planning.

one thing about cruising is that you can't always make a plan and then stick to it.  you have a general idea of where you want to go and when you want to be there but there is a good chance that the plan will change. in fact, you MUST expect that the plan WILL change.  that's sort of how it is and you have to be flexible.

we had to leave tangier island because i have to work and i can't do that without internet so it was off to crisfield.  then we had to stay in crisfield one more day for favorable weather and after that, we crossed the Bay to solomons island where we spent one night and then crossed the Bay again to the choptank river.  we spent one night in la trappe creek across from cambridge (lots of good memories in that place - it used to be one of our favorite spots from when tom and i both lived in annapolis.) actually, the original plan had been to go straight to oxford, spend one night on the hook and then take a slip at campbell's town creek marina, but while i was busy working and not paying attention, tom decided to surprise me and change the plan.  when i looked up from work and checked the chartplotter, i noticed that we weren't taking a direct route to the tred avon river and quickly figured out where we were going.  it was a nice surprise.  it was a perfect evening, too, until consuelo decided to pee on the bed at about midnight!  she slept in the cockpit that night - i was so upset with her.  the next day, we left for oxford, where tom's brother lives, with the plan for TADHANA to sit at the marina for a week so that tom and henry could drive up to martha's vineyard over the weekend for their father's memorial service.  the timing of our arrival was perfect because we had some weather come in again and we were in a good place to sit it out, not to mention doing some major laundry and buying a new mattress pad.  oh well, obviously, it is not only the route planning that changes. 

i'm not exactly sure where we will be next week but the general plan is to be at the southern potomac the last week of this month.  you know, whatever...  the main constrictions are an internet connection, whether it be via wifi or a strong signal for our USB modem, and close to a place where consuelo can stretch her legs and do her thing.

speaking of consuelo, as i had mentioned prior, she has been having some little old lady issues, i.e. "accidents," so that is an adjustment as well for us.  but the fact of the matter is that she is a part of our family unit and we do our best to work around her little problem and find solutions.  in any case, she has been banned from our bed forever - i simply can't trust her little incontinent bladder.  poor consuelo has to make adjustments, too, and so far, the past two nights, she has been unable to figure out a way to get back on the bed at night, try as she might. it is hard to watch sometimes but life is all about change. she will be fine.

the other thing is that we found out that milton had been choppered out again to the mainland for a pacemaker site infection. the last we heard was that he had to have surgery for the pacemaker removal and a replacement at a different site.  we will be back in tangier island in a few weeks to check up on him, as well as to participate in the island's clean-up-the-bay day. 

in any case, oxford is a lovely town and while tom is away, i have a friend coming over from cambridge to visit. the boat is clean and sort of organized (i am thinking about throwing a blanket over tom's desk area to hide it haha). today is my day off from work - it is quiet and relaxing and i am just enjoying the day and good weather.  i was looking over the tentative schedule that tom had written out and i can see that, ambitious as it is, it will all go very quickly and we will wonder where the time went.  hey, i really like this cruising thing!  :)