Frigid Sunrise

     We arrived at the boat on Monday afternoon only to be welcomed by very cold and "windy" conditions.  Fear not, we have a diesel fired furnace on the boat!  So, we opened up the boat, ran a shoreline connection, threw a few switches and hunkered down for the best mother nature could throw at us.  Monday night was cold but uneventful.  It wasn't until Tuesday that the fury was unleashed with sustained class 5 winds on the Beaufort Scale, which are described as a "Fresh  Breeze" at 18 -24 MPH.  Let's not forget the wind chill factor.  But then it gets better,.  The winds were to build into the afternoon and gusting to class 8 "Fresh Gale" at 39 - 46 MPH.  When I say the boat shook, it shook, which is not a pleasant feeling considering the boat is supported by anemic boat stands on each side. So the winds settled down last night and we arose to a beautiful sunrise this morning, 18 degrees and no wind.  Cool enough to ice over the water in the marina. Just in case you are wondering, the boat's plumbing system is winterized and the marina bathrooms are 100 yards away!  Pictured below is Sharon enjoying the frigid sunrise at 7 am today.

Better Safe than Sorry

It occurs to me that the saddest thing I have ever heard can be expressed in the concept - better safe than sorry.  What follows is my editorial debunking that popular notion.   If, when looking back on my life, I were to have lived safely, I am sure that I would have lots of regrets.   The future is not for the faint of heart.  Yet most people lead lives of  quiet desperation.  Life is not about being safe.  It is about taking risks.  It is about driving through a snowstorm to be with the ones you love on Christmas.   It is about selling your possessions and taking off in a boat for lands unknown.  Perhaps I have more wanderlust than the average person.  But being average is a concept that is as deadly as being safe.   For those of you who want nothing more than to be safe, I say - bah humbug.  Live a little and have an adventure worth remembering.  Better ventured than safe!

Eagle Scout!

You will have to bear with us while we brag about our youngest son, Grant.  On Sunday, December 13, 2009, Grant passed the final challenge of Boy Scouts, the Eagle Scout Board of Review.  In addition to being  a Certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-B), a Volunteer Firefighter,  and Outstanding High School Student, Grant can now add Eagle Scout to his list of accomplishments.  And he is just 18 years of age. Grant's next planned challenge is college, where he would like to major in Applied Networking & Systems Administration at Rochester Institute of Technology (NY).

Flashback ( That's not Bullwinkle! )

     (Unfortunately, we do not have photographs to document this encounter, but nonetheless, it is quite a memory that we both can still visualize to this day).
     Sharon and I were kayaking on Osgood Pond in the Adirondacks.  It was a great day for a paddle and a great location. Our day trip took us north on Osgood Pond and  the Upper Osgood River.   About 2 miles upstream from the pond there is a designated campsite, where we stopped for a late lunch.  The campsite was on top of a small hill that provided an overlook of the river and the wetlands on the opposite side of the river.  After lunch, Sharon and I decided to head back to Osgood Lake, as we had a 1 hour drive back to our campsite on Floodwood Road.  Don't ask me why, but when we kayak on rivers and creeks I will take the lead and Sharon will bring up the rear.  On this particular occasion, Sharon took the lead.  As we proceeded downstream we came to a series of bends in the river.  I could see Sharon just ahead of me, but I could not see around the bend.  Then with very low and calm voice I heard Sharon exclaim "Bob, your not going to believe this".  I could see Sharon was back paddling very quietly but I could not see why.  Then as I rounded the bend, I saw it, a cow moose standing  in the middle of the stream , 25 feet from Sharon, obstructing our travel.  As I started to backpaddle, I quickly scanned all around us looking for a calf, and was relieved not to see one.  We managed to quietly backpaddle to hold our position without scaring the moose. However, the moose did get nervous, turned, walked away from us, then it went up onto the river bank and disappeared into the forest.  Wow, our first encounter with a moose, up close and personal!

     We did not get to share this experience with anyone until a few days later when we were heading home to Pennsylvania.  We stopped at the kayak shop where we had purchased our kayaks the previous year and were swapping stories with the clerk.  When we told her of the moose encounter, she said she was envious as she had been living and paddling  in the Adirondacks for 20 years and never saw a moose.  We left the Adirondacks that year feeling that the day trip with the moose encounter was something very special.

        

Cold Turkey

     I wish that I was writing about left over turkey from Thanksgiving, but that's not the case.  I was abruptly hit with a ton of bricks this morning when I looked at the calender.   It has been 2 1/2 weeks since the boat was hauled, and I am already suffering from withdrawal. I know that I have written about the time leading  to our departure  in November 2010 as being a very short time, and there are so much preparations to do. This is a case of the other side of the coin.  Sharon told me a few days ago that she had to stop reading other blogs about full time cruisers.  Now I understand what she meant.  Even though the boat is on the hard, we will be going down to the boat for a few days between Christmas and New Year for a boat fix.   

T-Minus 11 and Counting

     November was not a good month for our preparations towards being full time cruisers.  I was very involved in winterizing the boat and having the boat hauled.  Sharon offered a couple of days to help with winterizing, which I gladly accepted.  Winterizing a boat is very labor intensive, and if you pay someone to do it, very expensive.
     There was talk between us about different transition projects, but we never actually got to work on any of them.  The cooking recipe database projects continues with no completion date etched in stone.  One of our original plans was to have a yard sale late next spring to liquidate most of those possessions that won't be needed (or fit) on a boat, like a 50" big screen TV.   While we were on the boat for winterization, in October, we discussed another idea to start offering some of the items on eBay or CraigsList to expedite "disposal".
     On another note, something worth celebrating, Sharon decided to retire 6 months early.  Her retirement was effective the 20th of November.  It was back in October she decided to do this and I fully support her decision.  Just another step forward in our quest to become full time cruisers and start our adventure.