Best Life

 We visited all areas of Savannah today.  Although there was plenty of damage from Helene, very few areas have remaining debris.  Sunny, 80s and a nice breeze made being in the car less painful. This morning, after returning the faulty rental car and obtaining a new one, we traveled across town to Home Depot.  The lines were crazy long, there was barely any room to maneuver in the aisles and they did not have everything we needed.   So we fought the traffic across to another corner of Savannah to ACE hardware.  They had exactly what we needed.  Starlink is installed, rotates and tilts perfectly and we are online!  It feels good to have a major project completely finished. The rudders are back in place and just waiting on the bearings.  Easier said than done since they had to lift the boat again and position her higher.  (It also makes it a little more difficult to climb onto the boat!)  And we are positioned over a very large p...

  The boat yard is surrounded by water that ebbs and fills with the tides.   A strange, funky day today.  Paul started the day working on the new VHF radio.  Only the wiring was a bit funky and he needed the old one for reference.  But because I am efficient, it was thrown out yesterday on our way out of the boat yard.  So we took a walk. It was right where I threw it!  How lucky are we?  There was only one cardboard box on top of it thankfully! The mounting piece for Starlink, delivered today from Amazon, was not what was advertised.  Which means another trip to Home Depot in the morning.  The ice maker was cleaned.  The engine batteries are being charged.  We had to listen to the guys banging the rudders to remove the stuck bearings.  And we quit early so we could socialize tonight.  Not a super productive day but I'm okay with that.  We learned a new card game from Karen and Andy, Hand to Foot. Similar to...

 Today is National Internet Day.  How appropriate since we spent the day with our Starlink installation.   Satellite receivers have come a long way.   This will be mounted behind and above our cockpit (of course the mounting piece needed had to be ordered!) This is the starting point for snaking the cord.  Just behind the speaker, Paul had to enlarge the insertion hole. Then the cord is snaked in a channel under the guest bed,  (Yup I had to unmake the bed to fold the mattress in half to access the channel!) Then through the drawer cabinet in the guest room.  Drawers and frame had to be removed. And then finally up into the cabinet behind our TV. We started with the outside insertion site and of course as soon as we were committed, it began pouring.  Being a contortionist is not my forte but we got it done. The end result is nice and neat and tucked away.  Our new printer also happened to be delivered today so another item checked o...

 Ups and downs today.  This morning was gray, chilly and looked like rain was imminent.  But then the sun came out and I could take my jacket off and actually soak up some vitamin D in the cockpit (reading a book).  I managed to remake the 2 queen beds early (After doing 5 beds in Maine I am a wee bit tired of making beds!)  There were so many sucky (vacuum) bags (full of linens, towels and clothes) on the beds it took forever to get everything sorted.  I washed down the pantry shelves and cockpit seats (cushions are back in place).                                                       Yes, there is an overflow of books on my shelves. And the guys have started the rudder repair.  (When trying to steer with > 8 knots of wind, the steering sticks.)            ...

Her bottom has been painted.  Our splash date is November 4! What a glorious morning for a walk!  Low 60s and sunny - we headed for the nearby Dunkin.   While Quiet Time remains on the hard, we are staying in a hotel.  It is quiet, clean, spacious, has a cooktop, full size fridge and a microwave.  What it doesn't have is a coffee pot, pots or pans, silverware or plates.  Well it could for an extra fee.  But for the price we are paying I am happy ($75/night).  I just grabbed stuff from the boat today and now we can make our own coffee and actually cook our dinner. It was a productive day - sort of.  Paul messed with the VHF radio, with friends on the dock helping us by radioing back and forth.  No success and now a new one is on its way to us.  The hatches we fixed while home in RI were replaced.  They look good!  (New ones = $700 each!) Paul also installed the new gasket on the freezer. Meanwhile I organized clothes, ...