Two days in Virginia is enough

June 3 – 4

In the last episode of Jerry and Debbie do the Loop, I bellyached about going through the Dismal Swamp. Dismal being the operative term. Well now I have the T shirt…

and the invoice to prove it.

Said it before, as grand an adventure as this is, and the beautiful places we have seen by boat that ya just can’t see any other way, Kentucky is still the most beautiful place on earth. We miss the beautiful green vistas in our home state.

Not only the beautiful scenery, but the friends. Matt and Rene Cassaro had us over for dinner last Saturday night and we opened some absolutely thrilling bottles of wine. Started with the Krug Champagne, then opened the magnum of Francis Ford Coppola Rubicon (one of the most famous vineyards in Napa dating back to the 40’s) and a breathtaking bottle of Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon from the famous Martha’s Vineyard.

You can always tell when Debbie is drinking truly great wine. Eyes turn into slits, big grin and she even laughs at ALL of my jokes. Even the ones she has heard a time or two.

Or three…

Our Wednesday night Mexican dining family. L to R Donnie and Mary Ann Ott, Marney and Larry Brunner, Joe (sumthin) and Leslie Taylor, Mike Haas and my beloved Debbie. Missing: Sharon (crazy ass St. Albert lunch lady) and John Grider.

What you see below is the soon to be devoured remains of the most incredible example of the confectioners art you could ever hope to stick down your neck. My daughter’s mother-in-law, the other Haylie Bennett, makes this amazing strawberry cake from scratch. Cuts up fresh strawberries into tiny little pieces. Mere words cannot properly describe this marvelous cake.

And can ya believe she made it for me??? Well she did dammit!

Blows Buck’s Mocha d’acquoise out of the water!!!

Whisky Business has spent a total of 2 days in the great state of Virginia as we run to catch up with other Loopers. Now in Maryland waters we are anchored out in a great spot about 30 miles south of Annapolis. There is a beautiful sunset about to occur in our anchorage and a song from my Spotify cell phone that reminds me so much of our daughter Haley, I thought I would share it this way:

Leaving our marina in Norfolk this morning:

Check out the sillhouette of the lone Navy fighter plane on this aircraft carrier.

Whoa, 2 aircraft carriers side by side!!! What is truly amazing about these incredibly huge warships is their speed. Wide open throttle Whisky Business will run 21 MPH. These massive ships will run over 40 MPH. The exact speed of these incredible vessels is classified. There are so many of them, they can be deployed anywhere on this planet in a matter of days.

Flags all over Norfolk for the fallen…

In this screen shot of the NEBO app you can see the location of 3 boats that are manned by some of my favorite Loopers that we are catching up to, Time to Breathe that we crossed the Gulf of Mexico with, Here’s an Idea who we met in Southport, NC and Farfromworken. Brian and Sue on Farfromwurken were the first Loopers we met in Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers, Ky. Love those guys!!! In the bottom of the photo is Whisky Business catchin’ up!

Uhhh, we avoided this area.

Pretty cool light house.

Karma. We saw this bunch of mylar balloons floating in the Chesapeake. Mother’s Day balloons. Arrested forward movement, turned the boat around and picked ’em up. How many times have you heard about dead whales, dolphins and other sea life being found dead with massive amounts of plastic and balloons in their bodies. Very symbolic to launch a bunch of balloons into the sky in memory of a passed loved one. Oughta rethink that if it includes you.

So, who is that handsome svelte figure with the boat pole grabbing that flottila of balloons out of the Chesapeake? My new schwab, Dave Doll. He’s my sister Anne’s baby boy. Dave is crewing with me until Debbie rejoins the WB crew on Sunday.

Navy hellicopter practicing hovering over training grounds.

Series of sunset photos.

Dinner. Look at the size of those strip steaks!

OK, check out this FABULOUS video. We are anchored out near the Patuxent Naval Air Station. Three F-15’s line up abreast of one another and the first 2 light up their afterburners for takeoff. Turn up the sound REALLY loud for this.

So cool.