Adventures of a Tribe

Ray in his element

Posted on December 24, 2020

As I stepped outside Yellow Rose this morning, I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise. The air is calm and colors, so warm and vibrant.

Morning light intensified over the Hudson River, bringing with it the feeling of hope mixed with melancholy, as Christmas Eve Day begins. My heart is with my family.

The past couple of days have been warmer, so I have soaked up as much sun as possible. I’ve sat on the bow and watched flocks of geese noisily reach across the sky, then come in to land close by in the marina.

We met a delightful little man named Ray, who repaired the manifold which was pitted and warn from years of use and salt water erosion. It’s always wonderful to meet people who are passionate about their work and even years down the road, continue to love what they do.

Ray’s workshop is filled with old machines that still run beautifully – all of which he has taken great care in maintaining. He saw how interested I was in it all, and showed us around with a little sparkle of pride in his eye.

Once we had the repaired manifold, we made our way back over the Governor Cuomo Bridge, formally known as the Tappan Zee Bridge. It spans the Hudson River between Tarrytown and Nyack and is quite picturesque. 

New gaskets needed to me made for the manifold, so I got to work making templates.

Captain Stan used blood, sweat, tears and a dremel and was able to produce respectable gaskets, which are busy being installed along with the manifold. Hopefully by todays end, that project will be checked off our list.

Yesterday, we also filled the diesel tanks on Yellow Rose, in preparation for setting out early next week.

Just three more days until Mycah and Travis/Russell/Bradley arrive! In the mean time, there is much to be done, and starting today, high winds and flooding is expected…that will be an adventure!

Christmas will be quiet and my time will be spent reflecting on the unending love I have for my family, hope for the future, and gratitude for my Saviors birth and the significance of that knowledge in my life. Merry Christmas, my friends. I love you all madly!