Heading south again

 

It was great party and Anna was completely surprised! Lots of food, friends, and fellowship (the three important “F’s”). I took this 4 generation picture too, it was a special day, thanks to all who came over to make it possible.

4 generations!

The three amigo's

On the way south we had a sunset where the sky was on fire, or at least it looked that way.

We also had an interesting discovery on the way south, the “Pencil Sharpener Museum”! Well, we couldn’t pass up this bit of Americana so we stopped in and took a look. It’s  a small building by the tourist Info center and it's filled to the brim with every type of pencil sharpener that you could think of. Here’s just a small sample of what we saw behind the glass.



 

 



Snow, (a four letter word)

Just a quick post.

The morning that I was going to leave for Mi. the weather changed dramatically and by morning there was ice and a dusting of snow on the decks! Just despicable (as Daffy Duck would say). Anyway, I'm back in the cold north and the party is set for tomorrow. See ya there!

Upgrading the bilge pump,

The old bilge pump (a 2000 gph) has gone to pieces and won’t pump any more. This leaves only the manual  pump as a back up. When I went shopping on line for a replacement I found a 3700 gph pump for the same price as the old 2000.

 Almost double the volume for the same price,,, Yes! The only trouble is to pump that much water I would need to install a large water hose. No big thing in a plastic boat but the Goose is made of steel so, I had to cut holes thru 3 steel bulkheads. What a pain in the posterior as well as the knees.

 The holes got cut and now it’s off to the store for about 30 feet of 2 inch hose  to run the water out to the back of the boat.

What a mess!

Heading north (again)

Here I am in Oriental, NC and I need to get back to Grand Rapids, Mi. Flying would seem the best but the airlines are a funny beast. The cheapest flight from around here is about $300+(one way). But, I can fly one way from Fort Lauderdale (which is just north of Miami) to Grand Rapids, Mi. for the incredible price of $58 (if I pick the correct day). If I drive my 20 year old GEO Metro back home from here (about 1000 miles) it will cost me about $70. So, I can fly from the farthest distance away and get there the fastest and the cheapest if I’m in Fort Lauderdale but when I’m this close, it’s 5 times more expensive to fly then it is to drive… go figure? For cheep flights from grand rapids and other locations try Alligiant Air http://www2.allegiantair.com/

 

Here's an example of a flight just 6 days from now,,, not to bad of a price!

 

Departing flights for Sunday Nov 17

Depart

7:00 am

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (FLL)

Arrive

10:05 am

GRAND RAPIDS, MI (GRR)

Flight

938

Nonstop

Price *

$58.00

Anyway, I should be home this Thursday for my grand daughters play and to attend Anna’s B-day party. Don’t forget to email her your Birthday greetings… I bet she is going nuts trying to figure out how so many people know that it’s her 60^th birthday! Send those greetings to: aparmstrong@svsnowgoose.com

 

Anna’s 60th birthday

What every stylish cruiser wears!

Anna’s 60^th birthday is coming up on the 18^th of Nov. Since Anna NEVER reads this blog she won’t know that I’ve asked you to send her emails. If you could, send her a “HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREATINGS!”  She will wonder why she’s suddenly getting greetings from all of you.

Send them to:     aparmstrong@svsnowgoose.com

Thanks for you help!

From Snow Goose,  Rich

Deaton Marine Service

The sailing dog Eddie and I have finished our move back to the Snow Goose and we should have her back in the water soon. Not too much to do to her this time… or should I say, not too much that I want to do. There is always a “to-do” list and one of these days, I’m gonna finish it up! For now, the bottom needs a coat of paint and the rudder has a few spots that need attention. The big job this year will be the deck. I need to replace all of the deck rubber seams that make the deck water tight… (can you say pain in the neck, back, hands, wrists, knees, etc?).  I also have a few spots along the rub rail where rust has popped thru. Over all though, with her ‘new’ mizzen mast and touched up varnish, she doesn’t look too bad at all. After the deck is finished she will look just as she did when she left the yard… maybe it’s time to sell! (isn’t that the way we all do it, get our houses in the best shape ever and then we sell them!)



One big boat!

Deaton Marina is a small family run marina in Oriental NC that provides excellent boat service and a home for Snow Goose during the off season. Anna and I seem to fit right in here and it makes for a great place to do major work on the Goose. The place isn’t the largest but I think that it’s one of the friendliest and most knowledgeable yards around.

The Oriental area considers it’ self to be the “sailing capital” of NC and with the number of boat yards around I can believe it. Oriental also has “Dragon Boat” races every year and this last weekend I went to a fund raising barbeque for one of the teams. The pig was delicious and a good part of the town had come out for the party.

two locals dressed up for the races

The waterfront in downtown Oriental sports a small free dock (if your lucky enough to get one of the two spaces) and a small harbor to anchor in. Today there was also 2 old oyster dredgers in the harbor that had been built back in the 1920’s. Someone had put a LOT of money into these fine old boats to bring them back into shape and make them into a home.

 

Great wood work!

Ready to leave

Ready to leave

 

Fall is here. The leaves are turning and it's getting cold up here. After the first frost has arrived we've had a glorious Indian summer but now with the cold rainy day of fall arriving I’m ready to head back down to the Snow Goose. Anna though, is staying up here for another 2 months to finish her schooling. She is going thru the 'master gardener course' put on by the Michigan State University. This presents a problem since the house has no heating system and it's getting down into the 30’s on a regular basis. We have been using the fire place insert for heat but it doesn’t do a great job. Well, for the last month I’ve been researching pellets stoves and finally found a good used one on Craig’s list. We installed it yesterday and (so far) it has kept the house nice and warm all night! We now have a lake house that is truly 3 season capable. (may it never be 4 season capable). 

 

Other than that, it’s been a busy month wrapping up all of the contracting jobs, Going for a last sail on Ginger with my grand daughter, then putting Ginger away for the winter and finishing up projects around the house. 

 

Most of all we had to find “squishy turtle repellent” (as a gag gift) for our 12 yr old grand daughter's birthday. She and her mom have had a standing gag about her mothers plush toy called “squish turtle” and how mean it is. So, we relabeled some body spray into “squishy turtle repellent”  and gave it to Megan  to save her from her mother’s rampaging, viscous squishy turtle!

I should be back on the Snow Goose in a few days. I’m looking forward to having a floating home under my feet again but not to all of the work that has to be done to her. Tell you all about it another time till then, stay warm!