The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

10 degrees this morning in the wilds of mid Michigan... It was blowing 20 gusting to 30 far a couple of days but is calmer this morning (calmer, not dead calm)..
Of course our pond is frozen, the marina is deserted and the boats are lined up in rows sitting out the winter...
I am wrestling with the issue of bottom paint - which paint/primer, how aggressively to sand the gel coat, etc... I will need to remove the ceiling fan so I can jack it off the trailer for painting the bottom - details, details...
I need to get the canvas shop out to measure and give me an estimate for the cockpit enclosure...
Need to make a decision on the radar unit - details, details...
And, the garage, my side, is stuffed with new french doors for the the house, so the truck has been outside for the past week.. I hate getting into a frozen truck in the morning... I'm going to do something over the weekend to change this... I expected the carpenter to stain/varnish the wood on the inside of the doors within a few days and get them out of my way... It has been a week and nary a sight of him...
 
Levitation":3c3ubyls said:
... I expected the carpenter to stain/varnish the wood on the inside of the doors within a few days and get them out of my way... It has been a week and nary a sight of him...
Click to expand...

That reminds me of the TV commercial that was on years ago (we were building a house at the time): a contractor is shown talking to a couple about remodeling their kitchen. He says, "We'll take this wall out. And then we'll disappear mysteriously for a week or two. No point in calling, you won't find us. Then..."

I don't remember what they were advertising, but the contractor bit was spot on! :wink: Good luck getting things done. Somehow, work done on the boat seems to qualify in that "labor of love" category. If you need a break, you can always haul that beautiful tug south and enjoy some "soft" water and warmth.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Hallelujah! Big Red is back where she belongs. The body shop called just before 4:00 and Joan was out shopping. As soon as she got back, we hustled down to the shop, walked around our truck, and brought her home! She looks good - all the lines are smooth, the color matches, and everything on it works... yeah, the first thing we did was plug her into the HH and test the lights and brakes. Put the hitch in her. Nice!

I love my truck. I generally don't get all emotional about a vehicle, but this truck is a champ. And now she looks as good as she did before getting whacked.

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They did a great job of cleaning her up after having her all apart. She has a bit of that "I've been cleaned with flowery stuff" smell, but other than that, she seems back to her old self.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Not a lighted boat parade, but more fun Christmas lights! Last night it was a trip to the Phoenix Zoo, for Zoo Lights...

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Not a lot of animals to be seen, but a great evening for a stroll through the lights. On one section, the lights on the trees were set to music - very impressive. And a talking giraffe, engaging in conversation with the kids. A bit of saltwater in the desert - a tank where you could pet stingrays. Not as cuddly as little Izzy, but some of them would swim up to your hand just for a "back rub". We got there early and had no wait; even the crowds were manageable. By the time we left, the line to get in was looooooong and the walk-ways were packed. Good timing on our part.

Leaving the zoo, the kids needed to stop at the airport to pick up a vehicle for a friend. They weren't sure exactly how to get there... I pulled out my Droid, said, "Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport" into it and it mapped the best route. I hope Santa has one of these so he knows where to find us. :wink:

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Little Izzy got a sweater from our daughter for Christmas...

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On the subject of "cat clothes": Unlike Steph's cat who was not pleased at all with her "designer" t-shirt, Izzy didn't seem bothered by the sweater. Joan has been concerned about Izzy being cold. Izzy's fur is fine and silky... and she does not like going out when it's cold. Yesterday (day 2 with the sweater) - Izzy waits patiently by the door when I get the leash out. She seemed fine when Joan put the sweater on her and trotted right outside, even though it was chilly. I am in the "animals don't need clothes" camp. More like: "animals are embarrassed by clothes" camp... but, again I was outvoted. Not sure how that happens, since there are two voting members in this coach... one would think "unanimous or a tie" (I was a math major)... but, no. On the boat, there is the tradition of the sea where the captain's decision is law... apparently there is no such directive on land? Of course, I am kidding... I am frequently outvoted on the boat, too.

When I have tried to walk Izzy when it's cold (BS - Before Sweater), she takes a few steps, looks up at me and says, "Uh, uh," and runs back to the door. May just be coincidence. Apparently, little Izzy has the same tolerance for cold that I have.

This all may have come about when Izzy met Snack (the little Yorkie) this summer on the Erie Canal. Snack wore ribbons in her hair and had a wardrobe that would make Barbie jealous.

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Best wishes for a wonderful 2010!
Jim B.
 
Just out of curiosity Jim, was "Snack" named by a larger carnivore??

We've got bald eagles around here that would probably love to see him/her out in the open. They'd have a hard time with my 20# silky terrier but the cats don't go outside at all.

