Lots of Fun, Lots of Progress

On Saturday, we checked out the haulout yard in Slidell. On Sunday, we decided to drive back and see what was around for shops and hotels, etc. We drove down the old highway, 190 which our marina is on. It merged into rd 433 which is the road the haulout yard was on so we followed it to the Bayou where we crossed a weird barge-like bridge. When we reached Hwy 11, we found it completely blocked off. They were getting ready for a parade down Hwy 11!! We wound our way through the back roads of Slidell, trying to find a way across Hwy 11. We finally followed a woman out of a McDonald's parking lot across to another side street across 11. From there, we continued to run into road blocks for the parade on all the major roads. We finally found one road and it led us to Interstate 10. We followed the interstate until hwy 190, hoping to make our way back to the marina via 190 and to stop at a flea market we'd seen on the way to Slidell.Well, after driving a couple miles, we discovered the parade was on 190 too! They had blocked three sides of the main roads for this dang parade! We zigzagged through more side roads, following people that we hoped knew the way out of this crazy place. The suburban we were following finally pulled into a Burger King's parking lot and the parade went right by the restaurant. We succumbed to the parade, bought some cokes at the BK and sat for the parade. Brett stated several times, "We're cruising". I couldn't believe I didn't have one camera with us during this cool parade....Vendors crowded the roads with shopping carts set up as rolling stands to buy toys, stuffed animals, beads, colorful feather boas, crazy fur hats and all kinds of silly stuff. I decided we had to have something for Mardi Gras so I bought a purple/yellow/green boa and made Brett get a fuzzy black and silver hat with red hot flames on top and under the brim. He wouldn't wear it at the parade though, so we stashed the souveniers into a ziplock bag for Mardi Gras. We sat under a tree and watched the floats and bands go by, throwing gobs of colorful Mardi Gras beads at the huge crowd. We were definitely a minority in this little part of town, surrounded by thousands, but we felt secure and everyone was a happy union of parade viewers. It was cool. After Brett scraped some beads up for me off the road, we made our way back out and found the Interstate 10 again and then I12 which headed back toward the marina.

We took the LaCombe exit, hoping to find the awesome looking flea market we'd seen earlier. After backtracking twice, we gave up and headed back to the marina. The next day, we resumed our projects. I completely cleaned out the vee berth. We hauled the sails out from the boat, all 12. We finally settled on 4 sails to get rid of and 8 to keep. Brett offered the 4 sails to gentleman who lived on his boat a few slips down from us. He gladly accepted them. We finally had a ton of room in the boat and I got to work filling up the spaces quickly.

We spent yesterday finishing the organizing. Brett has spent the last few days installing the autopilot. He also tried to get the transmission seal replaced but failed again- the nut on the coupler won't budge, it's completely frozen.

Yesterday, I spent the day completely reorganizing the salon and the galley- I took out all of the stores and cleaned the galley from top to bottom. I had forgotten just how much food we had and I had just purchased more Monday! I also took the afternoon to spray the old red wind generator a white color with Fusion Plastic Paint. It worked great and we now have a white bladed generator instead of that awful faded red color.

We also spent time on Monday working on the cushions and getting materials from Lowes. Brett helped me with the cushion backs- We decided to staple the fabric onto the plywood that made up the doors as the sette backs. They turned out really good and it was way easier than sewing them!

We got so much done these last few days, I could write another 5 pages, I am sure.

The only thing that has been a problem is the massive amounts of garbage and no where to put it. For some reason, the marina got rid of the dumpster so now there is NO where to dump. Very frustrating. Especially because we returned the rental car yesterday.

Oh, Monday, we spent a couple hours talking to a guy who bought Brett's trimaran! He is in Florida and wanted to know all about Brett's design and building of the boat. We ended up selling him a couple of winches we had that would work perfectly for the little tri we had sold in 2006. He seems really excited to sail the boat. He sent us a picture of it. We are hoping that we'll hook up with him in Apalachicola and we can take him sailing on our boat and then we can go sailing again on the little tri! He has decided to call it a "Corbett 20". We're excited to see the boat again and can't wait to possibly even sail it.

Well I am sure there is tons more to write, but I have already written a lot for ya.

