In Memoriam -- by Leeson

-Leeson-

My grandpa died today.

Reverend Kenneth M. died at 6:55 pm Eastern Time, August 8, 2012.

You Will Not Believe This Twist... by Lee

Ermahgerd! Sunday, we found a boat to check out as a possible, and talked to the boat broker's agent to look at it. So... Monday morn, we drove TWO hours one way to meet him, and he drove 45 min. one way to meet us at the boat. 

Then by chance, we learned on the spot that the boat was SOLD and the agent was never informed. Grrrrrr. No way to treat a boat agent, is it? 

We were all justifiably ticked off. Hours wasted, hopes dashed. Par for the course? We'll see. Tomorrow is another day.

Finally Homeless! by Zee

We sold our home. We weeded through years of STUFF! I never want to own so much STUFF again. What a great feeling to get rid of it. Now we have one car to sell and various paperwork to take care of. We now intensify our boat search.

We have a limited budget since we would like to stay out cruising as long as possible. Our goal is to find a boat which will be safe for our family and won't need tons of money to fix up.

We have looked a lot on the internet and now we actually go visit some yachts we are interested in, and to narrow down the field and put in our bid on the one we want.

I think more people don't do this because it is so much work! Unless you can afford the above.

Let the fun begin!

Moving Sale Down; Craigslist Vending and Charity Pickup(s) Next

Wow! Big moving sale behind us. Sore shoulders, backs, thighs, etc. But we did get rid of some things. We also have lots left over: Furniture, books, decorative items including a pre-wired/pre-lighted nylon and steel Christmas tree! Our son sold lemonade and brownies; way to go, son!

 

Even though it rained all day, we had people show up and HAGGLE with us. If an item was $3.00, they'd ask for $1.00. If something was $30.00, they'd ask for $15.00. If their items totaled $17.00, they'd ask for a discount to $15.00. Good practice for going to Central America -- if we choose to go there... 

More updates to come later! Closing is set for July 31st. Movers here on July 30th. Woo boy, are we excited? Yes, we are!

 

Bonus YouTube video: 3-D Mandelbrot Zoom 

 

[Post by Lee]

Update -- About Two Weeks From Closing

[Post by Lee]

 

It's now halfway through July. The closing on our house is set for July 31st. We're still working on getting moving estimates... We're moving about 60-70 percent of our personal items into storage in Florida ("The Sunshine State"), and selling a lot of things at a yard sale in about one week.

 

It's been very busy: discarding photos, weeding through files, emptying file cabinets, etc.

 

Leeson will miss his friends here in the D.C. area, but we've suggested that he write them letters or postcards or point them to this blog.  

 

The selling/negotiation process is nerve-wracking sometimes, but we'll get through it!

 

Thanks for reading 3 Blondes and a Boat (subscribe to our RSS feed; see below).

[Post by Lee]

 

 I found an interesting essay from a Cruising World blog. It's about returning from a sailing adventure. 

 

"A Tough Act to Follow" from Herb's Watch, courtesy Cruising World online

 

Zee and I are working to sell our house and downsize. On another blog, they talked about getting rid of X percent of your possessions, then getting rid of more. That's us... It's a challenge when we humans have some innate tendency to accumulate... Thanks for reading 3 Blondes and a Boat.

Why "Three Blondes and a Boat"? by Lee

[Post by Lee]

Another new blog? We are launching our first group/family blog.... We -- Zaneta, Lee, and Leeson -- ARE three blondes in search of a boat to make our dreams of travel (maybe even...adventure?) a reality...

 

BTW: I thought that icebreaker launch video above was amazing! Such a violent yet controlled event! That's why good engineers and naval architects are modern miracle workers... 

 

We've thought of taking a sabbatical for a while; I give credit to my wife Zee for that idea. We've been both in the rat race for a while, and are becoming  more sensitive to our own mortality. In 2010, I had a kidney transplant on Father's Day (June 20), thanks to the gift of life from a friendly family at church. I'm doing great, in case you wondered.

 

We also know people who didn't live into their "golden years" and who didn't get a chance to go traveling. So we're taking a risk to do it now -- in an economic downturn, when jobs are scarce -- to see a bit of the world. The original idea was to buy a boat... You can live on a boat and travel on a boat, too, at the lowest cost to many (coastal) destinations. Our minds grew feverish with imaginings: England, France, Greece, the Caribbean... Why not? We thought of going by RV but we took a loooooong drive to the Midwest this summer, and driving is a chore. So maybe we'll go by boat after all. Maybe Zaneta can polish this post once I've published it.