Day 120

Had a really good day today. Dawn and I left our AirBnB just before 8AM and got a lot done over the next 4 hours. We went for coffee at a local coffee shop, went for nice walk on Siesta Key Beach, went to the Sarasota farmers market (and bought some cheese) and had a yummy lunch followed by some gelato. A couple hours after getting back to the rental cottage, a girlfriend from college, who Dawn and I are both close to, came over to hang with us for the day. Ellen and her husband Michael live just north of Tampa so relatively close to where we are staying. (Michael is out of town so Ellen came alone.)

Ellen was Dawn’s maid of honor. (For reference, Dawn and I will celebrate our 29th anniversary this August.) I’ve always really liked Ellen. She is pretty laid back but also doesn’t pull her punches. If you get on her nerves, you’ll know because she will tell you. While we kind of lost touch for a few years, we did reconnect with Ellen a few years ago. I think it was spring break 2018 when Dawn, Damian and I rented a house in Clearwater. Ellen came over one night and the three of us went out for dinner. (Dawn’s parents were also staying with us so, no, we didn’t leave Damian home alone.) While it had been a long time since we’d last seen each other, we picked up where we left off, only older, wiser and more relaxed than before. Ellen came to Atlanta for Damian’s funeral which was super important to both Dawn and I. There are very few friends that we’ve known longer. We’ve been in pretty regular contact with Ellen since then. Today we were talking about maybe taking a trip together this summer, four or possibly six of us going on an Alaskan cruise. I think it has a pretty good chance of happening. It feels right…

April 9, 2022 - Dawn and Ellen in Bradenton, FL



*************

Dear Damian

Your mom and I are having a good time in Sarasota. It’s not the same without you here, of course, but it’s still enjoyable. I don’t feel as guilty this time about enjoying myself without you as I have in the past. That doesn’t mean that I don’t wish you were here, I want that more than anything.  
 
When your mom and I were walking the beach today (Siesta Key Beach), I saw a bunch of sailboat masts off in the distance. They were in a cluster back from the water’s edge by quite ways. I could tell they were catamarans but couldn’t tell what kind so I walked over to take a closer look. They were mostly Hobie 16s, most of which were in rough shape. A couple needed to be chopped up and drug off to the landfill. Fortunately, there were a three or four that were being taken care of. There were signs posted around several of the boats that they were effectively squatting on private property and needed to be relocated by the end of April. Failure to comply would result in the boats being hauled off by the county and the owner’s billed for the labor. The nicer boats had name tags and contact phone numbers on them so I called the owners to make sure they knew their boats were under threat. One of the owners called me back an hour later to thank me for the heads-up. They knew about it already but still appreciated that I had made the effort. Anyway, seeing the cats on the beach reminded me of our F16. I specifically remember sailing that one afternoon in Clearwater Bay and the Gulf. I loved sailing the Viper with you.  
 
It was so much fun spending time with you. I’ll miss that the most. 

I love you!

Dad

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