Captain Jim

Winging it...

2012-02-01T10:17:00.000-08:00

Rain this morning, but it stopped in time for us to load up the Speck. Even had some breaks with blue sky on the way back to the rental place. I was kinda appalled when we first got that car, but it turned out to be very adequate for getting around in the city. We could fit into any parking spot, and when I would make a wrong turn, I could do a U-turn in about a lane and a half. Still, I didn't shed a tear when we turned it back in.

Gray skies while we're waiting for the plane, but sunny and 70s for the next 10 day forecast for the Phoenix area. We're looking forward to some of that sunshine. And, seeing "the kids"... daughter, son-in-law, and the furry one. Stephanie has been sending us photo texts this week so we could see how little Izzy has been doing.

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On edit: Back in the desert. Quite a change from the rain and overcast of the PNW to the Arizona land of dry and infinite sunshine. Little Izzy was happy to see us, and vice versa.

We had a plan on boarding the plane: take the first set of unoccupied seats that didn't have screaming kids nearby. The couple behind us must have had their two kickers and screamers hidden under their jackets, 'cause we sure didn't see them. Just my luck - they put the two of them together in one seat... right behind me. In reality, the Mother was more of an annoyance than the kids... when they'd kick or scream she'd say, "Do you want a spanking? I'll do it right here." Repeatedly.

"Do it, already, lady... or shut up. The kids are fine." ;-)

There it is!

2012-01-31T17:10:00.000-08:00

A sun break! Didn't last long, but I have proof...

We put the little car in line for the ferry, then walked around a bit before heading off the island. When we've been here in the past, it has been by boat. These past couple days, we had the opportunity to explore the island by car. The "highlights", Friday Harbor, Roche Harbor, English Camp, are all places folks said we should see... and we have, by boat. Driving across the middle of the island, you could have been in any rolling hills, forested two lane area. It is those unique places along the shore that make this area so special.

Our last look around the marina, I found this boat again...

This is something Joan frequently calls me... you have to say it with a bit of sarcasm to get the full effect. I may see if they need a deckhand.

Not as many cars heading onto the ferry today as when we came from Anacortes. There was a school bus full of high school age kids - boys in ties, the girls dressed nicely; must be on a field trip or maybe heading to a basketball game? They were well behaved. Plenty of room for everyone, with space to spare...

I'm guessing it doesn't look like that during the summer. Our parting view of the marina...

We watched that seaplane come in, but I didn't have the camera out. And, we're off...

My phone with the Navionics app this time...

I had to take a second look to see what this was; the zoom lens helps...

It's a large propane truck on a small ferry. Understandable - you can't take hazardous materials on a passenger ferry.

It wasn't perfectly smooth, like the trip over, but the ceiling was higher and no precip. We could see snow on the mountains as we approached Anacortes. It seemed chillier and windier than the weather at Friday Harbor.

We stopped a couple times on the way back towards Seattle; a nice lunch out and luggage shopping. Seems that we were maxed in our luggage on the way here, and we picked up some stuff at the boat show and some study materials for when we come back this summer. Plenty of traffic late afternoon; I think the pace of island time suits us better.

The time was short, but we really have enjoyed being here.

A rain-free day...

2012-01-31T07:24:00.000-08:00

Mostly. The news reported "a sun break today," and we saw it! Toured around the island, visited with some locals, found the breakfast place Tom told us about. We came equipped for the "island weather"... with a t-shirt. Oh, and a turtleneck, a fleece vest, and a GorTex jacket over that. ;-)

The place we are staying is nice. I used the hot tub the first night we were here. The place was mostly unoccupied. There were guests in the room above us last night... from the sound, I think they are part of a clogging troupe. :-0 Another reason I like my own accommodations.

We'll line up for the ferry today to start the trek southward.

Back to being an island boy...

2012-01-29T18:25:00.001-08:00

Certainly not a tropical island.

We drove north from the Seattle area today, in the more typical PNW drizzly conditions. Destination: Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands. Not knowing what the demand would be for the ferry, we arrived an hour and a half early, and we weren't the first ones in line...

Trying to get into the island spirit, we kicked back and read and surfed while waiting for the ferry. Easy to say that when this is a once in a great while thing for us. They started loading the ferry about 12 minutes before the scheduled departure...

It was interesting watching the guy guide in vehicles, deciding on the fly which lane they should head to.

We wound up close to the front on the port side.

If it hadn't been raining, I might have just picked the car up and carried it under my arm and just paid as a walk-on. ;-)

Once underway, we went upstairs to the comfortable seating. Joan pulled up Maps on her iPhone to check the route, I went for the Navionics marine app...

The water was smooth as glass on the ride over; we only saw one boat out moving around...

A 42' Nordic Tug - a good looking boat that looked kinda small from this perspective.

This may be old hat to folks who live here, but the ferry ride was a treat for us. It took off right on time and pulled into the dock at Friday Harbor right on time.

We were in Friday Harbor nearly 6 years ago on our boat. It looks quite different this time of year: very few people out and about...

We walked the docks for a bit (the rain stopped) - saw a couple C-Dorys, reminisced about where we had last been on the docks, and enjoyed seeing the boats. We passed one other person out on the dock while we were there. Yep, it's quiet here. We visited with a nice guy in the Harbormaster's Office - very friendly and informative.

Time for supper; we set off in search of an Italian restaurant our friend Tom told us about. He couldn't remember the name of the place, but Friday Harbor isn't that big... a half our later, I stopped at a convenience store to ask. "Oh, that must be Vinnie's. It's good food." He gave me directions. Yeah, "Take a left by the ferry" didn't pan out for us, so Joan Googled it. Never would have found it, since it sits off the street and has no signage that you can see until you are right in front of the place. Of course, it was closed. I had my mouth ready for Italian, so we went to... Kung Fu Pizza. Chinese and pizza. Sounds odd, but the pizza was outstanding. And the Chinese menu looked good, too. We may have to go back tomorrow to try that out.

We visited with the young man who waited on us about life in Friday Harbor - he was originally from Florida and couldn't say enough good about this place and the people who call it home.

The room we are in for the next couple nights is compact, but very liveable. Right across the street from the place we were told to go for "the best breakfast in town." And, they have a hot tub. I can't imagine there'll be a crowd in there tonight. Quite a different pace from the past few days.

The Purchase...

2012-01-28T16:59:00.000-08:00

Some of our friends seem to think we came here to buy another boat. Truly, Wild Blue suits us just fine. But, today, we did the "In The Water" portion of the boat show...

BIG boats. I don't think Big Red is up to towing these. ;-) And for our sailing friends, yes, we checked out the sailing options...

A 27' Hunter was the smallest boat there. For the power side of things, a North American 28 was the smallest thing on the water. We did look at some bigger stuff, too...

This one has a little more walking around space than Wild Blue. Without getting crazy, I did pick out my "If I Win The Lottery" boat...

And, inside...

Joan was feeling pretty comfortable at the helm of this one...

I nearly got a nosebleed after the climb to that upper helm.

Lots of fun. Oh, and that purchase... it wasn't a boat, but we did buy a couple of neat do-dads for quick deployment of fenders; seems that we pick up some of those at every boat show we go to... and sometimes they actually work. We bought a few more little odds and ends; I enjoy seeing "the better mousetrap" that inventors come up with for things that we didn't even know we needed.

The new Raymarine chartplotters are impressive. I haven't worn ours out, yet; but when I do, these will deserve strong consideration.

It's been fun seeing folks, checking out new boats, and getting a chance to be immersed in the type of boats that we enjoy... even if none of them were C-Dorys.

Still going...

2012-01-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

The party last night was big fun. About 60 like-minded C-Dory folks. Some of us went by bus to Pat and David's Tap Room...

There was music by one of our own C-Brats, Peter and company...

Not just music - AMAZING musicianship by all 5 guys!

Good food and lively conversation...

Sorry I didn't get more photos; it was 3/4 of the way into the evening before I even thought to pull out the camera. The C-Brats are a great bunch of people... united by the boats we drive, unique and friendly. A lot like the forum itself. It was the opportunity to renew some old friendships and meet a lot of folks that we knew by their posts on the forum. Great to be able to put the faces and voices with the names and the writing.

This morning, it was lunch in the lobby area, with more visiting, and now we're off to look at boats and boat stuff again.

Adventures in boat show attending...

2012-01-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

Even though the show didn't start 'till 11:00, we were excited to get out and about. Nobody told me I was gonna have to start the day like this...

Yep - ice on the windows. The traffic was pretty thick on I-5 as we got close to downtown. The last time we were here, I commented on how polite other drivers were to us... not so much today, but that might be the California plates on our rental car!!

We drove around downtown a bit, got our tickets, then parked the car. $11... on a square footage basis, they are getting a good price for this Speck...

I cursed at the size of the car when we picked it up... not much else would have fit into that skinny parking space.

And, here we are at the boat show! We stood in line, waiting for the doors to open. Did I mention that it was cold? No? It was. Good thing we didn't leave our coats in the car, but then we had to carry them around all day.

An overview...

I was not surprised to discover that there wasn't a single C-Dory on display at the show. Disappointed, but not surprised. One of the most active displays is the Ranger Tug area...

Since we were some of the first ones in the door, we were able to get that shot before it filled up with people. We were able to say hi to Jeff Messmer (we bought our C-Dory from him when he was with C-Dory - he's a VP at Ranger and doing a fine job of taking care of owners) and tour through the boats; one of each model on display. While they all look good, the new 31 was getting a LOT of attention...

VERY cool cockpit seats that fold out from the sides. Of course, the big attraction of that model is the new command bridge...

One of the really great things about coming here is the opportunity to see friends... and Joe and Ruth are some of the nicest people you will ever meet...

We walked our feet off, made it past many of the displays, visited some of the folks at the various booths, and barely made it through this part of the show before we had to head back to the hotel to catch the bus to the C-Dory gathering this evening.

I did stop at the Hinckley display to check out the beautiful picnic boat...

They must be selling like hotcakes, cause that guy you see in the photo was barely able to look up from his computer to acknowledge me. It is a beautiful boat, but I would have to get surgery to have my nose turned up in order to buy one. Or maybe get an ascot? That is a stereo-type, and he was playing the part to the hilt.

Looking forward to seeing lots of C-Dory friends tonight and doing more boat show looking tomorrow.

Spoiled...

2012-01-26T17:54:00.000-08:00

I admit it: I'm spoiled. We took a flight out of Phoenix today... left the coach 3 hours early for a 3 hour flight. You never know what the traffic will be like for the 25 minute (normally) drive to the airport. You're supposed to check in 2 hours early. Then stand in line to get undressed and go through security, then hope to find a seat at the gate... where you will wait for another hour and 45 minutes.

We were a bit late getting out... seems we didn't have a crew for the airplane. "Hey, anyone here know how to fly a 737?" ;-)

The flight itself was fine; Southwest still makes you stand in line a couple times before you get on the plane, then you hope to find two seats together... unless you pay an extra $10 each to "check in" early... and you'll still stand in line a couple times.

There was snow on the mountains on the way north, when we could see between the clouds. Only partly cloudy as we made our approach into SeaTac... a rare bit of sunshine. I like to think I brought that with me, but I know it won't last.

The luggage came fairly expeditiously, only a 25 minute wait. Then, we schlepped the luggage outside to wait for a rental car bus... and waited another 25 minutes. The rental rate on the car (looking to get the least expensive option) was $67 for the 5 days we'll be using it... then add on the taxes (not the insurance)... a fuel charge (bring the car back empty and it's not a bad deal)... and that total comes to... $188. Seriously? The car is a Chevy Speck; no, not really - it's an Aveo. That's an old Indian term that means: car made from tin foil and a moped motor. My fault - I did say, "the least expensive option." Seriously, the glove box on Big Red has more room in it than this little popcorn fart of a car.

The iPad found our way to the hotel, where we waited in line for... any guesses? Yep, about 25 minutes. It's a nice place, but there were two couple in front of us and only one person at the front desk... until it was our turn, then they added another person at the desk.

Oh, the spoiled part? We used to fly everywhere, get rental cars, and stay in nice hotels. It's been a while since we've had to do that... traveling by boat or RV is so much easier: you only pack once, you have all your stuff with you, your own potty, kitchen, seating, and bed. And, you can use any of those amenities while enroute.

Traveling this way reminds me of how spoiled I've become. Flying isn't fun anymore; hell, it isn't even interesting. People-watching while in line showed darn few people with smiles on their face. We're here for some fun stuff (boat show, C-Brat gathering, and some "recon" for this summer), but the getting here was more of a chore than a pleasure. Yep, I'm spoiled.

Dry wash...

2012-01-23T14:55:00.000-08:00

An oxymoron. Like, jumbo shrimp, or rap music.

At the RV show we attended in the Rio Grande Valley, I bought a waterless wash kit. It has a great extending brush that uses attached miracle cloths to put some of the "stuff" on it, then rotate it to the dry side to wipe it off. That's the premise.

In use... well, it works. I did over half the coach yesterday in less than an hour, then finished it up today. Maybe a bit less work than scrubbing the exterior down with soapy water, rinsing it, then drying it. But, the big deal with it is a lot of RV parks do not let you wash your rig on the site. After a day or three or 4 on the road, the coach gets pretty grubby. I was concerned that dirt would get ground into the finish, but if there is grit on there, I think I would still wash it with water before using this stuff.

Keep in mind where we are... this is the same park that doesn't allow cargo trailers. Oh, you can have a shed, a dog run, or leave your crap all over your site, but you can't have a nice-looking cargo trailer to keep it all contained out of site. But, I digress... I have no doubt that we would get a demerit, or be shunned, or get some sort of black mark on our permanent record if we tried to wash the coach. In spite of that, I did use some soap and water in a bucket and then a brief hosing with fresh water to knock the bugs off before using the waterless wash... and that worked really well.

