The end of November - still in the work yard

I can’t believe it’s the end of November already. Wayne finished waxing the hull and I worked on a gel coat patch and stripped the varnish off the teak on the top of the bow. Eric stopped Wayne this morning and said that we might have our sprit back today. I didn’t really think so considering David (the carpenter) told us Wednesday, but we didn’t start anything below deck or the wind generator (Wayne has to take apart the back berth to get to the fittings) in case he showed up.

Tammy stopped by to let us know they were heading out today. I hope we run into them again somewhere; I really enjoyed their company. Then Pam & Glen stopped by to say hi while checking to see if their engine part came in yet. They’re thinking of catching the weather window tonight before the front gets in to cross because their friends Al & Maria have to catch a plane back home on Saturday. We’d heard that immigration was being strict with some Canadians on how long they could stay in the Bahamas (30 days). Seems like it’s been on the books but nobody ever paid attention to it and everyone was getting 90 days. But it doesn’t seem like the time to start enforcing such a thing with the economy in the dumps. I think we’ve seen more Canadians in the Bahamas than any other country so it seems like they’re cutting off their nose to spite their face by limiting the stay to 30 days! Especially since they’re telling them just to renew the permit! Sometimes it’s not so easy to get to a port with an immigration office if you’re in one of the islands that are further out .
Hope that cold front gets here soon, I could use some cooler weather to finish the bottom paint and varnish. It was nice to sit in the cockpit (even if we are 10 ft up in the air) with a gin/tonic after another hot day in the boatyard. We had a beautiful sunset thanks to the sugar harvesters burning cane. It looked like the sky was on fire and beautiful cumulus clouds of red, orange and purple were building as the heat from the fire and ash rose into the sky meeting the cooler air. How strange to think that while Al Gore, etal, harp on our cars and air conditioning destroying the environment, that they don’t seem to pick on the larger companies with all the wealth and power that send up all this heat and ash into the atmosphere. Guess who has the pulling power, and it isn’t the little guy… What a spectacular sight though.

And the Bowsprit is gone.....

Wow, time flies. We spent the weekend disassembling the pulpit, lifelines, stashing stuff and trying to avoid the heat.

The pulpit dissassembled from the bow and bowsprit.

Saturday, we’d been working on the boat all day and in the evening we could hear latin music playing somewhere. It occurred to us the next day that we’d missed the Saturday BBQ at the marina. We’d forgotten that every Saturday they have a potluck BBQ where they supply the meat and everyone brings a dish. Oops – sounds like it was fun! Sunday we had our first (real) dinner onboard Kolibrie. Steak and salad – yum… Sunday, I also got stung again - by a wasp who decided to fly up the back of my shorts while I was trying to hold the pulpit off the sprit (while Wayne was wiggling it off the front of the sprit). Wasps two, Patti two and Wayne two – so I guess we’re about even in the sting to swat and kill ratio!

Trailboard removed to access bolts to the bowsprit. Wow!

The trailboard made it in one piece!

Holes plugged (wasps!) Pulpit removed & ready for sprit removal!

 

The culprit that needs replacing!

The bowsprit and platform (the platform is in two pieces)

The carpenter that’s going to shape the new sprit for us showed up about 9am this morning to remove the remaining 4 bolts and take the sprit off of the boat. Wayne was busy polishing the hull and I was trying my hand at a gel coat repair when they showed up. They unloaded a large axe and sledgehammer, which worried me a bit. I had visions of them hacking it off and destroying the pulpit and fiberglass below the sprit, but they never used those tools. They ended up using a couple of mammoth crowbars and with a little persuasion they soon had the sprit off, and on the ground, as I stood there gaping looking at our bow with no nose to her.

Pobrecita, she looked so naked without the bowsprit and pulpit! So we’re now officially without a bow until they return the finished pieces for us to put back on. It looks like we’ll be using mahogany for the sprit. Originally they had used Sitka Spruce on the sprit when she was built but since that’s not a native wood here it would cost us just as much as the mahogany (if not a little more) in Florida. Sitka is the wood they use to use for the masts of the old sailing ships.

As the day wore on and the temperatures climbed to the mid eighties, we decided to head to town to hit the hardware store and two marine stores. It was a busy and hot day… we also found an ABC store and picked up some gin. We have quite a bit of tonic but nothing to put in it and on these hot sweaty days, sometimes a gin & tonic goes quite nicely!

