Clear : +4C
12/03/2008, Harrisonburg, West Virginia

After waiting around for a week for Louise's doctors' appointment, which was always being cancelled/rescheduled we decided to leave Ottawa asap before the snow arrived.
Our wonderful friend and neighbour Dr. Gaston Sauve removed the last of Louise's stitches on Tuesday afternoon, and we left Ottawa this morning at 6am in a fully loaded Mini, c/w our new Thule bicycle racks on the roof with our new Dahon folding bikes.

We're currently south of Washington, DC on route to Albany, Georgia where I need to pick up the Katadyn 40E watermaker which I purchased on ebay.

The road (route 81) was clear and dry, the sun was brilliant, and we covered more than 1000 km, and are now hopefully south of the snowbelt.

We expect another long day tomorrow to Georgia, and then a easy day down to Stuart, Florida.

It's great to be on our way.

All the best....

glen

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White!
11/27/2008, Ottawa

It's been a busy month of preparation for our extended sailing journey down south.

I have purchased a SSB radio, watermaker, solar panels, sea anchor and rode, EPIRB, updated charts, satellite phone (613) 855-2000, new instruments, new folding bikes, and (at Louise's insistence) plastic wine glasses..... she is not amused with the broken glass.
Louise has acquired a fantastic pressure cooker (thank you Rita!) and an eclectic array of galley instruments to assist in her food preparations.

Louise had her surgery last week, and next Monday is the final doctor's appointment. We hope to take our fully loaded Mini south the next day and arrive in Florida in time for the SSCA (Seven Seas Cruising Association) meeting to be held the following weekend in Melbourne Florida where I hope to pick up a sea drogue.

So it goes.........more stuff!

Hopefully we can escape the white winter and enjoy a reasonable drive to Florida.

I'll try to update the blog as we move south depending upon internet access.

Until the next time!

glen

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10/26/2008, Ottawa, Canada

It's late October, the leaves are off the trees, the cottage has been put to bed and we're planning our trip south.

My friends at Beneteau boats have apparently replaced all of the kitchen counters over the summer, so we plan on driving south in early December to rent a house in Stuart while we put the boat in the water and get ready for our Caribbean cruise.

Hopefully we'll be in the Bahamas for Christmas!

I'll post some additional information as we progress.

All aboard!

glen

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