It is now an hour after a finished the coach... and the sky is looking pretty dark off to the southwest. Sheesh!

Down...

2012-01-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

Settled in, got to spend the evening with our sweet daughter and son-in-law. We need to do some cleaning on the Love Shack, after 1,300 miles of road grime. I'll have more time to figure out what's going on with the landing gear jacks. Hoping to find some time for kicking back, too. ;-)

3 state day...

2012-01-18T18:51:00.000-08:00

250 miles across the last of west Texas, a stop at Camping World east of El Paso, across New Mexico, and into Arizona... it was a long driving day. Did you know that El Paso is an old Spanish term for "really crazy drivers"? I call it Tijuana Taxi meets NASCAR - crazy ass lane changing, cutting across 4 lanes to make an exit, 20 mph over the speed limit through a construction zone (oh, and that was a school bus), and it goes on for about 25 miles.

New Mexico has new license plates... they still say "Land of Enchantment" (an old Indian term for "blowing dirt.") We've made this trip a lot, I'm always amazed at how Mother Nature can schedule a headwind no matter what direction we're going.

Way less RV traffic on the roads compared to a year ago... a sign of higher fuel prices and the ever-dragging economy. Same scene in the RV parks: plenty of spaces anywhere we've been.

Nice days and cold nights so far - it was 28º when we got up this morning in west Texas! Plenty comfortable in the HitchHiker.

Jacking me around...

2012-01-17T15:24:00.000-08:00

Problems with the front landing gear jacks again. They quit while trying to get level on a very uneven site last night. Turned out to be a blown fuze. This morning while retracting the jacks, they quit again. I was in a hurry to make some miles, so I just cranked them up by hand.

After a long driving day of nearly 400 miles into west Texas (and still 200+ miles to go to get through it), we are down for the day. It's not the fuze. I check continuity on the wiring, the switch, and all the connections - they seem fine. Big ol' pain in the butt. For tonight, we are in a site that is reasonably level... but, if I have to drop the 5th wheel for any reason (and I will have to at some point, I am in deep doo-doo.

I've run through my ideas of what to check. We are going to have to find some service somewhere to get this taken care of.

Blue Monday...

2012-01-16T05:32:00.000-08:00

Some folks consider this the "gloomiest day of the year." Factors like the weather, post-holiday debt, and low motivational levels make it the gloomiest date on the calendar.

Warm, sunny, and windy (a tailwind!) as we get ready to leave the Tropical Tip today.

North and west to Arizona, then a side trip to Seattle for the boat show. And a peek at the 10 day forecast for Seattle...

Not a bit of sunshine in the foreseeable future. That would be tough to deal with on a day-in day-out basis. Hand me my guitar, I feel the need to play the blues.

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On edit: down for the night just south of San Antonio. We had a lovely tailwind all day, and the fuel mileage showed it: over 12 miles per gallon! We're in a Passport America park that we've stayed in previously... and the sites are quite a ways off level. Tonight, I do believe we are in their premier off-level site... with jacks extended all the way, we are still a half bubble off level (insert your own "half bubble off level" joke here). Shorts and short-sleeve weather all day, Joan has the A/C running right now. Little Izzy has had supper and is checking out the neighbors. I'm minus one G (only 3G instead of 4G), but I'm not in a hurry.

Local weather is showing a headwind for us tomorrow... running across West Texas generally gives us the highest fuel prices of this route. Just doing our part to keep the economy going.

Close...

2012-01-15T16:33:00.000-08:00

The Love Shack is loaded, we are exhausted. We'll be rolling in the morning. I need a driving day so I can get some rest.

It took little Izzy about 12 seconds to get comfortable again in the HitchHiker... she has her small tower and plenty of toys - she is content. Me, too - I have 4G. ;-)

Those odd tracks...

2012-01-14T15:01:00.000-08:00

It's what you see when my ass is dragging... and it is. Load after load went into the 5th wheel today. Joan is a master packer - I am always amazed at how much stuff any of our conveyances swallow up when she goes to work.

Being a guy, I open a drawer, take what is on top, and toss it onto a pile. Pretty easy, actually. The other of us, who isn't a guy, takes time to visualize, then puts it together like a watch-maker. At one point today, we took everything out of the belly of the 5th wheel, added more stuff, then put it all back in... and it fit. I think we have somewhere around 3,000 pounds of useful load, and I'm pretty sure I carried that much from the house to the truck to the coach... thus, the ass dragging.

Fridge stuff and toiletries, close up the "vacation house," and we are on the road again.

Getting loaded...

2012-01-13T16:26:00.000-08:00

I don't know what you people are thinking - I'm talking about loading up the 5th wheel. We had to put in new batteries this morning; the old ones just gave out... fortunately, they held in there long enough to get out of the storage lot. Seems that marine/RV batteries are only warrantied for 12 months... they live a tough life: getting charged all the time that the rig is plugged in, getting drained down when they aren't, and time in storage, usually hot or cold. I complicated the procedure by bringing the wrong batteries to the counter, then having to exchange them before I even left the counter... but had already paid for them. My bad.

We swapped out some furniture in the coach and sanitized the fresh water tank and lines. Food, clothes, and some odds and ends to go... feels "like home."

In and Out...

2012-01-12T16:54:00.000-08:00

Wild Blue is in, the Love Shack is out. And in between, we went to the Rio Grande Valley RV Show. Not as easy as it seems, since Mother Nature decided to blow the wind from the north at about a gazillion miles per hour! Of course, I am kidding - it was only a half a gazillion miles per hour... strong enough that I was talking myself out of getting the 5th wheel out of storage. We decided to take in the RV Show and take a "wait and see" on moving the coach.

It's been quite a while since we've been to an RV show; in fact, the last time we went to this show was before the RV industry imploded. There were plenty of campground and stuff vendors; lots of park homes; and plenty of travel trailers, 5th wheels, and Class C motorhomes... and not a single Class A, gas or diesel, at this show.

I was pleased to see some HitchHikers at the show...

The dealer from Buda, Texas, had 3 of them on display. One thing we noticed when we stepped inside was the difference in noise - the HitchHikers were quieter inside.

With the cold windy weather, we thought the crowds might be light... we were wrong. Plus, they all seemed to know what row we were in and gathered in massive groups, managing to stay one RV ahead of us.

One new thing that I hadn't seen before: slide outs that moved a kitchen counter over another counter...

Nice use of space. And some wide open interiors...

The RVs were all under cover - even though it didn't rain, this would sure make the displays less dependent on nice weather.

Speaking of the weather - yesterday, I posted a photo of the boat that had Joan in the background... in shorts. And today...

Yep, a winter coat. Yesterday was in the upper 70s and light wind; today was in the low 50s, and I already mentioned that biting wind. By the time we had taken in the whole RV show, then a late lunch, the wind had let up to moderately miserable... we decided to go for bring the Love Shack in. At the storage lot, the folks in a slot just a couple up from ours were having a problem getting the landing gear jacks up on their 5th wheel... dead battery. I lent them our jumper pack so they could get hooked up. Our batteries were weak, and I'll probably replace them before we head out, but they made it through our hooking-up... it's been 3 1/2 years.

Even with the ugly cross wind on the last leg today, Big Red did a fine job of handling the 5th wheel... great road manners! We put it on a site and will start the loading process tomorrow.

Oh, we didn't buy an RV today... it was never a consideration; we went to the show for the entertainment factor. We did see a few smaller RVs that were impressive, but nothing in our size that would make us consider a change. We did buy some stuff for cleaning the exterior. We really enjoy RVing, the RV lifestyle, and the folks we meet along the way... BUT... something about an RV show brings out stupid behavior in a lot of folks. Is it really necessary to slam open and closed every damn drawer in an RV that you have no intention of buying?? People eating corn dogs as they walk through brand spankin' new RVs - really??? People looking in a small Class C and saying, "I'd never buy this - there's no room for a washer/dryer." It's a 24 foot mini-motorhome for goodness sake - did you really think... oh, nevermind. Or, people looking in an 18 foot travel trailer and saying, "Look - it has a built-in coffee maker! You could live in this!" And my favorite today: a woman standing in a 5th wheel asked, "Where's the motor in this one?" And I did see a woman pull a small door off a cabinet, after pulling like a mule on it... "Well, I wouldn't buy this piece of crap..."

They need to put a sign in 'em like in an antique store: "You break it, you buy it." Aw, it probably wouldn't help.

Coming out...

2012-01-11T19:37:00.000-08:00

We had some serious low tides this morning, so we put of pulling Wild Blue out until around noon. Joan and I work together to make this easy: she pulls the truck and trailer to the ramp and backs in down into the water; I bring the boat around (it's about a mile to the ramp) and pull it right onto the trailer, where she is waiting to clip it on and winch it snug. I pull the rig out, then we work together to clean it up and get it ready for the road or to be put away.

I held my breath as the boat came out, anxious to see how the new bottom paint did... it's been just over two months.

Looks great! A little slime here and there that washed off with very little scrubbing. With the motor flushed, the boat and trailer hosed down thoroughly (salt water can be hard on a trailer if you don't flush it thoroughly), we strapped the boat down, put away lines and fenders, and headed off to the storage lot.

She looks rather regal amongst the mostly RV neighbors. Back home and just enough time to put away fenders and lines from the boat and dock before I had to head out to photograph some family portraits for some friends.

Busy days; we're right on schedule.

Take it off...

2012-01-10T16:16:00.001-08:00

Yeah, baby. The plan is to pull Wild Blue out of the water tomorrow, so we spent the day getting the camperback off, cleaned and put away. And all the stuff that you tend to gather onto a boat. It was dry and sunny, with the wind out of the north at about a gazillion miles per hour, so anything we wiped down (like all the eisenglass windows) dried in a heartbeat.

Tomorrow: bottom scrubbing, general boat cleaning, and off to storage.

Moving slow...

2012-01-09T08:26:00.000-08:00

No, not the achy muscles from our work on the trailer yesterday. I got up this morning, turned on the hot spot, and... 3G. I knew it was too good to last. My morning surfing wasn't as much fun. I uploaded a couple photos and it took minutes instead of seconds. Oh, I know some people have it much worse. ;-)

And then, by mid morning - it was back! Oh, happy days!

We're getting short here, and prepping Wild Blue for coming out of the water. Mother Nature messed with our plans by making today a rain day. We can work inside the boat, but the humidity is around 3,000%... better to have things dry when we put her away.

On edit: we took Wild Blue out for her last pleasure cruise for a while. The rain stopped, gray sky, gusty winds, in the upper 70s. Nice ride, but it's time to change gears once again.

Cargo Trailer, level 2...

2012-01-08T16:19:00.000-08:00

I have a love/hate relationship with the solid fiberglass tonneau cover on our pickup - it looks great and protects whatever we want to carry in the bed, but it has to come off when we tow the 5th wheel... and it is a beast to try to move around. It usually takes three of us to get it off the truck and move it onto our patio deck so we can haul the 5th wheel. Joan has been after me to come up with a way to store it in the cargo trailer so we can take it along or just store it in the trailer, out of the weather. Being an old sailor boy, I came up with a block and tackle for raising to the ceiling inside the trailer, but the top supports just couldn't handle the weight (I did mention that the thing is a beast). So, today, I went back to Plan B... which was really Plan A a couple months ago: we'll heft it onto some 2x4s mounted on the walls with joist hangers. Cheap and simple; and plenty solid.

Yep, that works...

There is just enough room to clear under it with the windshield on the motorcycle, and no loss of any other storage space! And with the truck parked just behind the trailer, it's relatively easy to move the beast back and forth with just the two of us!

Got an iPad?

2012-01-08T06:31:00.000-08:00

And now a word from our sponsor...

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And now back to our regularly schedule blog.

Who pooped on the dock?

2012-01-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

We haven't gotten out for a couple days while I recuperated from the crud I caught. It was just too nice today. Well, a bit breezy, but sunny and upper 70s. We decided to take the boat out for a lunch date. Around the back side of our island, down the ship channel, and just a bit north to Pier 19. They have a grand total of one dock for diners arriving by boat...

See the guy sitting on the post behind our boat? Well, he had about 7 or 8 friends sitting on the dock. And, they have a pretty fishy diet. And, apparently we startled them as we approached the dock. They gave up their spot, but they left plenty of evidence of their diet behind them... watch your step!

A couple dockhands from the one of the bay fishing boats that is based there came over and took lines for us. Once we had the boat tied off and appropriately fendered, we went inside for lunch... well after Joan washed her hands... twice.

The food is always good there. I stopped to shoot that photo above before we headed out. The ship channel was lumpy on the way back, with wind against the tide - Joan was happy to have a functioning windshield wiper on her side again.

Back home, we took the kayaks off the cabin top; the next couple days we'll be prepping the boat to haul her out for a while...

I finally remembered to get a good shot of the new helm seat...

Three days and I'm done!

2012-01-06T05:19:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I finished the whole thing... I haven't slept in three days and I am in dire need of a shower, but... I'm done. Yes, I read the entire internet! I'm kidding, but this 4G connection sure is nice.

We are switching gears, prepping for the swap from house and boat to 5th wheel once again. I spent most of yesterday working on a "lift project" for the cargo trailer, making a place to store the fiberglass tonneau cover for the truck bed.

Whoa! That was FAST!

2012-01-04T05:51:00.000-08:00

I got up this morning, dragging my butt to the medicine chest to find more near worthless cold medicine. I know all that stuff about "nothing you can do for a cold," but I am willing to treat "symptoms" if it makes the body aches less and slows the Niagra Falls of snot running out of my nose.

