It's the little things...

So we are t-12 days before we depart. Still a number of important issues to clear up.
We had a really funny experience a week ago.

Remember that lovely new generator we installed? We need that generator to power the boat (AC, fridge, outlets, etc.) in the event we anchor out. Other loopers say they anchor out a lot so it is an important piece of equipment.

We had the generator installed over the winter and, to be fair, it was not possible to test it until the boat went into the water. So we started up the generator and it sure purred. Just ran like a top. Then Kermit noticed that the boat was getting warmer. What happened to the air conditioning?

Ooopps!! Turns out the lovely  new generator was not hooked up to anything in the boat!! It just ran and ran and ran! Smoothly too!!

So the mechanic came by the other day and hooked up the necessary pieces and parts so the new generator actually powers something. We are happy now! Check one more thing off the list.

Next.... installing a method to drag the new dinghy along on the trip.

Getting started means starting to say good-bye

It is hard to imagine that in 3 weeks, 22 days to be exact, we are leaving for 15 months! Getting started means stepping off the dock. It also means leaving our friends. We are saying good bye a lot lately.

Good Karma at Maumee Bay in 2011

We had a marvelous time at Dan and Marilyn's house on Friday night with John and Judy, Pete and Terri, and Steve and Kathy. We chatted and joked and wondered about the trip. They generously supplied us with Kindle gift certificates and wine, both of which we will use frequently. Some are planning to join us on a piece of the trip. I think we will see Dan and Marilyn in upper Michigan on the Lake Michigan side in August and maybe again in the Bahamas. Maybe Pete and Terri in Michigan too!

We would love to stop in and see friends along the way. Drop us a note if you want us to call when we get your way!

Looper Locator - this is a test!!

We are testing the Looper Locator! You should be able to click on this link and open a map in Google Earth that will show our exact location. Right now this link is showing us still in our home port at Venetian Marina. We will update this link everyday when we are traveling. Stay in touch with us and see what we see!

http://greatloop.org/mod/aglcalocator/membermap.php?id=1001

Random thoughts on Christmas, politics, and onboard entertainment

For a little retrospective on the preparation, I found this in the "Drafts" and thougth I would  put it out there. For the record, we solved this problem. Plus, last week we got our mobile hot spot so we can get Internet wherever and whenever we want, at least wherever and whenever Verizon has a telephone signal!! I also ordered the Classic iPod and and almost done ensureing that all music is available for use from iTunes.

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I put the Christmas decorations away with a strange sense of excitement. I wrapped them carefully, used new tissue paper, made sure nothing will break. We will put up a different kind of tree next year. Something smaller and more tropic. Something in the Bahamas perhaps? Maybe lights on the bridge instead of lights on the mantle. Maybe stockings hung with care on the back rail?

We have 175 days left before departure. Every day has a new meaning because next year at this time we will be somewhere else. I had a business trip to Clearwater this week. I could see the Gulf outside my hotel window and knew that next year Kermit and I will view this spot from a different perspective. It will be OUR boat moving slowly on the water or anchored in Tampa Bay. I feel a strong sense of excitement and wonder.

Kermit and I have different political views. I think everyone knows that. I suggested a while ago that we should get our onboard entertainment online from a sevice like Netflix or something like it so we can still see tv shows (we like tv!) but avoid having the 2012 political battle beamed onto our boat. We want to beat the odds and not kill each other with our strong and very different political views.

Well, no such luck. A long visit to Verizon last week confirmed that we can't beam enough bandwidth onto the boat to make it happen. Or at least we can't afford to get enough bandwidth to make it happen if we also want to eat and put gas in the boat. That eliminates Slingbox for everyday use too since it operates through the Internet. So we are back to the drawing board.

It looks like we have three solutions left (not in any particular order): 1) some sort of dish, which means we get politics in the salon (not too desirable), 2) some sort of antennea, which means realistically we will only pick up limited local service when we are in port which might be fine, and 3) go to libraries and load up on dvds on our ipods that we beam up to the tv from the hdmi cable off our computers. I suspect we will end up with the third option. Not so bad really. That means we need to get the big iPod (we kind of knew we needed to do this) and explore libraries when we get to a town (not a bad idea anyway).

30 Days and counting

It is just about time. We are getting itchy. So much to do and so little time. I am so glad we decided not to go to Galopogos Islands on that scuba trip in two weeks!

So here is how we are doing. We have the interior of the boat all set. All equipment is loaded. Last thing to do is figure out a system for loading the dinghy on the back of the boat. Kermit thinks a rigging system that lifts that boat up vertically behind Good Karma is the way to go. Something about block and tackle on the hard top to make lifting it easier. We'll see.

In the meantime, here are some photos of the inside of the boat showing us getting moved in. Here are all the supplies any boater needs!!

The v-berth (guest room at the front of the boat for our non-boating friends!) before fixing up.

V-berth afterwards. Doesn't it look cozy? I love to sit up there and read on a lazy afternoon.

Here is the aft cabin - this is where we sleep. There is a bathroom on the right. Isn't there a song like that, "There's a bathroom on the right"?

Kermit telling me in his oh-so subtle way to quit taking pictures and get back to work. Yes, dear...

The AFTER pictures of the salon. See Rusty's dog house? It is deceptively small.

The exterior of the boat shines like a mirror with 3 coats of wax and 2 coats of bottom paint. We are checking stuff off our list!