over the line...........from P

I saw him up ahead. At first I had a relapse and thought maybe it was one of those huge lobster pot floats so ubiquitous in New England. But as the NE breeze pushed us southward the big Brown Pelican lifted off the water and informed me that I was much closer to home. I happened to glance at the GPS in time to see that we were simultaneously crossing the state line into Virginia! I wondered if that Pelican knows he has to stay south of the line? All of the signs are now starting to show themselves - the birds, the shallow water, the humidity, the crab pots, the soft mud on the anchor, my friends the lighthouses, hearing "Group Hampton Roads" in the Coast Guard brodcasts on the VHF radio, and the low profile of the shoreline - all point toward home. These days if you travel in a car the interstates all look the same, the stop-overs are mostly the same and you mark your progress by the exit signs toward your destination which may be a dramatically different environment from whence you came. But when you travel the waterways you become attuned to subtle changes in your environment as you go. Colors, smells, sounds, prevailing winds, bird calls, sunsets, tree lines - everything evolves as you splash along. Now they are all becoming familiar again. I am getting excited about seeing my daughters. And my dad. And friends - and yes the animals. Images of home are becoming sharper; I have already filled a page of things to do when I get there. But I cannot deny that I feel a weird melancholy - not unlike the way I used to feel on Sunday evening after a great weekend. I know that means I have had an incredible three months living aboard Senara and now I am beginning to adjust to home. Yes, the Pelican welcomed me over the state line and warmed my soul with thoughts of home, even in my end-of-the-trip state of mind.

K bringing us down the Bay

Easing into a good anchorage in the Magothy River