Here are a few shots of my 2004 sailing trip. Like last year, we sailed out of Port Superior, near Bayfield, WI. We chartered a 32″ foot Beneteau, named Water Music. It’s a nice boat. I don’t like the cockpit configuration the best, and she isn’t too fast, but a real nice boat for cruising nonetheless.

Here are the rules to Perudo, one of my favorite games of all time. It’s a great dice game involving a little strategy, a little math and a little luck. Good fun and it can be played by a large group with people of varying temperaments. The only real difficulty is teaching the game to newbies. It’s easier to play than it is to teach it.

As you might know, I am trying to start reading more important books. The first book I chose from my list was “To Kill A Mockingbird”, by Harper Lee.

For me I found the beginning of the book rather slow. Once the plot began to develop more, say by mid book, I was hooked. The language was very believable and evocative of the south. The character I liked the most was Adolphus Raymond, who was not a really an important character and therefore underdeveloped. It wasn’t really a plot driven narrative, but it has a certain rhythm and beauty in its pacing. It is always interesting to me to see “simple” small town life (which is never as simple as it might seem on the surface), seen through children’s eyes — or how adults remember seeing it through children’s eyes.

I’m glad I read it. The book was beautiful in its language, painting both the complexities and the absurd contradictions of life in the genteel — yet painfully prejudiced south.

I got back from my annual sailing trip last night. We spent Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday sailing in the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior. I slept out on deck every night, under a canopy of bright stars, with the gentle rocking of the boat to ease my troubled mind. It was magnificent. We had great wind and very nice weather.

I’ll post pictures and more thoughts later.