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Wowza! I didn't realize it had been 2 weeks since I've done a blog. It's been a VERY busy time AND a time of big transition. I find these big transitions very stressful which leaves me completely uninspired to write. I don't want to do a blog when I feel cranky & freaked out. Anyways.....so much has happened these past 2 weeks! Let's play catch up!

Bare Bones Malaika

Despite much planning on our part, getting Malaika hauled out took the entire day. We were scheduled to be hauled at noon on May 9th. We moved her off the mooring ball & over to the dock the day before...stripped her of her sails & enclosure, packed up the inside....Ready.To.Go! Not so much. The marina/boatyard overbooked & was running WAY behind. We sat in the blistering sun all afternnoon & were finally hauled at 4:30pm.

Malaika FINALLY out of the water.

By the time they got her to the boat yard & safely on the stands it was 8:00pm. No time to be tired! We cant stay on Malaika when she's in storage. 1st of all, it's not allowed at the boatyard & more importantly, there is no way for Jib to get on & off the boat. So...after 12 long hours of boatyard mayhem, our cross country road trip began. At 8:30pm we headed out of Florida sweaty, smelly, & totally exhausted.

Malaika's home for the summer.

We drove through the night as long as we could but by 2am we had to call it quits. So....we pulled over & stayed in our 1st cheap hotel of the road trip....our car. That's right. We slept in the car at a rest stop ( a 1st for me) for 4 hours & then pushed ahead to New Orleans.

It was pouring down rain for our 2 day stay in New Orleans but no matter! You have to be a real fun hater not to have fun in that place! Of course, there are tons of bars, but there is also TONS of history & great architecture. We had a really good time.

 

 

New Orleans Grub...YUMMY!!!

 

Cheap Hotel #2

We left New Orleans at 1am....I guess I forgot to mention that we had to drive at night because our luxury vehicle does not have A/C. So...heading further west to Texas! Scott found a really nice camping area Just outside of Luling, Texas. Palmetto State Park. It really was beautiful & a refreshing change of scenery. We haven't been in the woods/forest in a long time so it was fabulous.

I have some beautiful pics of the camp ground but for some reason, I can't get them to download. I'll post them another day.

So after 5 days, 5 states, & 3 time zones, we're in our home away from Malaika....Phoenix. It's hot as H.E. Double Hockey Sticks, but great to be home. The family fun begins!

Love & Miss everybody! Hope y'all stay tuned to the blog. While we're having fun in Phoenix....Malaika is always on our mind & our boat project planning for next season has begun.

 

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The Long Road Home

Hey Everybody! We're still here! Sorry no blog for a week...it's been a little crazy. Hmmm...where do I start?! So after getting the car running (with our new battery) we settled into our boat projects at Green Cove Springs Marina. Last Friday Scott changed the fuel filter on our car & it was running GREAT after that. No more sputtering. While he worked on the car I did 7 weeks worth of laundry. What a blast! We drove to town & hit the Walmart for one last grocery run before we move off Malaika. Sunday we decided to go to church. The church we wanted to go to was about 15-20 miles away back in St Augustine. No biggie. It's a really pretty drive.

San Sebastion Catholic Church

Nice church, good Mass...time to go home. We made it about 5 minutes & the car started lurching forward as if running out of gas, only the tank was full. The lurching motion became more pronounced & then the car just shut off. Everything. Luckily, there was a place to turn off the highway & we had enough momentum to get safely parked. Grrrr... What to do?! We literally signed up with AAA the night before but I wasn't sure if the transaction had gone through since it was Saturday AND where are they going to tow us on a Sunday? We decided to call our friend Aaron to see if he could help us. He said he could but it would be at least an hour before he could head our way. Scott gave me the option to stay with the car or walk to the nearest gas station & pick up some oil. I opted for the walk. The nearest gas station was about a mile away. So I'm just strolling along the grassy shoulder of the highway about 3/4 of the way there, when a police car pulls over. I thought, "Awesome! Maybe he'll give me a ride". I was totally shocked to be met with hostility. He immediately started interrogating me as if he just caught me doing something illegal and asked me for ID. While "checking out" my ID he put me in the BACK OF THE POLICE CAR!!! And that's where I sat for several minutes until he hopped in the car. After a little more harassment, he drove me to the gas station. It was kinda awful. I didn't dare walk back to the car so our friend Aaron picked me up.

Aaron & Scott trouble-shooting

The guys started with the basics first. We charged the battery & presto! The car started right up....for about 30 seconds & then died again. It was the alternator. Totally kaputz. Good times. We left the car where it was until Scott & Aaron could come back later & tow it to a friends house. We just surrendered to the situation, ordered the part, & thanks to the hospitality of Greer & Aaron, we had a place to stay.

Thank You Greer & Aaron from Hidden Harbor Marina for everything you have done for us!

The next day we go to pick up the part & they accidentally sent us the core of an old dead alternator. OMG!! I thought my head might explode! Greer had already let us use her car all day (we took Jib to the beach) & then told us we could keep it over night so we could go back to Green Cove & check on Malaika. This story is getting long...we had the alternator replaced by one of Aaron's friends & then went out to celebrate the end of car drama & ended up staying at our friends again. Yesterday morning, we woke up bright & early to get home only to find a completely flat tire. The rim on our spare did not actually fit on the wheel so Scott had to use Aaron's truck again to go get the original tire fixed. Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!

We're home now. It's been raining non-stop for hours & hours. Flood warnings issued. Floods don't really matter too much when you live on a boat that's still in the water but it limits what we can do...

Oh yeah...I dropped my phone in the river. The perfect end to a few fabulous days.

At least we got to go to the beach for the first time in awhile. So happy for Jib. Even being stopped by the police AGAIN on the beach couldn't spoil that lovely morning. Jib didn't have a leash on. Scott was hassled a bit, ID handed over, background checked, written warning issued. In less than 24 hours Scott & I were both "entered into the system". Our friend said we need to get the hell out of Florida before we get in real trouble!

Missing the Bahamas.

Love--Michelle, Scott & Jib

 

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