After a wonderful evening on the beach at Little Bay we were rudely awakened the next morning by barking dogs and then the painful yelping of a dog in pain. Apparently a pack of local dogs, “potcakes“, turned on one of the pack. The injured dog retreated to the safety of the water and stayed there while the pack waited patiently ashore. There was not a lot we could do from the boat so I jumped in the dinghy and raced towards shore. The pack went crazy, barking and charging the dinghy. I raced at full speed parallel to the beach and the pack followed at full tilt. The diversion worked as the injured dog ran off to the relative safety of the scrub brush. I ran the dogs up and down the beach several times. They soon tired of this game and laid down to rest. Needless to say Goliath didn’t get his beach walk that morning.

Potcakes are very personable dogs and are very mild mannered but the Bahamians let them run wild and I guess it doesn’t take long for their instincts to resurface.

A short sail away was another the Anchorage of White Point. It was a bust as the reefs were nonexistent, the beach unproductive (no beans or shells) and surge reappeared after dark.

Once more we moved south, staging for our trip south in Exuma Sound to Georgetown. Anchored near Galiot Cut south of Big Farmers Cay, we explored and snorkeled. We dinghied over to Big Farmers to do some shelling. As we made our approach to the beach we noticed sand dollars in about three feet of water. Donning our snorkel gear Mary and I finned our way along the beach. Every so often we would scoop up a sand dollar or two. Small fish swam around us and we observed anemones in the sand. They would retract into the sand as we would reach out our hands. It was a very cool way of “strolling” the beach and we had a great time. The water was relatively warm for this time of year.

As evening fell I knew that the snappers and other larger predatory fish would be leaving their shelters and start foraging. While we were anchored in 10′ of water our stern reached almost to the channel edge where the current ran and the water was much deeper. I rigged one of my light spinning reels with a chunk of mahi (not any of the good parts) and tossed it into the current. Less than a minute later, line was zipping off the reel. A quick set of the hook and the fight was on. I managed to hold the fish for awhile before it would strip more line. Slowly I began making headway as it tired. With the light fading I pulled the leader to the swim platform and saw the largest mutton snapper I had ever seen. We gaffed it and brought on board.

It weighed in at ten pounds, I could swear it was a lot more than that!!!

It was quickly cleaned and as scraps and blood were washed over the side more fished showed up. Jacks would swoop in a grab the scraps. I tossed the remaining carcass overboard. The jacks nibbled at it persistently until, sensing danger, they scattered. A shark, no more than five feet, made one pass, circled and with lightening quickness grabbed the carcass and was gone. Seconds later it was back for more but there was none, so eventually he left. Upon his departure the jacks returned so I baited up and tossed it in. Quickly I had a large Horse Eye Jack

This fish was much stronger than the snapper. He peeled off line at an alarming rate. I slowed him down as he pulled parallel of our port side. He turned and crossed the stern and then went up the starboard side. Again I turned him and brought him back across the stern. I was able to get him relatively close but as I tried to leader him to the platform he saw me and made a run for it, breaking off as he went. Oh well, I really didn’t want to clean another fish.

Morning broke and we weighed anchored for our trip to Georgetown. About a dozen boats were to make this trip and nobody seemed anxious to be first out the cut. The tide was briskly ebbing against an easterly breeze. This sets up a “rage” or a wild mixture of steep waves against the current. It can be quite dangerous when going against the current but going with it can be quite exciting. Soon we were breaking through the waves at over ten knots! It doesn’t last long but it is exciting. Some accurately describe it as sailing in a washing machine.

After exiting the rage we set our rhumb line for Georgetown. Heading south we noticed darkening skies to the East. No squalls were forecast but these sure looked like rain. We needed to watch these clouds. I went below for a “break”. Mary hollered something at me but I couldn’t make it out. Then I heard her say something and I picked out the word, waterspout! That’s not a good thing and as I stuck my head out the companionway we she pointed to port.

