Blood Moon...

To be more accurate: the Super Blue Blood Moon.  It was cold (44º) and dark when I went out to try for a shot of this event.  My consumer type cameras and no tripod made it a bit of a challenge...

The camera wouldn't focus on the dimly lit moon.  Manual focus, and keep trying...

Closer.  I sat in one of our patio chairs, held my breath, and...

By this point, the moon was starting to drop behind the palm trees to our west.  One last try (and the best crop I could get)...

An hour of wait and watch, and it was interesting to see the changes - time to go in and warm up.

2 for 3, so far...

Overnight, it will be a "super moon," a blue moon, and a blood moon... a trifecta for moon watchers!  Super moon because it is closer than the typical orbit, making the moon appear larger and brighter.  A blue moon because it is the second full moon in the same month.  That is not so rare - it happens once every three years or so.  There will be another blue moon in late March of this year.  The next time there will be two blue moons in a calendar year will be in 19 years.  A blood moon because the Earth is passing between the moon and the sun (a lunar eclipse), causing the moon to look reddish in color (light from the sun bending around the Earth's atmosphere reflecting on the moon).

This Super-Blue-Blood Moon is a rare occurrence: the last time this happened was in 1866.  Here in Arizona, the best viewing of the blood moon will be from 5:51 am to around 7:00 am, with the maximum eclipse happening around 6:29 am.

In case I sleep through the blood moon, here is a photo taken this evening of the Super Blue Moon...

Home...

No, we are not back in Texas.  When we are traveling in the motorhome, "home" is where we park it.  Home has been feeling empty without our sweet Izzy.

We got a call from the emergency animal hospital in Tucson who helped us with Izzy's last moments... her ashes are ready.  We drove to Tucson today.  We were kind of numb on Izzy's last night - neither of us knew exactly what to expect, other than we knew they were doing a paw print in plaster for us.

The paw print cast is lovely, and has her name on it.  Her ashes are in a beautiful sealed wooden box.  We have her home with us again.

We related our happiest Izzy moments on the ride back.  There are a lot of them.  We treasure each memory.

Is this really a problem?

We went to Walmart this morning.  No, that is not the problem.  At home, when pulling out a shopping cart, most of them are ratty and rusty - it doesn't take long when they sit out in our salt air environment.  Not so here in the desert - the carts all seemed to be in reasonable shape.

There was one accessory on the cart that I wasn't familiar with...

Look under the wheel.  Joan asked me if that was a brake.  Nope, it doesn't move.  As near as I can tell, it is a wheelie bar (??).  You can't stand on the back of the car and tilt the front end up.  Really?  Is that a problem?

We went to this particular Walmart a little after 10:00 am.  Plenty of parking spots available in the lot and the aisles in the store were nearly empty...

What a delight.  And, unusual; at least for any other Walmart we've been in.  At our Walmart at home, the aisles are crowded any time of the day.  Seems the "winter visitors" leave their carts in the aisles the way they park in the lot: at a diagonal.  Makes it hard to get around.  Joan thinks that is not intentional... I think it is some demented game like Roller Derby, and they are "the blockers."  We didn't come across a single blocker here.

The store was light and airy.  Sparkling clean.  Even the displays with the fruit were nicely done...

Yeah, it doesn't take much to impress me.  ;-)

The games people play...

If you said, "Joe South, 1968," you get 500 bonus points.  If you said, "That song won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Song that year," you get an additional 1,000 bonus points.

When we gather for Christmas, we exchange gifts and then play games for additional prizes.  Since we weren't able to be together for this past Christmas, we had our "tradition" last night.  Steph and Joan cooked.  It was a good time.

The "Princess Palace" we got for the grandkitties was a success.  There were quite a few cat-related gifts for Steph.  Socks were high on the agenda.  For me, it was guitar-related stuff.  Dan got art and design supplies and books.

When it came time for the games, a new one was introduced: "Watch Your Mouth!"  It uses plastic mouth-spreaders, and you try to guess what your game partner is trying to say.  The premise is simple - the difficulty comes in trying not to laugh while you look so stupid in the process...