With the cat fed, the coffee maker ready to go, and the Alka Seltzer Cold Plus swallowed, I turned on the wifi hot spot feature on my phone.... well, there's something I haven't seen before: a "4G" signal. That must be a mistake, because we get a really lousy signal down here. I opened up my computer and got... no signal at all. Checked the phone again, and it was showing "NO Gs" or whatever you call it when the phone can't find a data signal. I restarted the phone and there it was again: "4G." I opened the computer again and ... ZOOM - my home page came up in a heartbeat! I pulled up a site to check the data download speed: almost 15 megs!!

It may be a test... or maybe some flukey solar flare thing; but, I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

----------------------------

On edit: I keep checking speed on my connection, waiting to receive a "Just Kidding" notice, but the download speed seems to vary between 7 and 14 megs - NICE!

Something else fast today: I received an upgrade on Photoshop. I have been plugging away with CS2 since we retired. It always seemed slow. Slow enough that at one point I switched back to the PS7.0 program that I still had on the computer. CS5 has been out long enough that it is likely due for another upgrade... and Adobe only allows 3 incremental steps up to upgrade. Knowing that the Consumer Electronics Show is coming up soon, and predicting that event would be a good time for Adobe to unveil an upgrade, I ordered CS5... and it showed up at the house about 48 hours later. Yes, I know it's available as a download, but until this morning, we didn't have enough speed for that.

The install went well with CS5, and it is SO much faster to work with than CS2.

Zoom, zoom, zoom.

I'm a loafer, she's my chauffer...

2012-01-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

Anyone get the old Grand Funk Railroad reference? ;-)

Still feeling lousy today, but I suggested to Joan that we go out for lunch, but she should drive. The weather was absolutely spectacular. While having lunch, Joan said, "I should take you out for a boat ride."

"That would be nice," I said, expecting to do the driving. I took off the window covers and got the boat ready to go, while Joan got drinks and cameras. She slid onto the helm seat and said, "I've got this." I sat back on the co-pilot seat while she went outside to take lines off, then back to the helm, and rotated the boat in our canal, and headed out.

We cruised out to the Gulf, then played around in the jetties. Not a lot of people out on boats, even with this beautiful weather - I guess everyone is back to work or school. There were excursion and fishing boats out, but not a lot of people on them.

While coming back up the ship channel, I laid in the v-berth for a short nap. I heard the motor pull back and asked, "What's up?"

"Dolphins!"

We hung around for a while, watching them play before heading back in. It was nice to get chauffered around.

The thickening of America...

2012-01-03T05:53:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to an article that basically says: Americans are getting fatter and passenger capacities on boats are going to have to be lowered...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/us/coast-guard-raises-assumed-average-weight-per-person.html?_r=1&hp

Average caloric intake is up over the past few decades, and as a whole, we've become more sedentary.

I haven't posted anything for a couple days due to the sickening of this American... seems like whatever bug got me right after we came back to Texas got me again, and knocked me on my butt. Head cold, upper respiratory crap, and every square inch of my skin hurts.

And wouldn't you know it - the weather has been pretty darn gorgeous since Steph and Dan left.

I need someone to sing me "Soft Kitty." (Big Bang Theory reference)

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T13:19:00.000-08:00

For quite a few years, when we've been in Texas for New Years, our tradition has been to anchor out and watch the fireworks on South Padre Island. The forecast is calling for low clouds and/or fog, so we may just spend a quiet evening around the house. The last time we tried to watch fireworks in the fog, we heard 'em, but only saw an occasional fuzzy flash. Kinda anti-climatic.

I may put on some romantic music and slip into a smoking jacket to see about getting some "fireworks" going... ummm, anyone have a smoking jacket I can borrow? ;-)

Happy New Year! Hope 2012 is good to y'all!

A foggy start...

2011-12-30T15:26:00.000-08:00

Quite foggy this morning, even after the wind came up. We talked about loading the kayaks on Wild Blue and heading out for some time on both conveyances... the wind continued to build, so we were "all dressed up," but decided to hang around the home front... er, the boat front.

We spent a couple hours at anchor - Joan made great phillies for lunch, then some lounging and game playing. Another pretty day after the fog lifted, so lots of people out on boats.

Coming back in...

And, a try at uploading a short video of the same thing...

If it doesn't work, it's no big loss - just an attempt to post something with the new small waterproof video Steph and Dan gave us.

And, little Izzy by the boat at the dock - she's ready to go!

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor dark of night...

2011-12-30T08:12:00.001-08:00

No, that's not the weather forecast for the Tropical Tip, just a little quote often attributed to the Postal system. We teased our daughter because we didn't get their Christmas card until the 28th... even though she swore she sent it the Monday before Christmas. And when we did finally get the card, the postmark showed that was, indeed, when she sent it.

Picking up mail yesterday, there was only one envelope in our box... an invitation to our friends', Steve and Jan, 40th anniversary party. The party date was Labor Day... yeah, last Labor Day. The postmark on the envelope: July 18, 2011... only a bit more than 5 months to get here!

And their solution to the red ink of the Postal system operation is to "slow down delivery and eliminate services"??? Sheesh!

Yes, Commissioner?

2011-12-28T17:40:00.001-08:00

Anyone remember the old Batman TV series? How 'bout the BatPhone? Well, I now have my own BatPhone... kinda. A couple months ago when we were in Branson, we walked through a Brookstone store - they have all kinds of fun stuff. One of the things I thought would be very practical was an old-timey looking phone handset, with a very modern twist: a bluetooth connection for a cell phone.

Our situation may be different from most, but here at the edge of the United States, in the Tropical Tip, our cell phone coverage is kinda crappy (technical term, hope I'm not getting over anyone's head here). Through trial and error, we have found the best positioning in our house for a signal... which is near a window in the living room. If you move away from there, the signal strength drops. My phone is also our wifi hotspot... so, if you move the phone, that signal gets worse, too. A bluetooth earbud has been OK... especially for me, 'cause I tend to move around when I talk on the phone. I don't know how anyone else feels about this, but the old days of rotary phones had the best feeling (and functioning) handsets. Well, except for that coil cord.

Joan is a good listener: I said something about that handset when we were in Brookstone. And, it was in my stocking for Christmas (assuming Joan told Santa, of course, 'cause I usually figure I'm on the "Naughty List", but I digress). It works great! When the phone rings, press one button (there's only one) on the phone handset and you are talking... no running to the "best reception place"... and the sound is WAY better than the phone. Anyone else have trouble lining up that one little hole that serves as a speaker in these cell phones with your ear? Yeah, me, too. But, those old handsets? No problem - there's a cup kinda thing that fits your ear.

Everything old is new again!

While we were out on the boat today, I was expecting a call from Steph to let us know that they arrived safely home. When my phone rang, Joan handed me the handset - she had brought it along with us on the boat! Way easy to hear, and I don't give a rat's rear how it looks...

Oh, I won't be using it in the truck (unless I'm the passenger), but the boat does have an autopilot. Yep, I am liking it!

Another absolutely glorious day, we spent some time at anchor. Very relaxing. Lots of boats again, everyone wanting to be out and about after the crappy weather around Christmas. We watched this ship go by, and the small boats scattering out of his way...

Ended the day with this view of the sky after the sun set...

Yeah, it's nice out...

2011-12-27T18:00:00.000-08:00

The kids left early this morning. As always, as soon as they leave, the weather turns beautiful... and, it did. Sunshine, glorious sunshine... and no wind... as in: no freakin' wind. I had thoughts of getting out in the boat; Joan told me I have thoughts of getting the Christmas decorations put away... after I get the cargo trailer moved. Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

The lights came down much faster than they went up. Of course, it took about a hundred times longer to get the lights back INTO the boxes they came out of.

Watching the clock tick away much of the afternoon, it was finally... boat time! We headed towards the Gulf - the water was nearly calm and a beautiful shade of blue. Along the way, we saw plenty of people out on boats - small boats, excursion boats, fishing boats, dolphin watch boats, head boats...

Out into the Gulf, the water was as calm as I've seen in a very long time. We got the chance to try out the small waterproof video camera Steph and Dan gave us... fun. I think I'll have to work on my hand-holding skills before it's ready for prime time.

Coming back in, the high rises on South Padre Island...

Set your watch back 200 years - the pirates are out and about, too...

And a nice sunset on the way home...

Yes, I did shoot some video of the sunset; it's going to take a faster internet connection than we have here before I can post it.

And for those who think it always goes smoothly...

2011-12-27T07:10:00.000-08:00

Talking about taking the photos with a timer. Yes, I was a professional photographer for over 30 years... but, I didn't use a timer to take all those images. This small Canon camera we use has a setting for the timer that really works great for this type of situation: 10 seconds to get back into the photo, then it takes 3 shots. Well, apparently I found another setting where it went about 30 seconds, then stopped, then took 3 shots...

And, another finished image with Steph and Dan...

We said our good-byes this morning, and they headed out. No tears this time, 'cause we'll see them again soon.

Family portrait day...

2011-12-26T18:19:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since we've done a family portrait - it used to be an annual ritual. This year, we did plan for it before Steph and Dan came to visit, mostly so we could have a "theme." Casual, like our lifestyle, was the plan. We originally had it scheduled for Friday, but Mother Nature had other ideas with the rain and wind. Saturday - more drizzly rain and wind. Sunday - not much drizzle, but plenty of wind. So, today was it... we had to work with the wind, but we were blessed with beautiful overcast light.

Here are a few of the images from the session...

As you might expect, the family was done with a timer. I photographed Steph and Dan, she took the images for Joan and me.

With the session done, we went out for a nice lunch, did a bit of after-Christmas shopping, a tour around the businesses in the lighthouse square, then back home so they could get packed for the trip back to Arizona.

The time has passed quickly for their visit.

Played out...

2011-12-25T18:31:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful Christmas Eve, Christmas Morning, and the whole day. We played a slew of games, laughing, trading prizes, more laughing while reading the "directives." In between it all, Joan made some wonderful meals... and just a fun-filled couple of days...

As we settle in for the evening, Dan gets to watch the Packers on TV, Steph (stretched out on the couch) wonders if Packer fans will ever get "a holiday off," and Joan and Izzy are turning in early. It takes a lot out of you being this jolly. :-D

Let the games begin...

2011-12-24T10:51:00.000-08:00

It's a Christmas tradition we established a few years ago, when we became involved with the Angel Tree program at Steph and Dan's school. We have always played some sort of games on Christmas... as well as the usual gift exchange.

The decision was made to go easy on gifts for each other, and put the money and effort into the Angel Tree. Of course, I suggested that in the spirit of "it is better to give than receive," they could all still give me a bunch of stuff. ;-) Yes, I'm kidding - we divide our time amongst a small home, a boat, and an RV, none of which has an abundance of excess space. We try to go by the "something in - something out" rule.

So, what we do for the games: the winner gets to pick a number, the number corresponds to a small gift. Then there are the directives (Joan's idea)... such as: give the gift to the person on your right. Or: you may steal one gift (I really don't like that one). Or: you may trade this gift with one already opened. I suggested that we go with "give your gift to Jim"... yeah, that got shot down, too.

There will be board games, dice games, card games. Each person has a dollar limit to work with and a set number of gifts, so that the exchange works out. By drawing for numbers, you may get your own gift (yes, I picked out stuff I like).

Merry Christmas one and all.

Connected...

2011-12-23T13:51:00.000-08:00

Yes, as a family, we are connected. And it's great to have the kids here.

But, wait - there's more!

The plan: family photos in the early morning light. The reality: the wind was blowing out of the north at about a million miles per hour... besides the obvious problem with blowing hair, there is that "sand blasting" situation with photos on the sand dunes at the beach. Yeah, we may try that another day.

So, since we were all up, we started our day off with breakfast at Steph's favorite breakfast tortilla place here... Manuel's, which also happens to be our favorite breakfast tortilla place, as well. Then, a tour of SPI - it's been a couple years since the kids have been here, and the last time was not long after Hurricane Dolly made a mess of things. Yeah, it looks much better these days.

After the "island circle tour," Joan and Steph headed to the store to stock up on stuff to cook... or bake... or whatever it is they do to that stuff. When they came back, there was that moment of family sharing, where we were all on our devices: MacBook Pros for Dan and me, iPads for the ladies. What is that old saying: "The family that's online together, does fine together." Or, something like that.

Connected.

And then, the really good part: the house is full of wonderful smells, the ladies are immersed in a flurry of pots, pans, recipes and stuff going in and out of the oven.

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas!

Time to spare...

2011-12-22T10:47:00.001-08:00

... go by air. That was a saying that got tossed about by some back in my flying days. Our daughter and son-in-law are due in today to visit for the holidays. With the storm pounding much of the mountain west, they are now 3/4 of the way here... and will be there for at least a couple hours longer than scheduled - their plane for the next route segment is coming out of Denver. Well, is hopefully coming out of Denver.

I know some folks get upset with the airlines, but when it comes to weather, Mother Nature is still the one in charge.

Can't wait to see them! But, I guess I'll be waiting a bit longer.

Orion flare recall...

2011-12-22T10:43:00.001-08:00

The flares we have on our boat (and all the boats we've owned) are made by Orion. They have an expiration date on them, and we are required to keep the flares up to date. There was a recall issued recently from Orion for a batch of flares where there may be an issue with them firing. Our 12 gauge flares fell into that recall, so I sent an e-mail to Orion with the information they requested and a photo showing the lot # and expiration date printed on the flares.

I shortly thereafter received a response from Orion, stating that shipments would start going out on the 19th.

Well, I'm impressed! The flares showed up today, via FedEx. It is great to see a company stand behind their product and back it up with prompt resolution.

I'm dreaming of a ...

2011-12-21T15:50:00.000-08:00

No, it's not going to be a "white" Christmas here in the Tropical Tip... but, it is a pretty sure bet that it's going to be a "wet" Christmas. Of course, that is because our sweet little girl is coming... and the weather always turns crappy when she comes to visit. Really. It's supposed to be overcast and rainy everyday that they're here, turning sunny and beautiful on the day they leave.

