and New Years. Mom, Cindy, and Alivia are itching to get to Florida during the cold winter months. And what, everyone asks, about Nick and Lynne James? How can the Milsons survive without them? Hopefully we won’t have to for long. Can’t think of a better place than Tessa for a big 40th Birthday Party for Li’l Buddy come October 31st. Thank you all for your concern about our safety during this weather delay. Trust me, we are not going anywhere unless the conditions are favorable and safe. IF you can trust the forecasts. The only time they have been correct since September 2 has been this past Monday through today, when the forecast was terrible. When was the last time the forecast was correct for four days in a row?????????? Love to all!