Back In The Saddle

Orwell Vermont, N43 48 W 73 22
(10/13/05) Well, after a three-week hiatus we’re back onboard Tarwathie. The boat suArvived well. We found her in the same condition as we left her. One exception, the refrigerator/freezer had stopped. The weather was cold and rainy, and the solar panel won’t charge the battery without sunlight.

Another big difference this time -- we moved out of our house. We gave the truck to our son John and the car to our daughter Jennifer. We sold the house – not final until November. We disposed and/or stored our belongings. At this point, Tarwathie is our one and only home. It feels very good. More important, we said goodbye to our children and grandchildren for a long time. Our next planned contact with any of them is in Alaska next June. It was hard to part. We miss all of them already.

Our first item of business when back on the boat was to take the mast down. This time it seemed much easier than the first time. A little recent experience goes a long way. We knew what we were doing this time.

We also stocked up on food to last several weeks.

It has been a pain in the neck to use our cell phone. We had to drive almost 30 minutes to find a place where we had a cell phone signal.

The Champlain Canal was closed last weekend because of excessive rain. Hopefully it will be open when we get there on Saturday. The plan is for Pete Vonie to join me Saturday at the top end of the canal. Libby will take Pete’s car and meet us at the bottom end of the canal. Another friend, Fred Mueller will join Pete and I Sunday.

Another good reason for heading south is that it’s cold and wet. I should say COLD and WET. The tropics seem very attractive right now.

The fall colors were late and unimpressive this year and the geese migration seems to be very late. Global warming?

My beard is getting so long that if I don’t trim it soon I’ll look like a Hassidic Jew or an Amish elder.