How do you survive a summer in Virginia? Easy, you just go somewhere else. There was no consensus whether the heat, the humidity, or the mosquitoes were worse, but when you start thinking of laxatives so that you can spend more time in the boatyard’s air-conditioned restrooms… then it’s patently clear that mid summer in the Chesapeake Bay was not the best time to do boat work. After a week in that inferno, far from any shade, sea breeze or the cooling effect of water, you start hating everybody, including your formerly lovely spouse, especially if you spend any time together tidying stuff up inside a greenhouse-like cockpit.
It was time to abandon ship. Temporarily, that is. We put Oliver and some underwear in a suitcase (ok, two separate suitcases), closed the boat up, and enjoyed a little vacation in California with friends and daughters, which included a side trip to East Oregon to meet the solar eclipse’s path of totality.
To be on the safe side, we came back to Virginia two days after the official end of the summer. In the end the only casualty of our Virginian summer was my crocs. I now have to buy new shoes because the crocs I left in the cockpit got permanently shrank and deformed by the heat.
Yikes! Was this a stranger-dog or was this a dog you knew?
Known and friendly, except when she’s fighting with another dog.
We’re tagging along with you next summer! Looks fantastic, love all the photos. Sorry about the dog bite and the crocs, but life is more tragic than orderly, especially when a boat is involved. I hope your formerly lovely spouse is lovely again!
Yes please, come along! Can’t guarantee an eclipse though. And yes, thankfully, she’s back to being lovely. Most of the time anyway.