It seems like it's been a long time coming but we're finally "home". And that's exactly how it feels. Home sweet boat. Gran Vida faired well in our absence. Despite the flooding and storms we had read about over the summer here in North Carolina, she's no worse for wear except for a thick layer of dirt and one shredded tarp. Otherwise everything is just how we left it.
After some deliberation and flip flopping we decided to drive down to the boat. That decision mostly had to do with the fact that the captain picked up a new toy, and who could turn down a road trip through the hills of New York and Pennsylvania in a convertible Mustang during the fall colour display? Not me! So we loaded up what we could in the trunk and after a very pleasant weekend on the family visit circuit we were off.
We took our time and enjoyed the trip. Looper friends Mark and Becky were in town re-commisioning their boat Mara Beal. We arrived in Wilmington late afternoon in the pouring rain, took a room down the way from Mark and Becky and enjoyed an evening of dining and catching up.
A couple of weeks work here in the boatyard should find Gran Vida all spit-shined and ready for action. Jeff's scraping the bottom. I've been confined to cleaning and organizing the interior interspersed with icing a knee injury that's acting up. Harumph. Bad timing for that.