We have been back in San Diego for a week now and we easied right into our semi-slow boat life again.

Our new mattress arrived a few days ago. First on the list; we quickly removed and tossed the old mattress into the trash. Secondly , I washed all the stateroom walls with a soapy bleachy water mixture to remove any remaining smells the old mattress may have left behind. Thirdly, I painted the bottom base of the bed with white paint to again, remove any remaining smells. Now time to wait for everything to dry. We both slept on a settee for the night. Lets just say, neither of us slept very well. We both woke to achy hips....just that mean we're getting old? The next afternoon, we unrolled our new foam mattress and laid it into place. We had to let it expand for 24 hours before we could sleep on it. So, instead of enduring another night on the settee's, we decided to get a hotel room for the night. Another reason it was easy to talk ourselves into getting a hotel room was because the Gator Bowl was only broadcasted on ESPN2. So, after enjoying a good meal, a few bowl games and a good nights rest, we were back on Tanga by 8:00am the next morning. I went to work on putting our new bed together.

Tom has spent most of his time tinkering with Ethel. He has found the main source of the coolant leak, the water pump. We ordered a new pump today and it should be in our hands next week. After the installation of the pump and an oil change, we will be ready to leave San Diego!

On other news, a pretty good sized weather system is hitting way north of us. No weather affects here except for some good sized swells. The swells are growing today and continuing into the weekend. We are hearing predictions of 12 footers up to 20 foot swells. Also, we are hearing alot of news of the whales migrating south to Mexico for the winter. There have been alot of sightings and we can't wait to get out there and migrate along with them to warmer waters!