No matter, we are very excited to see them.

I took Wild Blue out for some day-tripping today... and the wind didn't blow like stink. Saw some dolphins, some folks out on excursion boats, even parasailing. Reasonably benign in the bay, lumpy as all get out in the Gulf. Still, a nice day to be out and about.

They call the wind...

2011-12-20T13:44:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I've got a few names for the wind.

We woke up this morning to near calm conditions. Temp around 70º and humid. The plan was to take Wild Blue out for a jaunt after lunch out. When we got ready to push away, the wind went from about 8 mph to over 20... yeah, just like that. Rotating in our narrow canal was a lesson in "No, You Don't Do It The Same Way Every Time." As we got close to the end of the canal where it meets the ICW, a guy just pulling in in a 14' Carolina Skiff hollered, "You don't want to be out there - the wind is nasty."

"And that's why we have the cabin on this boat!" I yelled back, smiling.

We could see whitecaps in the Intracoastal. "Well, this should be fun."

It's a short distance to the turning basin, generally protected waters... there were 1 foot rollers. A half dozen small open boats (pretty much the only kind down here) were taking a beating, heading back to their docks.

The sky darkened and the wind really kicked. Checking later, the NWS recorded gusts above 40 mph. The normally calm Port Isabel Channel quickly built to 2 to 3 foot waves, stacked right on each other, with the tops blowing off...

We were heading with the wind and waves, so the ride was actually pretty easy... but, we both knew that we would have to come back against those waves eventually. Staying to the north side in the ship channel, the conditions were pretty benign. But when it was time to come back... well, that cabin did a fine job in keeping us dry, and my windshield wiper got a real workout - the spray was really flying. (Yeah, just the one windshield wiper - I replaced the wiper motor on the port side, but we are still waiting for the new pantographic wiper, to go ON that motor, that is apparently taking the scenic route to get here.)

Wild Blue needed a major washdown when we came in. Our arrival was uneventful thanks to the protection in our canal. Looking her over good, we saw a place where the stitching came apart on one zipper on the camperback; Joan says she can sew that up good as new.

I think this may a preview of what is coming... Steph and Dan are coming here for Christmas, and for some reason, the weather usually turns for the worst when they are here. They payback will come when we head their way next month.

On the bright side, that howling north wind dropped the humidity by about 20%. It was nice having light wind conditions... for a couple hours.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

2011-12-19T09:44:00.000-08:00

We had a drizzly rain much of yesterday, when I was working on the car and had to leave the door open with most of my body hanging out. But, the wind wasn't blowing.

This morning, the wind is blowing like stink; partly sunny with fast-moving low scuddy clouds. According to the thermometer, it was 70º when I got up. I pulled up weather to see what the wind speed was, and...

Whoa! It sure didn't feel like 38 below zero when I went out to check on the boat... in a t-shirt and shorts. I'm guessing that's just a bit off. I pulled up the Weather Channel online - it said the temp is 55º. Well, that's only off by about 20º. Maybe this is where the local weather weasels get their forecasts? ;-)

Oh, and the wind? It's currently blowing at 26 with higher gusts. And the real temp is somewhere around 76º.

Being handy...

2011-12-18T15:32:00.000-08:00

I've jokingly said that my best tool is a credit card.

The blower on our "grandma car" quit working at the lower speeds. A check of that problem on the internet confirmed that it is rarely the switch, but more often a resistor on the blower motor. There were no definitive step-by-step instructions for replacing that resistor, but another check of where it is located led me to believe that it should be rather straight-forward.

When I started disassembling stuff under the dash, I soon found that the image showing where the resistor is located was actually upside down... I had to remove other stuff just to get at it. And, of course, this was all put in before the car was assembled, so you really need to be ape-like with your arms and one of those contortionists who can fold themselves up into a shoe box. What I thought would be a half hour job turned out to be over two hours... just to get TO the allegedly non-functioning part! The screws holding it in place were just out of reach no matter how much I stretched and twisted - fun.

When I finally got the old part out, it didn't look anything like the replacement part I bought at our local O'Reilley's. Of course. To make it even more fun, it started to drizzle. I took a 20 minute break to allow my body to unfold and make a run back to the auto parts place. They looked it up again, and said, "You've got the right part."

"No, I don't. This is a 4 pin connection and the part in the car is a 5 pin connection."

"Yeah, well the book says it's the right part."

"The book is wrong."

"We can try this one... but, it's $100 more than the part you bought."

"Is that for a car with automatic temperature control? This car doesn't have that."

"Yeah, it says 'ATC'."

"Wrong part. Wrong price. What else do you have?"

We managed to find the right piece by going to a model one year older than what this car is... and, it was $15 cheaper. I like cheaper.

A quick hour and a half later and a bunch of grunting and swearing, I held my breath after starting the car and reaching for the blower control... it works!

These days, I have more time than money. Plus, I was getting a little rusty on frustration and achy neck muscles... all caught up now!

We celebrated this successful endeavor with supper out - had a fine meal with a nice view of the Laguna Madre. We stopped to pick up mail while out; there was a small package in there from the PPA (Professional Photographers of America). I have been retired for 5 1/2 years now... I was given "Life Member" status at that time after 30 years of membership AND being retired. In the package was a "Life Member" pin - kind of the equivalence of a Lifetime Achievement Award. Dang, I didn't feel that old. And only 5+ years late.

The sweetness of doing nothing...

2011-12-17T15:27:00.000-08:00

From the chick-flick "Eat, Pray, Love"... I was giving some consideration to doing a fix on the car today, but it is cold, drizzly, windy, and generally crappy out there. Joan had "Eat, Pray, Love" on one of the movie channels, and I am all about that "dolce far niente" (the sweetness of doing nothing). So, that's it - I'm not avoiding doing work out in the cold, I am partaking of some of that "sweetness" stuff.

Today is "Super Saturday" (supposed to be as busy as Black Friday)... I said to Joan, "Do you want to go to the mall?" After the brief look of disgust on her face, we both busted out laughing. The only thing I went outside for was to make burgers on the grill for lunch. Three meals cooked in today.

Yeah, that repair will hold off 'till tomorrow.

A Holiday Collage...

2011-12-16T06:46:00.000-08:00

The front moved in during the middle of the night; it was 70º when I got up around 5:30, rain, a north wind, and dropping temps. Only supposed to be in the 50s this afternoon. It gave me time to work up a collage...

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Happy Holidays,
Jim & Joan

Dolphins and sunset...

2011-12-15T17:27:00.000-08:00

There is yet another norther predicted to make an appearance in the middle of the night. Time to take advantage of some beautiful weather before it hits.

Not many boats out, we had the dolphin watching all to ourselves...

They were being especially playful, moving from one side of the boat to the other... "There they are!"

I swear they can sense when you are pointing a camera, then pop up where you don't expect them. I got a lot of water splash photos...

There were a couple little ones with this group tonight - baby tail...

I thought we'd get a nice sunset...

But, a cloud layer right at the horizon had other ideas...

Back after dark, we took a stroll through the neighborhood to check out Christmas lights... in shortsleeve shirts and shorts.

A hot time...

2011-12-14T16:44:00.000-08:00

No, I won't be talking about Joan and I on "date night"... another hot (in the 80s), windy (gusting in the 30s) day in the Tropical Tip. I went out this morning for some boat cruising; the wind had kicked up, ahead of the predicted timing. Still, it was a fine time out on the water.

The only project scheduled for today was a shelf in Wild Blue. Should be easy enough: measure 3 times (it's a boat, there are very few straight lines), cut once. When I went out to the trailer to get my skill saw, I discovered that the motorcycle was leaned WAY over... to the point that gas was leaking out of the tank. Not fun. So, the shelf got put on hold while I dealt with the bike... and aired the gas smell out of the trailer.

Back to the task at hand, I cut some decra-guard for the shelf, put some teak trim on the front and got it mounted into place (after Joan cleaned up the decra-guard... it had some sticky tape that had been on it for years). I glued a block of wood in the boat, mounted it in place for support... and the shelf fit.

Back to the bike - it only seemed fitting to take it for a spin to blow the gas smell off of it. Coming back, there were a bunch of dredge vessels coming through our swing bridge, so I knew it was going to be a while before it would close again. I rode up to a boat salvage place to ask about a boat that has been sitting on the hard for years... an interesting old trawler that didn't look bad from the water. The owner said, "There's a ladder on the other side, go take a look."

The boat was WAY beyond a fixer upper... into the category of major project. Oh well, I had the time... and I did just make a shelf. ;-) On the bright side, I got to play with a boat, a motorcycle, and power tools... in mid December.

My eyes are crossing...

2011-12-13T16:16:00.000-08:00

No, not really. I spent much of the day retouching... haven't done that in a long time, either. My buddy from the photo shoot the other day placed his order; 15 poses. In the old days, I could retouch those in about 15 minutes each - these are not the old days. I'm used to my laptop on my lap (or on the dinette in the boat)... Joan set me up at her desk, with a comfortable office chair and a mouse. It all came back pretty fast. I took care of the usual lines and skin "irregularities," brightened up the eyes, knocked off some pounds, added blue to the sky, spruced up the color and contrast, etc, etc.

Ya gotta love Photoshop.

The work...

2011-12-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

The trade-out from the photo shoot...

The OSB board that had been on that wall was coming apart; now replaced with treated ply. We were going to take on that project ourselves; I was delighted to avoid that job. Plus, there will be a new electrical connection on the outside of the wall, making it handier to plug in Wild Blue. Win-win.

It's been a while...

2011-12-11T16:17:00.000-08:00

I was a professional photographer for over 32 years. Since retiring, I haven't had to deal with a deadline, weather on location shoots, clothing and prop consultations, proofing, retouching, etc, etc, etc. A friend of ours is trying to break into the music business - he has recorded a CD and is working with a promoter... and, of course, he needs images for his promotion package. Coincidentally, he is the guy who built our house down here.

When he called to see if I would shoot something for him, Joan reminded me that we have some work in our storage area that needs to be addressed. "Yeah, I'm sure we can work something out."

I have turned down plenty of shooting requests since we retired (other than my brief stint at the arts and entertainment publication), but this meant no money would need to be exchanged. So, today, I was a photographer once again. Complete with a painted background, a tripod (haven't used one of those in years), location work, clothing consult, and all those etcetras above. Five different outfits, with and without hats and glasses, on a Harley... goodness, I had nearly forgotten what all went into a shoot. But, just like riding a bike, all the lighting and posing, along with camera handling, came right back.

So, didja miss it?

I won't be giving up my day job anything soon... oh, yeah, I don't have a day job. ;-)

Love this image...

2011-12-10T06:56:00.000-08:00

A nice treat this morning when I turned on the computer: this image by a gentleman on the TugNuts forum (a site for Ranger Tug owners)...

Absolutely beautifully done, combining a nice image of Wild Blue and skillfully placing her in a "Winter Wonderland" background. It takes my breath away! I will be printing and mounting this for a prominent place on our wall. With all the images we've taken while cruising, I didn't really have a nice "portrait" of Wild Blue... until now.

Thank you, Slackwater Jack!

What was that???

2011-12-09T14:40:00.001-08:00

When I got up this morning, there was an unusual sound outside... silence. The wind wasn't howling. I did a little more work on the boat, then took her out for a short ride. Joan has been visiting her Mother the last few days, so I made it a point to be home before my Honey got there... didn't want her to think all I did was play while she was gone. ;-)

Check out the calm water...

And look close: out the center windshield towards the top of that image - dolphin...

The best part of the day came just after the boat ride - the Blonde is back home. Little Izzy and I missed her... and I think she kinda missed us, too. After all these years, she knows me so well... she brought me home a surprise: a Wienerschnitzel chili-cheese dog. And I didn't eat a bunch of junk food while she was gone. ;-)

Parts installed...

2011-12-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

It has been a scant 4 years since I had to replace a wiper motor on the boat. As I recall last time, it was a 3 day project with bloody knuckles, and mass usage of swear words. Much easier this time... I knew where to look for the set screws on the wiper arm, and after only a half hour of trying to pull the arm off, I just went after the wiper motor shaft with a Sawzall... much faster than the last time when I tried using a hacksaw and burned up a Dremel getting that shaft cut. My replacement Dremel has the 90º grip and doesn't fit under the brow for a good cut angle. Sawzall good, ugh, ugh.

Copious amounts of WD-40 and working at it with vice grips, and the end of the shaft still won't come out of the wiper arm. So, to complete this little job, I need to order another pantographic wiper arm.

The replacement of the linking arm connecting the hydraulic steering and the autopilot was straightforward. When I took the old parts off, I saw that one of the shoulder washers (plastic) was broken... very likely that the broken section put extra pressure on that linking arm, causing it to flex and break. So, it was a good thing that "the kit" came with that stuff. Still, $50 + shipping + tax seems high for that linking arm, a few nyloc nuts, some other small bits, and a couple hose clamps.

On the bright side, it was a lovely day to work outside on the boat... OK, it would have been an even better day to be out cruising on the boat... upper 60s (a little shy of normal), mostly sunny (until late afternoon) and very little wind (one in a row!).

Wuss...

2011-12-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

I have the parts in to repair the bracket connection between the autopilot and the hydraulic steering; a windshield wiper motor to replace one that died. A shelf to build under the dinette. It was 38º when I got up this morning! Forecast: low 50s, partly sunny, with a cold north wind. Translation: I'm not going out in that cold weather!

Joan is up in the Dallas area visiting her Mother. Little Izzy and I stayed inside all day today. Well, I did peek my head out onto the deck to check the lines on the boat. Little Izzy put her nose out the door and said, "Are you kidding me?" She is curled up under a blanket right now, and this is the warmest part of the day. The wind did drop off to single digits for the first time in days, but that only lasted an hour or so - it's back in the mid to upper teens, and cold.