The spout would form, turn white with captured water, then recede, then form again. This went on for twenty minutes and finally ended as it passed over Rudder Cay. It came very close (200 yards) to our buddy boat “Camelot” but we were well ahead of it. Many of the boats behind us got a lot of rain but no one else was in danger.

At least we were rewarded with a nice rainbow.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and produced no fish.

Our stay in Georgetown was short. There were perhaps 300 boats or more anchored there and the crowd didn’t interest us. We provisioned, filled with water and moved south in Elizabeth Harbor to a favorite spot where he snorkeled our favorite reefs and anchored for the evening.

Surprisingly, I have been enjoying my role as “tour leader” for our two buddy boats. We have known Gary and Marcia on Camelot and Tom and Lisa on Symmetry for most of our cruising years but you never know how things will work out when we you’re with people for weeks on end. I think they appreciate my enthusiasm and love of the Bahamas. We have been having a great excursion.

I’ve given up on blog updates until we get back to the States. Some of you, my loyal readers, insist on more pictures and fewer words. Words are hard enough to upload, pictures almost impossible.

This trip has been spent in more remote areas and less time in those civilized realms of the past. I can tell you that we are having a great time. The fishing has been much better than usual, shelling has returned after the storms of the past and for some reason sea beans are plentiful.

We are currently waiting out ugly weather in Rock Sound, Eleuthera. From here we will cross Exuma Sound back to the northern Exumas. From there we will make our way back to the U.S., picking Ft. Pierce as our port of entry. We should be home the first part of April.

I will update the blog then with lots of pictures and wild tales of daring and adventure.

TTFN

There are some things you don’t do enough in this cruising life and one of those is sail! Generally there is not enough wind, or too much wind from the wrong direction but so far, once in the Exumas we have had great wind from the right direction.

On our trip from Shroud to Warderick we had wind at about twenty knots (24 mph) from the east. On a beam reach we scooted along at 8.5 knots or almost 10 mph! Woowhoo!!! For us that is flying.

Exuma Land and Sea Park is a protected marine sanctuary. A “no take zone” meaning nothing alive or dead may be taken, not even a shell. The north anchorage is absolutely beautiful. A deep channel bordered by very shallow sand bars greets you and is intimidating if you haven’t picked up a mooring there before. Not a lot of room to maneuver.

We dove on several reefs and were amazed at the abundance of life. The fish were especially amazing. Schools of Margates shyly stayed out of our way while huge lane snappers peered from the holes at the bottom of the reef. I peered in one hole and saw a lobster leg the size of a stout tree branch. I dove again and there hiding in his cavern was the largest lobster I have ever seen. It had to have been almost three feet long without the antenna. Amazing! Several other holes held many more large lobsters.

We stayed four nights and then sailed (yes sailed again) to Big Majors Spot near Staniel Cay. Famous for its swimming pigs we took the dinghy over and said hello.

You can’t stop here without a visit to Thunderball Grotto. A prop used in the James Bond thriller “Thunderball” the cave is spectacular. We dove in the late afternoon and there so many fish. The coral was also lit up as if it was neon! Very cool. Too bad my camera had STB!

We have since moved on to Blackpoint, only six miles to the south. A favorite stop of ours, we broke our low carb diet with a loaf of Lorraine’s moms coconut bread which lasted less than 24 hours.

An uncomfortable surge moved into the anchorage for Super Bowl Sunday so we passed on the festivities and moved around the corner to Little Bay. It was calm and beautiful.

We hiked around and found a secluded beach loaded with sea beans. It’s like finding treasure. The day was capped off with a bonfire on the beach. We lead a rough life.

Several days after returning to Bimini the weather turned awesome and we left once again for the Exuma chain of islands. Light winds meant motoring but after our last attempt it was treat to motor contently in nothing more than a light wind driven chop.

By late afternoon we passed our previous point where we turned around. In the distance was rainbow. I tuned on radar and could seen a precipitation echo which showed that the rain was right over our intended anchorage. Pretty cool!