Lots of Fun, Lots of Progress

On Saturday, we checked out the haulout yard in Slidell. On Sunday, we decided to drive back and see what was around for shops and hotels, etc. We drove down the old highway, 190 which our marina is on. It merged into rd 433 which is the road the haulout yard was on so we followed it to the Bayou where we crossed a weird barge-like bridge. When we reached Hwy 11, we found it completely blocked off. They were getting ready for a parade down Hwy 11!! We wound our way through the back roads of Slidell, trying to find a way across Hwy 11. We finally followed a woman out of a McDonald's parking lot across to another side street across 11. From there, we continued to run into road blocks for the parade on all the major roads. We finally found one road and it led us to Interstate 10. We followed the interstate until hwy 190, hoping to make our way back to the marina via 190 and to stop at a flea market we'd seen on the way to Slidell.Well, after driving a couple miles, we discovered the parade was on 190 too! They had blocked three sides of the main roads for this dang parade! We zigzagged through more side roads, following people that we hoped knew the way out of this crazy place. The suburban we were following finally pulled into a Burger King's parking lot and the parade went right by the restaurant. We succumbed to the parade, bought some cokes at the BK and sat for the parade. Brett stated several times, "We're cruising". I couldn't believe I didn't have one camera with us during this cool parade....Vendors crowded the roads with shopping carts set up as rolling stands to buy toys, stuffed animals, beads, colorful feather boas, crazy fur hats and all kinds of silly stuff. I decided we had to have something for Mardi Gras so I bought a purple/yellow/green boa and made Brett get a fuzzy black and silver hat with red hot flames on top and under the brim. He wouldn't wear it at the parade though, so we stashed the souveniers into a ziplock bag for Mardi Gras. We sat under a tree and watched the floats and bands go by, throwing gobs of colorful Mardi Gras beads at the huge crowd. We were definitely a minority in this little part of town, surrounded by thousands, but we felt secure and everyone was a happy union of parade viewers. It was cool. After Brett scraped some beads up for me off the road, we made our way back out and found the Interstate 10 again and then I12 which headed back toward the marina.

We took the LaCombe exit, hoping to find the awesome looking flea market we'd seen earlier. After backtracking twice, we gave up and headed back to the marina. The next day, we resumed our projects. I completely cleaned out the vee berth. We hauled the sails out from the boat, all 12. We finally settled on 4 sails to get rid of and 8 to keep. Brett offered the 4 sails to gentleman who lived on his boat a few slips down from us. He gladly accepted them. We finally had a ton of room in the boat and I got to work filling up the spaces quickly.

We spent yesterday finishing the organizing. Brett has spent the last few days installing the autopilot. He also tried to get the transmission seal replaced but failed again- the nut on the coupler won't budge, it's completely frozen.

Yesterday, I spent the day completely reorganizing the salon and the galley- I took out all of the stores and cleaned the galley from top to bottom. I had forgotten just how much food we had and I had just purchased more Monday! I also took the afternoon to spray the old red wind generator a white color with Fusion Plastic Paint. It worked great and we now have a white bladed generator instead of that awful faded red color. We also spent time on Monday working on the cushions and getting materials from Lowes. Brett helped me with the cushion backs- We decided to staple the fabric onto the plywood that made up the doors as the sette backs. They turned out really good and it was way easier than sewing them!

We got so much done these last few days, I could write another 5 pages, I am sure.

The only thing that has been a problem is the massive amounts of garbage and no where to put it. For some reason, the marina got rid of the dumpster so now there is NO where to dump. Very frustrating. Especially because we returned the rental car yesterday.

Oh, Monday, we spent a couple hours talking to a guy who bought Brett's trimaran! He is in Florida and wanted to know all about Brett's design and building of the boat. We ended up selling him a couple of winches we had that would work perfectly for the little tri we had sold in 2006. He seems really excited to sail the boat. He sent us a picture of it. We are hoping that we'll hook up with him in Apalachicola and we can take him sailing on our boat and then we can go sailing again on the little tri! He has decided to call it a "Corbett 20". We're excited to see the boat again and can't wait to possibly even sail it.

Well I am sure there is tons more to write, but I have already written a lot for ya.

Reunited with Benevolence

We arrived to the boat around 3pm on Friday after driving all through the night. The boat is in great shape- Looks exactly like it did when we left. It definitely has that "boat smell" unfortunately from crud in the hoses- It is difficult to get rid of the smell unless you replace the hoses. But all is well. Not a DROP of water anywhere inside the boat. Everything works magificently. The bow did crush into the dock during the hurricanes but the anchor only scraped our hull. One board was pushed up on the dock and a little broken but very minor damage. It was a very cold night last night at about 31 but luckily we were able to plug in and have a small heater running. It was still cold though. All three of us (Benny, Brett and I) were all exhausted from the overnight drive. Benny even let us cover him with Grandma Virgie's wool blanket and he stayed under it most the night. We all feel a ton better this morning.

We ended up bring more stuff home with us than what we took away but a lot of it is boat equipment and we're excited to install our new autopilot, anchor, etc. We have way too many clothes and a TON of computer crap. We'll be spending the next few days organizing. More than likely, we'll be purging many items off the boat to simplify things. Yesterday, I started to clean up and put away everything in the boat. I washed all the dishes and started throwing out a bunch of food and garbage. Brett worked on the auto pilot outside. In the afternoon, we drove to Slidell to check out the haul out yard we'll be using to take the boat out of the water and painting the bottom. We met the manager and feel good about the yard. We spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find the Goodwill to unload a ton of stuff we decided to get rid of but found it closed after an hour of running around. Frustrated by the amount of traffic and people in town, we made our way to Walmart. We found it just as crowded and annoying so we made a mad dash back to the quiet marina to escape to our boat. We were still exhausted and stressed from the drive down and the adjustments of living on the boat again. We ventured out into the busy city for dinner and to do laundry. Everything went better than earlier that day. We met a nice lady in the laundromat who owned a spa in town. It was interesting to talk with her. After she left, we played Pinball against each other as the clothes dried. It was fun.We spent the evening sorting through our mounds of clothes and discussing the next day's projects. It was warmer last night and we slept much better. Our motivation to get going toward Mexico was fueled by the possibility of cold nights with no heat for the next month.

