Boatbuilding; Lynette, the Scheduling Princess; Ingrid Honkala; Gonging; Masking Up; E-biking; Two Anniversaries

One of the most important reasons for our move to South Carolina was to be near our dear friends Irene and Tony Vouvalides. Irene is the Vice President of Helping Parents Heal, and she and Suzanne are like sisters… Tony is a retired elementary school principal, and an expert ship model builder. He is such a craftsman that the Smithsonian asked him to restore a model of the schooner America, the yacht that won the silver cup that became the America’s Cup for 153 years. Tony wanted to build a kayak, and ordered a kit from Chesapeake Light Craft. Lest you think that a kit is easy to build, I can assure you that it is not; here is Tony with some of the materials…







Tony, John Friday and I worked on the kayak off and on for several weeks, stitching and gluing, sanding, and epoxying – making good progress on her, and seeing her lines come together.















Our summer tour departure date came and we had to leave before she was completed, but Tony sent some pics of his new kayak, and she is a beauty!!! He is looking forward to getting her out on the water, and Irene is happy to get her garage back for her car!








Our new puppy Nellie is growing like a weed, and is a real lap dog… she loves to lie touching us, like she did with her mom and siblings.
























After we departed SC, we stopped in a couple of lakeside campgrounds, this one in Georgia. There was a nice hiking trail around the twin lakes, which provided a pleasant change from the 65 mph driving on the Interstate.














A stop in Atlanta allowed us to spend some quality time with Lynette Setzkorn, Suzanne’s Scheduling Princess. Lynette is a fabulous writer, and has a terrific blog,   https://anunexpectedmystic.com, which I recommend highly… 






















Moving west, we arrived in Tupelo, Mississippi, where we were joined by Ingrid Honkala, a marine scientist who has seen beings of light since she was a child. Ingrid was a recent guest on Suzanne’s Unity Radio Show, Messages of Hope. While she and Suzanne discussed spiritual topics, Ingrid’s husband Mike and I discussed Navy stuff… 




















Mike is a retired Navy Special Ops guy who trains security teams around the world. They traveled up from Bay St. Louis, MS, with their son David, and spent the day with us at our Tombigbee State Park campsite. I’ve always wanted to have a physique like Mike’s… he could probably bench press 250 lbs… maybe if I start going to the gym twice a week… my internal voice is saying, “Ain’t gonna happen, Ty!”  Sigh…











Westward Ho, on to Memphis, Tennessee, where My Lovely Bride had an appointment at the Memphis Drum Shop… but for a very cool gong, thanks to a friend back in Hilton Head, Candace Blair.  Suzanne has taken up the gong as part of her spiritual practice, in particular for sound therapy and meditation. Candace had introduced us to the gong in a special “gong bath”, and even I had a transformative experience, when she created haunting sounds much like the songs of humpback whales that I had listened to for years on Navy ships’ passive sonars. Nellie seems fascinated by Suzanne’s gonging as well.














While in a nearby campground in Marion, Arkansas, we saw this wrecked trailer, and asked one of the staff about it. He told us that a straight line wind storm had come through and toppled a huge tree onto the trailer with a couple inside, but miraculously they weren’t hurt. This could ruin your whole week!














Our next stop was in Ozark, Arkansas, where we stayed in a small campground owned by a vineyard operator. We hadn’t eaten out in a restaurant for awhile, so we made a reservation. We only had one real mask, so I improvised with a couple of purple doggie poop bags (unused). I received some strange looks from the other diners… 













Moving west, we refueled at a truck stop that also had a staff member who opines… or at least that’s what I surmised when I saw this sign.


















Our next stop was Tulsa, where Suzanne gave her Serving Spirit mediumship class, the first in-person event since the Wuhan virus struck the US. Then on to a two week stay in Flagstaff, where we met up with our friends Janean and Jack Quigley. Janean leads the Helping Parents Heal affiliate group here, and Jack is a surgeon. They took us on a mountain bike ride through the national forest, but on E-bikes for the first time. What a hoot! You can pedal all day, but when you need an extra boost going up a steep hill, you twist a throttle like on a motorcycle, and Presto Zingo, you are screaming uphill almost effortlessly! Way Cool!








More about our time in Flagstaff next time, but in wrapping up this post, Suzanne and I want to wish you all a safe and happy Independence Day, otherwise known as the 4th of July. Our wonderful country is 244 years old this week!  Suzanne and I are also celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary TODAY!!!  Yee Ha!!!