If you win, you get to pick a wrapped prize or an envelope (which may contain a gift card or cash).  You aren't done though: along with each prize, you have to pick a directive... it may tell you to pass the gift to the right... or, flip a coin; heads you keep it, tails you put it back.  Apparently, I was not allowed to do the directives this year, after the "Give your prize to Jim," directives that were promised.  It keeps things interesting and mostly equitable.

Good to be together.

I knew this was coming...

Facebook memories.  It's Facebook's way of reminding you what you were doing on this date a year or two, or five ago.  Yeah, this morning's "memory" is a lovely photo of Izzy from one year ago...

Probably too soon, but I couldn't take my eyes off of it.  A bittersweet way to start the day.  I know there are going to be many of those memories, because Izzy was featured a lot.

There is another thing coming: the holiday celebration.  We didn't get our usual Christmas with Steph and Dan last month, because Torrie (their eldest fur baby) got sick.  She is doing better, and now that we are all together, we'll get to do our "games, prizes, and presents" this weekend.  I am so looking forward to that... love our family time together.

Stuff to do...

We left the park we were in, wanting to see how "full" the park we'll be in for February and March actually is... while it is more full than we've seen it in January in years past, there are plenty of open sites.  In all likelihood, there may not have been a site available for a whole week, but there are damn sure plenty of sites that would have been available, even if we would have had to move every couple of days.  They were just too lazy or indifferent to try to help.  Another case of a business turning away sales that can't be recovered.  Stupid.

We did some shopping, then over to Steph and Dan's place.  They have good high speed internet, so I was able to download an update for my MacBook Pro.  And, spend some time with the grandkitties.  I pulled out a guitar - on the first strum, the two big ones ran off, scared.  The little old girl was fine with it.  She stayed by me even after I put the guitar away...

Joan had another project in mind: the fast-paced, high-paying job of appliance repair.  Steph and Dan's stove control panel had come apart...

You can see what I am talking about in the upper panel on the stove in the photo above.  Joan cleaned all around, inside, and under the stove, and we took the back panel off.  There are plastic brackets that have a hole in them to screw to the housing... all four of those brackets were broken.  The bad news: they are in integral part of the housing for the control panel... no way to replace just the brackets.  I'm guessing it would have been a couple hundred bucks for the control panel, if you could still get one like it.

Joan is handy, and I am pretty and good at holding tools.  Together, with a healthy application of Gorilla Tape, she used what bits of plastic were salvageable, I gave guidance where my ham-hands wouldn't fit, and we put it all back together.  I would say, "Good as new," but we'll have to see how this repair holds up over time.  On the bright side: it works.  And, the price was right.

Plus, I now have most of a roll of Gorilla Tape to keep in the car.  You never know when you're going to need to tape up a gorilla.

Good to be with family...

We got to be with Steph and Dan this evening.  My sweet little girl knows just what to say - she has such a great heart and compassion.

It was great to hear how things are going with each of their schools and with Dan's graphic design business.  We are so proud of both of them.

Of course, there was time with the Grandkitties.  I think we were all holding our breath to see if Joan and I would turn into a big puddle of tears... we surprised them.  And ourselves.  These are great cats.

Torrie, the "grande dame"...

She is a senior citizen and has been with Steph and Dan since shortly after they were married (17 years ago).  She gave us all a health scare before Christmas, but she has rebounded nicely.  She prefers solitude, but knew we needed some kitty attention.

This is Tasha...

She is a princess; a Siberian Forest Cat with a show cat pedigree.  This breed is BIG - she is more than twice the size and weight of Torrie.  Long, luxurious fur.  She is social, but doesn't like to be held... except by Joan.  Such a sweet face.

This is Alfie...

Steph and Dan got Alfie from the same breeder - in fact, he is Tasha's nephew.  For all purposes, he and Tasha are "brother and sister."  They are good together.  Of course, Alfie is younger - but, bigger than Tasha... he looks like a bear cub when he walks.  He loves everybody and likes to be held.  Steph reminded us to "lift with your knees, not your back, when you pick him up."  Yeah, he's a big boy; solid, and still growing.  His face can be a bit "scowly," but he is a sweet boy.

