Cheryl's Notes:

We are settling into a basic routine here. Everyday we meet more people and learn more skills about this lifestyle. Our greatest challenge as the weather gets cooler is the moisture. As the temperature drops, you need to remember to close all hatches before bedtime. Any hatch left open will be dripping saltwater by morning. We have had to run a small heater a few nights already. This also keeps the condensation down.

It is almost 80 today, but it was cold, windy and rainy yesterday. We have discovered that we now live in an area that is as obsessed by the weather as back home in Minnesota. Being so close to the coast, we are always getting weather updates about wind conditions and small craft warnings. We have heard stories that it can get so windy in the marina, that as the sailboats heel with the wind the rigging on your boat can get caught up in the rigging on the boat in the next slip. We were close to that yesterday. All of this excitement and a Pig Pickin' barbecue besides. I am not sure that I am going to like Carolina barbecue. It is more vinegary than sweet. John liked it, but he will eat anything. I am also having a hard time with sweet tea being served with everything. I am not much of a tea drinker, but this stuff is so sweet it makes your teeth hurt.

I made a new discovery today. While John was watching football, I decided to head into town for some shopping. While most of the big retailers were open, the majority of small shops are closed on Sundays. Another small adjustment to make, but then we are retired, one day is much like the rest to us. We will have to adjust our schedules when Maddey gets here. She will give us something new to focus on.

We have had a flurry of activity in the marina this past week. The cruisers that are heading south for the winter have been preparing their boats. Most will leave right after the first of November. The remainder of the boat owners have been clearing their boats out for the winter. We have a small group of liveaboards that are planning on staying here this winter. Some have decided that they need a winter off from long range cruising and the rest have cited the economy as a factor. We have talked about setting up movie nights or game nights in the community room. Some of us may even take some small trips together to short range places like Charleston. I have heard that the town is beautiful when it is decorated for Christmas. I am sure that we will find plenty of local places to visit to keep us busy.

John's Notes

Another week and more projects complete. Had to take the outboard in for a little work. Nothing serious. More operator trouble than anything. Actually, the owner manual was wrong and the local dealer said that there was a service bulletin put out but we just never got it.

Waxed the complete topside this week. Now the only thing left to do is the hull. Will work on that next week, weather permitting.

Just a word about some of the various service people and companies that we have dealt with since we have been here. There is a vast difference between the locals here and back home. They really seem to care that you chose them to do business with. The dealer we just had the outboard repaired by went over all the things that we should do in the way of maintenance now that we are in salt water, etc. The Westerbeke people were the same way. Remember, we don't have a service shop in our marina. That is the way it is with marinas in this part of the country. They are just marinas. So, every day there are several local marine service companies that may be working on someone's boat here in the marina. When you walk by they always say hello and chat for a couple of minutes. I don't think they are trying to drum up business, I think they are genuinely friendly. There are literally thousands of boats in the area so I'm guessing that the competition is fierce but it is nice to know that whatever we need is all right here.

There is this gal, Malinda, who operates a charter boat that is tied to the T-end of our dock. Nice gal. She has been operating her charter service for 21 years (note to Barb & Trish - SHOPPER). That is all she does. She is currently running a 1986 Irwin 43 center cockpit. We were chatting yesterday and I found out that she has only had this boat for about three years now. Before that, she operated and lived aboard a 1985 Catalina 36. She just loved the boat and thinks that the MK II like ours is the best ever built. She cruised and lived aboard her Catalina fulltime for six years. Made several trips to the Bahamas and Caribbean. She did it with a fin keel version so she must know a hell of a lot more than we do at present. We'll get there though.

Still making preparations for Maddey. The aft cabin is just about livable for her. We will still need to store a few more things in the Jeep though. I'm opposed to renting a storage locker for stuff that we will probably get rid of one of these days anyway. It would be nice to have a dock box but they take up too much space on our dock. It's one of those things that you actually have to see to know what I mean.

We have our daily routine down pat now. Will probably have to make a few adjustments next week when we have a new crew member. Need to get her schooling routine down first. Fun things to do will come later.

We must be getting pretty boring. Just old retired liveaboards. We have met a few more people in the marina this past week. Lots of them that would normally be prepping their boat to go south are staying put this year. It's just basically a money and economy issue. Seems like every day we take yet another hit. Hard to sit ideally by and watch your hard earned savings evaporate and not panic. Up to a point though, it would be hard to live much cheaper than we do now. At least we won't have any $250 per month utility bills staring us in the face this winter.

Yesterday, 10-25, we went to a diesel engine seminar. The guy was great but again, it makes me aware of the fact that you could write volumes on what I don't know. The good news is that there were several people there who seem to know less than we do. I know, I know, hard to believe, right?

Talked to Maddey this afternoon. Seems like it is snowing in Deerwood. It's about 80 and sunny here today. Yesterday we had a little rain and lots and lots of wind. but the "Pig Pick'in" went on as scheduled. I don't know where all the people came from. There sure were a bunch of them. Some partied late into the night on one of the boats behind us (another Catalina, go figure). We are sort of keeping a low profile for awhile. For sure North Carolina BBQ is way different than we are used to. It is more vinegary than what we get in the Midwest.