The night, anchored on the banks, was calm and by daylight we were once again on our way. After passing through Northwest Channel the fishing poles were deployed and we entered the calm Tongue of the Ocean, a very deep body of water separating the Grand Bahama Banks from the Exuma Bank.

As we motored along we heard a squeal over the VHF. “What was that?” I asked. Mary wasn’t sure but we soon found out it was Marcia on Camelot announcing they had caught a fish. We had seen Mahi on the surface but none had hit our spread. Later that afternoon I spotted another Mahi swimming slowly near the surface. This time it streaked over and took one lure. Both my fish and Gary’s were small but they produced enough meat for a feast for six with left overs for two other meals.

The night was spent at West Bay on New Providence Island. I cleaned the fish there and had a nice group of snapper and jacks in the water below the boat. I caught one snapper and added it to our fish stash.

The following morning we motored to Norman’s Cay. Anchoring in the west anchorage in calm waters we settled in for a beautiful night at anchor. The next day we dinghied to our little palm island (the masthead of the blog) and collected some shells and a few sand dollars. We dove on the sunken plane and it was as striking as ever. I have to apologize for no pictures at Norman’s. It seems I dropped the “waterproof” camera overboard and it rested nicely on the bottom 11′ down. Well, it wasn’t so waterproof after all. It no longer works. Bummer!

Some squalls moved through the area and the wind picked up. Camelot had left their hatches open so off they went to close up the boat. We, along with Tom and Lisa, pushed on in the dinghies to explore some more. We found some nice conch shells that had died a natural death. We continued to another beach where we hit the sand dollar bonanza. In waist deep water we found almost a hundred sand dollars of all sizes.

The weather continued to look ugly so we headed back to the boat. Our serene anchorage was rocking in the west wind. We decided to head for Shroud Cay, six miles to the south and hide behind the Cay near Little Pigeon Cay. Surge from the northwest was prevalent all night but we were protected from the wind.

We explored some of the mangrove channels, one of our favorite pastimes, on the south end of Shroud. The iron shore is always quite beautiful and a small pristine beach invited us for a visit.

The north channel at Shroud is a long haul from the anchorage but we slogged our way through fairly rough chop.

The channel connects to a beautiful lagoon guarded by a reef from Exuma Sound.

Tomorrow we head for Warderick Wells, the main part of the Exuma Land and Sea Park.

The excitement built after thirteen days in Bimini. We were going to actually leave! The weather was not perfect but the winds held promise of a southerly shift so we decided to go. The three of us (Marylee, Symmetry and Camelot) left Thursday morning (Jan 16) and headed for the southerly route onto the Great Bahama Bank. Within several hours the winds were light and the trip was pleasant. Passing Mackie Shoal to the north the wind did indeed begin its shift to the South and with a few more degrees we would be sailing. It was not meant to be. The wind backed and began to increase from the East. With the increase in wind the seas began to build.

I have never seen a catamaran bounce as wildly as Symmetry was bouncing that afternoon. The monohulls were plowing through the now 2′ to 4′ seas but Symmetry was hobby-horsing all over the place. We were no seeing winds near 20 knots and the chop mixed with the very short period waves became uncomfortable and impeding our forward progress significantly. I checked our course to our intended anchorage and although only eleven miles away it would take four hours to get there.

The VHF carried our constant traffic back and forth on what to do. It was finally decided to turn around and return to Bimini. Anchoring in this crap was not an option.

The downwind run was uneventful with an ETA of 2315 back at Bimini Sands. As we approached Bimini the lights were disconcerting. My depth perception was shot as we tried to track our route into the harbor. The current and wind kept pushing me north as I tried to figure exactly where I was. I almost clipped the green floating marker and drifted again to far north of the channel. At the last moment I could make out the north rock jetty and narrowly powered into the calm waters barely missing the submerged rocks.

