We traveled the Great Loop for 14 months returning home
after Labor Day 2013. Adjustment was more difficult than we imagined. We rolled
around the house like marbles in a shoe box. The house seemed way too big. We
kept losing each other, wandering around the house calling to find the other
person.
Rusty the dog was thrilled to be home. He knew exactly where
we were going when he got in the truck at the marina. When we got home he burst
out of the truck and ran around like a puppy! He was happy to be home! He lay
in his favorite spots at the top of the driveway and outside the front door watching
people walk by and barking at passing friends.
Our son Dan and his girlfriend Julia housesit for us while
we were gone. They stayed when we returned home so we have roommates. It is a
very nice, comfortable co-habitation.
Let me share some big events in our lives since we returned
home.
Winter
The terrible, cold, snowy winter makes us wish we were
traveling again. Mental note to self: no more Ohio winters if we can help it.
My Business – The Interview
Doctor
Business was fabulous upon returning. I have done over 25
speaking engagements focusing on recruiting, job search from the candidate and
company perspective, and interviewing. Revenue so far year to date exceeds 2013
already. Business is very good.
It is clear to us that speaking engagements help spread the
word about the business. I can definitely work on the boat but have to come
back to NE Ohio for speaking engagements regularly. Not a problem.
I published two of the three books I wrote on the trip as
part of The Job Seeker Manifesto. Book 1 is The Job Search Marketing Plan and
Book 2 is Resumes 3.0. Book 3, Tell me about yourself, will be published in
September. I have become something of an expert on self-publishing. Go ahead.
Ask me anything!
Decisions made
over the winter
We made some big decisions over the winter.
- The house is too big. We have too much stuff.
- We love the cruising lifestyle.
With these factors we decided to sell the house, buy a boat
with diesel engines and live on the water for a few years!
This is very exciting!
With these decisions in mind, we had a realtor come look at
our house in November. He suggested remodeling the master bathroom and
finishing the basement if we could come in under a certain expense level. It
sounded like a good challenge. So we did.
Our contractor, Greg, remodeled the bathroom (new floor and
new tile in shower) in December. In late January Greg started on the basement.
Kermit purchased the materials and acted as laborer / go-fer. Actually he made Greg
lunch and stayed out of Greg’s way (per Greg’s request). The project came in a
tiny bit above our projected budget but under the level the realtor suggested.
It looks awesome!!! We had a party to celebrate Rusty’s life
and the new basement on April 4, 2014. We don’t use the basement any more than
we did before but at least it is done.
We originally wanted to sell the house in spring 2014 but
too much was going on. We couldn’t get ourselves organized for it. Plus we
started to get second thoughts about our plan when faced with the reality. So
we plan to hold on to the house for one more year, travel this winter and
consider selling the house in spring 2015.
We put all the rental property (2 duplexes and 3 houses) on
the market in the spring. Kermit has been a crazy man getting the places ready
and putting them on the market. None have sold yet but we will see. Something
will happen.
Kermit’s full time (self-appointed) job this winter, aside
from the remodeling, was finding a new boat and selling old Good Karma. We did
both in May 2014!!
Over the winter he got old Good Karma cleaned out and
cleaned up. We had Ishmael, a wonderful upholsterer, reupholster the salon couch
and chair in a pretty taupe vinyl – soft like butta. It made a huge difference.
Rusty really tore up the original upholstery on the Loop.
Kermit spent most winter evenings considering boat options
for our new boat. We wanted diesel engines because they are so much more
economical. This will be important when we live on the boat. Old Good Karma had
a perfect layout. We could have lived for years on that boat (especially with
the new upholstery) except for the gas engines. Gas fuel is usually $.25 to .75
cents more expensive a gallon everywhere except the Great Lakes and fuel usage
is about 30% to 50% worse than on a diesel boat. We need to have the better
economy that diesel fuel brings. So that factor took old Good Karma out of the
running. She had to be sold.
Good Karma sold on Memorial Weekend 2014 to a nice couple
from Milwaukee. They immediately left to travel home. We sold the boat with the
understanding that we kept the name. So Kermit removed the name. Now we talk
about old GK and new GK.
While Ted Patrick, the boat broker, was working on selling
old GK, Kermit had him looking at new boats. We settled on a Cruiser 4450 from
the 2000 to 2003 vintage. We skipped an entire line of boat, the 4150, because
it was just about the same as the 4450 only the earlier model. We wanted the
updated features if we intend to live on the boat for the next 5 to 6 years.
In early February we put in a bid on a 4450 Cruisers aft
cabin in Virginia Beach and went there for an inspection. We were so excited.
Ted the broker flew in too. Kermit arranged surveyors for the engines and the
boat itself. We walked on the boat. Kermit was immediately quiet. I knew this
was a problem. Nothing worked right. The engines didn’t start. The generator
didn’t start. The swim platform lift didn’t work. There was salt water stains
on the engines (?). There was a paddle board in the V-birth. It was a mess.
I was at the helm talking to the owners. Kermit called me down
to the engine room and asked how attached I was to this boat. I said I was with
him. He turned to the surveyor and broker. They both nodded and Kermit said we
were done. So we went to the helm and broke the bad news to the owner that we
were not proceeding with the purchase. They were mad and ran off the boat. We
went home.
On the drive home Kermit checked out a new posting of a 4450
Cruisers located in Saugatuck MI. Over the next week or so Kermit followed up
on the boat from Saugatuck. It was perfect. It was in our price range. So we
went to look, confirming that the boat was perfect. We made an offer. It was
accepted. We own a 2001 Cruisers Express Aft Cabin!!!
New Good Karma has staterooms in the v-birth and aft cabin.
The aft cabin has an attached bathroom and shower and there is another bath in
the salon next to the v-birth. There is a third cabin with bunk bed under the
dining area. There is plenty of storage.
New GK has twin 480 hp Volvo diesel engines (Olga and
Helga!) in a spotless engine compartment. It has a swim platform with a crane
for hauling the dinghy onboard. There is plenty of seating on the helm area
without the steps we had on old GK. Rusty would have liked this boat.
We are thrilled with this boat. We provisioned it this week
and last week. Everything is in place. The dinghy comes next week. We take off
on 6/23 with Paul and Maeo Bates for a 6 week cruise up the eastern side of
Lake Michigan to the North Channel of Lake Huron for two weeks in mid-July. We
will be back to Sandusky OH in August.
Our plan is to move east through the Erie Canal to the east
coast. We are still negotiating with each other about where to put new Good
Karma for the winter. I think Ft. Pierce is winning. We hope to spend a few
months in the Bahamas, perhaps at Treasure Key in the winter. We’ve already
heard from Marianne and Allen Bernard about Treasure Key. We are talking with
Michael and Judy on One September about picking them up at the end of October /
early November on the Chesapeake. Marissa wants a week in DC so that is on the
agenda. Tony and Shirley from New Zealand will join us next year. We are connecting with Sareanna and Jim's Joy. We hope to see Limelight in the North Channel. Maybe another Loop in the future? Perhaps with All Ports folks? We are open to all possibilities!
This will be our new life. It is exciting. We feel blessed
to have this opportunity. New Good Karma is more than we dreamed we could ever
have. We look forward to seeing old friends.
Look for more blogs now that we are back in the boating
way!!
