All good things...

must come to an end. 

And that's where we're at these days.  Cap'n got a coat of wax on the boat, I cleaned and oiled the teaks topside, and we both worked on polishing all of the stainless.  I am whittling down the pantry and fridge, and have started the process of cleaning and storing stuff until next season.  It's bittersweet, actually.  I am anxious to get home, to all the kids and grandkids, our home and property, and such.  But then I think of the reality of how much work there is to do on this end to pack up and leave, the two hard day's drive home, and then the unpacking and cleaning on the home front, too.  It's all a bit overwhelming.

So what did I do after church today?!  Took a two hour nap!  What do we have planned for tomorrow afternoon?  A game of chickenfoot and poolside fun in the afternoon with Kenny and Fran! 

Which means tomorrow morning we got to get with it...Cap'n is going to help me clean out the sea berth where all of our dive gear, life raft, life vests and such is stored.  When I'm done there, I plan to get all of our stuff out of Danny's car that we've had in storage (the world's most expensive dock box- his car no longer runs :) I also need to empty out the Jeep. While I begin sorting and packing some things, Cap'n is going to deflate and store the dinghy.  If he has time before lunch, he'll go over to Ray's dock on Angler Drive do a bit of maintenance on his dock before we sail over on Tuesday.

The plan for now is to have Pastor Bob and Marcia join us on Tuesday morning for the sail over to the ocean side.  We'll be taking Marquesa under the Seven Mile Bridge for the last time this year, through to Boot Key Harbor.  There we will stop and have lunch at Burdine's with them, (our last time, their first), and then we will go through the canals to Angler Drive.  I hope it is a pleasant sail for them. The wind has really been blowing out of the E/NE, ever since we made our passage last Tuesday.  I have no desire to get seasick again any time soon. 

Once the boat is to the canal, Willis will go to Uncle Kenny's to be baby-sat for a few days, while we take down the sails, the bimini and dodger rails, and do the final prepping to store her for eight months.  I bought about all the Damp Rid they had in the store today to keep the moisture down in the boat through the summer.  We'll also keep a fan running inside, and there's a solar fan up in the Vberth, so the air circulation should help, too.  My biggest concern is I've just heard about PALM RATS in the last few days....really????  I. hate. all. vermin. I need to google what else I can possible do to keep critters off the boat.  I would be beyond ticked (and disgusted) if palm rats throw a party on Marquesa while we are gone.

As for now, I'm too pooped to party, so I'm calling it a night.  G'nite, y'all!