It's a boat!!

Sometimes I think that fate is conspiring to keep us from setting off on our journey, and then someone will remind me that we are talking about a boat.  Expect the unexpected.  Bet On Another Thousand.

While modifying the hydraulics to accommodate the autopilot, Michael discovered a leak in the steering system which he believes is a direct result of all the hammering the boatyard did in their attempts to remove the old bearings a few weeks ago.  And then, while the mechanics were here to fix that problem, they discovered that one of the anode bolts (something else that they 'fixed' during that last haul out) is also leaking.  So now they need to haul us out again to fix that.

I have been keeping busy during all of this, and trying not to stress about the delay in our departure.  I have started stripping old varnish off some of the trim, and have even channeled Martha Stewart enough to make a first attempt at making bread.  It was a little flat, and got a little overdone because my oven runs about 50 degrees hot (something I just discovered), but delicious all the same.  We ate half a loaf hot out of the oven, standing over the sink and dripping butter down our fingers.  Heaven!!

On any given day, there are a number of boats that stop at our marina for the night, on their way up or down the river. They come in all shapes and sizes, new and old, well maintained to downright dumpy. But never before has one heralded its arrival with music, or to be more precise, circus music!  This lovely old river boat minus the paddle wheel has a calliope on the upper deck.  They started playing their entrance before they were visible through the opening the marina basin, and certainly got everyone's attention.  Again, as they departed the next morning, they played their way out.  This time, we managed to get it on video.  Click on the link for full effect.

Calliope on the upper deck

Barry's Backyard BBQ

We've been hearing about Barry's ever since we came here, as one of the best BBQ places around.  We finally went on Saturday, with neighbours Ken & Mary Lee.  Barry's is, literally, in the middle of nowhere, with no signs to give direction or announce its presence.  It's just there - a couple of white farm type buildings behind a nice looking house, surrounded by fields.  The only giveaways are the mouthwatering smells, and the cars in the parking lot.

As we waited our turn behind a busload on a church outing, we played a homemade mix of billiards and shuffleboard to pass the time, pausing to watch an escaped cow jog down the road.  Had it been a pig, I would have thought it had escaped its fate...but there was no beef on the menu.

The buffet table was loaded with ribs, pulled pork, fried chicken and catfish, along with side dishes, of course.  There were baked beans, pinto beans, greens of some sort (which I didn't try), slaw, potato salad and the inevitable hush puppies.  For the uninitiated, hush puppies are just batter made of flour and corn meal, with onions and sometimes jalapenos  formed into balls and deep fried.  How can you not like fried batter??

And about the catfish...I had only eaten catfish once before I came here, many years ago.  I remember it as very wet and unappealing, and was in no hurry to try it again.  Michael was of the same opinion, until we were convinced that we needed to try it again.  I have come to like it a lot, and have sampled it several different ways - cajun grilled is very nice, but of course dredged in corn meal and fried is extremely good!

After dinner, the homemade ice cream was a must, made in this old fashioned churn.  No sterile factory stuff here - but we're pretty sure no one has died from it yet!!

Closer and closer

Fall has definitely arrived here in Alabama. Nights are quite cool, reaching as low as 45F (that's around 12C for you Canadians).  Several mornings have brought thick fog on the water, making it seem like we're living inside a cloud.  Once the sun comes up, however, the fog burns off and the days are sunny and very pleasant.  The trees have started to change colour, and although not quite as dramatic as those red maples in Ontario, it is getting very pretty. There is a fairly steady stream of boats coming through the marina doing their own 'colour cruise' up the river to Chattanooga.

We are getting very close to being ready to head south...just waiting for the autopilot which has been back ordered from the manufacturer.  Once we have that installed, we're good to go.  With our imminent departure, I have been on a sorting/storing binge, trying to find a home for everything.  This has meant, in addition to all of the stuff we brought with us,and have bought since we arrived, finally going through all of the parts, spares, and miscellaneous bits and pieces that came with the boat.  There  are several boxes of plumbing and electrical stuff - some useful, but much of it has us puzzling over why anyone would keep so many broken bits and pieces.  We've hauled bags of trash out - bits of wire too short to do anything with, worn hoses, rusty fittings, spares for equipment that has long since been replaces. I swear the boat is riding higher in the water without all the extra weight!!

Now, if we can just shed some of our own excess weight.......

It's been how long?

OK - so it's been over a month since we updated the blog, but we've been very busy.  Here's what's been happening...

September 3 - 13:  In preparation for our upcoming trip back to Canada, we packed things to take back and leave in storage, made lists of things to pick up from storage and bring down to the boat, and continued checking off items from the to-do list.  We had arranged to have the boat hauled while we were away, have the shafts repacked, the bearings replaced and the bottom painted, so part of our preparation was to clear the salon of furniture to give access to the engine room, and to clear the mattress off our bed to give access to the rudders.  This meant complete upheaval while we piled everything in the galley.  So it was off to a hotel with Edee the night before our departure.  We left her in the room the next morning, and came back for haul out at 8 a.m.  The discovery of blisters on the bottom of the boat was cause for some concern, and an adjustment in the estimated repair costs, of course.  Blisters are just what you are imagining...small holes in the fiberglass allow water to penetrate, resulting in blisters on the surface.  If left untended, they can eventually damage the integrity of the hull, so we gave them the go ahead to do the necessary work.  Then it was back to the hotel, pick up Edee and hit the road north.

Sept 14 - 30:  It started raining at about noon - somewhere in Ohio, so it was not a particularly pleasant run home.  We got Edee settled in her temporary home, and us settled in ours, and the whirlwind began.  Michael and I both had a number of medical visits to make (and all is well for both of us!), and there was business to take care of, and family and friends to visit - generally too much to do in such a short period of time.  We did manage a weekend on a friend's boat in Georgian Bay, which was terrific despite changeable weather.  We tried to make an early start on Saturday, and between picking up Edee and picking up our new dingy, we got to the border late morning.  Seems it was our turn for a closer examination by the US border guards, and we lost close to an hour of travel time waiting, and answering questions, and having our money counted, and waiting again while they looked through the car.  In the end, they sent us on our way, and we happily continued our journey, arriving back in Scottsboro Sunday evening, in the pouring rain.  It rained all night, sometimes driving so hard against the hotel windows it woke us all up.   Thank goodness we didn't have to try to unload the car into the boat.

Oct 1 - 7:  Still pouring rain on Monday morning, but the boat was scheduled to be launched.  Again, we left Edee in the hotel room while we got everything back together on the boat.  All of the maintenance and repairs were complete, and the bottom looks terrific.  A run on the river confirmed that everything appears to be in good working order. After putting the furniture and the mattress back in place, we went to fetch Edee.  As we opened her carrier, she made one or two tentative steps on the deck before she recognized where she was...HOME!  Her tail went straight up (always a sign of happiness), and she began her inspection, visiting all of her favourite places to sit and watch the world go by.  I feel the same way...this is home, and it's great to be back.  We're still crazy busy, but now its the final prep for the real adventure.