We slipped into our previous slip, made sure everyone was tied up and then after an hour of decompression fell fast asleep.

A massive front passed yesterday afternoon (Jan 17) along with an impressive squall line. It has turned cold but the forecasters say winds will abate and we should be able to leave Saturday for the Exumas.

It doesn’t take long to get out of your routine and one thing about life on a boat is that is routine. Up at dawn, check the weather, prepare the boat for being underway, navigate all day, pick an anchorage, drop the hook, eat and go to bed. Repeat the next day.

After moving ashore in late November we settled in quickly to our life ashore. We put up our little Christmas tree and prepared for the holidays. In the back of our minds was the fact we were going back on the boat soon after Christmas. Things didn’t get quite unpacked and we started making lists of things that had to go back on the boat. We had a wonderful Christmas but it was time to pack up and spend our last winter in the Bahamas.

After a few small snags in plans, we departed Titusville at 1015 the 28th of December. Our friends on Camelot and Symmetry had left Marathon on the 26th. We would rendezvous in Miami as weather permitted. We stopped for the night in Melbourne, Vero Beach and in Hobe Sound across from Greg Norman’s house. New Years eve was spent in Lake Worth near West Palm Beach where we were treated to a nice fireworks display. Due to weather we stayed in Lake Worth until the 2nd. A weather window was opening to go to the Bahamas but we needed to get to Miami first. At 0400 on the 2nd we left West Palm and arrived in Miami twelve hours later. We hooked up with our friends, anchored for the evening near Key Biscayne and at 0700 the next morning were heading east towards Bimini.

Camelot – Oday 35

The trip across the Gulf Stream wasn’t too bad. Camelot had some fuel issues and we hung close while he cleaned filters. It took a little longer than normal but we slipped into Bimini Sands in South Bimini at 1600.

For us we need two weather windows to make it to the Exumas. One to cross the Gulf Stream and the other to make it east across the Bahama Banks and the Tongue of the Ocean. We will sit for almost two weeks waiting for this second window.

We enjoy Bimini every time we stop. The colorful buildings and beautiful water are a welcome site. The people like all Bahamians are welcoming and friendly.

The sea life is our favorite. There is a reef under our dock and wonderful sights are everywhere.

Grey Angelfish (foreground)

Lionfish

Magpie Turbo

A nature trail is just south of us and it explains many aspects of the local flora. The Poison Wood tree is to be avoided but the beautiful Gumbo Limbos jump out of the landscape. In season orchids grow among the trees and butterflies flit about.

A visit to the shark lab was in order and was informative as usual (we’ve been before). Bimini is in a unique geographical position and is a center for shark and marine studies.

Papayas

Coconut Palms

We’ve been in Bimini long enough again to have had the tides swing to low lows and expose the flats. We enjoy looking at the birds, fish and live shells. We choose to take pictures rather than kill and collect the shells.

Ibis feeding

Octopus

Helmet Conch

Queen Conch

Well, the weather patterns are changing and maybe we can head east towards the Exumas. If not, we’ll post more pictures of Bimini.

The holidays were always the hardest times for us emotionally during our cruising life. Away from our family and friends, it was lonely out there during our first year. Thanksgiving in St. Mary’s, Georgia changed all that. Our first year out we met Ann and Lynn aboard Sea Tramp. They were the principal organizers of the St. Mary’s Thanksgiving. We stopped in 2007 and have gone back two more times. This year would be our fourth visit.

The refrigeration needed to be attended to before we went anywhere on the boat. The one and only marine refrigeration company in Brunswick was called and we agreed on a time to have the unit fixed. We made a special trip up and met Tom from Air Adjusters. He methodically (read, slowly) went through the system and repaired the broken line. I asked his opinion of my installation and the problems I had been having. He saw nothing wrong with the installation but I was startled when he said that he thought the unit may have been slowly leaking all this time and could have been a cause of the shutdowns. We paid him (well) and left for home the next day.

