And Back to Ohio

Day 39:  Friday April 3, 2015

We got on the road at 7:00.  The skies were overcast and there was some light drizzle.  Traffic from Charlotte into Virginia was quite heavy.  We made good time until we got into the southern part of VA when we started up into the mountains and ran into thick fog.  Luckily, our heavy load required us to drive in the truck lane and clime the mountains slowly.  Amazingly, we passed through a long tunnel and when we came out the other side we were traveling in sun light. 

In West Virginia we ran into rain that continued the rest of the way to Ohio.  We arrived home at 3:00pm and met our lonely dog, Louie, for the first time in 40 days.  He was most excited to see us. 

Our other great dog, Buster Brown, ran away from home about a week ago.  A neighbor found him and brought him back but when she let him out of her truck, he ran into the woods and kept going.  The gal who takes care of Buster and Louie while we are away, along with her dad, looked for three days but were unable to find him.  Buster was over 15 years old and quiet frail so we knew that he would not survive away from food and water for more than 24 hours.  His quality of life had been declining over the past year and we were aware that his days were numbered.  So! 

As we look back over the past weeks, we are pleased that we had a great trip.  As typically happens as we make these excursions, things happen.  However, I look at all happenings as part of the adventure.  We lost our ballast.  That was bad.  The boat was still seaworthy.  That was good.  The fact that we started our adventure in Stuart FL, the site of the Seaward factory who are in the process of moving their operation to western Florida but could still build us a new keel and install it immediately upon our return was amazingly good.  Had it broken in Maine or the Great Lakes, we would have had to truck it down to Florida for the repairs.  Working with the guys at the factory was good.  I picked up a number of hints and improvements of which I was not aware was serendipitous.  The truck broke down.  That was bad.  The fact that this year, for the first time, I attached a truck/trailer rider to my Boat US tow package so that within an hour of the breakdown, we were on our way to a Dodge Dealership who had the parts and the inclination to fix our truck immediately was good.

And, we had a great time.  We met great people and saw and stayed in beautiful places.  We ate great food and experienced life in a very different culture. 

Interestingly, during the first week from when we left Florida until we arrived at Green Turtle Cay, I was wondering if this trip was worth the pain of the rough crossing and the rough banging trip east through the Sea of Abaco.  We didn’t see or talk to anyone and didn’t find civilized land during that entire time.  That would not have been so bad if the trip had been comfortable.  But it wasn’t.  And then we arrived at the Leeward Yacht Club and our tide turned and the trip became amazingly interesting and enjoyable.  Even the return trip across the Florida Strait was easy and not at all painful.

So, would I do it again?  Absolutely. 

Finally, the “Name the Dink” contest.  The committee assigned the task of tabulating the results is currently working on the project and the results will be announced in the near future.  Interestingly, as you may remember, the day that we announced the contest, we received our first email informing us that Buckeye Lake’s dam was unsafe and they were considering draining it.  As you might imagine, that has become a hot political potato.  They typically drain the lake every fall and refill it in the spring; however, the governor has said that the lake will not be filled this year or in the future until the dam is repaired.  The estimated time for the repair is 5 years.  Locals are understandably up in arms.

Stay Tuned

s