Family visit to Missouri by way of Pennsylvania

It has been an exciting week.  I drove a rental car from North Carolina to Pennsylvania to see family.  From there I took my mom and aunt (my mom's sister) to Missouri to visit my cousin.  My mom does not fly very often and my aunt has not flown in an airplane in over 35 years.  This was quite the adventure for them ("and me").  It was great to see them experience the travel and new places.

Arriving at cousin Pam's home in St Louis.  There was snow on the pumpkin!

We had to see the St. Louis Arch.  Unfortunately the weather was not that pretty, but we made the best of it.

St. Louis Arch with cloudy sky made for a creative black and white shot

Cousin Pam is a huge horse person.  We had to visit with one of the carriage horses at the arch.

Pam got all of us tickets at the historic Fox Theater in downtown St. Louis to see Stomp.  We were in the 4th row at center stage.  It was a wonderful performance.

The Fox Theater also known as "The Fabulous Fox" is an iconic St. Louis venue.  It was built in 1929 by movie pioneer, William Fox, to showcase the films and elaborate stage shows of his Fox Film Corporation.  When it opened in 1929 it was the second-largest theater in the United States.  The theater has a Wurlitzer pipe organ that cost $75,000 to purchase in 1929.  It was restored in 1981.  There is a second, smaller Wurlitzer organ in the theater's lobby.

Fox Theater

Inside the Fox Theater

Ceiling of the theater

Selfie of all of us at Stomp

My mom Dianne, me, Aunt Barbara, and Cousin Pam

There was also a visit to the St. Louis Butterfly house in Faust Park.  The park is on the former farming grounds of Missouri's 2nd governor, Frederick Bates.

Pam is a horse gal, and we had to see her horse, Gesa.  She is a dressage horse from Germany.  Pam has had her for 16 or 17 years and done a lot of work with her.  When she first arrived from Germany, Gesa had many, shall we say, emotional issues; but Pam has done wonders with her.

Gesa and Pam coming into the barn

My aunt, mom, Gesa, Pam, and me

Our last full day in Missouri, Pam and I put up her Christmas tree and decorated it.  It was a little early; but since we were all together, it was fun to do this Christmas activity.

Christmas tree with Pam's cat Cricket under the tree.  Cricket appeared to approve of our work.

The trip came to an end too soon.  What a fantastic time.  Aunt Barbara was even ready to go again, in spite of not being a fan of flying.  

Wrightsvillle Beach, NC

So I did not forget about those who are keeping tabs on us via the blog.  Keith and I had a great month in New Bern, NC.  We got to spend time with many friends that we have there and also were able to relax a bit.  Our month in New Bern came to an end too soon, but it was time to move on.  Last weekend Nov. 2nd Keith and I took Southern Style from New Bern to Beaufort, NC.  Good friends Dave and Janet came as well on "Sequel" and we had a nice dinner together Saturday night.

Sequel following us to Beaufort Saturday Nov. 2nd

  Sunday morning Keith and I headed south from Beaufort to an anchorage about half way to Wrightsville Beach.  We spent a quiet night on the hook and got up Monday morning and went the rest of the way to Wrightsville.  Here we plan to have a few things done to touch up the woodwork on Southern Style.  We will be here for the month of November.

Southern Style docked along Banks Channel in Wrightsville Beach

We biked to the beach and took a walk one day when the weather was nice (sunny and 75)

I plan to head to Pennsylvania to visit family and also fly to St. Louis with my mom and aunt to visit my cousin.  I will be back on the boat just before Thanksgiving.   We are planning to be in Raleigh with friends for the Thanksgiving holiday.  After that we will make our way south to Florida and hope to cross into the Bahamas sometime in December.  We will be in the southern Bahamas for the winter.  I will do my best to keep everyone up to date of our progress south.