STORM REPORT, HOT TUBBING, HORSEBACK RIDING AND A CATAMARAN UPDATE
- Oct 10, 2016
- 4 min read
We’re back with a quick update of the goings-on over the past week or so. We have quite a few bits of info for you, so stick around to the end!
Hurricane Matthew traveled slightly farther north than anticipated, and brought a good amount of rain and high winds to the Chesapeake area. We lost power at about midnight last night, and as of 9pm on Sunday, we are still without power. Fortunately, the main house on the property we are staying on has a generator, and we’ve run a couple of extension cords into the apartment to run the fridge, and a few other devices.
Last week for Lisa’s birthday, we traveled up to Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. We were hoping to see the horses on the beach on Assateague, but there was heavy rain, and winds that seemed to be in the 30-40 mph range. Not really great conditions for strolling on the beach, or for horses to come out of hiding. With all of the rain coming down, the wind was still high enough to blow sand off the dunes like we were in the Sahara. Crazy!
We had the pleasure of meeting a couple of friends while on Chincoteague, James and Harrison. James and I used to patrol the mean streets of the Maryvale Precinct in Phoenix on graveyard shift together when we were still booters (newbies). If you’ve ever heard me tell the story of the naked jogger, James was the guy riding shotgun with me. If you’ve never heard the story, ask me the next time we meet. We hadn’t seen each other in about fifteen years, but it seemed as though we hadn’t missed a beat.
Harrison is a good friend of ours from Phoenix. He, and his wife Kelley, loaned us the minivan for our trip. They also let us spend about ten days in their home while the houseboat was out of the water for repairs, and while we waited for the sale to complete. What a blessing they have been to our family. Harrison is a personal chef (his abilities are ridiculous!) and is working on a yacht that was up in St. Michael’s, MD. Both he and James braved the nasty weather to meet us for lunch. It was great to see both of them.
Alyssa also had a birthday. She’s now double digits! The big 1-0! Woot woot!! We did a horseback ride on Virginia Beach near the boardwalk. Once again, there were high winds, but at least the rain was minimal. We had a pretty good time, although the “pony” that they put me on must have been part burro, because he certainly acted like one. Once I assured Twinky that I was in charge, the second part of the ride was pretty good.
Lisa almost got tossed off her horse when it was spooked by some sea foam blowing across the sand. She did a great job of staying on. I see a rodeo in her future. Or maybe not. Both Alyssa and Lauren were masters of their beasts. I guess all of those riding lessons came in handy that day!
We have managed to squeeze in time at Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg. Busch Gardens had some pretty sweet roller coasters, and it was all decorated for Holloween, complete with freakishly made up ghouls cruising around after sun down. We took in as many rides as we could and all had a great time.
Williamsburg was a really neat place to visit. It’s pretty amazing that this part of Williamsburg, rich with so much history, has been restored to colonial times. There were shops with workers in character, pubs, blacksmiths, and even Benjamin Franklin cruising the street in a horse drawn carriage! There was definitely more to see in the time that we had, so I think we’ll plan another day there if time permits.
We also have an update of the quest for our next boat! If you saw our last video, we showed you a Corsair 3600 catamaran. Well, after looking a few other boats, that’s the one we made an offer on. We finally came to an agreeable number with the seller, and are scheduled to have it hauled out, surveyed (inspected), and a sea trial completed tomorrow (Monday). We’re hoping that the weather plays nice, as they are forecasting winds between 20 and 30 knots.
If the survey goes well, and no serious issues are identified, we’ll have a few days to decide if we want to move forward. If we decide it’s the boat for us, we’ll deposit the remaining funds into escrow, and wait for the paperwork to be complete to transfer ownership to us. This is a much different process than it was in Arizona, where you simply sign over the registration to the new owner! If we decide that we don’t like the looks of the details of this cat, we’ll bow out, and start heading south to look for another.
We’ve been having a pretty good time as family. I think it’s been a bit of an adjustment for all of us, but every one is hanging in there remarkably well. We were extremely fortunate to find the over-the-garage apartment we did on Airbnb. We were able to extend for another week without issue, and it looks like if we end up buying the Corsair, we may be able to book even further out.
The neighborhood we are staying in is simply gorgeous. The homes are mostly colonial style, enormous, and are on 3-ish acre lots. The trees here are huge, and everything is green. Strange for us, coming from the desert. Our little apartment is a two bedroom, with a futon in a sitting area, so the girls each have their own bed. They love it! We haven’t really made an effort to transition to Eastern Standard Time, so we’ve been staying up late, and sleeping in. This has really been like a month long vacation. Pretty soon though, it will be back to reality, and homeschooling!
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