It was good to have some kitty attention.  Steph and Dan love these three as much as we love Izzy; they understand.

It is good to be with our family.

Mornings are tough...

Nothing to do with getting up early.

I was up before 5:00 again today.  Izzy and I had a morning routine: I would get up, change the cat calendar, and start preparing her first meal of the day.  She would give me a thank-you rub on my legs; then before digging in, she would look up at me and wait for a pet before she would eat.  I miss it so much.

This blog has been about the fun times and will continue to do that.  Writing is therapeutic for me, and making these remembrances of our sweet little furry girl is going to happen for a while.

Today, we move to our "winter destination."  You're thinking, "Isn't South Padre Island a wonderful winter destination?"  Yes.  It has good weather (this year so far has been an anomaly), a spectacular beach, great water access, and plenty to do.  What it doesn't have: our darling daughter and son-in-law.  So, off to the Phoenix area to spend time with them.

We left Tucson at 9:30 this morning, with easy traffic getting out.  The tough part today: the solo driving.  Oh, I can drive without help, but I don't have my lovely wife with me because we have to drive separate in Arizona - double towing isn't allowed here.  So, I am driving the motorhome with the cargo trailer behind.  Joan is behind me, driving the CR-V.  The coach seems especially lonely today, but I keep a close watch on my mirrors to see the while Honda behind...

We communicate with our phones and Airpods; hands free, and we look out for each other.  She can "block" a lane, allowing me to move over, I let her know about any traffic ahead.  Hearing her voice is comforting.  We are able to have a conversation - at one point she said to me, "I have come to like the desert again.  It has a rugged beauty."

"Are you trying to tell me something?"

"No, but our first RVing experiences here back in the early 90s were great.  Plus, look on the hill: saguaro cactus.  Remember the first time we saw those?"

"Indeed I do."

"It was warm here, a nice escape from the South Dakota winter."

I asked, "Are you telling me you want to move here?"

"Maybe some day when you are ready to be done boating."

"They do have boating here, in the lakes - what they don't have are dolphins.  Salt air.  Huge expanses of water all to yourself.  Ship traffic."  I was interrupted when I sneezed... ah, the desert air.

A look ahead as we approached Picacho Peak...

We rolled through the Phoenix area by noon, turned off I-10, and headed towards our "home" for the next week.  Pueblo El Mirage is a beautiful park: lots of pretty landscaping, a great pool area, every kind of activity a retired person could want.  It is a bit of a drive to get to Steph's house, so we will be moving to a closer park for February and March.

The staff at Pueblo El Mirage is friendly and helpful - they assign a couple guys to escort you to your site and explain where they want your RV positioned (uniformly lined up, even with your concrete patio), where the utilities are, etc.  We have been doing this for decades, so we have this stuff down pat.  The guys parking us were impressed as Joan and I dropped the cargo trailer from the motorhome, and while I backed the coach in, she hooked up the CR-V to the trailer so we could get it where they want it on the site.  Some of these "uniformity rules" are silly, since there are all kinds and sizes of RVs in here, but it isn't a big deal.  We come equipped, so we can handle what the situation calls for with our utility hookups (extra hoses, sewer accessories, an electric cable extension if necessary).

I am just happy to have a place to be for the week, before we can get in to the other park.  I need to hug my sweet daughter.  She has "lobbied" for us to move to the area... maybe because she knows we wouldn't?  ;-)  Not sure when the role reversals happen, but your kid starts to worry about you, instead of the other way around.

They don't get out of school until early evening, so we have time to get settled in before heading to their place.  Anxious to see them, plus we have some grand-kitties to pet.

Going for a walk...

It would be easy to just sit inside.

It was a tough morning.  Joan cleaned and packed up Izzy's stuff... and there is a lot of Izzy's stuff.  We don't travel light, and we never expected Iz to.  Each item brought waves of memories.  It wasn't an easy time.

We cleaned ourselves up and went out for breakfast at one of my favorite places: Waffle House.  Proud to say that I introduced Joan to Waffle House many years ago, and she is onboard.  If you are from up north, you may think Waffle House is a cheesy diner.  While you can certainly get cheese (among other toppings) on your hashbrowns, it is a southern staple.  Some people think the Mason-Dixon line divides the north from the south... I've been more inclined to think it is the Waffle House-IHOP line that indicates the south from the north.