Gave my granddaughters leashes and harnesses so they could walk their bunnies "Thumper" and "Mumsie" outside when it gets a little warmer. Look forward to seeing how that works out!! :lol:

Charlie
 
Hi Jim, Joan and Izzy,

We looked at the picture of Snack and Izzy. Did they get along?.
Mr. Grey does not like other cats or dogs. In fact one of our neighbors had a cat statue on her porch this summer and when Pat took Mr Grey for a stroll he hissed at the fake cat.

Mr. Grey does not like the cold and sure does not like snow. I tried to take him for a walk in the snow, but as soon as his feet hit the snow he turned and headed for the house.

We leave for Florida in the Roadtrek on New Years Day. We will all be happier in the warm weather. We have a camp site on the ICW just East of Labelle at the lock. We will visit Last Dance Terry. He spends his winter near there.

Happy New Year

Fred, Pat and Mr. Grey(the cat)
 
Charlie,
I'll let Dave tell how they came up with Snack's name. It makes perfectly good sense. :wink: We have osprey at home, and Izzy is a little girl... she doesn't go out on her own.

Fred,
Izzy and Snack did fine together. More curious about each other than scared at first, but we did spent quite a bit of time with Dave and Jan, so the two furry kids were around each other frequently. Snack is very well behaved (unlike Dave). In our travels this past year, Izzy hasn't had a problem with any dogs. I'm pretty protective of her around big dogs or any that look aggressive. Her only experience with another cat was at our daughter's house when we first got here. We took Izzy over there in her carrier... Steph's cat hissed at Izzy, Izzy hissed back, I sent them to opposite corners and took Izzy back to the RV.

Today I was walking Izzy in the RV park and a guy came running out of his motorhome... "I've never seen anything like that! My cat would never walk on a leash!"

"Well, have you actually tried it?"

"Umm... no."

We get that reaction a lot. Molly was great on a leash, Izzy is still in the learning process, but gets better all the time. The trick to walking a cat is realizing that they do NOT walk like a dog... they meander... they stop and sit. We might spend a half hour outside and never go more than 50 feet. They're not looking for a place to pee, just curious to be out and about.

And just great to have as a part of the family. "Our house is a very, very, very fine house; with 2 cats in the yard..." Feel free to substitute boat for house, 1 for 2, and cockpit for yard. It doesn't rhyme or have the same meter, but the thought is right. :D

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Webster says ": a light meal : food eaten between regular meals"

We lived in China for a number of years, and ate LOTS of "stuff", if it tasted alright, you never asked what it was. When my wife first came over, she came home and said "they have pets over here, I found a pet store today!" It was a meat market.

We got "Snack" when we got back, and as she wasn't a full meal deal, she became "Snack". I tried to tell Izzy about eating wok fried cat ears, but she wouldn't hear of it ! Woking a dog, is different than walking a dog - for sure...
 
Happy New Year Brat Friends!

Since we have owned her, we have spent New Year's Eve at anchor on Wild Blue. Watch some fireworks, toast in the New Year, and then settle into the berth. This year, in the desert, is certainly a departure. We spent the evening with the kids, leaving the rowdy partying to the amateurs. Still big fun, we kicked their butts in a bunch of games... OK, it was actually pretty close; we traded victories on different games, but ruled in Wits & Wagers.

On the way home (to our RV), we were treated to a blue moon...

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We won't see another New Year's Eve Blue Moon until 2028.

We missed the ball drop in New York (10:00 local and we were engrossed in a heated Trivial Pursuit on the Wii), in bed before 11:30, and asleep before midnight. I think I groggily heard some noise at midnight... not much, we are in a 55+ park.

Sunrise at anchor is generally beautiful, but this first sunrise of the New Year in the desert was still pretty striking...

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Little Izzy must have done more partying than we did last night. This is how she looked this morning...

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Speaking of little Izzy, I was walking her yesterday when a pick-up camper pulled in. The lady in the camper got out to walk her little Yorkie. I saw the look on Izzy's face... "Hey, that looks like Snack!" She immediately trotted over to say hi to her friend. When she got almost nose to nose with the little guy (his eyes got BIG when this gi-normous cat came up to him), she realized it wasn't Snack... and hissed in his face, almost rolling him over! I apologized for her rude behavior and visited with the folks for a bit. Izzy sat off to the side. No photo; I didn't have my camera with me.

Wishing you all the best for 2010,
Jim B.
 
It's been a few weeks, and we're still land traveling. We should be home in the next day or two and will get Wild Blue back in the water after we get moved back in. We've had a lot of fun with the RV, but I'm looking forward to some water time. I did get a boat ride in last week... Laughlin, Nevada, a cruise boat on the Colorado River below Davis Dam... no, not the same, but a nice diversion.