The week before Thanksgiving we headed north once more. Our plan was to take the boat to Brunswick and then south to Titusville after Thanksgiving. We were pleasantly surprised to see the refrigeration still working but also it was colder than it ever had been before! We actually kept ice in the freezer, imagine that!

On Monday, the diver showed up and cleaned the bottom of a summers worth of growth. He said we had a good crop of barnacles and oysters but everything was now clean and ready to go. By noon it was high water and off we went to clear Jekyll Creek before the water went away. It was good to be back on the water but it was cloudy and chilly which took the edge off the experience. As the sun dipped below the horizon we slipped into our anchorage near St. Mary’s. We had just enough time to launch the dinghy and make the first of three happy hours before Thanksgiving.

Cruiser get-togethers always include two main ingredients; drink and really good food! Having gone on the wagon we had no choice but to eat our share or more. We were concerned that we would gain back all the weight we had lost but you gotta eat! The food as always was fantastic. Monday was light hors d’oeuvres (chips, crackers, dips, etc.), Tuesday was heavy hors d’oeuvres (you can make a meal of them) and Wednesday was hors d’oeuvres plus steamed oysters. I’m not a big cooked oyster fan but this year I had my fill. Since turnout had been so good in the past they bought 8 1/2 bushel of oysters. This year turnout due to Hurricane Sandy was about half the usual. Lots to eat! I was able to grab as many raw oysters as I could carry and shuck away. Everyone else waited around the table for steamed oysters while I quietly shucked and ate my fill. I would walk away only to return later and do it all over again. I lost track after the second dozen.

Just when I thought life couldn’t get any better Thanksgiving Day dawned. Mary had volunteered for kitchen duty prior to the feast. We would be carving turkeys. This turned out to be heaven on earth. I love picking at the bird. Crisp skin and tasty morsels of dark meat are my favorites. We had eleven turkeys to carve and as I carved I picked and ate. Recall that there were fewer cruisers this year than in the past; lots of extra turkey for everyone. After the meal we packed a box full of turkey and two nicely crisped wings for me. The afternoon was beautiful and we walked through the historic downtown.

The historic First Presbyterian Church

One of many restored homes

The waterfront park is nicely designed

Marylee sits quietly in the distance

Friday morning was slow going. After the gorge fest we had just enjoyed it was hard getting motivated to go anywhere. We decided Cumberland Island would be a good a place as any. It was a beautiful day as we walked the beach. Goliath, as always, loved the sand, birds and stinky spots he could roll in.

We couldn’t put it off any longer, so Saturday we weighed anchor and set off for points south. It was cold and we were all bundled up despite the beautiful sunny skies. The tides were all wrong and we would be transiting a lot of shallows at low or near low tide. Our least favorite is the Fernandina Beach area and south through Nassau Sound. We made it through but saw some awfully skinny water in the process. Fifty-five miles later we dropped anchor at Pine Island north of St. Augustine.

Sunday would take us another sixty-five miles to Daytona Beach where we anchored just off the ICW near Holly Hill.

With absolutely beautiful weather we continued on our way and passed along our new home waters near New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater and Mosquito Lagoon. Shortly after noon we tied up to a mooring at Titusville where “Marylee” sits waiting for her next adventure.

It has been almost two months since we last posted. As always we don’t sit still for long. After moving in on the 28th of September we assessed our furniture needs and began to shop. In the spring of 2007 we had sold just about everything we owned. Furniture-wise we had nothing. Other than the minimal kitchen stuff that was on the boat, nothing for the kitchen. Everywhere we looked it was very apparent that the transition back to land required “stuff”. We had very little stuff.

Going into the cruising life we had weighed the options of whether to keep and store our stuff or to sell/give it away. It was liberating getting rid of it all. In some cases it was sad to see it go, my tools and truck especially. Looking back we would do it all again. The cost of storing all that stuff would have been about the same as buying all new stuff five and half years later. The big exception is now everything is new!

