There are indeed some relatives that I have not spoken to in many years and really don't miss the drama. The truth is that our little boat does provide a retreat for the admiral and I, always has. We certainly don't use it as often as I wish we would, but that is no ones fault but mine. If it was 10-15 years ago I would likely keep the boat and continue maintaining the house, boat and cabin. However, as we have talked about several times here, we are not getting any younger and the admiral in particular has a degenerative problem in her lower back that will require surgery to take care of. The description of the procedure and potential problems after give me the willies but it is her choice. We have talked about moving back to power, even a trawler. That would take care of the physical issues for her but not the maintenance issues for me. We have also talked, and obviously still do, about getting out of boating all together. I say the words and mostly believe them, but I know it would be difficult to do. I understand why so many of the older members of the club have such a hard time. Their boats sit unused for years, slowly deteriorating and all seem to meet the same fate. They are sold, begrudgingly, ending up as a project for someone to take on and restore. When the time comes I hope I have the sense to realize that it's time.

The cabin is really not much different than the boat, it is also a retreat. The season is longer and it is there for any of us to use at any time. The really good news is that cell service is total garbage there and no internet. The real truth though is that while it is available to everyone, to get schedules to match up is really pretty difficult. The boys are getting rolling with their own lives, new brides and new extended families so if we see each other a couple of times a year as a group, we are pretty lucky.