Back to work and no free eats/drinks/entertainment LOL

Well today was a workday. The sprit is held to the boat with an amazing array of bolts. It was put together with the intention of never coming apart! Which is a good thing if you think about it! After working a bit at removing more bolts, we went to the hardware store for an awl, then to the IGA for a few food items, then Wayne continued working on the sprit and I continued stashing stuff below deck, vacuum packing nuts and organizing the storage spaces.

Later, Pam & Glenn came by (Blue Pearl) with their guests that arrived from up north. They’re getting ready to cross in the next few days and their guests are joining them in crossing from Lake Worth to West End. It was a very nice surprise to see them here! I’d have run down the ladder to give them a hug but Wayne had the ladder at the bow so I was trapped up top. Hopefully we’ll run into them again somewhere in the Bahamas.

Wayne, Eric, Tam & Joe over Thanksgiving Desert/Drinks

It seemed realllly strange tonight NOT to have something going on in the marina courtyard. Guess we’re on our own as far as eats & drinks again LOL. I think we were getting to used to having dinner, drinks and entertainment supplied to us! Time to get back to reality now – if you wanna eat, buy it and make it yourself (laughing).

Thanksgiving At the Marina

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I think this is the warmest Thanksgiving I’ve ever had. Temperatures were in the lower 80s and there wasn’t much of a breeze. Wayne spent the morning removing bolts and screws from the pulpit and the bowsprit and I’ll admit I pretty much blew off the morning on the computer. The Bayfield Owner’s Association site has a detailed entry on how to remove a bowsprit on a B-36 which we’re finding quite useful! It appears that several of the 36s have had to replace theirs so we’re not alone in this endeavor. Thank goodness for fellow Bayfielders!

After showers we headed to the marina for their Thanksgiving meal. I was kind of sulking, walking over there, thinking about Diana’s sweet potato casserole with pecans but was grateful that the marina put on this dinner. They really put out the welcome mat for the cruisers this past week. I’m so very impressed with it. I’m not sure if I ever wrote what the festivities were for the 2nd annual Thanksgiving Rendezvous. All the drinks, food, and entertainment were paid for by the marina.

The rendezvous is a four-day celebration starting with the Kickoff Party on Monday, and culminating on Thanksgiving Day. The entire event was free (Compliments of the Marina) and quite the celebration.

Below was their schedule of daily events for the week; the only one we participated in during the day was a walk through at the flea market:

· MONDAY
Kick Off Party - Reggae Luau started 5:00 PM with Live Music from Pan Paradise Steel Drum Band. They had a rendition of Island Food, Beer, Dancing, limbo, and hula-hoop contests. There was quite a turn out.

· TUESDAY
Daytime: Marine Flea Market & Boat Show then at sunset it was Karaoke night. There was some Good & Bad singing, Food, Fun, Beer and Dancing (we actually missed Joe singing – right after we left)!

· WEDNESDAY
Daytime: Dingy races & games.
At sundown it was the "Grape Escape" Wine Tasting and Grape Stomping Competition with Wine & Hors d'oeuvres galore along with live music, from the Dr. Dave Band, and Dancing. Dingy Race Awards were presented and the Grape Escape Awards with more wine, dancing and camaraderie. Did I mention that I got 2nd place?

· THURSDAY
Thanksgiving Feast, Best Pie Contest, Live Music, Beer & Wine and Dancing (if you could – we couldn’t!).


Tam & her yummy pie!

We found Tammy & Joe (Tamara) and Eric (Summertime from NM) in the courtyard (Blue Pearl’s neighbor in the boatyard with the border collie) and shared a wonderful dinner with them and all the other cruisers. I couldn’t believe the spread the marina put out. There was a ton of turkey, green bean casserole, Brussel sprouts with clams, mashed potatoes, gravy, DIANA’S yam casserole!!!, stuffing, cranberry sauce, cranberry salad, cranberry-apple-pecan casserole, rolls, beer, wine, tea, pop (excuse me – soda here ya’ll from Michigan) apple, cherry and pumpkin pies, crisps, and ice-cream! Yeow! We had some of Tammy’s pumpkin/ice-cream pie – of course, and it was delicious! The whole meal was wonderful with a delightful dinner music ensemble (I didn’t get the name of the ensemble). I think everyone was to stuffed to dance and we sat around talking for a bit after dinner. I’m not sure what happened to the pie contest? I think all the pies got eaten that were going to be judged, which was a shame because I’m sure Tammy’d have won and, if not would surely have picked up second place!

