Followers

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Maiden Voyage and Soapbox

Driveway
Clayton, NC

We enjoyed our maiden voyage of the PaddleSki 435 with Tricia and Dan on Monday at Falls Lake.  They are staying at their NC “home” for a few weeks and we enjoyed visiting with them some before going down the road to a put in that was in a quiet cove.  It was a breezy day so it was nice to be sheltered some.
Boink!!  Boink Back!!
No, they weren’t hitting each other in the head! 
We just can’t take a “proper” photo.

The sky was a beautiful clear blue which complimented the Spring green colors of the trees wonderfully!  I had commented to my Mom a few days ago that I have enjoyed the “greening” of Spring more this year than any other time.  She immediately knew what I was talking about because she said, “It’s because you’re retired!  You have time to enjoy it!”.  She is so right!
IMG_1084

So we are still here in the driveway taking care of the money pit (aka house).  The garage door opener quit working so we called someone to come fix it.$  Then the air conditioner in the house was not blowing cool air.  Called someone to add coolant.$$  Now there is a beaver in the pond that no one wants to claim as their pet so we have made a call to have that taken care of.$$  Good to get these things done while we are here.

I did want to say thanks to Bill and Nancy for buying their Journey at Lazy Days.  LD sent us a nice gift card for referring them so we used part of it to pay for a seafood dinner with Gin’s parents.  They had come to see us and bring the new quiet water pump we had ordered.  It was a good meal.

(Stepping up on my soapbox) We have voted by absentee ballot today in the upcoming NC Primary.  We ordinarily wouldn’t bother with who is going to be our party’s candidate, but there is a referendum to add a NC Constitutional amendment to “provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.”  There are already laws in this state that ban gay marriage.  Why do we have to put it in the Constitution too?  My personal opinion (which I seldom voice) is that it’s just plain discrimination!  I’m sorry if one’s religion doesn’t approve.  I can understand that.  Really, I do.  Don’t allow a gay couple to marry in your church.  However, marriage is a legal entity.  Many straight couples get married outside of their church but their union is still legally recognized!  So it should be with any two consenting adults!!  Why can’t a gay couple just go to the justice of the peace, exchange vows, and be legally recognized?  It’s just plain discrimination!  It should NOT be in any Constitution!  (End of rant…stepping off of my soapbox)

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy each day of your life’s journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

13 comments:

Happytrails said...

We love our Sea Eagle!! Looks like it was a nice day for the maiden voyage!! :-)

It's ok to rant...we all do it from time to time!!

Sherry said...

Rant on!!! The laws in this country should be the same for ALL ADULT HUMAN BEANS. This is not a RELIGIOUS state. We're supposed to have SEPARATION between church and state. The church can do what it wants in its church and its followers can believe whatever they want but none of them has any business making LAWS! That crap just HAS to be unconstitutional.

On a nicer subject - how about a pic of you two in your new kayak???
Or do I have to wait for Trisha to post? LOL

Gin and Syl said...

LOL... You have to wait for T and D since we didn't take photos of ourselves. :-)
Syl

Nancy and Bill said...

It is so good to see our Pelicans out and playing nicely together;o))

We think Dan and Tricia were really smacking each other in the head. They were without the motor and probably were out of paddling practice;o)))

You go ahead and rant and we will rant with you. Discrimination is illegal!!!

Dan and Tricia said...

Haha - it DOES look like we were smacking each other, doesn't it!!?! We actually have been paddling quite a bit and not using the motor! I promise I will try to post within the next 24 hours so everyone can see Gin and Syl's new vessel! We had so many laughs, and, as usual, over the most littlest things!

I totally agree with your views and support your rant. ;-)

Miss you guys bunches!

Paul and Marti Dahl said...

Glad you had a better maiden voyage than the Titanic did! Any name for the paddle ski yet?

Why do we have to fight battles over and over again? Isn't America the home of the free? Good for you, taking action and voting against people that have nothing better to do than stick their noses into other people's business.

HOAs are bad enough... ;c)

Ron and Cynthia said...

I enjoyed the pictures of Dan and Tricia appearing to hit each other in the head with their paddles. At first I had to really look at the them to see it.
I remember us both ranting about the NC Marriage Amendment when we first met. We look forward to voting against it too.
We're still working on our home improvements as we hope to put our house on the market one day soon. Thanks again for writing your blog. I enjoy and learn a lot from it. I also enjoy many, many other full time RVer blogs too.

Gail Houle said...

Love your rant! We agree completely and support you unconditionally! If we were still NC residents we would be all over that election!

On another note, I think Tricia and Dan WERE clobbering each other with the paddles :)

Looking forward to Sea Eagle-ing with you down the road :)

Al and Karen said...

I agree with Sherry; this is not a religious state, and this is just wrong. Do not force your religious values on me. I have my own beliefs and they don't need to be "legalized". You go girls, I am with you every step of the way!

Catherine, Jo Beth and Grace said...

Of course, I agree with the rant and would add that many benefits are offered to "legal" couples that are not offered to same sex couples such as survivor benefits for Social Security. I paid the money. I should get to say who can get it, if I die.

Glad you voted and I am with Gail. I want to see some pics on that paddle ski:)

Travelwithwhippets said...

The new boat looks nice! From my perspective, you can rant about that issue any time you like. It seems as if the religious right is taking our country back to the fifties when discrimination was rampant. Marriage laws like NC's are discriminatory. Horrible.

Karen and Al said...

I agree with you about civil unions. I believe all couples should have the same legal rights as a married man and woman. The subject was addressed on the recent Army Wives tv show. The good news is you won't have to be NC residents too much longer.

Neil and Nancy said...

Hi. Neil & I have been following your journeys for a little while now. We met you at the RV Dreams rally in TN last April. We have sold our home and will be full-timers in the near future. Would like to invite you to follow our blog @
http://rockandrollwithus.blogspot.com/

Have a great day.