Virginia

Hi All,
Well, we made the trip to Virginia without issue. That's not to say it was boring.

In my last post I said we were going to splash the boat on Saturday. Friday morning that changed to doing it right then. Fortunately we were pretty much ready so when George came by at 8:30 and said we couldn't do it Saturday, we were ready to go and got her in the water in about an hour. Here's a picture of Good Morning Vietnam in the travel lift on the way into the water.

It took Faith, our delivery captain, and I four days to get to Deltaville, Virginia. The boat was in the water on Friday but we didn't leave until Monday morning at 7:00 AM. That blew our "up and out by 11" streak.  We had issues getting the halyards (lines that pull the sails up) rigged before we left so we had to motor the entire way though we did have a couple of stretches where we could have sailed had we had sails.

On the second day, still in North Carolina we saw a bald eagle (the bird kind) flying around. A bit later we had four F-15 Eagles (the airplane kind) doing some sort of maneuver over us. They put on quite a show for about 15 minutes before moving out over the ocean.

On the third day we passed through Norfolk Naval Yard. Now that was some interesting scenery and we were boarded by the US Coast Guard. We passed the inspection. There weren't a lot of ships in the naval yard but we did pass the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington as she was getting some work done.

We stayed the night at a marina in Hampton, Virginia before our last day on the water, heading up Chesapeake Bay. As we headed out of Norfolk we were passed by the destroyer USS James Williams as she was headed out to sea.

Once we were in the Chesapeake we heard the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower radioing that they were on there way into Norfolk from sea. From several miles away she was pretty impressive, I wish we'd been a bit later or she had been a bit earlier so we would have gotten a better look at her. We made it to Deltavilla about 30 minutes after Susan and Duncan who had driven up from Beaufort, North Carolina that morning. Just in time to have Good Morning Vietnam hauled out of the water again.  Deja vu all over again.

We spent the next couple of the days cleaning, cleaning and cleaning the boat. The broker that is going to list her came by and let us know they had someone that wanted to see the boat on Monday so we worked hard Friday, Saturday and Sunday to have her in good shape. She looked good! Maybe good enough as the wife really liked her on Monday so this weekend her and her husband are going to look at her. It's too much to ask that we could actually sell her the first week she's in Deltaville. But we're still hopeful.

Today we visited historic Jamestown on our "day off". Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America, was established in 1607. It's worth a visit if you're in the area, pretty neat. Tomorrow we go back to the boat to do the last couple of maintenance tasks before leaving her.

That's it for now. Take care.
Brian

Mother Nature

Hi All,
Since the last post we have moved locations from Junction, Texas to Beaufort, North Carolina. We've been working on getting the boat ready to move it. Oh, and guess what, there's been a change in those plans too. Originally we listed the boat with a friend of ours who is a broker in St Petersburg, Florida. We were going to move the boat to Florida to have it closer to her and in a better market. Unfortunately we weren't able to find a reasonably priced marina on the east coast of Florida and we didn't want to take the time required to move the boat all the way to St Petersburg. So lets go the completely opposite direction! We've found a place and a broker in Deltaville, Virginia on Chesapeake Bay. So now the plan is to move the boat up there. We've hired a delivery captain to go with me (Brian) up the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to Deltaville. Susan and Duncan will drive up to get us and return us to Beaufort. Confused yet? So am I.

We got back to the boat this past Saturday and planned to put it back in the water on Monday. The weather forecast made that not an attractive option so we changed the splash date to tomorrow, Friday the 7th and start our journey north the next day. But Mother Nature still isn't cooperating. We've had several days this week with some pretty good thunderstorms. That's an oxymoron. When we didn't have thunderstorms the wind has been blowing gale force. Today we moved out the splash date to Saturday, hoping the wind will finally have subsided by then. Sunday we'll start up the ICW. It should take us four or five days to get to Deltaville. It'll only take Susan six hours.

Struggling to find some pictures to include with the post, since some of followers only look at the pictures, I've included a shot of Good Morning Vietnam as she sits waiting to get wet again and a screenshot from my phone showing the wind forecast for today and tomorrow. We're really getting tired of this wind.

That's all for now. Take care.

Susan and Brian

Last work day in Junction

Hi All,
Tomorrow, Sunday the 26th, is our last work day at the RV campground in Junction. It's been great, especially the weather and the people, but we're ready to move on. Here's a little bit of a catch up for what's been going on since our last post.

First of all, I made two more rattlesnake hunting trips. Two days, back to back, and we caught 56 each day. Below is a picture of an old farmhouse that we pulled 33 snakes out from under the floor. It took us most of the day. They really didn't want to come out of there.

 Here's the largest snake we got, stretched out on the tailgate of the truck. He was close to 4 foot long.

That's all for snake stories.

Last week we were eating lunch in Kerrville and for some reason got to talking about dogs. I made the mistake of looking to see if there was an animal shelter in Kerrville. Of course there was. So, meet Duncan.

