Days 134-6 BIG NEWS - read on...

The Admiral took this picture and sent it to me along with some comment about me being vain, but fortunately, I was able to ignore that comment... 

      Anyway, we are finishing our third full day in Wilmington, NC. We rented a car when we first got here since Wilmington is so really spread out. We have seen "Prisoners" and "Wizard of Oz" as well as eating out at least once a day.

     We have come almost 700 miles north up the east coast since Ft. Pierce, FL. The last 2 weeks have definitely been cooler, which is a hint of things to come. Last night it was 58F just inland from us, and the high temperature the last 3 days has been 72-77F.
...and now for the BIG NEWS!

     We have not mentioned it yet, but Wilmington is where we plan to leave the boat for the Winter. We wanted to leave the boat in the water in an area that is unlikely to have hard freezes and at the same time is relatively "safe" during hurricanes. Obviously, there is no place anywhere on the east coast that perfectly fits these goals, but here we are...

     Since the blog is open (public), we have sometimes left off specifics since we do not want people to (easily) know where we live, etc. Since leaving Ortega Landing Marina west of Jacksonville five weeks ago, we have been checking out marinas during our travels north. Until we checked out the marina here in Wilmington, NC, I had "reserved" the option to return to Ortega Landing (Jacksonville, FL). Obviously, no place is immune to hurricanes, but I have been paying particular attention to storm surge. In the case of marinas, the floating piers can literally float up and off of their pilings.

     Until we finally chose a location for winter storage, our plans for the Fall have been pretty much up in the air. Now that we have chosen a "home" for the boat for the winter, our plan is to spend several weeks here putting the boat to bed, etc. We also plan to devote at least part of each day to enjoying Wilmington and the surrounding area. In the meantime, I will fly to Houston next week to bring my truck back here along with the boat trailer for the dingy. The Admiral and I should be back in Texas probably in mid October. Our "original" plan was to return about November 1, which included more time looking for a place to leave Lucky Us for the Winter.

     We plan to have the boat ready to head north no later than March 15, and our grand plan is to come back to Wilmington at some unspecified time in late (?) February. It will take a while to get Lucky Us ready to go. We have already started doing "some" of the odd jobs necessary before we leave, but we have a long way to go. Fortunately we have no fixed time schedule that we have to meet. Man, I am really liking retirement. "No agenda" could become my motto...

       So, the travels on Lucky Us are over for this calendar year. Soon it will be time for some serious "hugging" of the Grandkids, and of course, spending the Holidays with family and friends. I will post a few more times to let you all know how the work (and the fun) is going. For one, I am pretty sure that after 19 weeks of a routine regarding preparations for a day of travel on the water, I am pretty sure that I will wake up one morning and go down into the engine room to check oil and fuel levels, etc...  Take care!