Sandpiper Adventures

Monson, MA

2011-06-07T17:55:00.000-07:00

We visited the Association for Living Group Home in Munson, MA where Linda's sister is a resident. 6 days ago a tornado tore through Munson devastating much of the town. The tornado damaged home on either side of the group home and destroyed homes half a block away. Linda's sister and the staff of the group home all escaped injury and demonstrated courage and resourcefulness in a very difficult time. Today we were able to visit Linda's sister and be reassured about her wellbeing and thank the staff for their care.

Linda's 50th High School Reunion

2011-06-07T17:30:00.000-07:00

Linda and Loy attended Linda's 50th high school reunion for Silverlake Regional High School in Kingston, Massachusetts. It is a remarkable high performing school with administrators, faculty and students who give strong support to each other. We reconnected with friends and Linda got to walk the Plymouth sea wall and beach again. It is exciting to find that friends of 50 years ago still are friends today.

Linda's Report from Guatamala

2011-05-02T08:55:00.000-07:00

May El Shaddai Celebrates!

It was a long, long day, but we have clean water flowing at El Shaddai! Only two small leaks in the system that were quickly fixed. Truly a team effort between Fox Valley and El Shaddai. We finished at about 5pm, and quickly rushed to church services which began at 5pm! So that meant quick showers and final preparations for the celebration. Church services run about 2 hours at El Shaddai, so we got there during communion. The celebration was wonderful! Our gifts of the prayer shawl and the quilt were warmly recieved (that is a complete understatement, but words cannot describe the joy and appreciation and the LOVE). We have some great pictures and video that will hopefully convey the feeling better.... and we'll share many stories as well, when we return. We also recieved gifts. A strong bond has formed not only with Pastors Fredy and Isabel, but the entire congregation. We wish you you all could have experienced this "God Sighting!" We now head to Lake Atitlan with Pastor Fredy as a generous gift from him on our way to Antigua for some much needed rest before heading home on Tuesday. Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers.

Linda in Guatamala

2011-05-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

Linda is in Guatamala as part of a 5 member team from our church installing two clean water systems.

She posted this blog on the trip's web site:

While spending through Guatemala in Pastor Freddy´ s van over what our hotel host and driver calls “ las carrateras malas”(bad roads) I decided to take my mind off the wild traffic and rough conditions and practice my Spanish by reading billboards and signs and observing all that came into my changing windshield view of life in Guatemala, The scenes shifted ´from colorful city streets and market stalls filled with people and three wheeled taxis to stretches of cane field, to pastures filled with Brahma cattle and groves of mangoes almost ready for harvest. We passed precariously close to Bluebird School buses retired from school duty and now serving as brightly repainted public busses which link the rural communities to more urban areas. Modern hotels, modern houses and neighborhoods stood in sharp contrast to squatter´s thatched shelters beside the highway. All along the highway people walked or rode bikes carrying heavy loads of firewood or other material on their heads and backs. Children in school uniforms strolled in groups going to and from school. The only people in a big hurry it seemed are those of us zigging and sagging at high speeds to avoid the holes on the carrateras malas!
I read everything from campaign billboards to advertisements for tire repair stations. I was struck by the number of what appeared to be small storefront churches with the logo “Estoy con tigo!” I am with you! This being a mission trip I thought I knew what I was looking at. I commented to Marco about the great numbers of these churches he looked puzzled and then laughed. He said that these were all advertisements for the telephone company Tigo not the Word of God! I think that it may be both!
Lesson learned. Just because you see something and can read the words beware of being blinded by your own frame of reference. Good advice in general and especially good when encountering another culture anywhere in the world!

Linda Williams

Then Linda sent this e mail today:
Its Sunday and we hope to finish the system today and have a celebration at the church tonite. Tomorrow as a surprise the Pastor is taking us to Lake Aticlan---- a place I have always wanted to visit.It will take a while to absorb all that has happened here--- the people, the mission , the relationships---
Love,
Linda

Posted by Fox Valley Presbyterian Church Mission Team

St. Simon's Island, Georgia

2011-01-18T11:41:00.000-08:00

We are land cruisers this winter. Darius and Penny Thomas have let us stay in their home on St. Simons Island and we have been exploring this area by land. In past years we have been to Jekyll and St. Simons marinas by water and this trip enhances our picture of the beautiful marsh and coastal island geography.