After getting back to the boat neither of us felt much like working. Tammy had loaned us a movie that she said was her favorite movie – Joe Dirt, so we spent the evening watching Joe Dirt. It was sad and funny at the same time and the sound track had a lot of the songs that the Dr. Dave Band had played the night before (good sound track). David Spade did a good job at Joe Dirt!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010



Little Visitor

 Spent most of the day stashing stuff onboard and organizing while Wayne worked on taking the pulpit apart from the bowsprit. I got some good shots of Elvis basking in the sun this morning. When Wayne took the pop rivet gun to Tam & Joes, they told him to tell me that Elvis was over by the powerboat. He said uh uhhh, and then I’ll lose my helper! Well he told me and yes, he lost his helper as I scurried over with my camera in hand to see if I could find my gator. Sure enough there he was, basking in all his glory. He must be a good 6-8 feet long! I made it up to Wayne by bringing him back an ice-cream cone, and then went to work putting the snaps on my butterfly hatch cover.
When 5:30 rolled around we went over to the patio area. They really put on a spread for the guests here! Tonight at sundown it was the "Grape Escape" Wine Tasting and Grape Stomping Competition along with music by the Dr. Dave Band and Dancing. Wine & Hors d'oeuvres galore made another wonderful dinner for us (with a keg of beer and various sodas too). Tammy & Joe were a little late but didn’t miss out on anything. I’d signed Tammy & me up for the grape stomping competition then found out it was supposed to be by boat. Wayne didn’t want to join me but Joe helped me out and then he and Tam entered the competition too.

I was shocked to find out that I’d won second place with Joe and won a ribbon and a bottle of wine J Wow! I’d have actually been happy just to win a bag of the grapes and we actually got a couple of bags (Tammy & I). Then we proceeded to try out some of the wines and danced to the Dr. Dave Band. Tam got Wayne up dancing with us and it was great fun. Dr. Dave’s lady was a very pretty half oriental girl that we also got up dancing with us. I think that made Wayne’s night LOL. It was a very fun night. I’d brought some of the glow bracelets for the little kids and they were all running around with them glowing in the dark.

The owner here (Scott) looks like my nephew Lonnie. He’s a very good-looking young man with a very attractive wife and a couple of pretty daughters (either one – Lonnie or Scott!). I’m not sure how they came to own the marina they seem so young, but it looks like they’re doing everything right. We stayed out past our bedtime tonight and didn’t wander back to the boat until 10:00pm. Guess I’m sleeping in, in the morning! Tammy is going to enter the pie contest tomorrow – I’ll have to vote for her since I didn’t make a pie. Hers sounds like it’s a winner – a pumpkin ice-cream pie!

Oops, I forgot! Again...

Well, once again I forgot our anniversary. But once Wayne said "Happy Anniversary", I remembered LOL. I was going to start painting the bottom this morning & then we ran into Eric who said it’d be better to wait until after the polishing and bowsprit work. It looks like we’ll be here until 12/3/10. Instead of repairing the sprit, we’re going to have to replace it. So I took a lot of pictures so we know how to put it back together and Wayne’s been disassembling the anchor rollers, etc, from it. This change of plan took me to the laundry line to do a load of laundry… both machines were full at the boat work yard area but I did manage to get behind one other person at the marina one.

Wayne worked on taking the forestay off, bobstay, whiskerstays, and anchor rollers after talking to Eric and the woodworker (never got his name) with the broken arm. The woodworker is supposed to get back to us with a quote for several types of wood – teak, mahogany, spruce or white oak. The rest of my day was spent trying to organize the V-berth until 4pm then we hit the showers and went to see if we could see Elvis (I named the alligator after Dave Lowry’s alligator) then moseyed over to Joe & Tam’s boat to see where they were & if they were going to the dinner/karaoke (they were).

It was free beer, hamburgers & hotdogs night, with hula hoops and karaoke. Steve was the grill master, and there were quite a few more people there tonight than last night. We missed Joe’s great performance (he sang after we left).

