Well, here we are, two days from departure.

We managed to pack all of our boxes and bags today, miraculously. Against all odds, my two blue boxes were below the 50-lb limit so I was able to pack some odds and ends that Conni couldn't take. She's got one box and her black duffle while I've got my huge Bill Bag that contains the linear drive unit (the autopilot component that drives the rudder), a heavy item, and a white plastic bucket, as well as all of my clothing. I also have 2 blue boxes full of parts, including our new B&G electronics that finally arrived: the NAC-3 computer (the autopilot brain), a rudder indicator, a manual controller, and Precision-9 compass. Each has its own installation difficulties, and each must be connected to the existing NMEA 2000 (National Marine Electronic Assoc) network that I installed last year. I've also got to install the entire wind sensor system since that failed out of the box last year. In any case, all of that is packed. There's more, but I've mentioned all of it before.

For a year, my office floor has been littered, covered, buried, with parts and pieces of the repair and installation gear that I've been accumulating. Only at this time of year, with things packed, can I easily walk around in it! I'll post some photos of the cleaned room with the packed boxes in it, but to maintain some dignity, I'll never show anyone what a bloody mess it usually is. An interesting thought: maintaining dignity is solely dependent on not showing your messy side.

One of the interesting mistakes that I've made in the last few years was to plumb our new toilet with non-vacuum-rated hose. Who knew? I've used the same hose for years, and never had a problem, but I sure did this time. The problem is that when one pumps on the toilet handle to flush, the pump produces a low pressure in the hose, and that "sucks in" the seawater. That repeated low pressure, though, also caused the hose to collapse, preventing the toilet ("head" in the nautical world) from operating. Today, realizing that I had some space, I purchased 10-feet of vacuum-rated hose. Vacuum-rated hose, by the way, has a wire or plastic spiral built into it so that it cannot collapse. It's more expensive and much more difficult to handle, but it avoids the problem that has plagued our plumbing.

This evening, I posted my second blog of the trip, so we're beginning to migrate to our boat life. I would have loved to have our guest, but with just Conni and me, it's simpler and this is a work year. 3 weeks in our pension is a very long work time, and we'll probably need it all.

I did finally complete the stairs and landing to our back door. I returned tools and unused wood to my long-time friend, John. Conni likes them and mentions it each time she uses the stairs. I've got to get some rails on things when I return, but at least they are useful as is. If Conni is happy, I'm happy.

Computers are all backed up. We always keep the multiple back ups out of the house while we're gone. We're still very anxious about having no rain for so long. The forests around the house are ripe for burning and with July 4 and fireworks, we're even more so.

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