Trip Down to Louisiana

After a lot of effort with Dell, I finally received my two lenses and flash for the camera befre we left. I was anxious to use the new wide-angle lens for the desert.

We left Oregon Tuesday morning, with a rental SUV completely jammed packed full of new boat gear and new hobbies. We drove down to Chico the first day, about 6 hours from Eugene. It went well and we had absolutely no problems with the Siskiou Pass that we'd anticipated. There was almost no snow, really.We arrived in Chico around 530 and checked into our hotel. After Brett's daughter, Melody, got out of class, we visited with her at a Chinese (Mongolian-style) grill called Hula Hula. We had great fun with her and were so happy we'd been able to stop and see her on our way back to the boat.

We got up in the morning and headed South. It took awhile to get through L.A. and we settled for a hotel in Blythe which was on the border of Arizona and California. The next morning, we left early and came upon Quartzite, AZ which is famous for it's massive RV Rock and Gem Show in January- Well lol' and behold, it was January. We stopped to paruse treasures, but we were going through too early and no one was open. It was like torture. We heard all about the gathering of RVers at Quartzite selling rocks and gems for a month. And we were finally here and it was closed for the early morning.We contemplated staying the night in Quartzite to spend the day looking but decided not to spend the money and continued on. We also passed through Tuscon which was holding massive Gem shows.

We drove through Arizona quickly, and before I knew it, we were away from the cactus. I had made such a big deal to have the new camera and lenses when we went through Arizona so I could take pictuers and I didn't take one picture. We really didn't stop other than to refuel. We thought that we could make it to San Antonio, TX that night but traffic in El Paso was terrible and by night we had only barely reached Fort Stockton. We made the decision to drive through the night so we could get to the boat in the daylight.

We got to Houston in the morning and had breakfast at Denny's near It was a rough night but we succeeded and by 230, we were passing the Mandeville Exit sign. Earlier that night, Brett had thrown out Benny's cat litter and so we had to go into Covington to get cat litter before we made the last two miles to our boat.

Louisiana on-ramp painting of frogs

Our exit!

Thought this was a funny sign

for you Oregonians- This sign was a few miles before Mandeville, LA exit.

Parasailor went over our marina!

Back on Schedule

Brett is doing well. He had his surgery last Thursday and is on the mend and rearin' to go. My last day of work will be Friday and we'll leave here Tuesday.

Last Saturday, we finally took a break and escaped to the coast for a day. It was wonderful. The sun was out and it was a balmy 53 degrees! We tried out the new camera and even the film camera I had gotten stuck with on Ebay. All the pictures turned out very nice. I posted them on my Picasa Web Album which you can link to under my PICTURES tab.I spent some time Sunday and rearranged and cleaned up my Picasa Web Album so it was easier to browse through. There are many new pictures and the old ones have been pretty much reorganized. So please go take a look when you have time.

I am having another nightmare with shipping of an expensive item again right before we leave. But there is nothing I can do (except harass the company) and I guess that comes with the traveling territory...

We will not be keeping our internet connection, it's just too expensive ($60 a month!) so we'll be stuck with relying on wifi hotspots again.

My aunt and uncle are moving into their new house which is great fun but I am afraid we'll miss it by a week or so. But he's a great photographer so I am looking forward to the pictures (Ray!)

We'll soon be on our journey and I am excited to get going again.

New Website

Please visit my website at www.benevolentwanderings.com to keep up with current pictures and blogs of our adventure!

New Website

Please visit my website at www.benevolentwanderings.com to keep up with current pictures and blogs of our adventure!

Setbacks for the New Year

The holidays are over! I am glad, that was the most stressed out I have ever felt. But we survived it and it ended up ok. This was a hard year for us, especially as of late but I am looking forward to a brighter New Year.

My grandmother passed away the week of Christmas which was very sad. She was in La Pine and none of us were able to get up there to see her. They are having a memorial for her in the Spring in Portland where my grandfather is laid to rest.

We have had a setback and won't be able to leave on Tuesday as we had hoped. Brett ended up with some emergency health issues that he has to see a specialist for next week to find out if he needs surgery or not. I was hugging my coworkers and friends good bye at work on Friday when I got the call. Amazingly, Chaim and Cindy scrambled quickly to arrange for me to stay on a little longer with OML while we find out what needs to be done for Brett. Everyone is thankful that this problem arose now instead of while we were on the road or on the boat. So we are packed up, ready to go as soon as the doctor clears him.