Today was a workday. I scraped the hull again after finding areas that I’d missed the first time. Then painted all the areas that were bare or had been scraped off. After looking at the bowsprit, Wayne decided that fiber glassing it wouldn’t work. We need it fixed. After 3 different calls we pretty much hadn’t heard from anyone until after 5pm. Wayne started waxing the hull while waiting for someone to get back to him. We’d contacted Riverside Marina and were told to send pictures, so I’d taken some pictures and emailed them.

We were told that someone would look at them in a couple days and get back to us to let us know if they could do it or not. These were the people I'd originally emailed earlier and had posted pictures on the blog for them to look at. I'd be surprised if we ever heard back from them.... Another guy finally showed up a little after 5pm and was talking to us and looking at the bowsprit when Eric showed up (from the boatyard). The one guy didn’t seem to know about how to do it and admitted that he’d never done one before. I think Eric kind of scared him off too telling him that they’d need to see the insurance papers, etc… and charge 15% for anyone working in the yard. I’d actually thought that Eric had forgotten about us but after chatting with him, I did understand. I think that everybody has a claim on his time and with it being the busy season, he’s spread pretty thin. He said he’d be by in the morning, so we’ll see.

We finally made it down to the Thanksgiving kick-off bash near the office. They’re having a tropical night party with free eats (tropical food) and beer. We made it down around 6pm and met the couple from Manistique MI – Joe and Tammy. We had BBQ chicken, black beans & rice, fried plantains, slaw and jello/marshmellow salad (got there to late for the ribs). It was a nice time. Tammy talked me into doing the limbo with her so we kicked off the limbo line, then a conga line and I was done for after doing an island version of the hokie-pokie. It was great fun. I found out that Joe & Tammy trailer their boat from Michigan. Wow.

Tammi & Joe

Hmmmm... Facebook games could be the death of me...

Sunday, November 21, 2010


Got to see my niece Niki and great-niece Rylee this morning before coming back to the boat. Peach smoothies for breakfast and, cough-cough, more Mafia Wars pretty much killed the morning, but we had a great visit with Joe & Di and hope to see them again soon. By the time we got back to the boat it was kind of late to start any serious work so Wayne tore the back berth apart to get the stuff we need to start working on the boat in the morning (brushes, paint, tape, etc…).

A short visit and trip around the Okeechobee

Saturday, November 20, 2010

mmmmm… after coffee and showers we headed across state to visit Wendell & Diana. I was all set to see more water and wildlife as I’d planned our route to circumnavigate Lake Okeechobee. About a quarter of a way around the lake, I discovered that I wasn’t going to see Lake Okeechobee. A 20-foot tall levee surrounds it so that you’re looking at a large pile of grassy dirt all along it. It was a big disappointment when we finally did manage to drive up to the crest. It looked like grown in swamp, trees, and assorted vegetation that went out for a couple of miles before you could actually see brown, open water. Quite a few small fishing boats were all lined up at the ramp for access to the channel leading to the lake. I can only assume the fishing is good.

It was an eye opener to drive along the fields and see where they had burned all the sugar cane after the harvest. We’ve been seeing the smoke and ash from and on the boat, but to drive through the area gave me a view of Florida that I hadn’t expected. After traveling down the Atlantic Inter-coastal Waterway and seeing all the mansions & wealth flamboyantly displayed, it was heart wrenching to see other side of the coin - slum property, abject poverty and tenements. Pawnshops and bail bond shops were the more prevalent businesses in the busier sections of the small towns we drove though. The vacant land that had been stripped of its crop had left a part of my heart feeling as barren as the land after the burning of the cane. The Okeechobee holds back the water that supplied a lot of the Everglades. It’s now regulated and a lot of the swampland has disappeared over the decades in the name of flood control and improvement.

It was so good to pull up to my brother’s house and see him unloading his car. I could feel the warmth seep back into my heart again just looking at him and getting a hug from him and Diana! Diana was looking good, considering she’d had surgery on Tuesday and was getting around better than I thought she would. I’m sure Joe is helping to keep her from lifting and stretching and hope she just relaxes. She made an awesome salsa and bean dip and we had that with tacos and mixed berry smoothies for dinner. I learned a new game on face-book called Mafia Wars & found it to be kind of addicting. After a couple of movies it was time for some shut-eye. I’m getting used to going down and getting up with the sun now LOL.

