We’re still busy packing but our friends, Peter and Toby, will come and drag us and our 5 heavy pieces of equipment to their home, feed us dinner, then take us to the airport for our flights to Oakland. I’m already tired just thinking about it!

Conni didn’t arrive home until midnight-thirty this morning. With a new law firm, barely a week old, she has a lot to do. Luckily, her partners are both trustworthy and competent, so she’s leaving things in good hands.

I’ve got two blue boxes, one at 46 pounds, and one at 48 pounds, and my big red “Bill Bag” at 48 pounds. I’ve also got my backpack and uke case. Conn’s got one blue box at 48 pounds and her black duffle with her clothing. Since her clothing weighs NOTHING compared to mine, she’s traveling lightly. We’ve removed so much stuff from the boat the past few years, we hope to return with very light, or even empty, boxes. What a treat!

In Oakland, I’ve got a 500-foot spool of parachute cord and a replacement kill solenoid for the engine awaiting me. The solenoid has taken years to locate and we’re hoping that it will work, saving us the hassle of diving below, removing an engine cover, and pulling the injector kill lever by hand. It’s not dangerous, and we don’t see how it’s a safety issue, but I’d still like to be able to do it from the cockpit.

My sister and her husband have been in touch and say that they’re excited to join us. The same is true for Nate and Val. We would like to sail back to Papeete on an overnight sail with D and P, drop them off, and take Nate and Val back to Raiatea on a reverse overnight. Both groups might enjoy a real overnight voyage, but it’s entirely weather dependent.

The house is quiet and both Conni and I always hate to leave. It’s home! We’ve made our lives here and leaving home is always difficult. My mother always said that as she got older it was more and more difficult and I know what she means. I can easily imagine a time when, even if we’re able, we just don’t want to leave.

Are we ready? I certainly hope so. We sprang to work about a month ago and started the final preparations. I think that we’ve done well. Yesterday, I spliced the line onto the new chain hook and spliced a new dinghy tow system. My short splice on the tow system was not my most beautiful but it’s strong and functional. It’s been a long time since I’ve spliced a short splice.

I think I’ll post this and get ready to move. It’s getting time for our ride to arrive. Wish us well.