On the Way

We're on the way to Key Largo. Left Bismarck on Thursday with hopes of getting to somewhere around Omaha on our way to see Tom in Augusta, GA. We made it to Sterling and had a flat tire!!! The tire was toast, so we changed it and headed back to Bismarck to see about repair and/or purchase. Someone told me there's a recession going on, but we had to go to three different tire stores before we could get someone to look at it because they were so busy. Finally, OK Tire said they'd check it out. Long story short, after a new tire and an additional 2 hours in town, we set out again at about 10:30am. We kept moving anyway and did make it to Omaha, but much later than we'd hoped for.

The next day we made it to St Louis for a visit with our God Daughter Ann Baltzer. We met her at her new restaurant find the "shaved duck". Food was great and it was nice to visit with Ann and her roommate Katie.

The following day October 29th we made it to Atlanta and met Tom there so we could do some sightseeing with him. Today the 30th, we went to the Atlanta Aquarium and the World of Coca Cola. Had a great time playing tourist, but it must have been too much work for Tom and Marilyn, because they're currently taking naps. Weather has been cooperating, but we haven't seen any extemely warm weather. We hope to leave for Key Largo on Wednesday the 2nd with maybe a couple of stops on the way. We're both really excited to see what things look like at the boat yard, so we'll let you know when we get there.

Well we actually purchased "9 Lives", but things didn't exactly go as we had them planned. After the survey and purchase, we decided to have it moved from Sarasota to Key Largo and have it hauled out for the summer season. Bill Ware, the broker that we dealt with, was also licensed to move vessels, so we had him do the move. What should have taken about three day turned out to take almost a week. They had fuel problems and had to stop at least 2 times to try and resolve the situation. After replacing a few lines and a fuel pump, the problem seems to be resolved. I guess we'll see once we are able to use the boat ourselves.

Plans are to head south on October 27, 2011. We will head for Key Largo by way of Augusta, GA in order to see our son Tom who is stationed at Fort Gordon with the Navy. After a short visit, we'll travel the last 600 miles to Key Largo. We have an apartment set up for about two weeks while we work on the boat and get it ready to put back in the water. During this entire summer we've been working to get to this point with no help from mother nature. The flooding on the Missouri river is another whole story the needs an entire blog just to explain what happened there. Suffice it to say that our house didn't get wet. However, we were out of the house from June through August because we didn't have road access. We're back in now and things are well. Still things to be done, but nothing that can't wait until next spring, since most of the repairs are to yard and landscaping. Once we get settled, I hope I can be a little more religious with updates on our travel and activities.

THE PURCHASE IS UNDERWAY

Although it hasn't been finalized yet, we are in the process of purchasing "Nine Lives" which is a 34' Gemini catamaran. We still have to complete a survey of the boat, which is similar to a "home inspection" and do a sea trial before the deal is closed. Somewhere in that process, I guess we have to give them some money too.

We're not sure when we'll be able to get onboard to actually start doing what we want with the boat. Plans are to either move it from Sarasota, FL, or have it moved to Key Largo, FL. That will probably take place sometime the end of April or the first part of May. We plan to leave it on a mooring in Key Largo when we're using it in that area. We will either leave it on the mooring or haul it out onto land when we return to North Dakota for the summer. Since summer is almost here, at least according to the calendar, not a according to the snow on the ground right now, we probably won't get on the boat for any long period of time until next Fall and/or Winter. All of these things will take time to put in place and we also need to decide what to do with our home in Bismarck. We're excited and at the same time a little apprehensive about this whole new adventure. Our biggest hope is that all of our friends and family will come and visit us from time to time and that they'll keep in communication through this blog or by email.

A TASTE OF ALASKA

I just returned from attending the CruiseOne National Conference aboard Celebrity Cruise Line's "Mercury". Although this ship has been in their fleet for awhile, it is still in very nice shape. All areas of the ship were clean and bright.

Although we only did the inside passage of Alaska going as far north as the Hubbard glacier, we saw spectacular scenery and wild life. The inside passage presents a good introduction to Alaska at a more reasonable cost compared to a one-way cruise or cruise tour which has higher airfares and increased costs due to the land portion of the trip. Granted, there is much of Alaska that you don't get to see doing only the inside passage. However, it will expose you to the state and probably help you decide if you want to go further and see more the next time you visit.

Whale watching out of Juneau was probably the highlight of the trip. I tend to be a little skeptical about these types of shore excursions. However, this adventure through Orca Whale Watching, Inc. was a gem. I never realized that whales were such creatures of habit. they took us right to the area where they were feeding and provided many opportunities for viewing including one that actually breached. This is one of those must do shore excursions.

There are many opportunities and itineraries to cruise in Alaska. You can cruise for 7 days or be gone for almost a month depending on how much you'd like to see and spend. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.