We're back in south Texas, just south of San Antonio. Pounding rain and wind this morning helped us make the decision to stay put for another day. No schedule; just like boat cruising, ya gotta know when it won't be fun out there. :wink:

On an RV forum where I post regularly, one of the folks there made a comment about Izzy being "a covergirl". Well, she really does know how to pose...

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Hopefully on the next update, it will be from the boat.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Hi Jim. You have out done even yourself this time. That cover girl post is your best one yet. I rolled for several minutes. I'm glad to see that you and Joan are still out there living large in a moderate and quite enviable way. Very cool. :thup
 
Hi Jim,

Great cover. I had to show Deena. Izzy looks so much like her cat Buzzy. She ask if Izzy is a Maine Coon.? (That questions is for you,) I thought it looked quit like a cute little kitten :smiled

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Hi Harvey,

When we adopted Izzy, the vet said she is a "domestic longhair". She has the little tufts of fur between her paw pads, a very impressive bushy tail, and fine silky fur. She is a small stature, but big paws, long legs, and a long body. She has beautiful, symmetric markings, mostly dark stripes and spots on blonde. I haven't seen anything quite like her in any of the cat books. I guess the best description I can come up with: she is family. Great personality, wants to be around us, and is a willing and happy traveler.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
The Love Shack (RV) is back in storage, and Wild Blue is back in the water. Still plenty of chores to get done, so I was up early and out in the boat (under the cover of darkness). :wink:

I stopped at the fuel dock to put in $100... brought the tank up to about half. It was just starting to get light, but foggy. Heading into the Port Isabel Turning Basin, I was surprised to see a bunch of small bay shrimpers... they are generally in the ship channel. When I got to the shrimp channel, I could see why they weren't there: fog... much thicker. Maybe 200 yards of visibility.

Well, as my friend Roger (Dreamer) has been known to say, "Time to find out if all this expensive nav gear works." It's been a couple months - time to knock the rust off my radar skills. I made my way down the ship channel and out into the Gulf. The fog was so thick, you couldn't see either side of the jetties. Not much to see in the Gulf, either. I did watch a couple dolphins swim around the boat, then headed back into the Laguna. East, then north. The visibility improved to about 1/4 mile. Another mile and it was so low, I couldn't see the power lines that go across the water until I was right under them... and between the poles, according to the radar.

The next waypoint going north: the causeway. It's 2 1/2 miles long and 4 lanes wide - it REALLY shows up on radar.

It's out there, somewhere...
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I was almost under it before you could see it...
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For three glorious hours, I had the water to myself. I checked out all the systems on Wild Blue while underway. The Honda purred, the nav gear did its job, the water pumps pumped. It's all good.

The photo above may look chilly, but it was above 70º when I shot that. Nice to be back in the Tropical Tip.

Best wishes,
Jim B. (not Tom, not Tim, just Jim) :wink:
 
Jim,

Thanks for the nice descriptions, of Izzy and the fog. She is beautiful, and best of all, family, right? And the foggy run, nice to know it all works, but best of all, just being out on the water. :thup :thup

Harvey
SleepyC
 
Thanks, Harvey. Little Izzy had a tough day yesterday; she had her one year check-up Thursday afternoon (healthy) and 3 shots... she was moving pretty slow on Friday...

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Today, the weather weasels were predicting winds gusting 25-35. They were right... one in a row! We went for a walk this morning; it was a good workout walking against that wind. After lunch, I asked Joan if she wanted to go for a boat ride. She declined. I waved good-bye on my way out to the boat.

The winds were easing up some. By the time I got out of our canal, they were down to 15-20... and continued to drop as I headed out to the Gulf. I expected some big wave action in the Gulf after that wind, but was pleasantly surprised by 5 foot swells, widely spaced. It was a beautiful ride. I saw one other boat while I was out there.

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Coming back in from the Gulf, there were lots of boats - everyone wanted to be out on this glorious day... temps in the mid-70s, sunny, and now light winds.

Another 30 or 40 days like this, and I'll be caught up.

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Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
It's been a few months, so here are some dolphin photos from today's dolphin watch cruise. We saw the first pod less than a mile from our house. Then the next. And the next...

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A beautiful day here in the Tropical Tip - warm, sunny, breezy. Great to be back on Wild Blue again. And for my buddy, Pat: I checked... none of these dolphins appear to be of the fricky-dickie species. :wink: I won't bombard the forum with turquoise water and frolicking dolphin photos for the next few months... it's been a while, and I missed these critters.

An obligatory fishing boat image...

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And some sparkly water at the end of the cruise...

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Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
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