He'll be two at the end of the month. According to his papers he's part rottweiler and part border collie. He's 100% sweetheart. He loves people, kids and other dogs. We had him for a week before we heard him bark the first time. He rides in the car (on the console between the front seats, until he gets tired and lays down in the back seat). Really a neat dog. We're really happy with him and looking forward to taking him with us everywhere.

That's it for now. I'll try to get another post out in the next couple of days with our plans for when we leave Junction.

Take care.
Brian

Junction, Texas

Hi All!
It's hard to believe it's been almost two months since we last posted.  The day after Christmas we drove to Junction, Texas where we are now official work campers. We work here at the RV park for a free place to stay. In this case we get our campsite, water, electricity, sewer, wifi, laundry and propane for working a combined 24 hours a week.We've enjoyed our stay here, especially the relatively warm weather. We have had a few days when it's been cold but 60's, 70's and occasionally 80's are the norm.

There hasn't been much exciting to report.  That's my excuse for not posting. This past Thursday excitement was ratcheted up a bit when I (Brian) went rattlesnake hunting. It's been over 20 years since I was last rattlesnake hunting with Doris Grote. Thursday it was with her son, grandson and his wife, and an old Grote family friend. We hunted at three different sites, two of which were productive. We started out in an old underground root cellar. I can't tell you how scary it is to look up between the railroad tie rafters and see the bellies of snakes up there. Yikes! After three trips to the cellar throughout the day we ended up with five snakes from there. We know there are at least three still in there.

The most interesting place was Teacup Mountain about half way between Junction and Mason. Teacup Mountain rates a Texas roadside historical marker.

To be honest, it doesn't look all that much like a teacup to me. Maybe from a different angle.

The five of us hiked up very close to the top where there is a rattlesnake den. Two years ago they caught thirteen rattlesnakes there. On this trip, over a couple of hours, we caught nineteen. I won't go into the details of the process for catching them as it would probably bore you or give you a severe case of the willies. We know there is at least one more in that den as Koy Grote, who was the proverbial point man, could hear him but he wouldn't come out.

Here is the view from our perch near the top of teacup.

After we had caught all we could catch, Koy and I climbed up to the top of teacup for a look around. Here's the view from the top, only another 20 feet or so from where we had been.

And here's a picture of me at the top just to prove I got my height-fearing self to the top. You can't see it in this picture but my toes are curled inside my boots.

Once we were back at the truck Koy moved the snakes from the trash can we were using to hold them to the box they'll be in for a while.

Our day resulted in a total of twenty four rattlesnakes captured. What happens to them now?

1) They aren't around to bite adults, children or livestock. The lady that owns the land teacup sits on, came face to face with one at her outside water spigot one evening.
2) Their venom will be milked from them, it's used in the making of anti-venom.
3) Ever had fried rattlesnake? It tastes like chicken.  :-)

That's it for now. Details on our next adventure coming soon.

Brian

Another change in direction

Hi Y'all,
If there is still anyone out there since it has been two months since the last time I posted.

Since the last post we've spent six weeks in LA (Lower Alabama) helping a guy renovate a house. It has been a huge learning experience and also enjoyable. During the middle of our time there we took almost two weeks off to go to Atlanta so Susan could join some of her girlfriends for a girls weekend. I was kept busy and out of trouble for the weekend by helping friends with Christmas decorations. The finally tally was eleven Christmas trees at Mark and Tammy's house.

From Atlanta we went on up to the boat in North Carolina. Our plan was to work on the bottom paint but, as most every plan we have made, we changed it on the fly. In my last post we talked about getting back on the boat in January or February. That plan slid out to March or April. When we were at the boat we both admitted we weren't actually looking forward to getting on the boat and going back to the Bahamas. When it's good, it's great. But when it's not so good, it can be pretty stressful. The water, the beaches and the people we met along the way were fantastic. But it just wasn't enough to sway the "want to" factor. So we decided to sell the boat. It's on the market now. We really wish we wanted to go back again but I guess it's time for our next adventure. Getting off the boat for good feels like we're letting down all the people that have been following us. As you read this I hope you don't feel that way.

When we left the boat we went to the other end of North Carolina to have Thanksgiving with more of Susan's friends at their mountain house. What a beautiful place! We hiked, played games and ate. And ate. It was a great time with Francis, Vinnie and their son Kevin.

After Thanksgiving we headed back to LA for the last three weeks of our six weeks of work. We got real close to finishing one house. There were still a few things to do to put it on the market but it was looking pretty good. Here and there we'd take a day off from working to see some of the sites around LA. We spent one day in Mobile, touring the city. On Veteran's Day we drove over to Pensacola and watched the Blue Angels homecoming to their Pensacola Naval Air Station home. Wow! I've always wanted to see the Blue Angels and it was pretty amazing. On Pearl Harbor Day we went back over to Mobile and toured the battleship USS Alabama. There is also an aviation museum as well as a submarine (the USS Drum) to see. We were there until they closed for the day and there was more we could have seen.

