We are finally in Florida

Hi Friends,
Sorry it’s taken a while to post our comings and goings but now I’ve got a little time to do so, so hear I go.
Ok, we left Wasilla on the 5th of October headed for the great outside where all of the fruits and nuts live. We figured that by leaving at the beginning of October we would miss the snow. NOT! By the time we got to Glenn Allen the clouds started moving in. When we passed Beaver Creak (the Canadian Border) it was snowing. Not the little dry flakes that we so love, but the larger soggy ones. Nothing but slush heavy with water. The next day it snowed off and on. Of course the hard part came just when we passed the end of Kluani Lake and headed for the mountains. When we were coming off of Pink Mountain, it was snowing so hard that the snow packed up on the headlights and I had to get out and wipe them clean. It was so dark and snowing so hard, Warren had to put the front left tire on the yellow no passing line and follow it down the mountain. Real lousy 2nd day. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful……right up to the time we ran over a dead deer. The car tow dolly was so low that it pretty much exploded the carcass and sprayed deer spooge up under the car and left a hanging piece of meat off the muffler. Yech! We carried that meat all the way to my parents place in Washington. When the customs agent at the border asked if we had any “meat products?” I almost said “does dead deer meat that is stuck and frozen on the muffler count?” But I didn’t and he did not go behind the car to inspect, so we made it through the border ok. After arriving at my parents place, we stayed there for almost 3 weeks before leaving with them heading for Southern California to pick up my Aunt and Uncle for the trip down. It was nice in the Santa Ana area. 85 degree weather and not a snow flake to be found. Now, we’ve had the truck for 10 years and never used the air conditioner. But we had to use it on the day we left for Florida, and it worked! It was hot on the freeways and didn’t cool down until we climbed up into the hills where the temperature dropped off. So to make a long story longer, we made it to St. Petersburg on the evening of the 3rd of November and started working on the boat the 4th. We first worked on all the safety items that would let the wet stuff into the boat. Then we moved on to replacing the cutlass bearing that had a lot of slop in it and the stuffing box. We removed the propeller, which was a chore in itself. Then removed the prop shaft, and the cutlass bearing. We then made a tool to reinstall and replace the cutlass bearing with no problems, NEXT time. Had the Rigger come out and fix a stuck halyard that would not let the jib down and install a new halyard that will be needed later. We also removed the boom and took it in to be refurbished due to corrosion. On Monday the 30th we will be picking up the Courian for the counter tops and installing the new stove. We will be putting the boat into the water on Monday the 30th of Nov. Stay tuned for more fun in getting a boat (read as “Break Out Another Thousand) ready to cruise.