ROAD TRIP!!!

Jib's ready to roll in our fancy rental car

It's that time of year again when Malaika's crew packs it up & drives cross country to Phoenix...our other home. We've been pretty busy the past couple of weeks packing up Malaika & getting her ready to be alone for awhile.

Scott already revarnished all the teak & it looks amazing. We cleaned out and painted many of the lockers which gave us a chance to do some spring cleaning. Sometimes 38 feet seems so small but when you clean out all the lockers, it's amazing what you can fit on a boat! After you get it all out & sort through it....gotta get it all back in there.

Stuffing it back in

 

We pulled Malaika out of the water this past Monday because she needs to have some work done this summer.

We were pretty shocked at the growth of grossness on our prop after only 6 short weeks in the San Sabastian river.

Once we do this the clock starts ticking. It is not fun to live on the boat when it's "on the hard". First of all, it's extremely difficult for Jib to get on & off the boat. He has to climb a huge ladder. Going up for him is easy but going down is almost too hard. Scott actually started carrying Jib down on his shoulders. I was impressed. Jib weighs 80 pounds & it's not like it's a flight of stairs...it's a ladder! I didn't take pictures because I didn't want to distract either one of them. Those of you who know Jib know he can be a little spazy sometimes but he was so calm on Scott's shoulders 15 feet up in the air going down a ladder. The trust he has in Scott really showed in those moments. Anyway, we cleaned the boat up, locked the hatches and hit the road. What a luxury this year to have a rental car instead of our old junker that had no air, no functioning electrical things like windows. We found this deal called "Drive out of Florida". Many rental car companies want to relocate their cars at this time of year. The deal is we get the rental car for 21 days for 9.99/day with unlimited mileage. Scott has to return the car in Memphis on June 4th. We left Florida on Wednesday & as I type this we are driving through Tucson , Arizona. We're not headed to Phoenix just yet though. First stop....

To our condo in Rocky Point Mexico! Ole' !! Very excited. We're only 4 hours away now. We will go to Phoenix Sunday or Monday.

So the adventures continue. Scott has to leave soon to have the rental in Memphis by June 4th so we have to pack in a lot of fun & reunions quickly. I am going to stay in Phoenix for the summer & work. Once again I have the good fortune of working with all my friends at Phoenix Baptist Hospital.

So, that's pretty much it for now. Enjoy some pics from the past few weeks..

Jib loves hotels. He gets his own big bed!

 

Pirate Ships

 

Replica of David at Ripley's Believe Or Not

 

Dinghy rides

 

Finally got to meet the manatee that lives near our Marina.

Flagler College in St Augustine

 

Random frog on the sidewalk

 

Beach time

Can't wait to see everybody!! We have missed our families so much. Let the fun begin!

Love, Michelle, Scott & Jib

 

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Goodbye St. Augustine...For Now

On the blog again! Omg! It's been awhile. We've been having a great time in St. Augustine.....our home away from home. Plus working hard on the boat. Scott has already redone the varnish. The teak looks amazing.

 

This is by far one of my favorite towns. Yay!! St Augustine! We are leaving tomorrow. Boo!

Jib loves his momma

I will miss this place sooooo much.

 

 

 

Jib now... All grown up...

 

Jib before...just a lil' guy

 

Malaika's home for the summer. Ugh....I'll miss you

 

Have a great day! We love all the momma's in our life. Xxxooo

M

 

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Spring Has Sprung!

 

My Easter Lily

Oh my goodness!! It's been 3 weeks since we left the Bahamas. We're starting to plan out our summer. As usual, there are MANY boat projects to be done before next season. It never ends. We have a new problem that I don't want to talk about cuz' we have to talk to our insurance company first....ugh. It's starting to look like I'm going to work again in Phoenix at my most favorite hospital...Phoenix Baptist..I feel so lucky to AGAIN have the chance to work at PBH. It's just sooo great to have that opportunity to work with friends that I've worked with for 10-20 years.

Meanwhile, we're just breaking down the boat....cleaning, repairing, repainting, etc.... Spring Cleaning!

New Beautiful Freshly Painted Anchor Locker

 

Before....

 

After...

We had a lovely Easter in St. Augustine. Beautiful Mass, then, a really fun party at the Marina.

 

 

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Home Is Where The Heart Is

 

It's Palm Sunday! We went to a lovely Mass this morning at the Basilica....the oldest Parish in America..

I miss the islands but it also feels good to be tucked in at Hidden Harbor Marina in St. Augustine, Fl.

Things seem so easy on the boat when there is unlimited water, electricity, internet..etc. Its hard to believe we left Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas 2 weeks ago. I'm still in awe of how fast time has gone by.

Before

We've been doing really fun stuff like cleaning out the anchor locker.

After

 

Oh yeah....and the good times just continue cleaning out the bilge....(the hull)

 

Neighbors!!

 

Oh...how I miss it....

 

God bless everyone this Holy Week. Love & miss you !!!!

Xxxxxoooo

 

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Bye Bye Bahamas......Hello U.S.A!!!

We spent our last day in the Bahamas on our own private island

Time goes by so fast. I can hardly believe we're back in the U.S. While we do feel a little sad about leaving the islands, we are VERY excited to see friends & family. It will still be awhile before we get to Phoenix but the long trek home is in full swing. We have been traveling for almost a week now. We left Green Turtle last Monday & did a short little 4 hour hop to an uninhabited island called Crab Cay. We just wanted one more day to hang on the beach with Jib.

We had the whole island to ourselves

 

Scott knocking coconuts out of the tree

 

One of them broke open when it fell....yum.

We left Crab Cay at first light headed for Florida.

28 hours later we arrived in Ft. Pierce. Ugh. We were pretty tired. We had a great crossing though. We weren't able to sail but the seas we're calm which is a bonus. We just chugged along hour by hour. Scott had all his fishing lines out (he has 4) but all we caught were 4 barracudas. Barracuda often carry ciguatera so we just tossed them back in. We've had enough of that this year!

When we got settled in Ft. Pierce we took Jib to a little island right across the anchorage. After 30+ hours stuck on the boat Jib was soooo happy to run.

While in Ft Pierce we got see some dear friends...Patrick & Marilyn drove up from Stuart, Fl. to see us. It was a lovely afternoon. It's always so awesome to see the crew from Jawbone. Love you guys so much! Then on Thursday, our buddy Andy, who we traveled with for several months our 1st year, also had the chance to see each other. It was fabulous. We hadn't seen each other in 2 years. We first met Andy in Connecticut way back when we first bought Malaika & our paths have kept crossing ever since. Andy let us use his car so we could go to customs & also the grocery store, which was awesome because we were out of everything.

We ended our evening reuniting with Dana & Matt from s/v Corsair who had just come from their crossing. As usual, good times! We'll miss you!

We plan on being at the dock in St Augustine at Hidden Harbor Marina by Monday afternoon. And then....the boat projects begin. Gotta' get ready for next season!!

Home.

So, stay tuned! The adventures will continue!!

Love & miss everybody!

Michelle, Scott & Jib

 

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