It's supposed to get into the 60s tomorrow - I'll try again, then. Yep, I'm a wuss.

Christmas shopping idea!

2011-12-05T18:03:00.000-08:00

It's not too late to give a heart-warming story about a boat cruising cat and her people...

To order books as gifts for friends and family, e-mail me at:

eiwiz@aol.com

Tell me what you want for inscriptions, and addresses for where the books are to be sent. I'll invoice you via PayPal and the books will be on their way, right away!

Happy Holidays, folks, and thanks for your support this year!

Best wishes,
Jim

Click on the "Click here to see more about Jim's book CAT ON A LEASH" at the top of this page to get more details and price.

Lights off, lights on...

2011-12-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

I took the lights off Wild Blue today. It took the better part of 6 hours to get her decorated, less than 2 hours to get the lights off. Here's a portion of the lights...

I had someone ask how we did with prizes... with the gift certificates and stuff, the value was over $200. I spent about $80 on new lights (plus what I already had for lights), so I guess you could say we came out ahead on the deal. Well, until you figure in about $300 worth of tie-wraps and twist-ties!

As I took lights off the boat, I went to work on decorating the back deck on the house. Yeah, another couple hours of hanging lights and more tie-wraps... and no "pay off." ;-) Well, during that time frame, we were also trying to stuff excess lights back into boxes.

No sunset tonight - the anticipated cold front blew in... it barely made it to 60º today, with a raw north wind. Here's a look at the house as darkness fell...

Not everyone has a boat, but there are other Christmas parades - tonight was the Lighted Golf Cart Parade on our island...

Since you can get right up next to these (unlike the boats), I have to say that I think these folks were having more fun than the boat drivers... people are standing outside their homes as the carts go by, and more than a couple are topping off hot-toddies, something you can't do out on the water. Oh, and yes, we are on an island, in a gated community... with our own security.

Big fun!

And just because she hasn't been featured for a while, here's little Izzy on a pillow this morning...

Joan decorated inside the house today while I was taking lights off the boat. Izzy isn't so sure about all this "stuff" in her house.

Happy Holidays!

Layers...

2011-12-05T05:44:00.000-08:00

Not just layers of lights - the expected cold front blew in this morning. Our high temps the past week have been around 80º; today we woke up to 60º, cold north wind, and the temp is dropping. I may have to put on some layers to get the lights off the boat today... or. just maybe, I'll leave the lights on for another day?

Ohhhh, I just watched some local weather - looks like this event is going to last for 4 or 5 days. Yeah, I like the lights on the boat.

We went to the beach yesterday afternoon, and all the commercial boats that were decorated were already light-free and ready for excursions.

The photos...

2011-12-04T06:44:00.000-08:00

It's a lot of work, but we had fun. My neck and shoulders are aching this morning, from craning to keep an eye on all the boats swirling around in the small harbor area prior to judging, and then trying to see over the lights on our own bow along the parade route. We've learned to not put white lights on the bow , and set up the bow lights on a separate circuit that we can unplug from the helm. With all the wind last night, there was a lot of dodging and rotating.

We do use that cooler from a few years ago - not for ice, but it's great storage and another place to sit. When we got first place in the small sailboat division years ago, we received $100 cash and some prizes. There were no "big" prizes this year, but lots of $25 gift certificates, overnight stays in hotels on the beach, etc, booze and champagne, etc.

Here's the winner in our class...

Yes, all the photos we took look like that. We were moving, they were moving, and the shutter speeds had to be kinda slow; definitely easier to get photos when you are on shore and not trying to steer a boat.

A few more images...

And the grand prize winner...

Not easy to see in that image, but the red lighted boat in the front is towing Santa's sleigh behind. I was thinking, "That's going to be a real challenge in this wind," but the boat doing the towing is one of the parasail operators... and, they left Santa's sleigh behind when we went into open water for the parade route. It was really well done. One of the commercial operators set off fireworks as they pulled up in front of the judging area. The large excursion boats were packed with people - smart: take paying passengers IN the parade.

Even the Coast Guard boat leading the parade was decorated. I really appreciated their sense of humor - the gift packages on top of the boat had yellow Caution tape on there as the ribbon. And one of the CG guys had green makeup on and was dressed as the Grinch.

I took that photo before the parade started. Check out the palm trees in the background to give you an idea of the wind. Oh, and look at the white lights on their boat around the windshield... and, they put the Santa on top over their rotating spotlight - good thing they had a handheld spotlight onboard.

Wild Blue found some skinny water just outside the small channel on the way home after the awards. In the true Christmas spirit, there was the exchange of pleasantries, like "Any idea where the channel is, dumas?" No harm, no foul, we all survived, one of us said the annual, "I am NOT doing that again - it's too much work!" salutation.

The toughest part of the evening was the 2 1/2 mile slog across the Laguna in a small channel with the wind and waves on the beam. The funniest part of the evening was when the guy leading the crew on the parasail boat went up to get his prizes... you would have thought he won the Academy Award!

Tomorrow, the lights come off... and I think that may be more work than putting them up - I put a gazillion tie-wraps on there to try to keep everything in place. The star on top of Wild Blue wasn't as tacky as a big ol' inflatable display, but it allowed the wind to blow through it and didn't come apart.

Happy Holidays!
Jim

And the winner is...

2011-12-03T21:20:00.000-08:00

Not us. ;-) Well, as the lady from the Chamber of Commerce said, "Everyone who participates is a winner!" They had plenty of goodies for everyone who participated. Wild Blue took second place in our division, Power Boats 19 to 29 feet. We received several gift certificates (we're going to eat good for a while), a small charcoal BBQ grill, a bottle of champagne, a gift bag from the book store on the island (I had to check to see if they had a copy of my book in there... no), 6 t-shirts, and a framed plaque.

The wind howled; a couple boats had problems with their lights, likely due to the salt spray. But, everyone completed the route. They fed us at the awards ceremony. We sat with 6 Coast Guard guys at our table, and had a nice visit with them... and, yes, their boat was decorated, too.

Huge crowds along the parade route.

On the way home, Wild Blue found a skinny spot in the water, but we didn't have to spend the night aground. We were rockin' and rollin' as we came across the Laguna Madre. Other than the wind, it was a fun evening; didn't get home until 11:00 - late for us old folks.

I'll get some photos posted tomorrow.

Timing...

2011-12-03T09:22:00.000-08:00

Better images - doesn't matter if it's before sunrise or after sunset...

And, a finished image...

It's a gray ol' day, occasionally spitting rain, windy (24 mph, gusting higher), but warm, 76º at noon. Predicted to be more of the same for the parade tonight... this will probably affect the turnout, both participants and viewers.

The Santa copter is grounded...

2011-12-02T19:43:00.000-08:00

Pretty sure the Santa-copter would come apart if we tried to "fly" it. When we first set up the copter, Joan said, "Oh, no, there's a hole in the rotor." Yep, that has to be there to make it go around. But, when the wind is blowing more than the force of air coming out of the hole, the rotor stands up... kinda reminds me of the arms on the robot on "Lost in Space"... warning, Will Robinson!!!

Twilight is best for photos, but I missed the op. A star, open to allow the wind to blow through it, is up in place of the helicopter. Wind is supposed to be 20+ at parade time... we'll see if it all holds together.

Are you happy being married?

2011-12-02T06:49:00.000-08:00

It was a cold winter day many years ago, when a pretty young blonde walked down the aisle to marry a guy with a lot of hair and not much in the way of job prospects. Happy Anniversary to the woman who really does complete me... we've been together for so long... over 2/3 of our lives.

This morning at breakfast, I asked her, "Are you happy being married?"

We both chuckled... it's all we know.

It's all I want.

Artistic differences...

2011-12-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

A beautiful sunrise out on the water this morning; no, no artistic differences with Mother Nature - I am always in awe. The following is the sequence as the sun rose above the horizon and behind the bit of a cloud layer that was also at the horizon...

Back to the house, and it was time... the lighted boat parade is Saturday night. Mother Nature has been predicted to be less than nice for it, with decent temps, but lots of wind. Wind, flying spray, a bunch of electric lights made in China that may or may not be UL approved - not a great combination. Nonetheless, we started the decorating process.

And now, the artistic differences...

One of us, and I'm not saying who she is, prefers "understated elegance"... pick a color scheme, and carry that through from front to back. The other of us, and I'm not saying who I am, is more the Clark Griswold type... pack that sucker with LOTS of lights - lights that dance and move, all colors, all styles, inflatable stuff, Jimmy Buffett Christmas carols blasting... it's a parade, for goodness sakes, tacky isn't just OK, it's the goal! As usual, we compromise: the bow and the sides are understated, the cockpit, stern, and top of the cabin have a bit more... pizazz.

She measures, I am a bit more serendipitous; her lights are in straight lines, mind kinda wander and flow.

We'll get an idea of how it comes together after dark tonight. In the meantime, it is around 80º and the wind is blowing 20+ mph (gusts to 35)... more work getting lights hung in that wind.

----------------------------

On edit:

The inflatable helicopter with Santa and a snowman didn't look as good as I had hoped...

Not enough light within it to make out what it is; and, the rotors couldn't stand up to the wind... well, they did kinda "stand up", as in: stuck up like a "V". Sure looked cute in the store, though. We took it off in the dark, with ideas for Plan B...

With the wind predicted to be over 20 mph on Saturday evening, an inflatable isn't going to cut it, so we'll fill that blank stop with more lights. That's why we start a couple days early.

More from the ICW...

2011-11-30T09:14:00.000-08:00

Herb and Wilma's boat leaving Port Mansfield...

The water was so calm - a real change from what we've had most days since we've been back...

A dolphin swimming towards us in the calm water...

Fishing shacks...

This one had some "guests"...

The autopilot fix is holding together (no hands on the steering wheel)...

Later, on the Arroyo Colorado, I saw what looked to be a bald eagle (I saw plenty of them this summer in the Tetons). Well, from the back. As we came around, it was the biggest osprey I've ever seen...

Getting online while underway...

The busted part...

2011-11-30T08:51:00.000-08:00

Joan likes to say, "It's a boat. It's always going to need something." I'm grateful I have an understanding spouse.

The part on the autopilot that failed is a little bracket called a linking arm...

It's the little metal bracket with the bolt and nut holding it together in the middle of the image. A small steel part with two holes. Here's the rub: you can't buy it. Well, you can't buy just that part... Raymarine (the autopilot mfg) only sells it as part of a "kit"... for $50... plus shipping and tax. The smart move is to take the part off and see if I can get a local welder to fix it and make me up another one. The reality is: it is holding together for right now, so I'm not looking to mess with it until I can get the replacement. You know that old saying, "If it's only broke a bit, don't fix it." LOL

I shopped around online, but no place that looked reputable said they had it in stock. So, my good friends at Raymarine happily took my money. One of the guys at a place I called said, "Manufacturers seem to be doing that more these days. They can't make anything on one small part, so they 'bundle' it, call it a kit, and force you to buy other stuff you don't really need just to get what you DO need."

Yep. It's a boat... ;-)

Up the ICW...

2011-11-29T05:50:00.000-08:00

We left home yesterday morning, on a very low tide. Wild Blue was ready for cruising - seems that it takes as much stuff onboard for a couple nights out as it does for a month. With the skinny water in our canals, I was concerned we might drag on the way out, but we slid on out without a bump.

After passing through the swing bridge, we met up with our friends, Herb and Wilma, on Willie's Tug; they have they dinghy on the back, so we know Jake the wonder dog is onboard, too. Our first time running together, so we worked out a compatible economical cruise speed... around 5 hours for the 35 nm trip to Port Mansfield.

Some odd, swirly water and an adverse current slowed us for the first 10 miles or so. We passed a dredge operation...

The depths were inconsistent on either side of the dredge. It's been over a year since we came up this way, and we saw depths as low as 6 feet in the main part of the channel... that has to make for some problems for the tow boats pushing barges.

Yep, a few miles further on, we came across two tows - the first one was aground, the second was waiting for him to clear.

We saw one other boat in the ICW (and a few smaller fishing boats in and out of the channel), a sport fisher kicking a big wake. Joan was working at the galley, so I gave her a heads up: "Hold on to your stuff!" No problem there, but the iPad on its stand went tumbling. It's OK, but a reminder that I need to lock that down.

Not long after that, the autopilot had some sort of nervous breakdown - 10º to the right, then the left, then 20º... I was eating hot soup at the helm. Fun. Joan took my soup, I disengaged the autopilot, checked that everything was OK with the steering, then went back to lunch. Later, checking the autopilot again, same situation... I'll look into it further when we get down; in the meantime, I'll be hand steering... this stretch of the ICW is straight, a good time for an autopilot.

We passed the Arroyo Colorado, then on up to the channel leading into Port Mansfield. No transient slips at the marina here, but I called ahead and got slips at El Jefe's, a small bar with fuel and 4 or 5 slips. We tied off, then grabbed lines for Willie's Tug; then settled in for the evening. Adult beverages on both boats, a couple photos, then supper at El Jefe's. And in between all that, I figured out what was going on with the autopilot and the steering: a broken bracket on the hydraulic steering. No place to get that welded, but I have it kinda bolted together... tomorrow, we'll see if that works.

It's been months since we've overnighted on Wild Blue... after stretching out in the 5th wheel, I kinda forgot the difference. Like: the v-berth vs the Select Comfort. And climbing in and out of the v-berth vs an island bed. And the roar of the electric heater... we decided to get s slip because we knew it was going to be chilly last night, and I wanted electricity. Oh, and the fridge makes a growly noise as it cycles on and off. And little Izzy...