We came back to the coach to find a place to be until our "official reservations" start February 1st.  I truly thought the place we are staying would have plenty of sites open for a week at the end of January (they always have).  Nope.  This is the same place that has been a pain in the ass to deal with for most of the last decade (it is a 55+ park), generally because of our cargo trailer (which they only started allowing last year) and occasionally with the "we don't have anything available" bit when there are plenty of sites open.  Joan and I have both said that we don't like to give them our business, but they are the park that is closest to Steph and Dan.  So, we grit our teeth and just do it.  Most of the time.

January is typically not as busy as February and March in the Phoenix area for those needing an RV site; spring training brings a lot of RVing folks in; in late February and March.  We called the next two closest parks and got the same "We are full" response.  Maybe it really is that busy?

We found a site for the week at our favorite park there - unfortunately not close and convenient to Steph's.  We'll make the drive for a week.

With a place to stay, we were able to get on with our day: the car was in dire need of a bath after being towed behind the coach.  Joan needed to pick up a few things.  We did our running, then back to the coach again.

Joan asked me, "Would you like to go for a walk?"  Walking is what Izzy and I did, at her stop and smell the roses (and the rocks and the trees and every blade of grass) pace.  Not what you would call an aerobic exercise.  But, I think Joan knew I needed the diversion.

"Yes, I would."  So, Joan took me for a walk.  No, she didn't put a leash on me.  We looked at the many RVs in the park as we walked up and down a few of the streets.  Past the swimming pool... it was a sweater or light jacket kinda day in Tucson thanks to the cool breeze, but there were a few people in the pool.

For the record, this park in Tucson is very full, too.  And, not inexpensive.

This is the start of some changes of routine.  We'll help each other as we go.

My heart is broken...

Yes, this is about Izzy.  Tonight, we had to do that last unselfish act that our furry family members count on us to do.  We were holding her when she took her last breath.

Things went downhill fast after having a good day on Sunday.  Without going into all the details, she was not able to eat or drink - we had to feed her with a syringe.  Our little furry girl was tough to the end, but this cancer was devastating.

There have been a lot of tears in our home (rolling or stationary) in the past couple weeks.  We were fortunate to find a 24 hour emergency animal hospital with truly compassionate staff.  They helped us through a very tough situation.

When we adopted Izzy from the animal shelter just over 9 years ago, we knew she had some medical issues, mostly lung related.  She and Joan saw each other in the shelter, and I knew from the first look between those two that this little girl would be going home with us.  Honestly, I was concerned about how frail she looked, but she grew to be a beautiful longhair, with gorgeous markings... and a wonderful personality.  She took to adventure, able to handle each new situation we threw at her.

Each of our cats have had unique personalities - Izzy reminded me of a small child, with a sense of wonder about each new situation.  She was at home in the boat, in the 5th wheel and motorhome, and in our Texas home... she always wanted to be where we were, and we always wanted her with us.

Our routines will be different - with the three of us being together all the time, the loss will be felt in almost everything we do... from mealtime to guitar time to lap time.  I will especially miss our walks.  I can't begin to speak for Joan, since those two had such a strong bond.  Izzy was her cat, and I was fortunate to be along for the ride.

I keep coming back to "sweet" to describe our Isabella.  She could be tough and stubborn when the situation called for it, but I always come back to sweet.  She was an 8 pound cat with the heart of a tiger, but the playfulness and impish ways of a kitten.  With that sweet little kittenish face, she knew how to work me... and I loved it.

Before taking her to the animal hospital, I played the guitar for her one last time.  We had a routine: I would sing and play, Izzy would come as soon as she heard me get a guitar out, Joan would join us with Izzy in her lap, brushing that luxurious silky longhair coat.

The tough time for her is over - we will get through the hurt and loss by recalling all the great memories.

Rest in peace, my lovely Izzy.

Travel day...

