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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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Boat Decommission Begins... :(

Bye Bye St Augustine....for now....

As planned...we left St Augustine 3 days ago & yesterday afternoon we arrived at our stopping point for hurricane season, Green Cove Springs Marina. It's a bit depressing. Before I start whining let me say a few positive things. The marina staff is outstanding & they do whatever they can to accommodate your needs. The prices for mooring balls, long term storage, etc., are extremely affordable...some of the cheapest in Florida. There are so many boats here that things seem to run very efficiently. Here comes the whining. I hate it here. I guess I was expecting something different after all the great things we've heard about this marina. 1st of all...It is not a marina. It's a boatyard. A nice one...as far as boatyards go....there are showers & a laundry. It's loud, busy, not in walking distance of any stores. There are tons of mosquitos too. We are now in the St John's River & the water is gross. It's brown & stinky. I'm glad we're pulling Malaika out of the water & she won't have to sit in this river while we go home. (to be fair...the water in the ICW & other rivers we've stayed in, is brown & stinky too...I just miss the crystal clear water of the Bahamas...spoiled.) Let me give you a 360.

 

One view from our boat...not too bad!

 

Turn your head slightly to the left and.....

Ok...a 180 instead of a 360. Who cares. After realizing that having a car here in Green Cove Springs is crucial we made arrangements to pick up our hooptee (piece of crap car) from St Augustine. Our good friend Greer drove 40 miles round trip to help us out. Thank You Greer!!!

1st stop...Auto Zone to find a fuel filter.

Once we got back home it was time to get to work. The next week we will be prepping Malaika to live without our constant supervision for a couple of months.

Starting to remove our sails. Stay sail...done.

Bye bye main sail....you made us proud.

 

Dang.....almost naked. :(

While Scott worked on the outside, I started on the inside. We have to basically tear the boat down & clean every surface before we leave her to face the elements without us.

Breaking down the Galley.

 

Every nook & cranny

We have about a week's worth of work ahead of us..then road trip to Arizona with a side stop in Memphis to visit family. It hasn't been all bad. Enjoy some pics from the trip up the ICW.

 

Flagler College in St Augustine

Passed this guy on the ICW...he started rowing in Key West....headed to St Augustine. Wowza.....that's a LONG way.

 

Pretty Florida ICW

 

The view from our boat in a random anchorage headed towards Green Cove

 

We don't share these waterways just with other sailboats!

And now...The Bridges Of Northern Florida ICW (Intra-Coastal Waterway)

 

 

One bridge after another.....

 

The next week will be filled with chores and then...the reward...heading home to see family & friends! Woo Hoo!!! I'll miss my Malaika though. Can't wait for November when we head back to the islands.

Love, Michelle, Scott & Jib

 

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Rainy Days & Mondays....

The South mooring field in St. Augustine, Florida

Well, we have almost made it to our final boat destination for hurricane season. We are back in a favorite place...St. Augustine, Florida. Last year we kept our boat here for the summer while we went home to Phoenix to work. It's a wonderful place & we love this town!! However, this summer we are hauling Malaika out of the water. A task that is not possible at our favorite Hidden Harbor Marina & is MUCH cheaper about 20 miles northwest in a little place called Green Cove Springs. It will take us 2 days to journey up the St. John's river to reach our resting spot for hurricane season. We plan on leaving in the morning....IF the weather gets better. The weather has been terrible for 3 days. We were able to leave our boat for the 1st time in 2 days today, thanks to a shuttle that is provided by the marina. It was too rough for the dinghy.

Jib on the shuttle pontoon boat. It doesn't look that rough but trust me...look at Jib's ears blowing in the wind.

 

Scott & our friend Nancy from s/v Pegasus on the shuttle basking in the warm weather of the "Sunshine State"

One project we needed to address these past few days was seeing what kind of shape our car was in. It has been safely parked at our old marina but...would it run? Remember, this car is 25+ years old. It has at least 180,000 miles on it...the odometer doesn't work anymore so who knows.

 

There she is...safe & sound. And dead as a door nail. P.S. this picture was taken several days ago...when the sky was still blue.

So, despite our friend's effort to recharge the battery...no go. After 2 days on the boat due to weather..today we said..who cares. Let's get off the boat. We have great rain jackets & a shuttle. Let's get the car running. Thanks to our friends Aaron & Greer @ Hidden Harbor Marina for lending us your car this afternoon. Scott did some research & the cheapest place to get our new battery was....

I wasn't sure if I was ready. We haven't been in an American warehouse of "stuff" in months. We've been in the little ma & pop stores of the islands...where you get what ever is available that week. Where romaine lettuce cost $6...if they have it.

Wwhhhaatttt??

 

SOOO much stuff...SOOO cheap!! Definetely back in the USA.

I was a bit overwhelmed...and thankful that since we could only buy as much as we could carry (in our backpack) I didn't have to make too many choices. Whew. Gotta ease back into this...slow...

Scott changing out batteries. Notice how in this old beast, the ENORMOUS battery is in the trunk?

Scott turning over the engine....YAY!! It worked!

The good news is that the battery seems to be the problem with the car! It still sputters a little but Scott thinks that's a fuel filter problem so we should be able to fix that too. Now....if we can just get that A/C working......

Love & Miss everybody!!

Michelle, Scott & Jib

 

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Welcome Home?

Give Peace A Chance

Wowza. Our 1st few days back in these United States have been packed full of adventure and now as we get the news out of Boston...sadness. WHY???? I'm very glad to be heading home to see our friends & families but if I had kids...I would just keep on sailing far far away. This place is just too crazy.

Those of you who follow us on Facebook know that last night we were confronted by a TORNADO!! OMG!! The "tornado" never actually developed but the high winds, torrential rain, & never ending lightning brought this sailor to tears. Jeez...it's sooo scary when you live on a boat & the weather is out of control. There's nowhere to run...no safe zone....just cross your fingers & hope for the best. And thankfully...that's what happened last night. The storm passed over & we were fine. Physically. Took some rum therapy to go to sleep.

42...and can still stop traffic. Bwahahahaha!!

We continued our trek heading north on the ICW along the coast of Florida today & are now in Titusville.

This is really a great place for boaters to hangout for a few days. We are on a mooring ball which for $15 allows us to enjoy all the marina amenities which include Internet, showers, great marina store, and BEST of all.....a DOG PARK!!!! Jib was in absolute heaven this afternoon after being stuck on the boat for several days.

Jib's new pit bull buddies.

Jib hates mooring balls...he growls at them. ?

 

We're going to stay here again tomorrow & go play on that island you see above. Island therapy is always good for the soul. :) and it's already been too long.

Love--Michelle, Scott & Jib

 

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