This morning I changed the engine oil. Little did I know that would be the easiest part of my day. My brother arrived with his suburban packed full of gear for his boat. Around 2, I dinghied over to the dinghy dock and tied up with the other dozen dinghies there. First time doing that in my own dinghy. My brother picked me up and then the fun began on his boat - unloading his car and getting all the gear up on the boat, which was on land and therefore up in the air a bit. So a ladder was involved. It is amazing how much stuff you can pack in a suburban.

But that was just the warmup. The real fun came installing a shunt for the new battery monitor and then replacing the three 4D Lifeline batteries, at 124 pounds each. Hoist the new ones from the ground to up on top of the boat, then lower the old ones from the boat to the ground. Then there was the matter of removing the old ones from the shelves they were on and getting the new ones back onto those same shelves. There was only room for one person where the shelves were. I might be sore tomorrow, even though Mark suffered the most. We still couldn't get the batteries hooked up because the new ones had marine style lugs, whereas the old ones had automotive lugs, and the bolts we needed to remove to convert could not be removed. We will try for plan B tomorrow. Did I mention the tiny, swarming gnat like bugs that like to bite? If Tari is reading this, I will never, ever again make fun of you for swinging at imaginary bugs. I looked like an idiot swinging away at nothing.

Mark treated me to dinner, my first meal out in a number of days. It was hot work, so we both had a chocolate shake. When he dropped me off at the dinghy, the weather had completely changed. Suddenly it was brisk and cool with a strong north wind. Pretty wild and the quiet river was no more. The dinghy ride was more interesting than usual.

Round two is tomorrow. My brother promises it will be easier and he will take me to West Marine in the afternoon. I ordered some fuel filters and had them shipped there.