We have a lot of miles to go to get to Phoenix.  Our plan for the day was to try to get to El Paso, meaning a 600 mile day.  Not an easy goal in the best of circumstances, but today Mother Nature threw 25 mph headwinds at us all day long.  And, after a good day yesterday, Izzy had a tough day today.

We have an appointment with the animal hospital in Goodyear (Phoenix).  Izzy normally travels well - it has been a part of her life, just like with us.  She laid in the window for a short time today...

The sun coming in that window was a concern, as she has been running a fever.  Joan took her back to lay on the bed.

The drive across west Texas is long by any standards.  Double towing, ugly wind, hills, rough roads, and a critically ill kitty left me drained.  We got off the road, still in west Texas, but not to El Paso.  This will still be our longest day this trip.  It will be another long day tomorrow, but the wind is supposed to be less.

Izzy update...

Not good news.  The lump in her throat is cancer.  No one in this area can do the surgery, IF the surgery is possible and has any chance of extending her life.  I've studied up on it, and I have concerns about what the treatment would do to her.

We are heading west and will get additional information with an animal surgical specialist.  There were a lot of tears when we got this news, because it also came at a time when Izzy was refusing to eat.  She has always been a good eater, and anxious to rub on my legs at feeding time.  Rotating through a lot of food options, she will now take a bite here and there.  If she won't eat, there is no hope, and right now we are hopeful that we will have some quality time left.

Izzy is our third cat over a 35 year time span.  All three have been very different personalities.  Smoke was spunky; Molly was wise and communicative; and Izzy is the sweetest little feline ever.

This has come on pretty fast, and it is taking a toll on her.  She is still sweet, but the expected lethargy means a lot of cat naps.  But, when she is awake, she is her sweet self.

She is losing weight.  We have some high-calorie food from the vet to try to keep her weight and strength up.

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

We Hit The Road (01/21/18)...

What normally takes several days, we did in 24 hours: load up the coach and shut down the house.  With the flurry of activity, Izzy knew something was up.  With all the visits she has had to her doctor in the past couple weeks, she was not her usual excited self when we brought her out of the house and into the coach.

When she could see that we weren't stopping at the vet office that is only about a mile from our house, she relaxed.  She is content in the motorhome.  Most of the time when we travel, she goes into her "house", now her "princess palace" that is on the bed in the back of the motorhome.  She gets to go where she wants in the motorhome - today, she came up front to sit with us.  She sat on Joan's lap for a while, then decided to head for the dash...

She used to ride up there once in a while in the truck when she was younger.  It was nice to see that she just wanted to be where we are.  She settled in for a nap...

She stayed up there when we stopped for the Border Patrol check point as we headed up Expressway 77.  She glanced over her shoulder as one of the agents walked a dog around the coach... they waved us on.

We stopped at the rest area a few miles up the road so she could have some lunch.  Then, onward.  Our 2/2/2 Rule is out the window when we are just trying to make miles.  We didn't get out until around 11:30 and wanted to stop for the day before dark.  One stop for Izzy's lunch and one more to fuel up just before we rolled into the RV park... we made a reservation along the way, so we could get a long site, and not have to unhook the CR-V and cargo trailer.

It was sunny when we left the Tropical Tip, but turned to mostly overcast when we turned north.  Getting close to San Antonio, the terrain and climate changes...

 

Trees with no leaves; grass that is mostly brown.  Not the green and flowers we're used to.

We rolled into the RV park just before they closed at 5:00.  I needed to set up all the utilities so we can finish sanitizing the fresh water system.  Izzy was watching out the door when I came back inside.  She hasn't been out on her leash for a couple weeks... I asked her, "Do you want to go for a walk outside?" - she meowed her happy sound, and her little face beamed.

With the tumor in her throat, we have been going without her harness.  I loosened the harness, knowing she wouldn't try to pull out of it, and put it on her - she couldn't wait to go outside!

We didn't walk far, but she enjoyed looking at the birds and smelling all the good smells on the coach and car.  This is as close to normal as things have been since we started the path to track down her health issues.  She is a very happy girl.

We stayed out until I could tell she was getting tuckered out.  Back inside for some more chow and a rest in the cab part of the coach...

