March marched on into April. Again. Damn it does that so fast!

Most of our blogging is done on the iPad with a cool little app  (Blogsy). Somehow I had cracked the screen a month or so ago and the touchpad starting touching itself whenever it was open. Tabs would open and close, apps would open, the camera would come on and start taking pictures etc. Quite annoying and a great excuse for not posting for a month.

Late last night I finally got the new glass cover (and all 18 of the screws so small I had to borrow Shelly’s glasses to see them) replaced and it works again!

So here we are at a dock in Ladies Island Marina just across the river from Beaufort SC. It is a great place to sit as everything needed for comfortable ‘dock’ life is close. Groceries, laundry, propane, and hardware stores just a short distance away.

Our work now focuses on selling and promoting the golf tournament fundraiser at Parris Island, and the Family/Dog Scavenger Hunt in downtown Beaufort May 20 and May 21.

This is a lot of work! One thing we did not know when we chose Beaufort is that there are many people who retire here from ‘up north’ and then start a nonprofit to ‘give back’. There are over 1250 nonprofits in this county! Can you imagine how many times local store owners get asked for donations or to sponsor this or that charity? A lot!

No one has been rude or anything, in fact just the opposite! Everyone is super friendly and wants to help – it is just that there is no time pressure yet. It is coming up here soon!

If you’ll allow me a quick pitch?

We are hoping to find folks who would think about being a sponsor for this fundraiser who would not be able to attend. These people would sponsor a military player to play for $100 which would also pay for an assistance puppy to have his first vet visit and shots. Or maybe sponsor something more in honor of someone’s birthday, anniversary or even in remembrance of a special person. We really need help finding these people so please keep this in mind and let others know? The link to all the videos etc is available by clicking here. Thanks! We need these people now!

On other topics, you might have seen we have offered Yume for sale. Let me tell you why. First, we think the boat is tip top shape and it is the best time to sell. Second, we are thinking of other options including an RV, a different kind of boat, or maybe just going out to some ski town (Telluride?) for the winter after the DC things over. We are not giving her away for sure, and maybe no one will be looking, but we felt it is good not to get too attached and put it out there for the Universe to sort out.

The last piece is that Ryan turns 18 in July and is itchy. He is actually working with a team as the animator (and almost making more than Shelly and I together). He needs really super fast internet speeds, room for bigger computer power, and a platform that doesn’t move quite so much. The little bird might be ready to fly! His older brother Ian is about to move when the Air Force transfers him from Albuquerque to his next duty station and it might work out for Ryan to go stay with him for while. Who knows?

So that means changes for us too. We would need less room and would be able to travel a bit more than we do even now. These are interesting times!

I wanted to share this picture taken at a dentist’s office last week. While waiting for Shelly, this gentleman came in on his own and sat next to me. In the ensuing conversation I was absolutely amazed to learn I was talking to retired USMC Master Sergeant John T. Collier. He had joined the Corps in 1940. He was in the first  battle won by the US in the Pacific at Guadalcanal Aug 1943.  He was also in the first wave ashore at Inchon in Korea And fought his way to the Chosin Reservoir and back. If you do not what these places mean, you need to go look them up right now.

He was cheerful, chipper and a super nice guy and it was such an honor to meet and speak with him. He makes me so proud to be an American, and proud to be a veteran though nothing like this hero!

Another interesting story is our friend Cary Corbett here with Shelly and Goose in Hilton Head Island.

And that’s all the news fit to print. We will do our best to get another update out before the tournament in May!

Thanks for reading – and please send us your thoughts!