The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

Jim, Thanks for posting the snow - pix. Been so long I can hardly remember what it looks like :twisted: We have been in Des Moines, Iowa, visiting our son, since last Tuesday, and the airlines let us bring along the Sequim weather as a carry on :wink 50 plus, (temp not age) and T-shirt and jeans all week. Walked out by Saylor Lake, picnic, and yesterday finished raking the leaves on their 2 acre yard.

Oh, to keep this boating related, we drove over and looked through the marina. Everything was pulled out of the water, dozens of house boats, (all sizes from a camper on some barrels, to a 40' with a water slide). The water was glass flat and there were half a dozen boats out. Next trip, we are checking the SleepyC as baggage. :xnaughty

Sorry for all that white diversion down there. you be careful, that stuff has a habit of making trailers want to go first.

Travel safe, and enjoy,

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
We enjoyed the visit from Joan and Jim. They arrived in a rainstorm, but for most of their visit the weather was cloudy and in the 70's. Good to catch up on each other lives and travels. Really wish we could have been along on the Erie Canal and Trent Severn trip. Maybe we can get together on the water next summer.

Russ and Toni, We hoped to get to see you guys down here in south Texas. The snow turns to rain well north of Rockport. The lowest temp we have had was in the 40's at night. Due to a El Nino in the western pacific, the weather pattern for the winter looks to be for frequent storms across the southwest US. The winter will be wet in Arizona too. The last time it snowed in Rockport was Christmas 2004. Its not too late to reverse your direction. Travel safe.

Dixie and Brent
 
Holy Batman Catfish ! My GPS would be screaming "Turn Left, Turn Left"..

We have RV friends here from New York - he is an OLD Lock Operator from the Champlain Canal ( C-Dory content) and helped Jan over her fear of the locks the past summer. Any way, it was in the 50's yesterday and muggy, so they were suffering a little climatic withdrawal. They are headed for AZ this morning.
 
dotnmarty":myxkoss1 said:
Did Big Red ever get to the body shop? :?
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Hi Marty,

We are down for a month near our daughter, west of Phoenix. We put off the repair until this time. We knew we'd need the truck to move Wild Blue around for the short time we were home. I checked in at the body shop today (we just arrived this afternoon), and they will start working on Big Red tomorrow. They promise me she will look just the way she should when they are done with her.

Highs around 70º, lows in the 40s... typical desert weather for this time of year. But, it's DRY and sunny. Should be good for some biking this month - both the motorized and the pedal variety. And it was wonderful to see Steph and Dan this evening.

I'll post a photo of Big Red when she comes back from her "make over." :wink:

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Pat Anderson":1z6amxpu said:
Phoenix is OK, but we are more Tucson kind of people ourselves...but we LOVE Arizona, and plan to spend a fair amount of time there in a bit!
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The desert does have a unique beauty. We are in the Phoenix area because Steph and Dan live here. If they moved to Winslow, that's where we'd be (I'd be standing on a corner, and such a fine sight to see). In our early RVing days, we spent several winters wandering around this state (prior to me discovering my inner island boy).

On the drive here, Joan kept saying things like, "Aren't the mountains here beautiful?"... and "I love the desert in the spring,"... or "If we decide to sell the house..." I know where this is going. She plants the seed; nourishes it to make it grow, and I get caught in the "harvest." :wink: Anyone want to buy a neat little house on the water in Texas? :roll:

Tucson and Phoenix are both big cities... without big water. Great to visit; lots of "city stuff" to do, but not where I'd want to live. Steph and Dan seem to enjoy the hustle and bustle... I see it as as crowds and traffic. The 6 or 7 stoplights of Port Isabel is more my style, but just wandering around suits me fine.

I understand my job as helmsman while Joan navigates. We're still settling in here, but will soon have more time for re-exploring Phoenix. Big Red is getting her make-over; the rental company couldn't come up with a big red truck for us, but we do have a little burgundy truck (Nissan Frontier)...it's cute... don't think it would haul Wild Blue or tow the Love Shack :mrgreen:, but it's good for getting around.

Time for me to squirt some saline in my nose and put on some moisturizer. We've been here less than 48 hours, and I already feel the "Vegas throat". Yep, we're in the desert.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
An update on Big Red...

I stopped by the body shop today to see if there were any surprises under the crumpled sheet metal...

Truck1e.jpg

Truck2e.jpg

She looks naked like this, but the damage is what they suspected; the structural beam in the door was bent, but the cab damage is just sheet metal. Replacement parts are ordered and we're on schedule for the repair. They assure me that the repair is very straightforward and Big Red will be back to her old self when the repair is completed.

Totally boat off topic, but we did stop in Cabela's while we were out and about, and I got in a motorcycle ride this afternoon. :D

No boating for me for the next month, but I'll be looking forward to daily Brat stories and posts.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Well, Dave, on both Wild Blue and Fan-C-Dory the whole door is a window... just trying that out with Big Red. :wink: When I went back into the shop, Big Red looked like something out of a Terminator movie, with big holes. But, she's tough and soon she'll be pretty again.

