The past several weeks I have been saying "I need to finish the blog"......but then I couldn't find the computer, or another box needed to be emptied, or an appointment had to be kept.....etc, etc.
So, Today is the day!.....Here I sit in my "dirt house" in Rogers City, Michigan with TONS of boxes holding TONS of STUFF!....Where will it all go? But I get ahead of myself.....First, back to the Bahamas....
April... We headed to Long Island and anchored out there before heading to Cat Island a few days earlier than originally planned as the wind and water dictated our moves....It worked out as Rob and Jennifer could change their flight arrangements to fly in AND out of Cat.....They arrived on a small island hopper plane that I swear looked like it DROPPED out of the sky, skidded on the runway, made a u turn and dropped them out the door.....Jennifer said that was exactly how it felt also!! We spent the first day with them anchored out in a beautiful bay just outside Fernando's Resort, where they have an "honor bar" and good food. The first evening with them, we ate down the beach at a beach side shack, enjoying "one of everything" on the menu!....Fish, Lobster, Chicken, Kaliks, etc...what a feast. We were happy we did this because after that evening and the next evening at Fernando's...the wind and rain forced us into a "substandard" marina (at least my impression, compared to some of the wonderful ones we had stayed in previously) but the "kids" seemed to enjoy it...it also had good food, a pool and a beach....I just wanted a little better weather for them. We did take a few "road trips" by car .....and the word ROAD is used graciously....it was more like making our own path thru the jungle on a track that had been washed out by previous rains....oh well, more for the "adventure"...no wonder none of the rental cars have shocks....! Rob has lots of wonderful pictures of the few days spent with us...and we have wonderful memories.
April... We headed to Long Island and anchored out there before heading to Cat Island a few days earlier than originally planned as the wind and water dictated our moves....It worked out as Rob and Jennifer could change their flight arrangements to fly in AND out of Cat.....They arrived on a small island hopper plane that I swear looked like it DROPPED out of the sky, skidded on the runway, made a u turn and dropped them out the door.....Jennifer said that was exactly how it felt also!! We spent the first day with them anchored out in a beautiful bay just outside Fernando's Resort, where they have an "honor bar" and good food. The first evening with them, we ate down the beach at a beach side shack, enjoying "one of everything" on the menu!....Fish, Lobster, Chicken, Kaliks, etc...what a feast. We were happy we did this because after that evening and the next evening at Fernando's...the wind and rain forced us into a "substandard" marina (at least my impression, compared to some of the wonderful ones we had stayed in previously) but the "kids" seemed to enjoy it...it also had good food, a pool and a beach....I just wanted a little better weather for them. We did take a few "road trips" by car .....and the word ROAD is used graciously....it was more like making our own path thru the jungle on a track that had been washed out by previous rains....oh well, more for the "adventure"...no wonder none of the rental cars have shocks....! Rob has lots of wonderful pictures of the few days spent with us...and we have wonderful memories.
We finally made the crossing back from the beautiful Bahamas to Port Canaveral, Florida on May 6, after spending a week at Old Bahama Bay Marina in West End. Our "buddy boats" left earlier in water that we were not comfortable with, so we stayed a few more days waiting for the right water for us. That involved a failed start on the 5th...when the water didn't behave the way it was predicted.. we turned around and went back to Marina for another night. The 6th started out as a beautiful day to cross and we had flat seas MOST of the way. About an hour off the coast of Florida, USA, we could see a storm coming and knew we would have to ride it out. It tossed us about and tried to tip us over, but good ole Le Reve hung in there as the storm just scared us and got us soaking wet!. We were extremely happy to tie up that evening in a slip. We spend the next few days getting back to Ortega Landings in Jacksonville.
I don't know if it was the storm we endured, or the fantastic memories of our 4 months in Paradise....but I was the one to say it first...…"what will we ever do again on this boat that will even come close to the last 4 months?" "Will we really be happy sitting in a slip in Florida next winter using LeReve as a floating condo?"......and "how much does it cost to have her sit there all summer/fall while we return to Michigan?" So we made a very heart wrenching, soul searching decision to sell LeReve and take it a day (or season) at a time. We knew we would not be able to afford to head back to the Bahamas again in the near future. We also were torn about "finishing" the loop, but not crazy about going up the East Coast to get to Canada, where we have boated many times....only to bring her back to Florida, just to say we finished, and we knew we wanted to spend more time closer to our family.....Then to add to the mix, Bob purchased the "eye sore" rental income property next to the house we purchased last December in Rogers City, with the plan to completely gut it and make it acceptable to the neighborhood and provide us with some rental income once complete. We have a very busy summer ahead of us.
