Pre-para-tion-s
Fixin’ ta commence ta begin ta get ready ta GO!
Departure date in now less than 15 days away. (WHAT??!!)
And we are fully engaged in preparing for our journey. Here are some updates:
Land Cruising
We are rented a Chevy Suburban (“or equivalent” in rent-a-car-speak)
SUV from faithful Budget Rental Car. To be known as COVID Adventurer, our (hopefully)
robust and reliable steed awaits us at the Spokane Airport. Pickup is set for April 29th. We prepaid this rental in January to save
some $$ and to avoid the dreaded “All we have left is a mini-van” syndrome.
Our route this time will take us to Bozeman MT, Wheatland WY,
Loveland CO, Topeka KS, Louisville KY, Morgantown WV, and Deal MD. At Loveland, we will pause for a gathering of
the CO tribe of the clan McLaughlin (cousins of Commadore Kathleen). Then its eastbound and down on I-70 (mostly). All we lack is some global crisis to drop the
retail price of gasoline.
Out Fleet Grows
We have two new additions to our fleet this year. We have acquired two Aquaglide inflatable kayaks to allow us to
explore the more remote anchorages we anticipate on our journey . The
larger (aka The Admiral’s Barge) is a Deschutes 130 that has the length and capacity to transport Fur-Admiral
Maggie along with her designated galley
slave so that she can join in our adventures. The second kayak is a smaller Deschutes 110
for solo paddling.
Away All Boats!
Another flotilla enhancement is the addition of a Dingy Caddy
davit to Irish Lass. This device mounts
on the swim platform and will allow us to transport our 10’ Zodiac dinghy in a
ready-to-deploy state, complete with mounted outboard. Beats the heck out of strapping the boat upside
down on the swim step and wrestling the
outboard on and off with each use. A
product of Canada crafted in stainless steel, ours is current awaiting installation
at Phipps Boatworks At Herrington Harbor North Marina near Deale, MD
Tools.....
.......Are Like Firewood
Engineer and Assistant
Bottle Washer Wade has been packing (and unpacking and repacking) his tools for
the voyage for several weeks. Largely,
it seems to be a process of 1) trying to
cram every tool he owns into two tool bags, 2) discovering that he can’t close either
bag, 3) buying a larger tool bag, 4) repacking the bags, 5) discovering that he can’t lift the resulting packed
weight, 5) culling back the selected tools (“How many drill batteries?” “A butane torch? Really?”) until the load
becomes manageable, and 6) wondering
what has been forgotten. Tools truly are like firewood. One simply can not have too many…….
Return of St Brendan
The legendary St Brendan’s Isle has made a new appearance to
once again take on the handling of our mail (see May 19, 2020 blog entry). This is the go-to mail forwarding service
for Loopers and other long-term travelers. Worked like a charm last year. We have every reason to expect the same this time around.
Lists and lists and more lists
Well, sort of. It
seems we tossed all the lists we made in preparation for last year’s
voyage. So, we have been busy
reconstructing them and gathering stuff as we go. Arrangements for the house and yard seem to be well in hand. The pile
of gear in the garage is taking shape. The
tool bags are zipped (for now 😊). Wardrobe
selection is set for next week. We’re hopeful
that last year’s experience and our
combined memories will join forces to the prevent any material “You know what
we forget?” conversations.
Departure day is April 30. Stay tuned.