Luckily for us we are close to an IKEA store. The style suits us fine and we are comfortable with the quality. We are not talking heirloom furniture here. This is well constructed, inexpensive and expendable furniture. We joke that it will be easy for our kids to deal with our stuff after we are gone. All they have to do is call 1-800-GOT-JUNK!

A little side note on IKEA quality. The finishes are “tender”. They won’t take a lot of banging around. The construction is impeccable. The advent of computer guided design and manufacturing makes for surprisingly easy assembly. I have spent over thirty hours putting stuff together and have not had a single misaligned piece or had any missing hardware. They are spot on with everything. Pretty impressive!

Cost is also impressive. For the price of a name brand,”quality” leather sofa and armchair, we have almost furnished our house.

After about a month in the house it was time to travel again. I had a doctor’s appointment in Wisconsin so off we went but not until we took care of a little unfinished business on the boat. The new Isotherm refrigeration system had been giving us all sorts of problems. Every time we left the boat for an extended period of time it would stop working. All the food would spoil and we would start over. The technicians at Isotherm were not very helpful. Finally I packed it up and sent it back to have them check it out. Of course, they found nothing wrong with it. The unit was waiting for us when we arrived in Brunswick.

As part of our previous trials and tribulations while purchasing the house, I had been dealing with this refrigeration unit. I was about to go “postal” with the customer support people at Isotherm. They were not much help and this last episode with them had almost pushed me over the edge. I had to completely rewire the power supply to the unit, at their request and now it was time to reinstall the components. As I tightened up the last connection and positioned the freon lines in place I was shocked at the sudden hissing as the freon escaped through a break in the line! As calmly as I could, I said, “This will be dealt with later,” and the next morning we headed for Wisconsin.

The dermatologist zapped a bunch of precancerous bumps on my face and scalp and scrapped off one ugly thing growing in my sideburn. The urologist found no new cancer so all in all that part went well.

Mary got to celebrate her birthday three times. Since we’ve been on the boat and underway she has been cheated out of actual parties. Well, she caught up a little this year.

We said our good byes to our friends and family and returned to our new house. It was kind of nice having a “home” to return to.

Our little house in Florida. A typical concrete block structure built in 1999. Approximately 1220 square feet, three bedroom, two full baths and a one car garage sitting on a 80′ x 120′ lot.

Plans are for a revised entry with parking court.

As you enter the living area is to the left, dining straight ahead and the kitchen at the rear and to the right. The floors are ceramic tile and the acoustics suck.

This is the living area with bay window.

In the picture above, the guest bedroom and my office are to the right and the master bedroom is to the left. The kitchen is narrow but functional and has more cabinet space than we have ever had before.

Out the door at the end of the kitchen takes you to my room, the garage. It’s a mess as usual but as things get put away we’ll be able to keep the car in there.

Outside on the north side will be a parking area for our new flats boat.

The yard has two very large Live Oaks complete with spanish moss (which I hate). I will be developing a plan to turn our yard into a tropical paradise.

We now have “real” Internet. It is amazing how fortunate we feel to have such high tech access.

Last post, we were all set to close and had our preliminary furniture set to arrive. We were feeling pretty smug. Everything was running smoothly. Then the *$#@ hit the fan!

The Loan Debacle
Had we known how stressful and frustrating this process was going to be, we would not have started it. Mary and I have owned homes in the past and have gone through a half dozen or more closings. Never in our wildest imagination would we think it would be like this.

Having been on our boat for over five years, we had no bank relations other than our online accounts. We wanted to buy a house in Florida and establish a life on land. As for everything else we needed on the boat, we searched the Internet. For weeks we looked at real estate and having finally finding a house we liked, we started the process. A name was given to us by a realtor and we called. Mike was very nice and very helpful. He indicated over and over again that we were not obligated to use his company. We had shopped loans online and found that Primary Residential Mortgage was as competitive as any so we decided to go with them.

