1058 Old Country Club Road

       Roanoke is north of Florida which puts us on the path our friends have been taking from where they are to where they are going in Florida.  In September cruising pals Linda and Michael stopped by for a few days and this week cruising pals Dean and Bevaria stayed with us.  We met Dean in China when he visited Seahorse Marine checking on his boat during the time we were there while ours was being built.  Dean helped us move DoraMac from Hong Kong to the Philippines and during the voyage took time to share his knowledge of how to change from autopilot to hand steering, a good thing that prevented us from running down a fishing boat.   But what I remember most is the shopping expedition Dean and I made to Gongbei while we were all in China.    Gongbei, which at the time was (and may still be) the knock-off capital of the world is a 45 minute drive from the boat yard. There are hundreds of shops so it was a great place to stock up on gifts especially lovely shawls and handbags.   We were in one shop looking at some handbags to bring home for gifts when the shop attendant motioned for us to come closer, hit a secret button opening what looked like a wall of shelves, and motioned us into the room behind.  We entered; another button was pressed and we were enclosed in a room with even more handbags.  All I could think was, thank goodness Dean was a retired FBI agent so if we end up in a drama here, he can get us out.  But all that happened was shopping and then we exited the secret room.  Memories of China!

The weather has put us behind schedule on land clearing.  But it could have been worse.  Roanoke was spared though the poor folks in South Carolina were not.   Dean and Bevaria brought the good weather of Maine with then for their visit so we made a trek up to “the land.”