2011-01-08T15:15:00.000-08:00

In the top picture are Gene and Gail Knight with Linda. We have sailed with them in the south in past years. We drove from St. Simon Island, Georgia to meet them in Vero Beach, Florida where they are making repairs to their motor cat, "KnightNGale". We had a great visit and also saw Barbara Ann and Harry Ohler on the sailboat "Our Dream." We have sailed with them several years and had a great reunion and told a lot of the old tales again.

Reid and Anthea's Wedding

2011-01-01T11:16:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Eve Reid and Anthea were married in Tallahasse, Florida. Beautiful 70 degree day, wonderful, warm families, happy friends and couple. What fun! Our pictures are on our Facebook album "Reid and Anthea's Wedding."

Dolphin Encounter

2010-11-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

I was reviewing our logbook for Sandpiper's passage from Panama City to White City, FL on 1/21/05 and remembered why we sail upon reading this entry:

"In open water on the Gulf a pod of bottle nosed dolpins appeared. For twenty minutes five or more played in our bow wake leaping out of the water, swimming effortlessly, crossing over and under each other, veering off to one side or the other and returning to pass through the pod sometimes on their side or back. Occationally as I leaned out over the bow to watch the most beautiful athletic demonstrations of a side pass I got the distinct impression that they were looking at me as I looked at them. The sense of fun and excitement was infectious and I found myself laughing out loud with delight at each new pass."

What a gift!
Loy

Good News

2010-11-07T04:51:00.000-08:00

We visited Sandpiper in the boatyard in Deltaville, Virginia and found that she was in better shape that we had imagined after our year away from her. Frankie did a beautiful job repairing a crack and repainting the stern and she is ready to have her name reapplied. We learned that our bodies are still flexible enough to get the boat work done and we are planning to get back on the water sometime in the next few months. Back at home in Geneva, IL Loy had a melanoma removed from his elbow and then a sentinel node biopsy on Nov. 5, 2010 to see if it had spread through the lymph system. The biopsy came up clean and we are very optimistic that we will be sailing again sometime in the next few months! Earlier in the week Linda interviewed Loy for the Story Corps about his work with Dr. Martin Luther King in Dallas and on the march to Montgomery. That has gone into the files of the Geneva History Center and the Library of Congress. We signed releases for National Public Radio, but don't know when or not the interview will be played there.

Salvador and Veronica Castro Lopez 25th Anniversary in Puebla, MX

2010-07-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

We were delighted to be included as family in a mass and fiesta celebrating the 25th anniversary of Salvador and Veronica Castro Lopez's marriage in Puebla, Mexico. Their daughter, Veronica and their son, Diego, have each spent time with us in Geneva, IL - Vero as a Rotary exchange student two years ago and this Spring as a visitor, Diego in March as a cast member of Up With People. Preparations for this huge family event began in secrecy a week ago as a surprise for Veronica. On July 1 (the actual anniversary date) at 2 am a mariachi group of 12 players arrived and came into the house since there was a drenching rain. They serenaded for an hour and Salvador presented roses to a surprised Veronica. For the next few days while Salvador and Veronica (both architects) ran their business, the three young adult children Diego, Daniel, and Vero made arrangements for the mass, moving a fence, erecting four tents, setting up two musical groups, two caterers, and Linda and I helped by keeping mother Veronica busy taking us places we "had to see" whenever she had a moment of free time. She now accuses us of being "accomplices."

On Saturday the 3rd the house and yard were full of workers and fires and foods and an alter being set up for the mass. Guest began arriving at 11:15 am and the mass got underway at 11:55am. In afternoon and evening we had chalupas cooked over a grill pan on an open fire and rolled stuffed beef filet, rice cooked as a casserole with cheese and chili, and a green salad. On the tables were bottles of tequila, brandy, beer, rum pope, coke, and sprite. There was good music and as dark came, salsa dancing. The crowd was made up of family, extended family and friends. There were lots of architects, engineers, and young adults who have studied all over the world. At one point in the evening we found that in the group we were talking with there were people who could speak Spanish, English, French, Mandarin and German in various combinations. The graciousness and warm hospitality were abundant. Veronica and Salvador introduced us as new members of the family and said since we are also Vero's parents then we are sister and brother to Salavador and Veronica. And we inherit all the cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents!

The party would have gone on all night and spilled over into nightclubs for the younger set, but the 4th was election day in Mexico and all the bars were closed. The house began to come to life again at 10:30 am on the 4th and we went to a 24 hour market with Salavador and Veronica to get supplies to prepare Pepian sauce on pork which Veronica instructed Linda in preparing. Dinner was served at midnight and Linda and I started waking up after 9 am today.