In the Work Yard 2 - Not all butterflies match...

Took the lifelines in first thing this morning, and we brought home our new ones. Can you say “look at Pat dance”! Pearl is having their main sail replaced here. They’re supposed to have it and a Mack Pack (sail cover/lazy jack configuration) installed when they get to Stuart. I was watching them make someone’s sail while waiting for the lifelines. I’d love to try my hand at working in one of these places, just to learn the craft!

After getting back to the boat, dropping off Pearl’s beer for the work yard crew, and stashing more supplies aboard Kolibrie, I found the butterfly hatch cover I’d made over the summer and decided it was time to see if it fits and put the snaps on while Wayne put the lifelines back on the boat. Oh, oh… and wrecking, frecking, smecker! Somehow it looks like it’s about an inch and a half to short in length. No matter how I stretched it I couldn’t get it over the other side. Can’t say as I understand it considering I took the old one apart and used it as a template. This was not the year to leave the sewing machine at home. Wrecking, frecking, smecker!!!

Life in the Workyard 1

Didn’t seem as hot today. Found my coffee maker bright and early this morning before daylight so was able to make some coffee instead of running up to Burger King for some. Today was a definite workday. I scraped the bottom paint from the hull and Wayne cleaned the topside. Clouds rolled in, which helped to keep the sun off us, and the temperature just didn’t seem as high today.

I managed to get the hull scraped today and Wayne got the topside clean again. It’s nice to be able to sit in the cockpit again without sitting in the black ash/mold that seemed to permeate that area. I guess they burn sugarcane somewhere around here and the ash drift deposits settle on everything. I’d seen some yesterday wafting on the evening breeze. When I held my hand up to catch some I was amazed how it looked like a blade of black grass that disintegrated into powder as it touched my hand.

Blue Pearl is looking sharp. New lettering, bottom is painted, teak and decks sparkling. They’re waiting for the cutless bearing to be put in and they’re ready to go back into the water. We’re just starting & wish we were at their point :) We’d dropped off our lifelines at Mack Sails yesterday and I guess they need to see our fittings. We’ll go by in the morning with them. I’m just glad that they’re making the ole college try. After being turned down by another rigging place last year (Sorry. They don’t make those anymore) and having them thrown back on the boat while we were gone, then sending them to West Marine (who sends their stuff to the west coast) who also returned them to us (Sorry. They don’t make those anymore) it’s refreshing to see somebody try! I guess if you need lifelines, you should go to a sail maker.

We watched Pam & Glen dance their happy dance as Blue Pearl was lifted and placed in the water. The engine started up and it looks like they’re good to go tomorrow!

Life in the Boatyard 2

Hot, hot, hot day! I’m not used to working in the heat and humidity of Florida. The sun comes up fast and heats up fast!  Called my brother to see how Di was doing (surgery yesterday). She’s doing all right J. We’ll go visit them this weekend Yay!

Chatted with Pam and Glen, then went to check out the chaps on Kasidah’s dingy that Arline made. It has a detachable storm cover on the front so if it’s choppy and you’re shopping you can zip it up and the groceries won’t get soaked. Boy we could have used that on the Cape May, New Jersey coastline!

Strange and hot day. Glen & Sid were jockeying cars around to Stuart and back (their next intended anchorage) and Glen’s going with Sid over to Stuart, then Pam’s taking Sid’s car back to Stuart to pick up Glen and returning to the marina.

We followed the boatlift around until they got us over in the boatyard, then started to move more stuff aboard. It was just to hot. After Chatting with Arline (Kasidah) Wayne and I took her car to Stuart and dropped it off, then over to Walmart for more provisions. I was so sweaty and grubby but thought fooey and went as was.  When we got back it was still hot.

We got to say hellow to our favorite alligator - Elvis - while returning Arline’s car keys. So he’s still hanging out here… big and mean looking, with big sharp teeth. Did I say he was big? He’s big.