Truth be told, we are all ready for taking it easy this evening.  And ready to celebrate the little victories (like eating) and some normalcy.

Quiet...

I'm not sure who all reads this.  Some days there are a couple hundred views; other days there are a several thousand.  I don't get info about who the readers are, but I know what countries and what kind of computer or tablet/phone they're using.

One thing I am sure of: Izzy has a following here.  Easy to understand, because she is very photogenic (I'm biased) and absolutely the sweetest kitty I have ever seen (no bias, just the fact).

Also, I do try to keep things upbeat.

If it seems that the blog has been a bit quiet or generic lately, it is probably because our sweet kitty has been having some health issues.  I'm not going into more detail here (I appreciate you not asking), just to say that we have been to the vet 3 times in the last two weeks, and we are doing all we can for her.  Yesterday was a pretty tough day, but today she is doing better.  We are waiting for a better diagnosis with samples that the vet has sent out.  We trust our vet, and she has let us know that if surgery is necessary (likely) and possible, that it is a procedure that will require a specialized vet surgeon.

For 10 years, I have made regular posts to this blog, so understand if I am a bit quiet for the near term.  In the meantime, good thoughts for sweet little Izzy are appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Like the parking lot of the mall around Christmas...

The predicted cold front blew in around 7:00 this morning - it went from a bit of breeze and 60º to north winds at 30 gusting above 40 in just a few moments.  The temp was down to 44º and dropping.  The light drizzle is now blowing sideways.  It is fugly out there.

We met friends Mike and MJ for breakfast at our favorite: Manuel's; good food and lively conversation.  We were wearing winter jackets and gloves.  Joan wanted to stop at the store before going home - I dropped her at the door, with a plan to do a slow circle of the parking lot.  I was amazed that the parking lot was packed - people "stalking" parking spots.  Oh, there were spots available out a ways, but no one wanted to make that walk in this weather.

Joan said it was like people up north stocking up before a blizzard in the store.  She was in and out pretty quick.

Don't get me wrong, the weather is very unpleasant right now.  BUT, it isn't going to be blizzard conditions here.  The forecast for tonight here on the coast is for a low of 37º - colder than typical by any standards, but not cause for alarm.  Tomorrow's high is supposed to be 45º... school has been cancelled in some nearby communities for tomorrow.  Yes, really.

We are comfortably warm in the house with the heat going, including the electric fireplace.  Could be worse: we could be up north, up to our asses in snow.  Don't miss that one bit.

Tucked away...

Not on a schedule, since we have the boat out of the water.  The next norther is supposed to blow in overnight, with tomorrow being cold (relative), windy, and rainy.  A couple people have said to me, "It's a boat - what do you care if it gets rained on?"

When putting it in storage for a while, I'd like it to be clean.  We ran into rain coming back from San Antonio last month with the motorhome, and it had to go in there grubby.  I spent most of yesterday afternoon getting that boat clean - I'd like it to stay that way for a while.

The storage unit is big enough to hold the motorhome and the boat, as long we get the boat in there at a diagonal.  So, there is a bit of "a dance" - the motorhome comes out, the boat goes in, shut-down stuff done with the boat, put the boat at the proper angle, put the motorhome back in.  Snug, but it all fits.

Motorhome out...

Boat in...

I disconnected the battery, put the helm cover and the full boat cover on...

We pushed the boat to the back of the storage unit, and swung it so it is as close to sideways as it will go, then put the coach back in....

A look at the front of the coach and the boat...

Now, we really have no schedule.  It was a pleasant weather day today, in the low 70s while we shopped and had lunch in the city.  That will change as the front comes in overnight... the high tomorrow will be 60º, but that will be early in the morning; the temperature will be dropping throughout the day, with an overnight low tomorrow night in the upper 30s.  Yep, that is cold for here.  After a couple chilly days, back into the 70s for the weekend.

Good boating weather for the weekend?  Yeah...

;-)

Throwing in the towel...