Looks like a chilly couple of days for the Texas coast - stay warm!

Best wishes,
Jim
 
My first impression of the hole in the side of the cab was that you had decided to install an "Izzy Door"...but then I remembered....she doesn't come and go without adult supervision...(which means...Joan) because we all know that you (Jim) has not reached adulthood just yet.

Enjoy your drydock time and make the best of it.
 
Au contrare, Mike ol' buddy. I made it through puberty a long time ago. I pay adult prices at the movies. We are currently staying in a 55+ RV resort. Just because one looks at the world with child-like wonder doesn't mean mean he isn't an "adult." :wink In fact, I consider myself a very responsible guy... whenever anything goes wrong around here, I'm responsible. :roll:

I am missing being on Wild Blue, but time with our daughter and son-in-law is very special. Since we can't convince them to move near the water, we will be on the dirt. For a while.

Joan trusts me to walk Izzy... or maybe she trusts Izzy to watch out for me?

I was working on a Christmas newsletter for family this morning... little Izzy has been part of the family for almost a year now. She has logged plenty of miles on land and water, and has shown no sign of wanting to make a break for it. When she does get out the door on her own (she's fast), she gets just out of reach and then bolts when you reach for her... not far, just enough to make it a game. Her playful spirit and speed reminds me just how much of an adult I am these days. 8)

What's the current boat status in the Taylor household these days?

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Dodged the bullet...

I just got off the phone with the lady who keeps an eye on our place while we're gone. She said, "Good thing you aren't here right now - it's going to be in the low 30s with the wind blowing in the 30s tonight. You sure as hell wouldn't be out decorating your boat in this nasty crap!" :disgust

Yeah, the Lighted Boat Parade is tomorrow night.

I guess being 1348 miles from the boat isn't so bad... today. It's chilly here in the desert before the sun comes up, but we'll be outside without jackets this afternoon.

Stay warm, Texas Gulf Coast Brats. (The weather weasels are predicting snow for the Houston area! Bundle up, Alok.)

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Snow storm (small one) South of Victoria in Motor home. Just misty and chilly now at Riviera. Winds gusting to 36, We need to get this thing in the barn.
 
Walldog":d3qeze6n said:
Snow storm (small one) South of Victoria in Motor home. Just misty and chilly now at Riviera. Winds gusting to 36, We need to get this thing in the barn.
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Run, Forrest, Run! :shock:

North Texas, I can understand, but not SOUTH Texas! :crook We were in Port Isabel the night of "the Christmas miracle"... Christmas Eve, 2004; the first snowfall in deep south Texas in 109 years. People were out in their driveways making pathetically small snowmen and sandy snow angels... if I remember correctly, we got about 1/2". This was pre-Wild Blue and our trimaran was in the canal behind the house with that dusting of snow on her. I wanted to run out and cover her with a BIG blanket. I told Joan, "We didn't move far enough south."

It was ugly going through El Paso earlier this week. I was concerned that if we stopped, we'd be stuck for a couple days... so, we carefully pressed on. The snow didn't slow down the locals - they still drove like it was a NASCAR event.

Drive careful, Herb. Try to have things warmed up down there after the first of the year, will ya? 8)

Best wishes,
Jim
 
My buddy, Herb, sent me a link to his photos of this year's Lighted Boat Parade in Port Isabel... looks like Mother Nature cut them some slack and the parade went off as planned. Wish we could have been there to participate, but we are enjoying our time here in the dusty ol' dry desert. :wink:

Thanks, Herb! Just what this island boy in the landlocked state of AZ needed.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Big Red is progressing nicely in her repairs and should be out of the shop in a few days. Something looks a bit different, though...

MDTruckE.jpg

Yeah, I'm kidding. This REALLY BIG Red caught my eye, but I haven't been that good for Santa to bring one of those. :xlol We're anxious to get the real Big Red back and have her looking pretty again.

BigRedRepairsE.jpg

Time for a new family photo for the Christmas letter. Notice anything unusual? Yeah, sweaters. It gets downright chilly in the desert when the sun goes down.

Xmas09PhotoBWfxE.jpg

Hope your season is progressing merry and bright.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

Sorry no boat-related info... really sorry. :wink:
 
DaveS":3iu043f8 said:
Yep, the sweaters is what I immediately noticed.... :roll:
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Ah, Dave, my friend... that would be like seeing you in a shirt with sleeves... one would notice that. :wink: :mrgreen:

Glad to have you with us!

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Hi Jim,

Yup, me too, ... the sweaters, and Miss Izzy's smile. She is growing up. And back to the picture of the Big Red on steroids, looks like that cat behind it might work for a toad for "Wild Blue" and you could make the evening shore runs in 0.001th the time. :xnaughty

Weather report trom the PNW. It's a 3 sweater cat walk tonight, 12 or so above, and the chance of white stuff ---- could happen :tux

Stay Cool === No problem,

Harvey
SleepyC
 
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