Sweet Izzy was a bit out of sorts about the change. She spent most of the trip up hiding in the blankets. Didn't eat. Didn't want to come out. But, that all changed when night fell - party time! She jumped from seat to seat, played with her toys, crunched plenty of hard food, and jumped in and out of the v-berth... occasionally walking on me and looking into my face: "Hey, I remember this! Are you sleeping? Not me, I'm wide awake! Look - I can jump from here almost all the way across the cabin!!!"

I may need a nap.

A change in the weather...

2011-11-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

The weather weasels were predicting wind and rain rolling into the area around noon; we decided to get out early. We're planning a short run up the ICW, buddy boating with our friends Herb and Wilma on their Ranger Tug. When running locally, we don't fill up the fuel tank - no need to carry around all that weight, with the fuel dock right across the ICW from our island. There was no one at the fuel dock this morning when we came out of our canal, so we swung in there to top off the tank. It also gave me the opportunity to double check the fuel flow meter... turns out it was accurate to within a gallon on a 100 gallon tank. Oh, and the price for fuel on the water was $3.19.

While fueling, we visited with Scarlett who was fueling up her boat; she and her husband run a dolphin watch business and own the Sea Life Center. $234.21 later, Wild Blue was full. The weather was warm, but still, a mostly clear sky. Little Izzy sat up by the opening front window to get some breeze...

Or, peeking out from behind a pillow...

As it got closer to noon, the clouds moved in - it looked like the weather guy might be right. Still, no winds. Plenty of people out and about, with the temps in the 80s...

Here come the clouds...

Shortly after, it sprinkled for about 12 seconds... and that was it. The predicted noon frontal passage didn't pass. Then, right about sunset, the wind went from 3 mph to 20 and the temp dropped about 15 degrees in 15 minutes. Here it comes.

This evening, it is blowing - 23 gusting to 36 right now; predictions of 50+ mph gusts tonight and tomorrow. Good time to not be on the water.

Oh, and one more shot of little Izzy back home...

Black Friday...

2011-11-25T13:30:00.001-08:00

We didn't shop. Well, I did find a good buy on a windshield wiper motor for Wild Blue... but that was on-line. We didn't fight crowds, didn't push or shove, didn't wait in line, and didn't go to stores in the middle of the night.

When we checked in with Steph and Dan, they did get out there... started yesterday. Shopped like pros for the kids on their Angel Tree... sorry we weren't there to help, but we are very proud of their kindness and hard work. A lot of kids will experience Christmas spirit because of their efforts.

I fired up the generator and ran some fresh gas through it. It hasn't been used in a while and will get called into service for the boat parade. We also cut and fit carpet in the storage compartments in the boat. And made a carpeted footrest to go with the new helm seat.

Checked out the kayaks up on the roof rack...

Wild Blue is ready for some cruising.

Giving Thanks...

2011-11-24T16:33:00.000-08:00

A fine Thanksgiving Day. It's the first time in a couple years that we haven't been to Steph and Dan's for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so like the old phone company ad says: it's almost as good as being there. Well, not really, but we did get the chance to say what we are thankful for... always an emotional time.

Joan made us a great turkey meal, Mother Nature was oh-so kind, with a glorious day: into the upper 70s with blissfully light wind (one in a row!), sunny sky, and gorgeous blue water. Yeah, we headed out on Wild Blue after our meal.

Lots of pelicans out in the jetties...

We took turns trying out the new seat - comfy...

The water was pretty calm down the ship channel and into the jetties. Maybe the Gulf will be similar? Nope - sloppy and confused (insert your own too-much-to-drink joke here); no doubt a result of the windy conditions of the past week or three. Still, a great afternoon on the water.

Yep, much to be thankful for.

Nice rack...

2011-11-23T15:30:00.001-08:00

J-Racks. On top of Wild Blue...

These racks by Malone look like a good way to carry our kayaks on top of the boat. Austin Canoe and Kayak had a good sale, so we ordered two sets; they go on without tools, seem reasonably solid, and we'll check 'em out with the kayaks up there one of these days.

Wild Blue also got a new helm seat... I really like Bass Pro Shop. We checked into putting new foam in the existing seat, but decided to try a production seat with firm foam and a taller back. I took the boat out for a test run (sit?) today, and I think this is going to be good. It also sets me up just a bit; great for seeing out the helm windows, but I think I am going to need to make a foot rest... right now, this seat leaves me tip-toeing.

We added a Weber grill to our cooking gear - portable, so it should work well at the house, on the boat, or in the RV. Initial burger testing gave positive results.

A few more updates/upgrades we want to do in the cabin of the boat to make her even more comfortable for some boat cruising. Today was the first day in a while that it wasn't hot and windy... it was comfortably cool and windy. And the damn weather weasels can't seem to be able to take "windy" out of the foreseeable forecasts. But today, it was in the low 70s... with a cool wind, of course. Tomorrow is supposed to be less windy and in the 70s - perfect weather, but no way to cook a turkey on Wild Blue, so I'm guessing we'll be around the house... being thankful.

;-)

Projects...

2011-11-21T16:01:00.000-08:00

It was another hot, windy day in the Tropical Tip. As in: upper 80s, wind gusting over 30 mph. Not a great day to be out on the boat, but after shopping for the goodies for Thanksgiving and lunch out, we went out to the boat to measure up for some projects. Nothing major, but we plan to make some improvements to the seating in the boat... change out some foam, add some bolster cushions. I have been less than enthralled with the helm seat since the beginning; it has needed a heavier density foam. It's time. And as long as we're at it, the dinette seating could use some help, too.

Remember my weather mention at the beginning of this post? Relevant... it was like a sweat lodge when we opened up the boat. We seemed to be having a who-can-be-the-shiny-est contest as soon as we entered the cabin. The helm seat is Sunbrella fabric over foam... and the only way to remove the seat is by first removing the refrigerator. I didn't say it was logical. Pulling the fridge out was the easy part. Of course, once the fridge was laying in the aisle, it became necessary to clean out that compartment...

Yes, that's the blonde up to her shoulder blades in the hole where the fridge goes. But, you could eat off the compartment floor now... not sure why you'd want to, and it's gonna be damn inconvenient with the fridge in the way... but, you could.

Then, 4 bolts to remove and the seat will be free. Yeah, it's never that easy... two came out without much fuss. The third required a ratcheting right angle screw driver. The fourth required dynamite. OK, not really, but the only way it was coming out was to break off the head and pull it out from above.

Then, putting the fridge back in...

And the bare nekkid helm area...

I was kinda hoping to be able to put a swivel mount in there, but it won't work with the stock seat - too wide. So, I'm hoping to find some decent seat foam tomorrow.

Oh, the forecast for tomorrow: hot and windy.

Autumn weather...

2011-11-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

An absolutely beautiful day in the Tropical Tip: sunny, some breeze, daytime high around 80º. This morning on the local news, the weather person said, "Looking ahead towards the Thanksgiving holiday, it looks like we will have some real autumn weather with a high of only 77º on Thanksgiving Day."

Yes, she really said that. I had to chuckle. The weather here has been mostly warmer and dryer than normal since we've been back.

After lunch on the island, we took a nice long walk on the beach. I had to gasp when I saw the price for park passes: they have more than tripled in price for a 90 day pass. Well, that's not exactly true - there is no more 90 day pass. That price for a 90 day pass used to be $18; now, it is $23 for a one month pass. The annual pass used to be $38; now, it is $58 (a 53% price increase). Once over the sticker shock, I felt bad for the young man at the gate - no doubt he is taking a LOT of heat from the winter Texans, and it's only going to get worse. He said, "Yeah, everything went up except my wage! People have been mad."

You can get to the beach at a bunch of different beach access points; we like to use the county park at the southern tip of the island; besides the great beach, they have good parking, restrooms, a view of the ship traffic that comes and goes through the Brownsville Ship Channel.

Price hike aside, the beach was spectacular. There is still some remnants of the red tide in the area - you can feel it in your throat as you walk the beach, but it wasn't bad.

You can see here how crowded it is this time of year...

Yep, we walked a couple miles and saw maybe a half dozen other people. The hotel and restaurant owners aren't thrilled with this, but it is very typical for this time of year. Many of the hotels along the main drag post their prices... the lowest we saw today was $21.99. That's unusually low. And it will change a lot in the next month or so.

Anticipation...

2011-11-17T17:04:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time coming. Oh, there were rumors, then something in the paper. Could it be true? And then, the physical evidence... earth moved; no, not as in, "Wasn't that fantastic?" nor a seismic event. They broke ground.

And today? Today was the first day that Bass Pro Shop in our area was officially open. Hey, it's not like we were going to be fanatic and camp outside to be the first in the door. Heck, we waited until almost an hour after they opened. The place was plenty busy. I told Joan, "If we can find a parking place, I'm not going to do the 'circle around thing,' stalking people who are walking away from the store, in search of a spot." Fortunately, that wasn't necessary - we found a parking place way off to the back side. It was a nice walk.

Inside, crowded, but not so bad you couldn't move around. Kinda like the Monday after Thanksgiving at the Mall, not the Friday. Good to see that the local population is supporting this major enterprise. Plenty of people pushing shopping carts full of stuff - fryers in time for the Thanksgiving holiday seemed to be the most popular item. Nothing either of us really needed, but we enjoyed looking at boats, boat stuff, kayaks, kayak stuff, clothes... more recon for the next real shopping time we visit.

Since we were in that area, we had a nice lunch out, checked in on the HitchHiker, visited the outlet mall... oh, that outlet mall has been open for over 2 years, this was the first time either of us felt the need to check it out. Again, nothing we needed, but it was good exercise.

Been a while...

2011-11-16T08:01:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's been a while since I've posted sunrise photos. I was up at 5:40 this morning, fed the cat, got Joan's coffee-maker ready, checked weather (clear sky, wind less than 5 mph, 67º); the TV weather weasels said, "A chance of coastal fog..." Lots of twinkling stars when I rotated away from the dock.

It was still dark when I turned into the ship channel, only boat I saw out there was a small bait shrimper. As the sky began to get lighter, I took this shot inside the cabin...

The glow of the instruments and the sky slowly gaining light... I enjoy this time of day. As I made my way down the ship channel, enroute to the Gulf to watch the sunrise, the roar of big engines disturbed the peaceful setting. I could see a crewboat coming up behind me fast. It was kicking a huge wake; I expected a slow pass... I was wrong. They were making time; I turned Wild Blue into their wake and continued slowly down the channel.

By now, it was light enough that I could see some dolphins swimming, but not light enough to photograph them. These pelicans swept by...

I guess I was running too slow - I didn't make it to the Gulf to see the sun begin to break the horizon...

That is the silhouette of the Boca Chica area, just south of South Padre Island. Into the jetties area...

Then, putting the rising sun behind me...

On the way back into the ship channel, I could see the ceiling dropping over the island...

That condo complex in the center of the image goes up another 10 stories or so; looks like the fog is, indeed, moving in.

I saw a small boat launch from the Isla Blanca Park ramp; he blew by me like I was standing still. Within 5 minutes, the visibility went from unlimited to less than 1/4 mile... and that same boat blew by me the other direction, heading back to the ramp!

Good plan - another 2 minutes and the visibility was down to less than 100 feet...

Radar and chartplotter led the way, with the timed horn blast and a position report on a securite' call. I can't remember the last time I saw fog this thick here. When I got back to the turn for our canals, the visibility was less than 50 feet... if not for the radar, I never would have found it.

As I slowly motored up the canal, the fog began to lift - 100 feet... then 200 feet...

I gave Joan a call to let her know I was on my way back in; she took these from our deck...

She said, "Right before you called, I couldn't see across the canal. I was beginning to wonder where you were. Bet you're ready for some breakfast?"

Nice.

Blowing like stink...

2011-11-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

That's been an on-going condition here, with an occasional (blissful) calm day... and not just since we've been back. Our neighbor said it was like that through most of the summer, while we were up north.

Today, the wind was blowing 26 mph, with gusts well above 30. Nice thing about a pilothouse boat like Wild Blue: you can open windows - or close them - to allow as much or as little air flow as desired. We decided to get out on the water, despite the winds. Running fairly slow means less salt spray as we drove through the 2 foot waves, built up on a fairly short fetch in the Port Isabel Channel. Turning into the ship channel, we could stay to the south side of it, minimizing the wave action.

We pulled into one of our favorite coves to drop the anchor for lunch... even with the protection of land nearby, Wild Blue rocked and rolled pretty good. Joan cooked us a fine lunch while I stayed out of the way in the cockpit. For over an hour, we saw only one other boat, this Coast Guard buoy tender...

No boats...

Joan stretched out for a while, while I did some surfing... um, on the iPad, not a surfboard.

It was a couple hours later, mid-afternoon, when a few other recreational boats decided to get out. Other than the wind, it was a beautiful day - mostly sunny, 80º, around 50% humidity.

It's after dark now, and the wind has eased into the mid-teens, even though the weather weasels are calling for 23 mph during the night... oh, and warm (76º) and humid.

Want to help an angel?

2011-11-12T19:02:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's that time of year again. I've asked for help from the TSBB folks and they've come through for several years now. I thought I'd ask the readers here for their help...

Our daughter, Stephanie, and son-in-law, Dan, are teachers in an area that would be classified as "disadvantaged." Some of these families cannot afford the basics... the community, the churches, and the school comes together to do an Angel Tree for Christmas gifts for the kids from these families. Steph, Dan, and the staff of the school do all they can, but they can use help in the form of donations. Every dime goes for gifts for the kids - no administration fees, nothing for gas, even the gift wrap is provided. Steph and Dan do a great portion of the ground work and the shopping. With Joan's help digging for deals, they hit the sales... yes, even on Thanksgiving and the dreaded Black Friday. The goal is to get as much as possible for every dollar.