Meanwhile, I was able to order us a new anchor. We wanted a good anchor since most of our time will be at anchorages. We needed an anchor to hold fast during storms and while we are on land, away from the boat. Our three anchors are all fluke anchors so we really needed a plow for the terrain in the South. After a lot of research, we decided on the Manson Supreme rather than a CQR plow. Everything I've read has been positive about the Manson's, being a "next-generation anchor". It was actually much cheaper than a CQR but its supposed to be superior.

I also was able to pick up foam for the rest of our cockpit cushions, the settee backs as well as all the fabric needed to cover them for extremely cheap while here in Oregon. I was able to get very beautiful fabric for curtains/pillows and good vinyl for the cockpit cushions. Cockpit cushions are definitely a must after being out for a month with small ones.The cushion fabric is not quite my color preference but I have found coordinating fabric that will tie everything together beautifully. It will be very Tuscan looking. :) It is a luxury for us to have the fabric for the cushions, curtains and settee backs but it will be much more comfortable. The boat will look nice and it will make me feel happier about living in it rather than just having blankets thrown over the cushions. Brett agreed and didn't protest when I brought home the clearanced fabric. Micro Fiber at $3.00 a yard is a steal. So is the foam which was $58. I was quoted $280 at another fabric shop earlier that day!

I'll update more when we are able to leave. It's been a long stretch since I wrote last and I am sure I am leaving out something but I just wanted to touch base with everyone.

Wow- Boy, did it snow today! I was SO disappointed to not have any snow yesterday because we missed Elaine's graduation at her church and I didn't get any pictures I wanted to get. But as I used the bathroom this morning, I found no water. My first hint. As I was getting the gallon of water from the fridge, I looked out at the old Walnut tree by our cabin and it was covered in snow! I woke Brett and he spent a couple hours getting the water back up and running and getting a fire going in the other house that Rick and Elaine just moved out of. The snow was deep and the roads iced.


I pulled up my email and let my boss know I wouldn't be in today. (I realized later that she flew to New York on Sunday! They are having a horrible winter storm and I am worried her and Courtney are ok)
Though we were trapped, I enjoyed the day, taking hundreds of pictures. I'll post some on my PICTURE tab...

We picked up a Carbon Fiber tripod and it worked WONDERS today for the night shots and the landscape. I have to move fast for the birds, so I have to work on my camera shake.
(NEVER seen Benny in snow! He wandered around in it for about ten minutes!)

We've decided to drive back to Louisiana. It was a big decision as we lose a ton of money from the airline tickets but it was way easier and less complicated and less stressful to drive with Benny and the expensive equipment we're taking back. I am really excited. This will be SO much easier on Benny and for our equipment. We will also be able to pick up the folding bikes we've been wanting and drive them back to the boat. I am looking forward to the photographic opportunities on the road as well.

I am amazed how things are coming together. The boat is much more prepared than she was when we left her in August. And we are much more appreciative and grateful for the ability to live our dream.

Just Stuff Goin On

I got to play with my camera today and last night. I'll post pictures on my PICTURES tab.

Night before last, we went to Fred Meyer for cat food and I veered over to the silly stuffed animal claw game. I plunked in two quarters to win a stupid stuffed animal. I lost so Brett dropped two quareters more in and grabbed the stick. He aimed for the ugliest toy and guess what?.. Yup. We are now the proud owners of a George Jetson doll. It was great fun though. He said he'd never won anything before. I laughed hysterically through the store as I played with the cheap stuffed doll, his nose wagging at every step. When we got home, we tossed the toy at Benny. He immediately clawed at it. "Well, I guess we won't be giving it to Toys For Tots" I laughed. Three days later, he is still in love with George. Brett insists it's the orange hair. So we might have to fiind a pocket in our backpack for the dollar entertainment.

I had my last show yesterday at the work craft fair. I forgot half my supplies and threw together an improvised display setup. I didn't have lights or earring racks. Even with five other jewelers, I did VERY well. I had a LOT of fun and ended the jewelry shows with a great note. I had made a bunch of time consuming clay pens for the show. Brett helped me sand ten pens on Thursday night. None of them sold so I gave most of them away to the vendors. They were very pretty. I had run out of pens to use so I grabbed five of the other pens to use to make some more pens. They melted and shrunk in the oven, warping and cracking the expensive foil and clay around them. Before I could throw them out, Brett adopted them. Tonight he started making things with the clay foul ups. I gave him a crash course in clay and he has been spending the evening making new, wild creations. I think he is really enjoying it. I'll post a picture of his "pen" creations soon.

I spent the afternoon running errands in town since it it's supposed to snow tomorrow. On my way to the camera store and bookstore, I was driving the loop toward the mall off of Delta Highway and noticed a guy walking acrossed the highway with a gas can. I pulled over quickly and offered him a ride. I have NEVER done that as I have always believed it dangerous. But the poor young guy was walking around in 34 degree weather with no coat on, just a sweater and jeans. There was no gas station for at least three miles. So I got brave and offered him a ride. As he got in the car, I ordered him not to murder me. I drove him to get gas and drove him back toward his car. As he got out of the car, I noticed his lambskin slippers. He wasn't even wearing shoes! I called Brett to assure him I'd not been murdered and continued on to the mall. It felt good to help someone in need.

