In the U.S. June 5-20

Though we had planned a trip back to the States in June, it has taken an unexpected twist.

Jimmy & I in the Bahamas with a big lobster, about 1974
My 'little' brother Jimmy passed away last week, after a year of struggle against a very virulent form of Leukemia. He was only 46.

It wasn't really unexpected, in the grand view of things, but it happened a little sooner than anyone expected. Though we knew things were getting worse, a few weeks ago my daughter had visited him and said he was feeling good and talking about plans for July and August. So we didn't advance our plans any. We had planned to stop in and visit as soon as we got to the States, but didn't quite make it in time. Instead we were able to attend a Celebration of Life for Jimmy with our family and his close friends in St. Augustine.

Brothers & Sisters with Jimmy 2nd from Left
Now we are on our way to North Carolina to visit with John and Sandy from s/v Caliente. The original plan for this trip was to see North Carolina during the summertime, with the idea that some time in the future we might want to buy a small plot of land for a 'mountain retreat'.