The Adventures of Lewis and Clark in the 21st Century: Sunday funday, back to work Monday

Sunday was supposed to be fix the dock day but we decided to do something else.

Many years ago, when Rob, Robb, and I lived in Harrogate, England, we had some great neighbors. One of our neighbors, the Parkinsons aka David and Sonja and their daughters Anna and Renate, lived right next door. We quickly hit it off and became friends.

Megan was born in Harrogate and David and Sonja were one of the very first of our friends or family to welcome her into this world.

As is always the case with military families, we moved. We went our way and the Parkinsons went theirs. We kept in touch and they even came to Augusta, GA to visit us when Megan was about 18 months old and Robb was about six.

After the GA visit, we still kept in touch but had not seen them again. Thanks to Facebook, we were able to reconnect and keep up with what was going on in one another's lives.

Fast forward to a now 20 year old Megan who is currently studying abroad in London. Sonja lives in Kenya but was visiting Anna and Renate in Brighton, England. After a few emails and FB chats, Megan made her way to see them for a visit.

MEGAN AND SONJA

While Megan was there, we were able to Skype for over and hour. What a wonderful time we had catching up! Anna and Renate have grown into lovely young women and Sonja looks wonderful. I will just have to say that her strength is indescribable.

David died in 2013. The circumstances of his death were tragic and only the strongest of wills could allow Sonja and the girls to continue their lives with such purpose.

Megan had an absolutely lovely visit and made her way to London after a full day in Brighton. I am so glad she got to meet Sonja, Anna and Renate.

We also had some friends come by the house on Sunday. Phil Rennett and his wife Clare dropped by after spending some time in Orlando. I had met Phil in May during my storm chasing trip and he had spoken of a trip to Orlando in October. His trip was to include he and Clare getting married. We became FB friends and kept in touch.

As October drew near, we realized that Phil and Clare would be in Florida during the time we would be at the house. I invited them for a visit and we agreed that Sunday would work. Phil and Clare had gotten married, enjoyed their honeymoon time in Orlando, and were headed to St Augustine for a few days before flying back to England.

PHIL AND CLARE

I am so glad that they were able to work the visit into their busy schedule! Congratulations on their marriage and wishes for a happy life together!!!

While some people use FB for a personal platform for all sorts of crap, I love that it can be used for staying in contact and nurturing of friendships. Our Sunday had been a good day of just that.

Monday was a "get back to fixing things" work day. The dock needed to be secured until we could get professionals out to decide what was our best option for permanent repair.

Rob and I had brainstormed and discussed the best way to make the dock more stable. It had been pulled away from the posts and it could not be stepped on without sinking below the water level. The fact that the water was 18-24 inches high just made it more complex. We could not get to the support beams until the level dropped. We finally agreed on a method of repair and set out to make it happen. A few hours later, we had made a fairly good job of it. The dock is, by no means, permanently repaired but it is now usable.