We're supposed to be plummeted by snow and cold weather tomorrow and I am very excited to get some awesome snow pictures with the new camera! We were going to go to church with Elaine but the weather looks very bleek for tomorrow and it would be very dangerous to drive to the church in Albany. We're bummed to not be there to support her graduation. She has spent three months in preparation for becoming a minister.

As I was shopping for groceries to stock up tonight, I found lobster tails on sale for 4.99 a tail. I'd never made them before so I took two tails and a free recipe. I excitedly showed Brett my new treasures to try. Eating lobster is very common on the boat. I had never had lobster and was excited to finally try it at a reasonable price. We cooked it together. It was good! Very sweet. I had no idea. It wasn't very much meat for the price but it was tasty. It did confirm I have a slight allergy to shellfish as the bubble developed in my throat that I used to get with Texas shrimp. But it's mild and not going to stop me from eating seafood while we cruise.

I hope everyone is having a blessed season. I am struggling with the holidays but I am hanging in there. I am anxious to get back to our dream. But I have a feeling, you already knew that. ;o)

I got to play with my camera today and last night. I'll post pictures on my PICTURES tab.

Night before last, we went to Fred Meyer for cat food and I veered over to the silly stuffed animal claw game. I plunked in two quarters to win a stupid stuffed animal. I lost so Brett dropped two quareters more in and grabbed the stick. He aimed for the ugliest toy and guess what?.. Yup. We are now the proud owners of a George Jetson doll. It was great fun though. He said he'd never won anything before. I laughed hysterically through the store as I played with the cheap stuffed doll, his nose wagging at every step. When we got home, we tossed the toy at Benny. He immediately clawed at it. "Well, I guess we won't be giving it to Toys For Tots" I laughed. Three days later, he is still in love with George. Brett insists it's the orange hair. So we might have to fiind a pocket in our backpack for the dollar entertainment.

I had my last show yesterday at the work craft fair. I forgot half my supplies and threw together an improvised display setup. I didn't have lights or earring racks. Even with five other jewelers, I did VERY well. I had a LOT of fun and ended the jewelry shows with a great note. I had made a bunch of time consuming clay pens for the show. Brett helped me sand ten pens on Thursday night. None of them sold so I gave most of them away to the vendors. They were very pretty. I had run out of pens to use so I grabbed five of the other pens to use to make some more pens. They melted and shrunk in the oven, warping and cracking the expensive foil and clay around them. Before I could throw them out, Brett adopted them. Tonight he started making things with the clay foul ups. I gave him a crash course in clay and he has been spending the evening making new, wild creations. I think he is really enjoying it. I'll post a picture of his "pen" creations soon.

I spent the afternoon running errands in town since it it's supposed to snow tomorrow. On my way to the camera store and bookstore, I was driving the loop toward the mall off of Delta Highway and noticed a guy walking acrossed the highway with a gas can. I pulled over quickly and offered him a ride. I have NEVER done that as I have always believed it dangerous. But the poor young guy was walking around in 34 degree weather with no coat on, just a sweater and jeans. There was no gas station for at least three miles. So I got brave and offered him a ride. As he got in the car, I ordered him not to murder me. I drove him to get gas and drove him back toward his car. As he got out of the car, I noticed his lambskin slippers. He wasn't even wearing shoes! I called Brett to assure him I'd not been murdered and continued on to the mall. It felt good to help someone in need.

We're supposed to be plummeted by snow and cold weather tomorrow and I am very excited to get some awesome snow pictures with the new camera! We were going to go to church with Elaine but the weather looks very bleek for tomorrow and it would be very dangerous to drive to the church in Albany. We're bummed to not be there to support her graduation. She has spent three months in preparation for becoming a minister.

As I was shopping for groceries to stock up tonight, I found lobster tails on sale for 4.99 a tail. I'd never made them before so I took two tails and a free recipe. I excitedly showed Brett my new treasures to try. Eating lobster is very common on the boat. I had never had lobster and was excited to finally try it at a reasonable price. We cooked it together. It was good! Very sweet. I had no idea. It wasn't very much meat for the price but it was tasty. It did confirm I have a slight allergy to shellfish as the bubble developed in my throat that I used to get with Texas shrimp. But it's mild and not going to stop me from eating seafood while we cruise.

I hope everyone is having a blessed season. I am struggling with the holidays but I am hanging in there. I am anxious to get back to our dream. But I have a feeling, you already knew that. ;o)

Countdown begins....

My sister in law called me this morning to tell me that it was snowing in Louisiana! With a few clicks, I had weather.com open and sure enough, a winter storm was crossing right through the middle of Mandeville! Glad we aren't there right now! LOL

The autopilot arrived Monday and it is HUGE! So we'll have to mail it down to ourselves. We have a LOT to mail to ourselves when we get down there. It's an awesome autopilot though and Brett is really excited about it. Our boat is really well balanced so he thinks the smaller size won't be a problem at all. The autopilot will save us from constant driving at the helm, 24 hrs a day. We can read a book on watch or run down into the cabin for a cup of coffee. We can change sails and adjust lines. It will be WONDERFUL!

