Welcome to YW8T!

Welcome All!


6-21-2010
Welcome to my new blog - YW8T!



As some of you know, Capt. Mike and I (aka Admiral C) are about to strike out on a whole new adventure. While the actual trip is still a few months away - we're actively preparing! You know just how much Mike and I usually prepare for things.... HA! Well, for this adventure - WE HAVE TO PREPARE!



In the beginning there may not be daily posts - not a whole lot to talk about yet! :-)

However, I will try to keep you posted on all our decision making and other "goings on" as we go along.



First of all, for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about - Capt. Mike and I are going to take an extended trip by boat. This trip is called the "Great Loop". It's a 6500 mile loop that extends up the eastern seaboard - through the Erie Canal to the Great Lakes - down the rivers to Chicago and St. Louis - on south down the Mississippi and then the Tennessee River - on down to Mobile AL and over to Florida. Now, that's very simplified, but you can get the jest.

Mike and I will be gone about a year or so. I'm retiring in January 2011 after almost 39 years at Empire. Mike retired last year. We decided that if we were going to do this - the time was now! We have always dreamed about retiring on a boat somewhere. However, this trip is an added bonus!

We will most likely be leaving in March 2011. That's what I mean when I say there is a lot of planning. We're not leaving until March but the planning started more than a year ago.

We will be downsizing (another word for "selling all our stuff"). We have already sold 2 Ol Cats - our 24ft SeaRay we had for 6 years. This is the first time Mike has been without a boat in over 40 years! But this is only the beginning! This is the time where we start selling things and stashing the cash! The cash for the "big boat" that is. We are currently perusing all the websites for a trawler. We want one that is about 35'-40'. Of course, it will be a used one. We haven't won the lottery, yet!

We have our rental house, my camaro and several other toys for sale. Mike's mini-bikes (the last count was nine) are for sale. We keep tossing around the idea of selling our house and everything in it. I'll keep you posted on that. I'm all for becoming a "minimalist". I need to find that old routine by George Carlin about stuff. Remember it? If anyone knows where I can find it - let me know.

Last month Mike and I took a trip to Florida to look at some boats. We wanted to get a feel of what was really out there and see how the pictures on the internet compared with the actual thing. We found several we liked. We're not ready to buy yet. First things first. Sell the "stuff" - buy the boat. We don't see any reason that we should own the boat and have to pay to keep it somewhere when we aren't really ready to use it yet.

I read in one of the many books I've been reading lately - that the purchase of the boat should be pretty much the last thing we do. Also, if we already have a boat - first thing to do was to sell it. I guess we're on the right track there!

I hope to continue sharing this experience with all of you. As the day of "send off" nears, I'm sure I will have several thoughts and experiences to share. Once we are truly on the trip, I plan to update this blog regularly with pictures and stories.

I'm new at this blogging so bear with me. Hopefully I'll become an expert!

If you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know.

Till next time

Admiral C