We don't give up easy.  But, the situation with the dredging has made it frustrating to try to get our boat out.  The only exit we have is a canal two over from ours that has a low bridge... we can fit under that bridge at low tide, but that means you have to also come back in on a low tide.  We talked about going out yesterday, but low tide was early in the day, and it was a bit too chilly for that early of a departure.  Pretty much, the stars have to all align to get: a low tide happening at a time of the day you want to go out, knowing that it will be a short outing so you can get back in before the tide is too high for the boat to fit under that low bridge.

Looking at the tide charts and the hourly weather reports, I said to Joan, "Let's just pull the boat out today - we can stage the trailer in the Welcome Center parking lot, get out of here while the tide is low enough for us to get under that bridge, stay out as long as we want, then go to the ramp, pull the boat, and call it a winter boating season.  We're going to head out sometime in the next couple weeks, and I don't want to get caught with having to pull the boat when the weather isn't cooperative."

She was with me.  It was a lovely day - cool, crisp, not too much wind, and plenty of sunshine.

Heading out our canal...

Getting ready to slide under that bridge...

I was just looking to enjoy some boat time - no destination, no plan.  We turned left, and were surprised at the commercial traffic in the turning basin...

That tug pushing the barges above didn't turn like we anticipated; we moved closer to our island to give him plenty of room and see what he was up to... looks like he was going to raft up to another tug with barges already there.  This big tug was coming in the Port Isabel Channel...

Looking back into the turning basin...

Of course, we always hope to see dolphins, but want to pull the boat at the warmest part of the day since I will be cleaning it in our driveway.  As luck would have it, our first view of dolphins today...

We came across 4 small groups, just two or three moving together, as we cruised down the ship channel.

These two came close to the boat, but were moving steadily east...

None of the groups were playful today, but we were delighted to get to see them one more time.

Knowing that we'd be pulling and cleaning the boat, we only took our pocket camera along - a new challenge for Joan.  We were out there long enough for Joan to put on a jacket.  It made it to the upper 60s, but the water temp is now cooler than that.

One last shot of two dolphins in the sparkly water before heading for the ramp...

Another look at the unusually busy turning basin docks...

We made a plan for retrieving the boat: we'll tie off at the dock at the ramp, Joan will walk up to get the vehicle and trailer. she'll back it in, and I'll drive the boat up onto the trailer.  Coming in to the ramp area...

No one else is there, and the gate is locked.  We have the combination for that lock, so all is good.  As Joan was unlocking the gates, two women pulled up with a boat to launch.  OK, new plan: I'll back off from the ramp dock, let them get launched, when they pull their trailer out, Joan will back ours in, and I'll drive it up on the trailer.

That plan almost worked - if you look close, you will see that the boat in the photo above has their prop out of the water.  She started the engine - couldn't understand why the boat wouldn't back off the trailer.  I hollered to tell her to "Put the motor down!"  She gave it more throttle; yes, with the prop still out of the water.  She tried to put the motor down, but it wouldn't go.  "Turn it off, raise it a bit, and release the the motor rest!"  She was close, she did all of that except turning off the motor.  All told, she ran that thing for about 2 minutes without water getting to the motor... hopefully, she didn't fry the impeller.  I was looking for a pee stream as she went by, but she was hauling ass.  I said to her, "You don't have to hurry - this is a no wake area!"

Once she was clear, I headed back towards the ramp as Joan was backing the trailer down.  I drove the boat up, she hooked the bow strap, I hopped off the boat and pulled us up the ramp.  Back to our house to start the clean-up.

It had only been about 3 weeks since we put the boat back in.  During that time, this was only the 4th time we were able to get out; two of those times were on either side of Christmas Day when the dredge operation was shut down.  I used the power-washer, but the hulls were pretty clean.  We took all the "soft goods" off the boat, I flushed the motor, disconnected the fuel line, and ran the remaining fuel out of the motor.  I washed the sides of the boat with soapy water and rinsed it all down - it is looking good.  I siphoned the remaining fuel out of the boat tank and put it in the Honda.

Tomorrow, we'll put it away in our storage unit.

The weather weasels are predicting a chance of rain Tuesday through Thursday, so this is (hopefully) good timing.  I'll miss having the boat at the dock.  The dredge operation should be done (no guarantees of that, since it was supposed to be done 10 months ago) by the time we get back from Arizona.