We are so excited to be so close in returning to our boat life. We've been blessed while back in Oregon but we are both much happier on the boat. We feel prepared and armed with most of the equipment we needed to feel safe crossing the Gulf. There are a few things still left to get and we still need to haul out but we are so close to being ready. We have prepared and even over-prepared and feel confident Benevolence is nearly ready to safely take us anywhere in the world.

We are trying to decide on electronic charts for the laptop vs a chartplotter to go along with the standard paper charts but haven't made up our minds yet. Each have their own pros and cons.Brett's foul weather gear was old and torn in many spots and also about three sizes too big. For Christmas, I bought Brett offshore, Henri Lloyd foul weather gear off of Ebay (yes, EBAY). I received the coat and it is perfect! He LOVES it. The bibs are on their way, too. Each of them were 20% of the price of new ones. I seem to (most of the time) have a knack for finding great deals for the boat stuff.

We are having to bring Benny back to the boat with us as we couldn't find a home for him. It is scary to think about the long day of flying from here to Louisiana with him. I take him into the vet to get the paperwork next week. I am more worried about the flights with him than anything else right now. He did well on the boat so we'll adjust our cruising plans to accomodate him so he is comfortable and happy.

I have been listening to podcasts from Furled Sails again this week. They are intereviews of sailors and I can't believe the enormous amount of knowledge I've gained from listening to these interviews. They are inspiring and I can now relate to some of the stories after living aboard and traveling on the waterway.

We are in count down mode till we get back to our dream. Brett is working nearly every day and I am trying to organize last minute details. We have to plan a way to mail all of our gear back, pack very little with us on the plane ride back and figure out storage for the few possessions we kept that are staying in Oregon. We are also needing to coordinate our haulout with a surveyor which will be tricky.

We kick ourselves for getting our plane tickets already- With Benny, we much rather would have rented a car and driven back down than take him on a plane. We wouldn't have had to worry about mailing all our equipment either.

We didn't save the amount of money we wanted to save but we have made progress by huge leaps and bounds with more equipment and with paying down bills.

We've always been blessed and know that God is taking care of us and offering this amazing opportunity to us right now. I just need to be better about trusting in Him to guide us through.

Some Pictures I took right after I got my new camera (and read the manual of course). Canon Rebel XS (18-55mm) (75-300mm)

New Camera

Well. We sold a computer and some jewelry and were able to get the camera I wanted at a great deal for Christmas. It came on Friday and I played with all the modes and took a couple of pictures of the birds that hang out on our porch. It's an awesome camera and I can't wait to take excellent photographs of our travels... I'll post a couple of the pictures I took on the first day under my picture tab....

Ebay Finally Got Me!

Well- I FINALLY got badly jipped on Ebay-

I had been dying to get a DSLR (Digital SLR professional camera) but couldn't afford it. Then I discovered one on Ebay for 70% of what a new one cost so I snagged it. I emailed back and forth with the seller, who seemed like a nice old man who lost his wife. I excitedly shared my find with all the electronic stores but they all gave me doubtful looks. I checked out five digital photography books from the library and studied them while waiting for my treasure to arrive. I bought an expensive memory card for it so I could use the RAW format which takes a lot of space. I also found the perfect backpack to hold all the cameras and even our tripiods. I had everything set.

The seller said it might be here Monday, so I took off work early to do laundry and check the post office. I had had a horrible day at work and was hoping the camera would arrive to cheer my day up. After waiting 30 minutes in line, I found the camera had arrived. I set it in the car and raced to the laundromat to throw the clothes in the dryer. I struggled to tear the box open with my fingers. He had taped all the seams, just as I did with packaging boxes. I eventually peeled the bottom away. Immediately, a battery package, dated 1995, fell in my lap. Weird, I thought. The long haired tennis player guy on the front of the box looked dated. Huh, I thought again. I read the name on the box and it was the right name.

I pulled out the manual. It looked old? I gingerly opened the box and found a FILM camera! I couldn't believe it. It was the same name but a fifteen year old film model not the new, three month old digital model! I cried as I crushed my clothes into the basket. I drove back to work so I could punish myself for my stupidity.I studied the listing over and over, trying to find an indication of film. There was NO indication of film OR digital on this description! He had been extremely sparce on his description. His picture was so small, you couldn't tell which model it was. I finally found it. "Item Specifics: Film Cameras" I emailed the seller and asked him to consider a return since I was under the impression it was the digital model. He was very mean about the misunderstanding so I forked out more money for batteries and gritted my teeth with owning a second film camera.

I called Brett and cried to him about my mistake. I was worried to tell him about the money I'd just wasted but he was more worried about my disappointment. He talked me into looking at the many positive things about it. I am making the best of it and will post pictures from the new film camera when I get them developed. I am still hoping to end up with a DSLR to take fabulous photos of our travels and maybe even get good enough to sell them. :) Brett is super supportive and is interested in taking up photography as well.

