Ahoy thar mateys!

First, let me apologize (once again) for being absent from my blog so much.  Between jobs #1 and #2 I'm working almost 80 hrs/wk.  When I'm not working I'm trying to stay away from the computer to keep up with stitching custom pieces and dyeing fabric for the shop.  It seems I have no time for even the basics like doing laundry, washing dishes, dusting the house, etc.  However, with it being a long holiday weekend here in the U.S. and me being lucky enough to have Thursday & Friday off from job #1 (too bad I had to work long shifts at job #2!!!), I decided to actually go have some fun!!!  I know, shocking, right?

One of the things that has been on my unwritten bucket list is to attend the Tall Ships Festival they have nearby in Cleveland, OH once every few years.  The last time they held one was in 2010.  Since it doesn't come around very often, Zach and I decided it was a must do, as who knows when we could do it again.  I took lots of pics while I was there, and promised my fans that follow my Facebook page that I'd put them all in a blog post for everyone to see.  

Last summer we were dealing with severe drought in N.E. Ohio, this year it's the never-ending rains.  So we donned our ball caps & sunglasses (a girl can hope, right?) and off we went.  Hope you enjoy our little trip....

Proud Momma w/her son.  That's Lake Erie about 4 feet behind us.

Hmmm...what do I want to blow up????  Do you think it still works??

One of the small lighthouses along the break wall at Port of Cleveland

A couple of the tall ships sailing on Lake Erie

I guess if you don't have a rain poncho/coat for your kids you can always make one out of an old bag.  LOL!

Absolutely LOVED this stateroom!!

The only thing resembling a life boat I could find.  Do you think all the crew members can fit on there?

Found these plants tucked away beneath some stairs.  I guess when you're on the water for weeks/months at a time, you still want to see some greenery.  :)

Am fascinated w/all the ships bells

Neat storage for all the flags

The wheel house.  Loving all the wood and the skylights!

They had some beautiful stained glass panels on the lower level of the ship.  This is the one I liked best.  You know me and my bright, vibrant colors.  :)

You can see it really was raining.  We both went home with soggy shoes.  But as Zach said the minute we got out of the car and started walking in the rain....."If it ain't rainin', we ain't trainin'!"  Gotta love those Army sayings!

I have no clue what these directional thingys are called, but I thought they were fascinating, along with all the wooden wheels and beautiful brass bells.  I took several pics of them.  And yes, I know, I could Google it, but that's OK.

The closest we came to seeing a pirate flag on a ship, lol!

I found it rather ironic to see a jar of cigarette butts hanging below the emergency fuel shutoff!

An informational poster about the ship that most of these pictures are from.  We toured a total of 3 ships and I took almost all the pictures on just the Peacemaker.

We were both slightly disappointed as we were expecting more "Pirates of the Caribbean" type ships.  Some of them were wood ships w/fiberglass decks.  Very few of them actually had wooden decks.  They were also much smaller than we expected.  Either way, it was still a good time, and a nice break from the crazy work weeks I've had for the past 9 months.  Glad we took the time to go. :)