You can adopt an angel from the tree for around $50, or give what you can and Steph will combine it to make sure the kids get taken care of. For the past several years, the TSBB folks have made the difference and every "angel" on the tree has been given a gift beyond what's wrapped.

Here's how you can be an angel that helps these young angels: contact Stephanie at this e-mail address...

sbudzban AT liberty.k12.az.us

Take out the "AT" and the space on either side and replace with: @

Here's the great part: you won't know who the kids are - no names, only age, gender, and clothing sizes. You don't get to see the amazement on their faces when they find out someone cares enough to do this for them. No "atta boy" or pat on the back... you just get to feel good because you did good. Yep, that good ol' Christmas spirit.

Joan and I have volunteered in their classrooms, and we have seen the need. They try to get something fun for each kid, but it's mostly about shoes, jackets, sweaters... stuff these kids need. The local churches do food drives to provide food baskets. The school staff does all they can, but even with everyone taking a couple angles... well, I don't have to tell you that times are tough.

Thank you in advance, friends. Your gracious donations have brought tears to all 4 of us, and big smiles to a lot of kids. Your help is deeply appreciated.

Best wishes,

Jim & Joan (and Stephanie and Dan)

Heading for the port...

2011-11-11T18:15:00.000-08:00

An absolutely beautiful day: mid-70s, clear blue sky, and light wind... it's been a while since we've seen that light wind stuff... and we were liking it! We packed food onboard Wild Blue and took a leisurely cruise to the Port of Brownsville.

About a half mile from home, we were treated to a dolphin show...

Even though a dolphin watch wasn't the goal today, we always stop to take 'em in. Nobody was jumping out of the water, but we did see a baby with one pod.

And, a little bird watching...

We also saw our first white pelicans of the season; more fun watching the brown pelicans fishing, and there were scads of them out diving today.

On the way home from up north, we picked up a stand to hold the iPad. You can see it in the following photos...

The iPad in front of the co-pilot...

We're still impressed with the chartplotter-like qualities of the iPad; especially for the price.

We pulled out of the ship channel, and dropped the anchor for a lunch stop. Joan fired up the Wallas and made us a great lunch. We watched a few boats go by (not much traffic on our way to the port), and took a couple phone calls. It's not a particular scenic trip to the port - once you are away from the coast, this area is very arid... desert-type plants and sand... and not much else...

We stopped part way into the port - several small tugs were scurrying around, so we chose to stay out of their way. There is a major seawall dredging project going on, and the usual ship scrapping and oil rig construction...

This trip was less about any destination - we were just enjoying being on the water. We swung into the shrimp boat basin before leaving the port...

Either most of the boats are out in the Gulf, or they are simply disappearing from the area; not a lot of boats at these docks.

Late afternoon on the way back...

We entertained ourselves as we neared Port Isabel by listening to the activity on the VHF: two tugs with barges were coming through the PI area enroute to Brownsville; a container ship in the port getting ready to shove off, heading towards the Gulf; and two of the larger excursion boats in the area coordinating where they were going to stop to get the boats close together for a wedding that was to take place on one of the boats... you could hear the crowd in the background on their radios... sunset and dolphins as a background for the ceremony.

We pulled into our canal after sunset, unloaded and washed down the boat; nice day...

Nice boat! Good friends!

2011-11-11T05:28:00.000-08:00

We spent the evening at Herb and Wilma's, along with two other couples. Started our visit there with a tour of their new tug...

I'd really like to be able to show you the beautiful interior in that Ranger Tug and some photos of the 8 of us gathered around the dining table, but my camera batteries died right after I took the shot above. Spirited conversation. We got to hear about some of Herb and Wilma's travels in the Pacific Northwest this past summer, met another budding writer in Jerry and Gay, and tried to convince Herb's neighbors Joe and Pearl that they should bring their 64' boat down from Island Moornings for the boat parade next month. And, Jake the wonder dog got plenty of petting during the evening, too. Fun time!

Wind is howling and spitting rain...

2011-11-09T15:43:00.001-08:00

Yeah, sounds like a good day for a boat ride. ;-) We knew it was going to be "spirited", so little Izzy stayed home. She was being especially cute, though...

In her "fortress"...

As expected, the water was sloppy... the weather weasels called it: rough bay conditions. Wild Blue called it: fun. We ran around in a couple of the local channels before heading out to the ship channel; mostly just checking out what has changed... boats moved, some new docks, way fewer shrimp boats. Into the channel, it was pretty flat on the south side of our island with the north wind. It felt good just to be out.

As the boat bounced around in the chop, Joan said, "It doesn't look that bad."

"Um, I'd call this 2 1/2 foot waves stacked right on top of each other. One heck of a fetch from the north."

When we got to the jetties area, the waves were crashing over the jetties, making them barely visible...

First time in a very long time there wasn't a single person out there fishing. ;-)

Wild Blue got a thorough fresh water wash down when we got home, but no point in wiping her down - the wind is just going to howl through the night.

So?

2011-11-08T15:38:00.000-08:00

Have you been out and about?

Not much, but thanks for asking. Neither of us has been feeling great (somebody with an ugly cold bug must have breathed on us), it's been hotter and windier than usual, and the red tide makes come and go appearances. But, we've been puttering around on the boat, getting her set up to be home-on-the-water again.

Soon.

More like it...

2011-11-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

The weather weasels predicted partly cloudy, breezy, warm... 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Maybe by "partly" cloudy they meant: really overcast? Didn't matter, we were up for a boat ride this morning. Out out canal, down the ICW a short ways to the swing bridge, through the swing bridge and into the Laguna Madre. The view from the helm...

Looks like it should be cold, huh? No, the wind was making for some chop on the water, which splashed on the windshield; but, it was around 75º. We chugged out the jetties and poked our nose into the Gulf; plenty lumpy out there...

Oh well, the boat is going to need a thorough wash down when we get back, anyway. Plenty of people fishing on the jetties (some of the highrises on South Padre Island in the background)...

Back up the ship channel, looking for dolphins. Lots of pelicans diving for fish, but no dolphins. Making the turn into the Port Isabel channel, we slowed to wait for a passing barge. And, right behind the barge...

Yep - dolphins! Lots of dolphins! To the left - to the right!

And, the dolphin shot of the day...

Nice way to start our time on the water back home. The shrimpers we saw in the Gulf made their way in - one towing the other...

Joan at the helm...

Back home, we spent the afternoon cleaning and loading the boat. Still checking out systems as we go... and starting a list of what we need to order. Joan worked inside while I scrubbed down the exterior. We had taken everything out of the boat for storage; I made 6 trips carrying stuff down... and I had the easy part. Joan put it all away. The boat really swallows up a lot of stuff without getting lower on her lines.

Don't forget to set your clocks back tonight (or first thing in the morning). More light in the morning, darker sooner late afternoon. I missed my opportunity this morning to sleep in and still get to photograph the sunrise... had the sun been able to show itself.

Back where she belongs...

2011-11-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

Nothing to do with Bill Bailey.

We picked up Wild Blue from the boatyard today... bottom paint done, sorta on schedule. We were told that she would go back in the water after lunch, so we thought we had time to spruce up some metal below the coaming, above the waterline (the swim ladder, the through-hull trim rings)... nope, the boat was in the water when we arrived.

We loaded our stuff (PFDs, lines, fenders, paperwork) onboard, paid the bill (only 10% over the estimate), and shoved off... it should be interesting to see what all works or doesn't. Most things worked. We ran out to the ship channel, did a U-turn, and came back to the fuel dock...

We put on half a tank, reset the fuel flow meter, and headed for our dock. Even with all the cleaning I did last week, Wild Blue is again in need of a bath and a scrubbing. Joan started working on the interior while I did the outside...

We still need to do a thorough check of all the systems - didn't have time to put water on, check lights, etc, etc. No schedule at this point, so it'll get done when it gets done. Wild Blue is back at her dock; life is good.

Tomorrow, tomorrow...

2011-11-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

Sadly, you are missing my Annie impersonation. OK, maybe not such a bad thing.

Wild Blue will be done... tomorrow. Would have been done today, but a norther blew in, and it was cold and windy. When I checked on the progress today, I wasn't surprised that no one wanted to be out working in that, um... "frigid" temp... in the 60s. ;-) Everything is done except that small space under the blocks, and they will get that first thing in the morning. Two coats, four hours to completely dry - the boat should be ready to splash after lunch. And that timing works for us, too; the wind was gusting above 35 today. On the bright side, we have lines and fenders ready at the dock, so Wild Blue come home to what she's used to.

On the water...

2011-11-01T16:10:00.001-07:00

No, not on Wild Blue - she got her first coat of bottom paint today...

She's looking pretty. Hopefully, we'll get her back in a couple days.

Our water time was via kayaks today, and a beautiful day it was: high around 80º, plenty of sunshine, not much wind. Launching from our dock is a bit of a reach when the tide is out...

Up and down the canals on our island...

Out into the ICW...

That is the marina in the background where Wild Blue is getting her bottom pampered. We ran against the current, feeling like we were hardly moving... and with the current, feeling like real speedsters. Back into our canals, up and around, and home again.

Little Izzy is enjoying life back in the Tropical Tip, too. Backlit on her tower...

Supper out on the deck.

Warmer tomorrow, while I pace and wait for word on when Wild Blue will be done. Probably Thursday, but one never knows - tropical work schedules are ... um ... not done on a schedule.

Bottom job...

2011-10-31T09:19:00.003-07:00

An early morning. It takes time to go from sound asleep to wide awake...

Wild Blue went in for her bottom job this morning. I was the second one in the boatyard at opening time, right behind the assistant manager...

After the workers checked in and got a cup of coffee, they went right to work on getting her off the trailer...

Lifting the stern with the forklift to get access for the straps for the travel lift...

Up she goes...

Rolling to her place in the yard where they will work on her...

They set timbers under the boat before the jackstands. I asked if they would be playing Jenga under my boat, referring to the timber stack under there... pretty sure they didn't get the joke...

Setting on the stands...

Wild Blue looks pretty tiny sitting in this lineup...

I had to chuckle when one of the workers who doesn't speak much English ran his hand over the blue stripe on the hull: "Nice finish."

Well, at least someone noticed.

Clean and Exhausted...

2011-10-29T14:28:00.000-07:00

Wild Blue is clean, I am exhausted. I decided to try sanding and compounding the color stripe on the boat. First, the wet sanding...

I am a "wax it twice a year" kinda guy. This was a new tack for me: wet sanding with 400 grit, then 600. Buffing it back to a shine with a 2,000 grit compounding and a buffer. Notice the brown stain at the lower bow - sometimes called "a mustache". Frankly, a pretty girl like Wild Blue should not have a mustache.

I worked in small sections along the color: sanding, sanding, buffing...

Yeah, that is shiny - you can see my reflection in the blue stripe!

Atwood Hull Cleaner on the white part eliminated the brown stain...

It's potent stuff: you have to wear rubber gloves and be careful to not let it drip on the trailer or tires... but, it does a great job! I wanted to get that task done because, Monday morning, Wild Blue goes to the boat yard to get fresh bottom paint... and this stuff is not good on the ablative paint that I use.

It was a cool morning (for here), and a perfect afternoon: low 70s, gentle breeze, lots of sunshine, and low humidity - a good day to get this done. It would have been a great day to launch and go play on the water, but I am trying to be patient. The boat yard is telling me 3 to 4 days to get the bottom sanded and painted... weather permitting... and the weather is supposed to be decent.

After buffing out the boat, I can see why my friend with the boat shop told me 3 hours to do the job: it took me 3 1/2, and I was working hard at it the whole time. What I didn't expect: by the end of that session I could hardly lift my arms! I thought I was in pretty decent shape... but I was using some muscles that apparently weren't used to this kind of work. Rubber arms when it came time to work on the brown stain on the hull... after a needed break.

Other projects...

2011-10-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

I planned to clean and polish Wild Blue's hull today. That didn't happen. I did get her bottom job scheduled at the boat yard. Instead of boat work, we hung some additional sun shades out on the deck. That only took three times longer than the directions said it should take. Then, onto moving a cable connection... our neighbors had some paver stone landscaping done, and the installers cut our cable. They said they had it repaired, but the TVs in the house said otherwise. The cable folks put in a new cable... and left it laying on top of the paver stones. Of course, the cable was just a teensy bit short when the paver stone guys came out to move it. Options: call the cable company again, or just move the connection outside the house to gain a few inches. Yep, option 2.

Lunch on the island... not many people there. You can get a motel room for less than $30. The restaurant we ate at was mostly empty. Not good for the business people here, but I kinda like the quiet. No evidence of the red tide - the water in the bay was a gorgeous turquoise color.

Hot afternoon, good time to not clean a boat hull. Nice time for a nap. I like having no schedule.

Back home...

2011-10-26T16:26:00.000-07:00

Wild Blue is back home. The seal kit for her hydraulic steering came in on schedule. By the time I got there, the mechanic had replaced the seals and was trying to bleed the lines. Well, he was actually swearing at the boat: "This #$%^&ing thing! I hate these *&^%$ing hydraulic steering systems!"

"Whoa, Dude! That is my beloved boat you are talking to! NO ONE talks to my sweet boat like that! What's the problem?"

Nothing would come out of lines when turning the wheel; and turning the wheel did NOT turn the motor. Yeah, that's a problem. I suggested we call Teleflex or C-Dory to see what they recommend. When Teleflex called back, the mechanic visited with them and said we should try turning the motor with the autopilot to see if it would move the motor. I talked sweet to Wild Blue and... the motor moved. Hydraulic fluid started coming out the bypass valve... "See? You just have to talk nice to her!"

It took another half hour of moving the helm back and forth to get the lines bled, and the movement with the wheel came back... just like she should be.

