Here we are in the last week of preparation... So much to do and so little time!! Jim has been busily prepping the boat.. New refrigeration has been installed, along with extra insulation in both the fridge and freezer.. I must say, it looks and works excellent!! We will have rock hard ice cream in the Keys if we want!!! SSB is in.. wiring for the wind generator and solar panels has been run.. Solar panel mount has been fabricated(by Jim, of course).. I have to mention how blessed I am to love and share my life with a man that can do anything!! He can make or fix anything!! And if he doesn't know how, he reads and talks to people and learns. I am so looking forward to the next chapter of our lives and all the adventures to come.
I have been trying to pack and downsize what we have to what we will be taking.. Not an easy task!.. I'm sure I am packing WAY too much and we won't have something that we need! I guess we will make do. Thankfully my baby sister will be coming to help me do the final cleanup of the house, ( and take a bunch of stuff we won't be able to take or leave here).. I am trying hard not to think too much about the people we won't be around for quite a while.. Friends and family.. and at the same time hoping they will be willing to take a trip and stay with us.

Well... here we go... We are in the very hectic stage of preparing ourselves and our boat to head out of Lake Michigan in July and head out the Great Lakes and the St.Lawrence Seaway to the Atlantic and south. Jim is getting ready to have both knees replaced the end of January and will be ready to get busy on the boat. It is a bit difficult to work on the boat in this cold weather. We have the dinghy davits from Garhauer, the new water heater, the new compressor and evaporator, SSB and all related equipment ready to be installed. Before we leave, Wind Generator, solar panels and mppt controller will be installed. Then on to Grand Traverse Bay and a new cockpit enclosure. From there, Beaver Island , Mackinaw or St Ignace, North Channel and South from there.. That will be new territory for us. That and everything after. We are very excited to be starting this new stage in our lives and becoming liveaboard cruisers for at least the next 10yrs.