After sweating to death some more loading more aboard Kolibrie we decided enough was enough and had some chicken and salad for dinner, showered (delicious) and I think it’s time for bed. Tomorrow we’ll sweat some more…

Life in the Boatyard begins

Chatted with Pam & Glen (Blue Pearl) and met Sid (Quest) who also has an Island Packet. He lives across the sound from Pam & Glen and was thinking about crossing with Blue Pearl this year. Checked in the marina office again with Ann to see about the Thanksgiving Gala they have here and found out that they were able to move us to the working yard tomorrow! Yay!

Met Jon & Arline from Kasidah (a very lovely Ericson 36C) then unloaded some stuff from the car. When it got too hot we headed to Mack Sails (also a rigging place) to see if they could fix us up with some replacement lifelines, picked up some stuff from a marine for Pam & Glen, then hit Sam’s Club and back to the boatyard. We used Glen’s GPS to find the places and I’d forgotten how nice it is to have one.

Drinks over on Blue Pearl and a light salad/chicken dinner with champagne to celebrate another year of successful cruising with friends. Wonderful time with them, Sid and Eric (Summertime) the boat next to Pearl.

Back to Kolibrie again :)

The trip from Daytona was uneventful. Temperatures in the lower to mid 80s and by the time we got to the boat it leveled out at 85. We drove right up to Kolibrie and did a quick once around to see how she looked and she looked okay (happy dance) so we walked over to the work yard to see if Blue Pearl was still there. They were – Pam was working on varnishing the rub rails and Glen was just returning from picking up a mail package. We chatted with them for a bit then let them get back to work and headed over to the office to see what the prognosis was for getting over to the boatyard (it looked busy but Glen thought 3 boats were going in the water tomorrow). We were told that we should have called a week or so earlier to be put on the list so we’d probably have to wait until next week because they were pretty booked up all month. Hmmm… we’ve never encountered this problem before. This could turn into an interesting stay. Eric (the boatyard manager) came by when he finished lunch to also let us know that they were pretty swamped and it might be a while. We’re not allowed to work on the boat where it sits so the bowsprit and bottom paint, waxing and varnish will have to wait. We may be able to get some of the inside stuff done, stowage, water pump, electrical, etc., so some of the stuff we were going to do at Vero we may just do here. There’s no real reason to go or provision at Vero other than we like it there so we may just make use of our time here for the odd stuff.

We started lugging some of the stuff aboard, and then decided we should make the bed before it got dark (no power, no lights). After that I unpacked my clothes. I guess I’m officially moved in if my “stuff” is onboard! Then we headed over to Burger King for a bite and to see if I could get the wireless working at the marina. I couldn’t so we came back to the boat and I plugged in my broadband, it worked, checked Facebook, email and I’m typing away in the dark while Wayne sleeps. Since my battery is half gone, think I’ll retire for the night. Hello Kolibrie – I’ve missed you but not all the work that waits in the heat… It’s good to be back though.

Florida and nostalgia!!!

Termite mound in Africa

Have you ever noticed how some songs inspire you to reach higher in life? Once we got everything back in the car and settled into the driving routine, the song ‘Africa’ by Toto came on. That was one of those songs, for me. It mentally inspired me to reach out and explore the world. I could always visualize the Serengeti and hear the lions calling out to each other in the tall grass. I used to make up my own line “…Kilimanjaro rises like a leopardess above the Serengeti…” those words always inspired me more than “..rises like Olympus above the Serengeti…”  I could picture a large cat sitting there looking out over her domain.  Anyhow “Africa” was one of those songs and I had to start singing along and keeping beat in my seat without dancing out of it. The sun on my face and shoulders, Africa playing, and watching the road scenes along the way – it was a good morning to travel.

We took a slight detour off I-95 over to Fernandina Beach/Tiger Point to see Axel (Azaya), and Beth & Jim (Madcap). Madcap was in the water and looking good!  We got there just in time to say hi, as they were getting ready to anchor out today. After catching up with them for a bit, we went to visit Axel. Azaya is scheduled to go into the water tomorrow so our timing was excellent. We got to see two sets of friends in one day. Mary is still in Alaska but Axel’s friend Tiff is helping Axel out and going to be with him until Vero Beach before he heads back to Alaska. Mary will be here in mid-December. It was terrific to be able to see Madcap and Azaya again.  I feel a little bit behind with the boat after seeing Madcap and Azaya, but that’s okay. We’re a little bit further south already.  I hope we get to catch up with the Pearl when we get to the boatyard.