Our first shock was when we received our Good Faith Estimate of closing costs. Primary Residential Mortgage’s loan origination fee was over $1,000 more than the online estimate. After some negotiating we were able to reduce it substantially. Apparently the online market uses bait and switch and as a buyer you need to be extremely cautious.

Time passed and the closing date grew nearer. We get a call from Mike, he has quit! “Don’t despair, there won’t be any problems,” he says. We were given some names and numbers to call. No one seems to know what’s happening or unfortunately for us, care. We never receive a call back from the branch owner. The branch manager gave us the name of the loan processor and everything seemed to be proceeding. We received assurances that everything was fine up to Tuesday, three days before closing.

Now you would think that someone with an almost perfect credit score, cash in the bank and income could close easily get a loan on an undervalued home in a market where you would think they’d be looking for buyers; not so. We now have to cancel the moving van, intercept purchased furniture on its way via UPS and Fedex, unpack our kitchen boxes so we can eat, and spend untold dollars delaying things until Primary Residential Mortgage decides we can close. It is not like they just got this loan, they’ve had it for over a month. We did everything on time or before and they dropped the ball for no apparent reason other than mismanagement.

Our nerves are shot and the pressure is really affecting us. We are about to kill each other. Every time we take one step forward someone knocks us back two. Finally we get an email, the loan is approved and out of underwriting (again). But wait! One more thing; tell us more about this pension you get. Is it a good pension, invested well? Will it go down? Wait a second, we think, we thought it was approved! Well, approved, sort of. Mary has to jump through a few more hoops before it is finally really approved and closing is set. One week after our original date we close and move in with our meager belongings.

Cash Flow (out)!
The van had been packed the day before. Our bed frame had been delivered a week earlier. The mattresses and washer/dryer were scheduled to be delivered on Saturday. We packed up the remainder of the stuff and left the boat in Georgia.

Still somewhat tense we arrived in New Smyrna Beach for the closing. Mary went in to take care of the mountain of paperwork while I stayed outside with Goliath. I went in to sign the mortgage and exchange small talk with the realtors. Still irritable from all the crap of the last couple of weeks, I was not the most friendly guy in the room. Finally it was done and we were out of there!

After a quick drive south to Edgewater we arrived at our new home. It didn’t take long to unload the van so soon we were cleaning and unpacking a few essentials. Exhausted, we slept as well as you can on a blow up mattress.

Saturday dawned and we were back at. Sears had put us number one on the route so our stuff arrived early. The rest of the day was spent arranging and making lists of stuff to buy. Recall, we sold or gave away EVERYTHING when we moved onto the boat five years ago. We only have moved the extra stuff off the boat.

A trip to the grocery store; $300, Home Depot; $250 and this is to just get us through the first couple of days. When she’s not cleaning or arranging, Mary is shopping online for furniture and accessories. We order an area rug, dining table and chairs from Overstock. Dishes are ordered from Macy’s. Exhausted, we slip into our new bed for a good nights sleep.

It is very quiet here. Tonight or should I say, early Sunday morning, there is a new sound. The air conditioner is gurgling and the fan sounds funny. We awake to a frozen coil. The fan continues to get worse so it is turned off. Monday morning the AC guys are called. The blower fan dies while the guy is looking at it. Without it he can’t service anything else. Do we replace it ($300) and then find some other stuff or buy a whole new unit? We suspected the AC was on its last legs when we bought the house and since it is almost fourteen years old we opt for a new one. It will be installed on Wednesday. With nothing else to do we drive to IKEA in Orlando to SHOP.

IKEA is the adult version of Disney World. We shopped for four hours, a new personal best for me. Several thousand dollars later we leave the bulk of our purchases at “home delivery” to be brought to us next week.

The new AC is installed without a snag on Wednesday and the house is cool and dry again. It stays relatively cool without the AC running but you really need it to remove the humidity.

Week one ends. Single handedly we are jump starting this economy. Any changes to national trends are directly a result of us.