The third consecutive day of rain reminded me of this song and the late great singer/songwriter, Gordon Lightfoot.
I wish I had found a decent “live” version of him singing it.
Fair Winds & Following Seas
My son has always been more of a thrill seeker than me — even when I wasn’t an “old man.” Though not depicted in the carefree photo above, he enjoys tweaking his sails and “pushing the envelope” in challenging conditions.
Me? I’m more of a “fair winds and following seas” kind of guy.
But I take credit for instilling his love of sailing. Had I not made the reach out of my comfort zone and (then) financial zone, all those years back — purchasing and winter-residing on Florida sailboat — he would probably be wasting his time golfing today.
Recently, he launched his formerly Midwest-based sloop into Chesapeake Bay. New home, new mariner-orientated job, new CSN sailing t-shirt, and now, new water — with unlimited global potential for his family and his boat.
Needless to say, my Skipper-son now finds himself in the sailor’s equivalent of “hog heaven” — going further with sailing than Marlene and I would have ever dreamed.
Red, Red Rocks
We completed the final days of our stay in SW Utah with a visit from our daughter and grandchildren. I week of fun hiking and rock scrambling ensued!
Bold Move
Our son, who in recent years has acquired the “mariner bug,” has left a perfectly good engineering job and a beautiful Afton, Minnesota house, to pursue his dream of working in a mariner-orientated job near the sea. He and his family have purchased a house on shore of Chesapeake Bay. And, in a week, he will begin a new engineering job, leading a team, designing the propulsion system for the next class of US Navy submarines.
This is quite a leap for our “march-to-his-own-drummer” Renaissance Man who, in his many varied occupations, has driven 18-wheelers, hand delivered impossibly heavy commercial sheet-rock, worked a forklift for a brewer, managed the assembly floor for a furnace manufacturer, overseen the installation of overhead power transmission lines on the outskirts of Kathmandu, achieved patents for large-volume transportation refrigeration systems, become an accomplished sailor and licensed skipper, and has self-learned numerous trades in his personal endeavors.
And all of this as a pup, with the best yet to come.
We wish he and his family the best in this bold, new adventure. And we look forward to visiting their new abode.
We’re Better On Our Days With The Horses
Okay, the song has nothing to do with the video other than we call our ebikes our horses. And our days are pretty good on them.
This is a recent bike ride on Zion National Park’s famous Scenic Drive.
The music is written and performed by Alberta cowboy-musician Stewart MacDougall. Interestingly, the backup vocals are performed by Billy Cowsill, former teen idol of the 1960s family band, The Cowsills. Billy was a lifelong musician and, sadly, this was his final performance.
Back To Snow Canyon
Snow Canyon State Park (Utah) is such a beautiful place, we had to go back for another morning.
Red rocks. White rocks. Red and white striped rocks. It is such an alien environment to us. Photos just do not capture the magnificence of the rock formations.