Now we're back in Texas, getting here in time to see my grandson Tyson in his Christmas program. At three and a half years old, though he didn't actually sing, he did better than last year when he cried through all the songs. But he looked great as far as we were concerned. And according to his mom he really belted out the songs on the way home in the car.

The day after Christmas we'll be leaving here for a new part time job at an RV Park in Junction, Texas. The plan is to be there for three months. After that we'll go back to North Carolina, put the boat back in the water and take it to Florida. There is a much bigger market in Florida than Beaufort, North Carolina. Once the boat is safely in a marina we'll probably be heading for Alaska with the travel trailer. If I were you, I'd believe the part about were doing the day after tomorrow but anything after that is probably suspect based on our history.

That's all for now.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Brian

A new granddaughter has arrived!

Hi All,
It's been three weeks since I posted and it seems time to let you know what we've been doing. We made it back to Dallas and then played the waiting game. It seems Brianna faked us out a bit with a start and then a stop. On Friday, October 7, she made her grand entrance at 4:14 in the morning. Mother and daughter are doing great. So are Dad and Brothers. That being the highlight of the last three weeks there are a few other events of note.

While hanging around the Dallas area we did a small construction project at the lake. We also made a trip to Austin to see my grandson Alec who has started at the University of Texas this year. We had a nice evening with him and his girlfriend. The next day we drove over to Kemah and saw some friends we use to share a pier at the marina with. Bryan and Cindy even treated us to an afternoon sail around Galveston Bay. That was Saturday. Sunday we drove to Mason to spend a couple of days eating Cooper's BBQ, making prickly pear apple jelly (after picking the fruit) and vaccinating calves- all while spending time with our good friends at the Grote Angus Ranch. There were also some small side jobs of herding horses and longhorns back into the pasture where they belonged and butchering a feral hog.

From Mason we went back to Dallas to go to the State Fair of Texas and then spend an afternoon with Brianna, her brothers, mother and father.

Now we're in Robertsdale, Alabama. Susan said she was 14 before she found out it wasn't pronounced Ala-dam-bama. Susan found us a "job" here helping a guy fix up an old house to be a bed and breakfast. Our pay, for a couple of days of work a week, is a place to park the camper with water, electricity and sewer. We just arrived this afternoon and so far it looks like it'll be an interesting way to spend a couple of months.

What are our plans to get back on the boat you ask? If you've been following our odyssey you'll know we change directions frequently but here's the current plan. While here in Alabama we'll go up to the boat at some point to do the work on the bottom that needs to be done (paint). Then somewhere in January or February we'll put the boat back in the water and make our way towards the Bahamas. Our thinking at this point is to stay in the Bahamas until sometime in June before we come back to the US. Who knows if that's what we actually end up doing. Stay tuned to find out.

That's it for now.
Take care.
Brian

Carlsbad Caverns and Big Bend

Hi All,
Since last Sunday we've moved back into the world where city limit signs tell you the population rather than the elevation.  Monday we took the Kings Palace ranger guided tour at Carlsbad Caverns and also took a stroll through "The Big Room". Here are a few pictures from inside the cave...

Monday evening we stayed around for the bats exiting the cave. No pictures are allowed so I have none to post. It was pretty cool but surprisingly there aren't as many bats there as there are in the cave in Mason, Texas.

Tuesday morning we drove down to Marathon, Texas which is about 80 miles north of Big Bend National Park. We looked forward to a night without listening to trucks making deliveries to Walmart. The previous two nights hadn't been great for sleep, even with earplugs- but the price was right. Sure wish I had noticed the train tracks that run by the campground. Being right by an intersection each of the four freight trains that went by during the night had to blow their whistles, repeatedly, as they went by.

Wednesday morning I got a text from my daughter Amy letting me know she had been having some contractions and was going to go to her doctor appointment early. They weren't consistent or very strong so we decided to go ahead and drive through Big Bend National Park while keeping updated with how Amy was doing. Here are a couple pictures of our drive through Big Bend. Not many but it really is beautiful.

As we came out of the park an update from Amy came that made us decided we wanted to head back to Dallas. It made for a long day as we had to get back to Marathon and hook up the trailer before the eight hour drive to Dallas. As we got back close to Ft Worth and Amy hadn't progressed any further we decided to head to Gun Barrel City where we could drop off the trailer and get some sleep.  After 15 hours in the truck on Wednesday we got to Gun Barrel City at 1:30 on Thursday morning.

Now we're at my brother's house in Sachse, Texas  waiting for Brianna Leigh Bennett to make her grand entrance to the world. I can't wait to see her.

That's it for now.
Take care.

Brian