New Auto Pilot!

We settled on an S1 Wheel Pilot. It's a little smaller than what we ideally need but it was cheaper so we settled. We are excited to have one of our biggest expenses out of the way. Things are really coming together for us.

We're counting down the days we can get back to Benevolence. Things are coming together nicely.

It has been a relief to have Brett visit the boat two weeks ago. I am feeling much better about her.

Thoughts of an Interview on Engineless Sailing

I have been listening to Furled Sails podcasts every day for a week. I have soaked in all the interesting people and ideas and experiences I have been hearing. But some that I downloaded didn't appeal to me so I skipped over them. Till today. I ran out of new ones so I scrolled back through and found one that I avoided like the plague. It was a two part interview with Jay Fitzgerald and his devotion to engineless sailing. This guy is adamant that sailors don't have motors, his opinions very strong.I believe that there is a medium with using a motor vs sailing.

I learned to sail a Hobicat without a motor (duh) and I also sailed our 20ft folding trimaran without a motor. But it seemed pretty logical to have a motor on our 37 foot, 8 ton mononull for pulling in and out of ports throughout the world. So I didn't want to hear his ranting about how only true sailors had no engines in their sailboats. But I listened anyway, desperate for some sail food while typing away at my monotonous job. I disagreed with most of what he said, rolling my eyes at his devout absurdity at not using an engine, ever. But I also learned a lot.

One thing I did hear in his interview was that engines take up at LEAST a year of cruising expense. Our trip down the ICW was extreme, as we had to motor all the way down the narrow canal but I started to envision the financial spreadsheet in our logbook that I kept while we were underway. And about 80% of our expense was.... fuel and engine parts. Huh.

Though Brett shares many of Jay's opinions about sailing without a motor, I also know that he would never part with his 40hp Westerbeke on our current boat.

I did find the interview very interesting and not abrasive as I thought he would be. He had a good sense of humor and listened to Noel's rationalizations for having a motor on some boats while not others. I learned to be open to people, even if you don't agree wholeheartedly. There are ALWAYS things to learn, even if you don't always agree. The world doesn't revolve around you so be open to others beliefs and opinions and you'll learn a lot and grow in yourself and your own opinions, whatever they may be.

11/20/08 BRETT IS BACK TODAY

Brett spent the last two days checking systems on our boat. Everything is great. The batteries were drained and one wouldn't charge. But he was able to get a new one and the engine started right up. The dinghy was in the water so Brett rigged up a pulley system and was able to get Knot Yacht back on board. Even the plants were doing well. Yesterday, he actually ran into Keith, who had been watching our boat. He hadn't been there awhile but stopped by there on his way to work in Mississippi. We are planning on getting together with him when we get back.We have decided not to go to Montana for Christmas afterall. It's getting too close to us returning and we are quite behind in the savings department, especially with this unexpected trip to New Orleans we decided to take. But we both found out that we were only going to Montana to make the other happy. So it worked out.

11/18/08 - Brett Arrives at Boat

After a car ride, train trip, two flights with delays and a rental car, he finally made it to Benevolence at 2:00am his time last night. He called and was ecstatic to report that everything looked exactly the same except the dinghy was in the water and the batteries were low. He was not so happy to report the cold. He started the propane stove and dug up some chocolate pudding to munch on. I laugh as I remember that pudding. I had bought 42 servings of the hand-pak puddings because Brett liked pudding. We had pudding coming out of our ears while underway. LOLHis main goal today is to charge the batteries and find out if they are still good and to monitor the wind generator. He thinks that the bilge pump under the engine might have been pumping and that is what drained the batteries.But there is no mold. No army of cockroaches. We didn't lose our teak boards in the cockpit that were left ot brave the hurricane. Benevolence is in good shape and Brett is enjoying his time away to refocus on his goals and remember how blessed we are to own such a beautiful boat.

More changes for us

Brett went down to check on our boat. He found her to be in great shape (thanks to Keith's help).

Positive Changes

We now have internet. I was able to find a modem through a cell phone company that I can travel with anywhere in the U.S. with so I am excited to stay in touch better, at least while we are in the U.S.

We decided to send Brett to the boat this next week for a checkup. The cold, wet weather has hit Oregon and it will be good for him to get out of it for a few days. We are both anxious about the condition of the boat's batteries and pumps. I will continue to work here in Oregon while he flies down there and back. He might also take her out for a test drive to see how the engine is running.

I miss my Palacios family much, but haven't heard from anyone lately. I hope they know they are forever deep in our hearts as our family and friends....

My aunt and uncle are replacing their home with a new one after thirty years. It's a huge undertaking and we're trying to help them when we can. Watching them pack their closest possessions into boxes and dig up all their loving plants reminds me of our own moving woes. Seeing them buy a new home sometimes makes my heart ache for a house but the boat is my home for now.

We have not been able to find a home for our cat and bird here in Oregon which breaks our heart. Especially because we had homes for them back in Texas. We may end up taking Benny back with us if we can't find a home. It is quite complicated to sail with an animal but we'd rather make adjustments for his happiness than to give him up to the humane society.

