Long Time No Blog!

The Schapkers at Shroud Cay, Bahamas

  Hello again!!! It's been a couple weeks. It's been such a busy time getting back to land life. We've been adjusting. Oh, how we miss the Bahamas. I caught Scott looking at them today on Google map. I was very anxious to get back to the States & now I can't wait to get back to cruising. I miss sailing!! Our marina is great & we are fortunate to have friends here so it really does feel like our little community. I just miss being out on the water.
  So...what have we been up to? Well, as always there are a gazillion boat projects to do. As soon as we got back to the States our inverter malfunctioned. The inverter converts all of our solar power to usable energy...it's where we plug stuff in. Without it, we have no power. It also charges the batteries...it's a complicated system that I don't fully understand so I can't explain it very well. Luckily, we were at the marina within a few days of losing the inverter so we weren't without power for too long. After 2 days in the marina I woke up & put the coffee pot on the stove...no propane. We thought we just ran out but when Scott changed the tank over, still no propane. No propane, no stove. No coffee. CRISIS !! Scott got out our trusty "Nigel's Caulder Cruising Handbook" (Nigel Caulder is all-knowing of all things regarding sailboats) After a little reading Scott figured out what the problem was & went to the good ol' West Marine store to order the part....which took 5 days to get. Grumpy sailors without coffee in the morning. 
   We are very used to hot climates...we are from Phoenix after all. However, the heat-humidity combo here in Florida is awful. It is just down right Oppressive. As I mentioned in the last blog our friend Matt gave us an air conditioner. It is a life saver!!! Scott installed that immediately & I love him even more for his speedy handywork on that project.

Our new air conditioner

  We also bought a car!! It is soooo great to have the convienence of a vehicle!! Oh, the luxury!!! No more lugging groceries or laundry on our backs!!! SWEET! We are the proud owner's of a 1992 Mercedes. It has 180,000 miles on it...we think. The odometer doesn't work anymore. We love it. It runs great, it was well taken care of & still in good shape, and has A/C. It met all our requirements, most important..our budget of $1500. We are hoping to drive to Phoenix & back to Florida in this car so cross your fingers!  :)

Jib LOVES the car

 I've been working on getting a job for the summer at our old hospital, Phoenix Baptist. I found out yesterday that it's probably a go. Yay!! I'm so excited that I get to work with all my friends. A HUGE thank you to my friend Bridget for helping me make it happen. Love you girl !!!

  SO...that pretty much brings us up to date. Our next big adventure will be driving cross-country to Phoenix in the Benz. We are going to take our time...go camping, sight seeing, etc.
  I hope you will all stay tuned...Scott Michelle Voyage is an on-going journey. As soon as hurricane season is over we're off to the Caribbean!!! That will be some SERIOUS sailing!
Jeez.. I almost forgot to mention we've already been through our 1st tropical storm of the season..Mr. Beryl. We are still feeling the effects...the HUMIDITY, thunderstorms, etc.

Another squall passing over our marina. We've continued to have several a day since Beryl passed by

We also bought a TV! It's a 12 volt TV so perfect for the boat...once we got the antennae in place

Jib has never seen TV before. He was totally mesmerized by it for a few hours.

Our new bike

Scott riding our new bike home from Walmart. It wouldn't fit in the car.

We went on a bike ride lastnight...straight to the Fountain of Youth!



Scott & Jib enjoying the Florida surf. Look at our little guy...last time he was on this beach he wouldn't go near the water...now he's leading the way.

Love & Miss you !!!
P.S.   A big CONGRATULATIONS to the FRY family on the birth of your baby. Scott & I hope you had a wonderful delivery!!! Hopefully we can meet your bundle of joy when we are in Phoenix this summer. XXXOOO