I don't know if it was the storm we endured, or the fantastic memories of our 4 months in Paradise....but I was the one to say it first...…"what will we ever do again on this boat that will even come close to the last 4 months?" "Will we really be happy sitting in a slip in Florida next winter using LeReve as a floating condo?"......and "how much does it cost to have her sit there all summer/fall while we return to Michigan?" So we made a very heart wrenching, soul searching decision to sell LeReve and take it a day (or season) at a time. We knew we would not be able to afford to head back to the Bahamas again in the near future. We also were torn about "finishing" the loop, but not crazy about going up the East Coast to get to Canada, where we have boated many times....only to bring her back to Florida, just to say we finished, and we knew we wanted to spend more time closer to our family.....Then to add to the mix, Bob purchased the "eye sore" rental income property next to the house we purchased last December in Rogers City, with the plan to completely gut it and make it acceptable to the neighborhood and provide us with some rental income once complete. We have a very busy summer ahead of us.
We had our plan...now to execute it. We rented a U Haul and loaded ALL our STUFF (more than I could ever remember bringing on the boat 3 years ago....) shed more than a few tears and handed her over to our boat broker in Jacksonville. After a few minor repairs, and upgrades LeReve will be ready for someone new to enjoy wonderful adventures.
We headed north, stopping first to see our friends the Flickers in Georgia, where they have started a new phase in their lives also with a new home in a beautiful golf course community. We hope to be able to have some time to spend with them there in the future. And we talk of where we will go to avoid Michigan winters......perhaps Mexico....or maybe we will even brave the cold and stay put for a year?? We have learned to take it a day at a time.....but always dreaming of the next adventure.
For now, I feel like I will NEVER sort thru 45 years of STUFF that I know will not fit in our "downsized house"....Bob spends most of his days next door tearing things apart....he has employed some college boys looking for summer jobs to help him and next week we will also have a couple of our grandsons here also. I spent a few days in southern Michigan seeing doctors, and more importantly spending time with our 18 month old granddaughter, who didn't remember us from Christmastime.....it is my mission that she will not "have" to go that long without seeing grandma Jane ever again!
So, for now, this is the end of "Jane and Bob's Excellent Adventure" blog.....we do not know what the future holds for us any further than unloading boxes, having a garage sale for our STUFF, becoming landlords next door, updating my kitchen and enjoying a Michigan summer.... I sure hope it warms up!
It's been quite a ride! Can't wait to see what's next. We both look at each other and say "grow old with me, the best is yet to come". Thanks for following our blog...we hope you enjoyed it.
We headed north, stopping first to see our friends the Flickers in Georgia, where they have started a new phase in their lives also with a new home in a beautiful golf course community. We hope to be able to have some time to spend with them there in the future. And we talk of where we will go to avoid Michigan winters......perhaps Mexico....or maybe we will even brave the cold and stay put for a year?? We have learned to take it a day at a time.....but always dreaming of the next adventure.
For now, I feel like I will NEVER sort thru 45 years of STUFF that I know will not fit in our "downsized house"....Bob spends most of his days next door tearing things apart....he has employed some college boys looking for summer jobs to help him and next week we will also have a couple of our grandsons here also. I spent a few days in southern Michigan seeing doctors, and more importantly spending time with our 18 month old granddaughter, who didn't remember us from Christmastime.....it is my mission that she will not "have" to go that long without seeing grandma Jane ever again!
So, for now, this is the end of "Jane and Bob's Excellent Adventure" blog.....we do not know what the future holds for us any further than unloading boxes, having a garage sale for our STUFF, becoming landlords next door, updating my kitchen and enjoying a Michigan summer.... I sure hope it warms up!
It's been quite a ride! Can't wait to see what's next. We both look at each other and say "grow old with me, the best is yet to come". Thanks for following our blog...we hope you enjoyed it.
