Moving Aboard

Current Position: 33° 55' 18" N  78° 3' 40" W

Here we are nearly two weeks into our life aboard and I'm just getting around to writing about it.  A good friend put a bug in my ear that it was time to write.  Good to know someone is listening to me ramble.  Thanks, Mark!

Where to start? We were able to move a one load aboard the night before we took possession easing our move in day as we had to return the rental car that day as well as buying groceries.  The final closing took forever because the prior owner couldn't believe the inspectors found so many things wrong with his beloved boat!  He did admit that he would like to use our inspectors on the next boat he buys as they were so thorough!  He is a dear and has been over a few times to go over systems with us so we learn all the little tricks.  Because of the holidays the repairs and renovations are delayed so we are anxiously waiting to hear back for appointment times to get the work completed. We won't "take her out" until the work on the engines is done so meanwhile...

We have stocked the pantry, tools, dishes, spare parts, new fenders (those bumper thingies that hang on the side of the boat so you don't hit the dock or the boat next to you)...etc.  As we have returned the rental car and are several miles from the nearest store, we are shopping Amazon.  How wonderful to have such a convenience.  I am still amazed at how much room there is to store things. Some of it is in awkward places....but we are on a boat after all!  My "pantry" is in the master stateroom (our bedroom).  Bob's tool chest is under the settee in the saloon (pronounced salon which is our living room/dining room).  He would like to move it to somewhere more accessible but that spot hasn't announced itself yet.  I'm using the forward "head" (bathroom) for some pantry items that I used more frequently than what is in the stateroom as the head is next to the galley (kitchen).  

There are so many new noises to learn.  The nights are much quieter now that Bob figured out how to disable the wind generator.  It will be so handy when we anchor out but is just noisy at the dock.  The water pump, the small waves slapping up against the hull, the smoke alarm that goes off every time I cook bacon, and noises we just don't know what they are.

Every day we learn something new about the boat.  Bob is busy mapping wiring, plumbing, etc. while I'm learning to cook on a tiny stove/oven.  We miss our family and friends so much but are adapting to live aboard and anxious to continue the adventure...

Thanks for listening!

The Wait

Current Position: 33° 56' 13" N  78° 1' 39" W

Please read all the way to the end for the updated news!

A dear friend suggested I write about the difficulties of waiting....
I told her I hesitated because it was so difficult but here goes.  I'm sure you've heard "patience is a virtue".  Boat buying is not for the impatient, I think it's God's way of ensuring we develop patience.  Even our boat broker said he's never seen one move SOOOO slow!  I guess we need lots of education on patience.  The key is to stay busy and trust God with the rest.
We have used the time to:
1. I am updating my recipe files. I have collected "saved" recipes on facebook so I've sorted through them, tossed the more complicated ones that I know I'll never make and saved the possibles into Evernote.  This is my notebook system I am using instead of a pad and paper.  Ideas for anything go into this system.  All my boat measurements are written here, books I want to read, gift ideas....it has been a life saver - and no more little scraps of paper to lose!  I also scanned all my recipes from my recipe files at home so I am organizing those as well.
2. I am also learning more about Photoshop since I will hopefully be posting lots of pictures here.  Bob bought me a new camcorder so I am learning to compile videos too!
3. We are both reading more boat articles and watching You Tube videos on how to....  There is SOOO much to learn.  My favorite site is The Boat Galley. There are articles on nearly every aspect of supplying and maintaining your boat. A lot of my Amazon shopping list originated from her recommendations. Which leads to #4...
4. Build our shopping list on Amazon for things we will need on the boat - it's adding up quickly.  Everything is needed from dishes to tools.  Of course there is always the "need" and "want" lists!  Priorities is always critical to remember.  We did pick up a really nice set of flatware at a local thrift shop for $5 - score!  The hardest part is we can't actually order these until we know for sure the boat is ours.  If this one falls through, we will have to start the search over and the boat we end up with won't necessarily need the same items. 
5. And talk about shopping lists!  You should see the boat yard list of needs and wants for the boat! We will be in conference with the boat yard people next week (if all goes well - har har) deciding what needs to be done, what can wait and what we can do ourselves.
6. Sight Seeing...we haven't done a lot here in North Carolina as there's not a lot around here.  We have seen lots of beautiful homes as I'll post later in the blogpost. 
7. Spending time together. One of the questions we get after "do you know anything about boats?" is "can you stand being around each other 24/7"? I can happily report that we have now spend nearly 3 months solely in each others presence and are still holding hands and loving our time together.  God has blessed us with two different personalities and we realize that these complement each other.  For example: Bob's strengths complement my weakness (planning, organizing) and my strengths complement his weakness (relationships).

So all in all waiting is hard but exciting at the same time.  What ever boat we end up with will be home and we look forward so much to making it that! Here's hoping we'll be on her by Christmas as I already have my wreath for the transom (back of the boat) and a nativity set to stick up in the window!

Here are some the beautiful homes in Southport:

From very small....

....to very LARGE

One the front porch was this adorable baby buggy!

I love the apartment on the bottom floor!  Let the Mother-In-Law worry about flooding?

 The drive through the trees!  I've got to ask what kind they are!

 The favored Christmas wreath in town:

 And on the beach each house has a name:

My favorite - owned by a judge you think?

 For David & Ian

 (Beach Walkers) - sorry the picture wasn't very good.

An older smaller house on the beach.  Most all the beach houses were on stilts for storm damage.

 A newer LARGER house on the beach.

 A beach house wanna be - there is no view from that tall deck!

 The name on this one is D&D Keep - a lighthouse wish!  Perfect for Diane & Dan!

Now for the news update!  The waiting has paid off and we will close on our boat either this afternoon or tomorrow morning!!!  We are moving :)  Thanks for all your prayers.  Watch for my next post: Moving Day!!