We're Still Here!

We're still here in Oregon. The weather is changing so much. I don't remember such a beautiful fall as we're having now. The trees' leaves have never been so red and gold. The air has never been so crisp. I love it. It has been very dry. Beautiful.

We talked with Keith this week and our boat is doing good.

We purchased an EPIRB for the boat. This is a position beacon if the boat goes down, it goes off and talks to satellites of our location. Then (hopefully) international groups get the signal and come find you. It's a huge security blanket for cruisers. It's one of those expensive devices on the boat you hope you never have to use. I was able to find one for an incredibly low price and it's brand new.

We've also changed our homeport on our documentation to Springfield, OR so our boat has our long time home on it. We've been wanting Oregon on it for a long time and it feels so good to have it changed.

I sent off our GPS to be repaired earlier this month and found out yesterday that they had mailed it back on the 9th so it sounds like it is lost in the mail. Unbelievable. But luckily, Garmin said they'd replace the unit if it was lost in the mail. Thank goodness.

Brett has slowed on his progress of stopping smoking. He ended up having a bad reaction to the Chantrix and had to stop taking it. But he is planning on trying it again in December before our big Christmas trip to Montana. We've planned a wonderful trip on the train to Whitefish, Montana for Christmas!! It will be so beautiful in the snow! Whitefish is close to the Glacier Natl Park. We are renting a car from the fabulous Duck Inn that I found online and hoping to drive to the park on one of the days we are there. I am hoping that Brett will go skiing at Big Mountain as well. We will be right on top of the resort and I can't see how he could pass it up! I am not a skiier but he is getting me a massage at a spa for my birthday there so I'll probably hang out at the spa and shop while he skiis. If he doesn't ski, we'll just go snowshoeing in Glacier Natl Park. We are SO excited. And feel SO spoiled. But Brett really wanted a special trip for him since he has worked SO hard these last two years.

WHITEFISH,MONTANA

I cut my hair. It is just above my shoulders. It was much shorter than I wanted but it's so much easier to take care of and it does look cute... I cried for a long time after I cut it but it really does look okay.

We had PFS week at work last week. Wednesday was Pepper Day so I pulled out my clay at 930pm and whipped up some cute little peppers! Then I attached them to satin cord and jump rings and made a matching set of pepper jewelry for the day. It was so much fun!

Our cabin has been getting invaded with Ladybugs for a week! I came home last Tuesday and found at least 200 ladybugs all over the ceiling and front door!!! It was incredible! I spent about an hour sweeping them up and throwing them out the back door. I came back from my walk and found another 50 or so to sweep out. Since then, we've had dozens regularly coming in. Brett's new cleaning duty is to "sweep the ladies". LOL

I have been getting ready for our jewelry shows coming up. I ended up cancelling the huge Portland show that was for two weekends. It was very stressful and very expensive. So I am trying to get into my old, small Leaburg bazaar that Grandpa and I used to do. I am hoping to also participate at the show at work.

We are very happy with our progress and can't wait to return to our adventure on Benevolence.

Update on our Boat and We're Commited

I talked with Keith yesterday, who watches our boat, and he said everything has been looking fine. He said that he was grateful that I called him about Hurricane Ike because when he reached the marina, even though our boats were safely tied, the water had risen considerably higher than during Gustave. Two other boats in the marina had sunk to the bottom. Yikes... He, again, commended Brett on his ability to tie the lines just right.

I purchased our airline tickets for January 6th to head back toward New Orleans. Brett was very happy to hear it. I seem to always need to convince him that I really am in this for the long haul, that I have chosen to live the boat life. Buying the tickets, again, confirmed to him that we are indeed headed back to our dream.

Keith was excited to hear that we would be heading back and arranged to have a cookout with us on our arrival. It made me feel warm inside to feel the hospitality of our friends in the South again. Even people who hardly know us...

I'll update again when I hear from him on the status of the interior and our batteries.

I have been researching some gear we are needing inlcuding an EPIRB and an autopilot.

The rain has started here in Oregon. The leaves have quickly turned color. It is so nice to know that we have a destination in a couple months to get away from the dreaded, dreary gray, wet winter that hits Oregon for so long.

I can't wait to begin preparing the boat to head offshore.

We are preparing for two huge shows to sell jewelry at. One is the Eugene Holiday Food and Gift Festival Oct 31-Nov 2 in Eugene at the fairgrounds and the other is for two, three day weekends in Portland at the Expo Center called AMERICA'S LARGEST CHRISTMAS BAZAAR. I am very nervous as they were a lot of money to get into, huge shows and because of the economy. But Brett feels confident about them. I have a ton of work to do to get ready for them.

Brett is doing ok with trying to stop smoking. The Chantrix made him sick so he quit taking it again. But he is trying so hard and seems to be doing really well. We both terribly miss our friends in Palacios... We always say, "Home is where the keel is" and we are excited to soon be heading home.