We are overwhelmed by the hospitality and love of our new family, the richness of their culture, and the sadness of the current tension between our cultures.

American White Pelicans

2010-04-03T20:55:00.001-07:00

Today in the rain we went to a slough near us where the American White Pelicans have been coming at this time of year since 2003 as they migrate north. These are huge birds with a wing span of 9 feet or more. They can weigh 60 pounds. They do not dive to fee like their dark feathered cousins to the south, but they swim and catch fish. We felt very privileged to get to see them passing through.

Re Tie Leukemia Fund Raiser

2010-03-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

March 13 Loy and Linda were finalists in the Red Tie competition at Team Jahazi's fund raiser at Mason Sabika in Naperville to raise money to find a cure for Leukemia. We had a great time seeing friends and being greeted by the younger set as "Carl's Parents".

Diego Castro Lopez Performs with Up With People

2010-03-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

Diego Castro Lopez is the older brother of our former exchange student Veronica Castro Lopez. In March we had the joy of hosting Diego as he traveled with Up With People and performed in Naperville, IL. The last picture is of the Chicago Deep Dish Pizza that Diego requested. Diego is now travelling and performing in the Philapines. For next year he has been accepted in an international business college program in France. We are delighted to have Diego and Veronica as part of our family.

Manzanillo, Mexico

2010-01-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

We are visiting friends, Tom and Connie Boland, in Manzanillo, Mexico. This is a beautiful place on the Pacific coast which has not been overrun by tourists. Today we snorkeled in 83F water and enjoyed more of their wonderful food and sunshine. One of my favorite refreshment discoveries is the Michalada. It is a good dark beer with one inch of lime juice in the bottom of the glass, ice in the beer and sea salt around the rim of the glass. Very cooling and refreshing. The tacos freshly made and the 15 varieties of mole' sauces we have tasted are delightful. The mangos and alvacados what we dreamed they might be. We squeeze fresh orange juice for breakfast and today had pancakes made with Mexican flour that are the best we've ever had. It's not easy to get here but it would be good to add to your list of the 1,000 best places to visit before you die.

2009-12-25T15:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning on St. Thomas starts at 6 am with a choir concert on the village square. Many of the islands church and social choirs perform Christmas carols and share ham, cheese, homemade bread and bush tea. It has become a regular part of our Christmas day. Later at Carl's place we opened presents with his cats. The amazing gift of the day was a book more than a year in the preparation from Carl's aunt Ruth with the genology and history in text and pictures of the Williams and Rich families establishing Carl's place in history. Christmas dinner was at the Jensen home which Carl's friends Virginia and Rose Jensen made available to us while they were off island. Their kitchen tools made Linda feel right at home in their kitchen and our good friend and Carl's, Alison Steir, joined us for Christmas dinner.

A constant temperature in the 80's F was a relief from the Illinois winter weather.

Visit to Carl on St. Thomas USVI for Christmas

2009-12-23T14:42:00.000-08:00

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Loy and Linda went to St. Thomas for Christmas and had a great visit with our son, Carl. He is happily employed by the Robert King law firm again doing a lot of trial work. Part of our Christmas joy was celebrating the release on bail Christmas eve of a client Carl has been representing for 4 1/2 years. As you can see from the picture the colors of the Caribbean at sunset are unmistakable. We also visited Bill and Jane McMillian at their camp in the national park on St. John where Jane prepared salted herring as an adventure and an appetizer. Way to go Jane!

Joe Slade and Judith Lee, Athens, OH

2009-12-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

Joe Slade and Judith Lee are both on the faculty of Ohio University in Athens, OH. Both have been very productive authors and continue to be active in teaching and research. We had a great time touring the university, talking until late in the night and enjoying the beautiful home and home cooking of these friends. Joe and Loy caught up on memories of Dallas, Woodrow Wilson High School and Southern Methodist University. It is delightful to find that our friendship has endured over 40 years of separation and that Judith and Linda have immeasurably improved the quality of our lives. We are already looking forward to getting together with them again.

We stopped near Indianapolis due to the snow and high winds, but we hope to arrive in Geneva on 12/10/09. Geneva has low temperatures and snow on the ground. Nevertheless it will be good to be home again.

What Kind of Sailing Weather Is This?

2009-12-07T16:37:00.000-08:00

Snow on the bank of the Hudson River, New Buffalo, NY is not the weather the anticipated this year. But we didn't get to sail south to warm weather and we are getting a touch of winter. This is the back yard of Bob and Linda Knighton.