And tomorrow is a new day - a day for me to visit with another boat yard about getting her bottom painted. The "boat bucks" are disappearing fast. It's been a while - she deserves some sprucing up.

Spa day...

2011-10-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

Wild Blue's first "day at the spa," after getting the first layers of dirt off her from 6 months of storage yesterday. She was put away with nearly half fuel. We pumped that fuel out of the boat - stratified layers when looking into the tank. I'd rather start with fresh fuel. The fuel line from the tank to the filter is the proper type, designed to be used with ethanol laced fuel, so no need to replace. The line from the filter to the engine was the thin wall old type and was replaced. Fresh oil and lower unit lube. Replaced the Honda fuel filter canister.

Before starting the engine, I asked the mechanic about the "priming procedure." He said, "That's our current recommendation." I watched while he fired up the boat, and he did the bulb squeeze 3 times. I watched while they worked on other boats - same thing.

With the motor running, the mechanic did a scan on the engine to see if there were any issues we should look at: everything fine except a high percentage on air intake. "Probably a dirty filter," the mechanic said. Took it out - yep, a layer of dirt on the screen. Blew that out, numbers back to normal.

A new revelation at their shop: they are no longer a Honda OEM dealer. Their main focus is building/selling new boats, and they are equipping them with Suzuki or Tohatsu motors. The boat being worked on next to mine had a 7 year old Tohatsu motor that looked like new... it is the owner's boat. They said no problem with working on Hondas, but they would not be doing any warranty work. The main reason they gave: Honda has gotten out of line on parts prices and shipping charges. The mechanic did say that the 135/150 Honda is a great engine... what would you expect him to say while he's working on mine?

My SeaStar hydraulic steering leaked while in storage. Tomorrow, we will install new seals in it - hope that cures the problem.

Another potential source of debate: to wax or not wax? The blue stripe on our boat is starting to look a bit chalked. I have always subscribed to the "a good coat of wax twice a year" for our boats. The last couple times, the wax didn't bring back the glossy shine like in the past. Today I was told: "You don't need wax. Your boat has a good gelcoat on it - wet sand that with 400, then 600, then buff it out."

I balked on that... "Wax good. Wax make boat pretty."

The owner told one of the workers to "do a small sample spot on that color and show him how it should look." It took a couple minutes, and when buffed, it glowed like new... REALLY obvious against the chalky blue on the rest of the boat.

I accused my friend of pulling "the old vacuum cleaner salesman routine". He laughed and said, "You can do that yourself, or you can pay us to do it for you. Time or money - your choice. But as long as you have good gelcoat on there, you don't have to dull it with wax."

On the way home, I checked with the place that sold me bottom paint the last time... they no longer allow "do it yourself" work in their yard for "anything below the waterline." Estimate for them to do ablative bottom paint: $900.

And, she needs it. Micron CSC Extra is what that yard recommends for this area (and what we've been using).

A little more sprucing up, a few more maintenance things, and Wild Blue will be ready to hit the waterways.

Swap...

2011-10-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

Seems like getting settled back in at home has been a challenge. The day after we pulled in, I broke a tooth, which meant trips to the dentist for a root canal and a crown. In between that, days of getting the HitchHiker unloaded. Then some kind of nasty upper respiratory bug kicked my butt. As the philosopher Rosanna Rosannadanna says, "It just goes to show you, it's always something."

We have had the coach unloaded for a couple days, so today it was time for "the big swap." Yep, the Love Shack goes into storage, Wild Blue comes out. We had checked on the boat a couple days ago - filthy dirty, but otherwise in good shape; Joan aired up the tires, I checked the batteries... we knew we'd be ready for the swap.

It's more than just pull one in and pull the other out: once at the storage lot, we have to drop the 5th wheel from the truck, hook the truck up to the boat, pull the boat out, drop the boat trailer off the truck, go back and hook up the 5th wheel again, back the 5th wheel into the storage spot, unhook the 5th wheel from the truck, pull around to the boat again and hook up, and now we can head for home. Whew!

Here, we have pulled the boat out (you can see it in the distance) and are getting ready to hook back up to the 5th wheel...

The Love Shack goes in...

Then back to hook up to Wild Blue...

Backing into a site on the island, that poor boat is really dirty...

Looks more like Dirty Brown than Wild Blue...

I was hoping most of the dirt would blow off on the way home. You can see that didn't work out so well. Rather than hose it off and wind up with a bunch of mud in the bilge, I decided to try a new tack: I vacuumed the exterior of the boat...

The cockpit was the worst, since it acts like a big bowl catching all that dirt. On the top of the boat, you can see the part where I vacuumed - that's how bad the dirt was...

It was pretty sad. I try to keep her looking good, but she got pulled from the water and put away under tough circumstances last spring... when it was clear that my Mother was not going to survive the stroke she suffered, Joan pulled the boat out on her own. There was no time for a thorough clean-up. When we came back after getting my Mother's affairs in order, we only had time to get the boat moved to a covered storage area before we had to head out. It was a dry, windy summer... and all the RVs and boats in the storage area were equally dirty.

In the past, I had referred to a boat (not Wild Blue) as: "the Prom Queen is now a crack whore," seeing how the owner had let the boat deteriorate. Well, Wild Blue is certainly no crack whore, but she is in dire need of some pampering and time at the spa. The layers of dirt are off (after several hours with the shop vac). Tomorrow, I will take her in for service and a thorough check up. When that's done, she'll come home and get her fiberglass waxed and metalwork shined up... then, back in the water, and she will again be the prettiest girl at the dance.

Not the king, but I have a crown...

2011-10-22T17:45:00.000-07:00

... after another trip, and another couple hours, at the dentist. The crown was too tall at first, so he ground it down. After multiple times of that routine, there was the "You might have to come back and we'll have another one made..." discussion. Glad I wasn't paying by the hour.

We stopped to check on Wild Blue today... she is plenty dirty, but looks good (when you can see past the dirt). Tires/trailer all checked out; the batteries are good to go. On Monday, we will do the RV/boat swap, and will take Wild Blue in for service and a thorough check-up. Then, it will feel like we are really settling in.

Keep movin', movin', movin'...

2011-10-21T12:29:00.000-07:00

I thought we were about done unloading the HitchHiker... I was wrong. We carried a bunch more stuff out of there today. I was thinking that we had gone through a lot of our stuff in the house and eliminated duplicate or no longer used items. Six months later, we have even more duplicate and no longer used items. Pretty sure I will not have to buy shoes, shirts, shorts, or jackets for at least a decade. Pretty much the same for the Blonde. Little Izzy said, "We are throwing out any of my cat toys, are we??"

No. And we aren't throwing out much - but, really, how many "ratty shirts" does a guy need? I don't do that much grubby work. ;-) But, the local boys/girls club and the animal shelter thrift shop are going to get more inventory.

The Love Shack and Big Red got a thorough scrubbing on the outside today. Another few days of this stuff and we can start relaxing... right?

Getting to the root...

2011-10-20T07:10:00.000-07:00

I busted a tooth on Tuesday. Yesterday, I spent 3 1/2 hours in a dentist's chair, getting a root canal. Never done that before, and I have to say that I'd rather not do that again. The dentist said the the tooth likely broke because of an old filling that was too large. I have to go back in a few days for the crown. Haven't had the need for a crown before, either.

That situation got in the way of getting moved back into the house. Since I don't need my mouth or jaw to carry stuff, I have been deemed fit for moving service, and we will get back after that today. This completely messes up my schedule for "no schedule to get moved back in." ;-)

They say you can't go home...

2011-10-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

No, I don't know who "they" are and I have no idea why they say that. We rolled back into the Tropical Tip late yesterday, actually anxious to spend some time here.

We took our time heading back (it's been nearly a month since we left our "fun summer job" location in the mountains), enjoying some RnR and waiting for the weather to cool down here.

It will probably be a few days before we go get the boat out of storage, and then there will be some work to be done on her before she goes back in the water; thanks to this crappy ethanol, I plan to replace all the fuel lines.

We really enjoyed our "fall colors excursion," following the changing leaves as we meandered our way from the mountains. In spite of all the dry conditions here, everything here is green, the hibiscus are blooming, and the palm trees are swaying. What a change.

Speaking of acclimating: Joan said, "I think it takes as much out of you to adjust to the heat and humidity as it does getting used to the elevation in the mountains." At least, I think that's what she said... my ears are full of sweat.

Home sweet home...

2011-10-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

The Love Shack has landed! We decided to blow away the 2/2/2 Rule again, and drove about 400 miles to get back home. Decent weather (only half the trip with a headwind), a toll road bypass to get us around Austin, and good conversation to make the drive seem shorter.

After getting the 5th wheel onto a site near the house, we are calling it a night. Walked around the house to make sure everything looks OK... the exterior of the house could NOT be grubbier: nearly 6 months of wind, a big construction project on the far side of the island, and virtually no rain the entire time we were gone. One of our neighbors said they were sweeping 1/8" of sand/dirt off their deck everyday for a couple months! By those standards, a couple hours of powerwashing and the house should be ready for us to start the moving in process. For the next couple nights, though, we will still be in the Love Shack.

Ugly news: just today, the red tide is moving into the entire coastline of Cameron County. It's not unsafe, just nasty... dead fish, so a foul smell. When this happened last time (last year around this time), we tried to stay at the county park on South Padre Island with the 5th wheel, and wound up having to wear face masks when we were outside... blowing sand and nasty particulates in the air. Hopefully, this won't get to that point. We have been monitoring this situation, and it seemed that it was mostly further up the coast from us... until today.

We got sweated up while setting up the 5th wheel, but there is supposed to be a cold front moving in tomorrow... meaning the high will "only" be in the 70s, and we'll have some north wind. Should be GREAT weather for getting the house opened up and moving back in... and equally good for getting re-acclimated to the Tropical Tip.

They say it's...

2011-10-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

... your BIRTHDAY!! Happy Birthday to ya!

I'm not mentioning any names, but the pretty blonde that I hang out with was born on this day back in... you don't really think I'm going to say that, do you? ;-)

We planned for a day off from driving towards home. She wanted to do some "window shopping," which we did, after breakfast out. And then, a big bonus: a trip to a premier kayak store!! I know - pretty romantic, huh? Well, we did find some things that we couldn't live without, and think we have come up with a better solution for carrying the kayaks in the cargo trailer. I have another "project" to work on when we get home.

A lovely late afternoon meal at the Italian restaurant of her choosing, and a quiet evening around the Love Shack.

Tomorrow, we're back on the road.

And more of the same state...

2011-10-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

Not a lot of miles today (well, compared to yesterday), but just as many hours. We got caught in some construction, where three lanes converged to one, and that lane was forced to exit the Interstate... with the only forewarning coming JUST AFTER the last exit where you could escape. It took us over an hour and a half to go a couple miles. You get to see humanity at its worst in traffic snafus like this: people driving off the road, mad switching of lanes, people not allowing a big truck to move over. We were fortunate: we had just fueled up and pottied about 15 minutes before we ran into this mess.

We saw a woman in a small car with all kinds of floral arrangements in the car... Joan said, "I sure hope she's not on her way to a wedding."

Once beyond the bridge construction, traffic immediately ramped up to only 10 mph over the posted speed limit. Yep, we're back in the Lone Star State.

A three-state day...

2011-10-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

We left Branson this morning, heading south. The weather forecast for that area is calling for lovely days and cool nights for the next 4 days... and then a cold front is supposed to move in. Yep, time for us to move out. The roads wound up and down the hills, plenty of curves... definitely more fun on the motorcycle, but Big Red handled it all with no fuss. The fall colors are spectacular! Mostly 2-lane until the Little Rock area, then onto the super-slab.

We paused for a bit when I brought up the possibility of heading to Florida for a C-Dory/Ranger Tug gathering in a week. Joan gave it consideration, but we agreed that it would be more fun to do that with the boat... and no way can we get Wild Blue there in time. So, we turned right instead of left, heading towards Texas. Still no schedule and no need to eat up a lot of miles; if all goes well, we should be back in the Tropical Tip in a few days.

I gotta show you somethin'...

2011-10-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

Not what you want to hear when you're just stepping away from the urinal in the men's room! We were making another trip through Bass Pro Shop, and I needed a potty break. The words in the title above were said to me by an ol' boy at the next urinal.

"Ummmm..." I barely got that out of my mouth.

"Lookit!! That picture above the pisser - it's a guy peeing off the front of a boat!" the guy said.

"Um, yeah," I replied, "Something every guy on a boat has done."

"Yeah, but, they got a picture of it!"

Too excited for my public bathroom etiquette. ;-)

We are wrapping up our time in Branson; we were planning to head out this morning, but after a pounding rain last night, we thought we'd give it another day to dry out before we hit the road. So, one more pleasant lunch out and a nice long walk along the waterfront and through Branson Landing.

While walking through the Landing, we came across this...

It's a "Hurricane Simulator"... you get in it, pay your money, and it blows like stink. Of course, it isn't authentic, 'cause there are no roof tiles, 2x4s, and palm tree branches whacking you. Your power isn't out for 10 days afterwards, and you still have running water and sewer. I'm thinking of setting up some "Mugging Simulators"... similar adrenaline rush, but I'll reach in, whack you, and take your wallet! No wait - "Prostate Exam Simulator"... complete with realistic snapping glove sound! OK, maybe not.

Beautiful day, plenty of sunshine, lot of people out and about. Great day for a walk.

The daytime highs in south Texas are now down into the 80s... time to start making our way in that general direction.

That was fast...

2011-10-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

While out shopping yesterday, I heard the message tone on my phone... while checking the message, I saw... 4G coverage! The first I've seen that. Just out of curiosity, I pulled up a website to check the speed (we normally see somewhere around 1 to 1.5 mg)... 9.5 mg! Whew! And I didn't have a single thing that I needed to download. ;-)