Stocking Up

Spent the day with my fellow Boat Divas which magically turned into Elves at Costco. I love it when a friend has a hook up, like a costco membership. 

I left here with my list of items I scoped out on a previous trip. I had a plan and I had my game face on. Thank goodness my Elves where there to bring me back to reality and make me go down each isle, picking on me and cracking jokes each step of the way. It really helped with the anxiety that was building. 

By cash out time the baskets looked like this 

Can you guess the grand total? 

Only $124 of it didn't belong to me. I think we will be fine for the trip down. At least when it concerns food. 

Three dock carts later and the girls pushing me to give them more items to divid out and put in ziplocks, most of it was all stowed away, somewhere. I might need to make a map to remind me of where it is but its on the boat. 

Tomorrow will be another fun filled day of more running around preparing to leave on Wednesday. Fun fun fun

Final Days

Okay the final days are here. Monday is the big stock up day. Tuesday is Steve' last day at work. Wednesday, we plan on filling propane and water then head to Galveston. A front is expected to come in on Thursday, so we will head out very early to try to be in front of it. Exciting Times!  

Ready or Not we are leaving. We will post on the blog when we get there. 

New Ring made by Steve with Love 

Words of wisdom

Week and half left

We have a week and one day left until Steve' last day of work. After that we will leave for Galveston. Steve' car was sold and our neighbor plans on buying mine, which is a great solution for us because it allows us to have one car until next week. 

This week is seeing friends and waiting for next week. My daughter came down this weekend. It was so good to see her one last time. Its not as if we wont see her again but this adventure has its unknowns and its always good to spend time with loved ones. 

We had some interesting fortune cookies. 

Giving Notice

Well Steve give his two week notice today. So basically its down to our last two weeks of regular life. Not much on our list left. Mostly, just getting the provisions for the 5-10 day trip there. I think its best to wait until the last week for that since it will fill our boat to the brim. 

Sails and new Bimini are back from the shop. Once again Steve surprises me with his design. I really questioned his Bimini idea but it looks good. It is removable for high winds, yet still covers nicely. He even included the back but I dont have a picture of it.   

Well until next week my friends.  

Going Away Party

Wow what a great party last night. Sure made us feel very loved. Steve didn't feel much last night but this morning he felt the room spinning and loved. Lol. He couldn't believe how everyone came out to see us one more time before we leave. People that we have shared our plans and dreams with since the beginning. It was awesome!  

We want to thank everyone for all the warm wishes and for coming to share a hot, steamy night with us filled with bug bites galore. Nothing like a summer night in Texas. We are going to enjoy every drink of all the great bottles of wine, champaign and liquor.  All of you have set us up for a good year of entertaining all the new friends we will meet along the way. We even have supplies and recipes from some seasoned cruisers. How awesome is that?!  They have already shared some very valuable information on cruising. We love the boating community; Never have we experience the love and acceptance as we have with it. 

We know that not everyone can do what we are about to do and for that we feel that we are not only doing it for us but for all the others. We all have a road to take in this life. We hope we encourage others to live life to the fullest on whatever road they are on. 

Unfortunately, we didn't take pictures but a few friends did, thank goodness. Here are just a few.  

Steve and his mom (Jean Boyd)

Oh Good Times!

Thanks again to all

Four Weeks and Counting

Well down to the last month before departure. Everyone asks if we are excited, "Uh Yeah!"   Our whole life is about to change drastically.  Im full of all kinds of emotions: excited, scared, anxious, happy, frankly emotionally exhausted.

The first week of October we will sail and anchor in Galveston somewhere and wait for the perfect weather window. Hopefully that will give us a little time to get calmed down and get more of a taste of what like will be like living anchored out. We will not have a car or a phone. We will have to dinghy to shore and walk to the store if we need supplies. 

No need to worry about Fairlane on board.  She  potties on the forward deck.  We just rinse her potty grass off. 

We have given our notice to the Marina. Steve will give his notice at work two weeks before October. Our cars are in the process of being sold. Transportation is a bit tricky. We might have to ask favors of friends or ride our bikes to where we need to go. 

We have requested a TIP (temporary import permit) which is regarded for Mexico. We will also need to get a Zarpe.  That is basically an exit form. Letting our first port' country know where we have come from. Oh and we have also requested fishing license from Mexico. 

We have copies of all important forms with them backed up on the computer and flash drives. We are taking two laptops and an ipad. One will be kept in watertight container for backup. We have a small portable printer, as well as 3 terabytes of back up storage for movies and music. 

I have bought silica gel packets and containers to put in our cabinets and with our electronic devices to help with the moisture we have been warned about. I have also started collecting things to trade with. I bought a case of toothbrushes that are individually wrapped and fishing hooks. A friend gave me a carton of cigarettes and some jeans. Lol I hope those are wanted for trade. When we go to remote islands the locals like to trade produce and lobsters for items. Not everyone trades but we thought it was a good idea to try and save some cash. 

Next Saturday is the big party to say good bye to everyone. I hope to see everyone there. Its Saturday, the 6th, at 7pm, Waterford Marina Pavilion.