We stopped in Daytona Beach Florida for the night – right across from the speedway. That has got to be the largest speedway I’ve seen. I’m glad I don’t have to contend with the race weekend traffic that this place must get! MIS get’s packed; I can’t imagine what this place is like!  We’re about 3-3 ½ hours to the boat now… Tomorrow we begin…

Lunch with our niece - N.C.

After going on Facebook last night we discovered our niece Becky wasn’t far from us. She lives in Charlotte and invited us over for lunch. We left High Point around 10 and made good time there (before noonish). She made a Chicken Kiev and spinach salad for lunch – what a treat!  It was so nice to be able to visit with her and catch up if even so briefly (it’s been many years). Alex and Kenzie (her two munchkins) are adorable. They also have 2 kittens from the animal shelter that just melt your heart. I was very good and didn’t shanghai either of them. J  We were sorry to have missed Travis – they were practicing drills at an old school (he’s a fireman) this weekend.

The rest of the day was spent on the road and we’re somewhere in S. Carolina about 15 miles from the Georgia border. I saw my first palm tree – okay clump of palms (probably palmettos) on the grassy median while we were zipping along through S. Carolina.  It’s funny to think as we race along I-95 at 70mph towards Florida how the pace of our travels via car compares to the pace of life on the boat. In the car (or even in a plane) it’s speed and all about the destination. On the boat, it’s the journey there as well. You get to see so much more at a slower pace than zipping along in the car.  We’ll go from 70mph and roughly 360 miles in the course of 8-10 hours to a whopping 6-7mph and 35-50 miles in the same amount of time. Life slows considerably and there’s time to look and actually see/feel your surroundings at a hiking speed. 

We pulled in for the night about 15 miles from the Georgia border. So tonight we’re in S. Carolina. The push for Florida will continue tomorrow.

Still looking at furniture along the path back to the boat

Today was another sunny day with temperatures in the upper 60s. Delightful except I think I’m getting someone’s cold. It was rough sleeping last night and I feel a bit better after my morning shower. Throat feels a little tight and raw and I’m dragging butt.  We ended up changing rooms after we couldn’t get the safe to work (what, me leave my computer out or in the car while shopping???) then headed over to Boyle’s Furniture showroom to see what they had.  It looked like they were having a blowout sale of some sort. There wasn’t much there, and what was there seemed like remnants and odds and ends, so we went back over to Furniture-land South again. I think we may have found some furniture that will work – but it may have to wait for our return trip home to order it (funds are very tight). Hopefully we’ll still be able to. In the meantime, we’ve other things to think of and take care of first. Like boat work and launching her.  I’m getting anxious to see her again. I know Blue Pearl checked on her and said she was okay, but I’ll feel better once I see her for myself.  I’m hoping I get to see my brother before we take off again. Tomorrow we start the trek south again & I’m ready. A quick jot to my brother and perusal of Facebook then it’s time to hit the sack. I’m not sure where I picked up some germs but it feels like my sinuses want to explode – all right already with the raw nose!

Veteran's Day & Browsing Furnitureland (Wow!)

Now that's a chest of drawers!!!

Judy was correct. The Furniture-land South shopping place was huge. We didn’t finish going through it. When we pulled up, the sign said it was the world’s largest home furnishings showplace and to accentuate it, they have a gigantic chest of drawers outside the building. The “campus” is broken into 3 areas – a showroom, a mart (that’s where the 85 foot tall highboy stands outside) and the outlet center. They also have their own café and a Starbucks so you can take a break (there’s really nothing around the area but them so if you want lunch it’s the only game in town).

The Showroom was a maze of different rooms featuring various manufacturers (there’s more than 500 name-brands here) and when you walk in they greet you with a brochure, map and a consultant.  If you need your consultant or get lost, you call them on their cell and they show up to help you.  Holey smokes. The place was unreal, and I’ve never seen so much quality furniture.  You pick a style you like, then the type of material or leather, the designs, color, etc…  It was definitely overwhelming! We didn’t finish and will return tomorrow.  We never made it to Boyles (the other furniture place that was recommended).

Back at the Quality Inn, we’re both exhausted. Papa John’s delivers so it’s pizza again tonight!