Bob and Linda Knighton - New Buffalo, NY

2009-12-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

We met Bob and Linda Knighton sailing s/v Syzygy in Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas. Since then we have sailed with them in many places and visited in their home and ours. Bob and Linda have a home on the bank of the Hudson River with endless entertainment from traffic on the river. They have transitioned to truck camping on wheels now. They even treated us to a good NY snow storm, art shows, and a visit to Hyde Park, NY.

Vanderbilt and Roosevelt Homes at Hyde Park, NY

2009-12-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

With Bob and Linda Knighton we visited National Park sites on the Hudson River in Hyde Park, NY. The top picture is the Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt Mansion, 1898 on a 600 acre estate. It is a very ornate gilded age showplace considered by Vanderbilt to be a cottage in the country.

The middle picture is Val-Kill, the home where Eleanor Roosevelt lived and received national and international guests from 1945 until her death in 1962. She used these visits as an opportunity to discuss her humanitarian concerns with leader including John Kennedy, Adlai Stevenson, Nikita Khrushchev, Haile Selassie, and Nehru.

The picture at the bottom is the Hyde Park home of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Although large and stately it is a home of the 20th century with understated decor left as it was in 1945 when FDR died.

Mary Alyce Murphy Delaplaine in Alexandria, VA

2009-12-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

In Alexandria, VA Mary Alyce Murphy Delaplaine hosted us with a southern themed evening with her southern hors d'oeuvres and introduction to a southern restaurant. Mary Alyce was Loy's first elementary school girl friend. Linda, Loy and Mary Alyce all attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas. It was fun to remember old friends and we look forward to seeing Mary Alyce again.

Thanksgiving in Williamsburg

2009-11-26T20:06:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving dinner was a great pleasure at the beautiful Williamsburg, VA home of Marilyn and Dave Mason. They are friends from Illinois who have moved East and are thriving in this historic environment.

2009-11-20T16:45:00.000-08:00

We took a break from the boat yard to help the hand rest and heal. We drove to Cambridge, MD and spent a delightful night at Lodgecliffe Inn Bed and Breakfast on the Choptank river. Afterwards we took the ferry from Oxford to Bellview, MD. Riding on a ferry is one of Linda's favorite things. Tomorrow, Saturday, we see the doctor again to discuss whether we can go sailing this winter or not.

Sailing Impediment

2009-11-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

Loy and Linda arrived safely in Deltaville, VA after Ida blew through. We climbed up the ladder in the yard onto Sandpiper and found she is in good shape and dry inside! Coming across country Loy's right thumb and wrist were becoming increasingly swollen and by the weekend were not usable. A doctor at a walk in clinic diagnosed inflamed tendons and put the hand and forearm in a fiberglass splint and started anti-inflamitory meds. We will return to him in a week and will have to make a decision then about whether we can sail this season or not. In the meantime we went to a fish dinner and to Sunday services at the United Methodist church. In conversation there we learned there there are still remnants in Virginia of the Indian tribes that welcomed John Smith to Jamestown. These tribes are not recognized by the state of Virginia and thus not by the federal government. Nevertheless they are thriving and each year at Thanksgiving continue the tradition of making a good will gift to the government of Virginia. Linda is setting up her new birthday present, an ASUS netbook, for email and Skype at the public library in Deltaville. Post storm the weather here is clear and sunny with temperatures in the 60's F. (Note: if you write to us through this web site be sure to sign your message so we know who it is from.)

Fallingwater - Frank Lloyd Wright Masterpiece

2009-11-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

Thursday 11/12/09 we intended to drive from Cleveland to Deltaville, VA. A check of the weather this morning told us that the tail of Ida was hitting Deltaville and the Chesapeake Bay with 45-60 mph winds, 8-12" of rain and a 5' storm surge. We talked to the boat yard and they recommended we stay away for a day or two. So we made a new plan and visited a place we have wanted to see for years, "Falling Water", the masterpiece of Frank Lloyd Wright in Mill Run, PA. It is easy to see why the American Institute of Architects says this is "the best all-time work of American architecture." Linda and I were more emotionally impacted by the beauty of this home than we had anticipated. (www.fallingwater.info). Again we are amazed by the delight that an unplanned event can bring.

Tomorrow, Friday, if the worst of the storm has dissipated we plan to drive on to the boat yard in Deltaville and begin preparations to get Sandpiper back into the water.

We look forward to being in touch with many of you this year. When you go to our website and write us a note please sign your note. A note that comes to us from the blog does not carry your email return address (as does e mail from you) and occasionally we can't figure out who sent us a message. We would love to be able to respond to every message we receive.