Just a moment to reflect on Veteran’s Day today.  I'm not a socialist or a communist. I’m not part of a caste system, nor anyone's chattel. I'm free to choose my own path, free to fall down, to fail and get up and try to succeed again. Success isn't guaranteed or a given in our country. The freedom to try or to fail is what is a given and is mine - as an American. These freedoms were fought hard for and were won with the blood, sweat and tears of others.  I appreciate that I was born into such a country. I’m glad that my father tried to make a better life for himself and came here.  I can’t imagine being born in any other country. Not everyone has the blessing to be able to speak up or have control over what path they’d like to take in life. Thank you to all those serving our country & protecting our freedoms. Thank you veterans, living & not that gave those freedoms to me and my family. Thank you.

High Point, NC 70 degrees and sunny

Pretty little maple tree

It was another beautiful sunny day for driving and we’ve caught up to the fall color change that Mary was searching for up north. The trees still have some leaves and the further south we drive the more colorful it is. The leaves are shades of  red, orange and golden yellows and the full sunshine intensifies the colors as we drive further south.

We stopped at a couple of visitor centers one in Virginia and one in N. Carolina to see if they had any information on the furniture shopping centers in N. Carolina and I’m glad we did. It looks like there are a few in High Point, which is not where we were originally headed. Boyle’s and Furniture-land South seem to be the recommended places to go to so we changed direction and are now in a Quality Inn for the evening. Tomorrow we’ll check out the furniture places but we were told that we should be prepared for a full day and probably wouldn’t see everything.  Jane (at one of the visitor’s centers) said that Wayne should just drop me off at 8 am and pick me up at 5pm.  Yikes. They can’t be that big can they?  I ordered a pizza for dinner and someone’s knocking at the door. Pizza time…

On the road again!!! Southbound to other adventures...

After a stretch of cold weather (highs in the 30s; lows in the 20s) it warmed up into the upper 60s yesterday and lower 70s today. It was a perfect day to join the flocks of geese that have been congregating on the lake and resting for their trek south. All week I’ve watched them as they fly overhead and at sunset land in the middle of the lake. Their gentle calling to each other as they seek refuge at twilight reminds me that the days are getting shorter and our time here... shorter still. So today after loading up the car and deciding that we’d done all the last minute stuff, we headed south under sunny skies with puffy, fair weather clouds.

Geese close up of them in formation

For the most part, it was a good summer that melted into a beautiful fall - full of color. I am left disheartened with our legal system though. The rose colored glasses are definitely off. I see that many can use the legal system for their own gain while raking others through the coals (at whim). 

Anyhow…. 

 

We finished the drywall and painting, retiled the broken tiles in the kitchen and got our carpet. I got to see most of the people that I wanted to see and enjoyed the time I got to spend with them. I adored going caving with Erma and the grandsons and got to feel like grandma! 

We went kayaking in a river with very little water or current and after 7 miles of it we were tuckered. I was proud that the boys finished it without much stress but I don’t think it left a good taste in their mouth for kayaking. 

Hmmm maybe a kayak at the lake… annnnd This Halloween I got to be a witch with them and scare the neighbors. Who says Halloween is just for kids? 

Me (ahhh hahahahaaaaa) Sam, Tan & Jess

Ah blowing the conch horn and listening to the ocean... 

Granddaughter Sophia liked listening to the ocean in one of the conch horns I made and, it was great to see grandson Zach pick up the conch horn and blow it with gusto. I’m embarrassed to say it took me quite a while to do what he did on his first try! I was awestruck to see him pick it up and blow into it like he’s been doing it forever. I think he’s older than 5!!! Greg says he can play the didgeridoo too! I can believe it  

I loved the lunches and time with relatives and friends. My trip to Shipshewana with the girls is always special for me and I look forward to it every year. Sharing my sister’s birthday with her before heading south was such a bonus! We’d normally have left earlier, but since the boat is in Florida this year, we had the luxury of staying a little later, so it was a double bonus to have the boat in Florida.

We’re at a Hampton Inn in Athen’s Ohio after the drive to Brinkman’s to pick up some canned goods. Tomorrow we’ll stop somewhere around Hickory North Carolina to look at some furniture in the outlet stores.  I don’t think I’ve ever stayed at a Hampton before and all I can say is Wow! Nice place. Not a place we’d normally stop at, but it looked like the only game in town right now. To bad I’m toooo tired to take full advantage of the place.