Finding Buddy Bear

A tiny whisper in the night, "I can't find Buddy Bear".

I begin to slowly awaken from a deep sleep.  Boats...not bears are all I have been thinking about every waking moment for weeks.  I am disoriented.  I have lists of things to do as we prepare to depart on the great loop, now only six weeks away.  Lists of boat repairs; lists of provisions; lists of routes and ports of call; hell, I have lists of lists...

A little louder, "I can't find Buddy Bear!"

I glance at the alarm clock, 5 AM.  Buddy Bear is on none of my lists.  Why am I thinking (dreaming) about him?  I am really losing it.

Suddenly the fog is parted by the voice of the Admiral, "Did you look for him on the floor?"

Oh yeah, I now remember my six year old grandson, Ben, and his four year old sister, Lia, are spending the weekend with Grandma and Nonno while our daughter Dina and son-in-law Darrin enjoy a few days of well deserved R & R (Garth Brooks and alone time) in Las Vegas.  I feign sleep as Grandma gets up to join the bear search and then feel a bit guilty as I hear her hobbling down the hall on her broken toe.
This is the first of two nights we get with the grandkids.  They love to stay with us and we love to have them.  We spoil them rotten.  What are grandparents for if not?  We also know we will miss them horribly when we leave for the boat in six weeks.  If more than a week or two goes by now, we acknowledge to each other that we need a grandkid fix and call Dina with a subtle hint like, What's for dinner?". 

Last night after our dinner alone with the two of them, we tried to talk to them about our upcoming trip:
"Did Mommy tell you guys that Grandma and Nonno were going away for a whole year on our boat?"
"Why?"
"Because we want to, do you know how long a year is?"
"Nope."
"Ben, you'll be in the second grade, almost the third grade when we get back."
Large eyes stare back in disbelief.
"But you guys and Mommy and Daddy can come to the boat and see us."
"OK, when are you going away?"
Grandma thinks for a moment and responds, "In thirty-eight days."
Ben says dismissingly, "Oh, that's a long time from now, can I have more pasta?"

Laying there at 5 AM I smile inwardly recalling the rest of the evening, watching Home Alone 3 (not for the first time) and the first 47 minutes of Free Willy (a first for me) with Lia on my lap, until Grandma releived all of us by announcing bed time (9PM!).  As Carrie slips back under the covers this wee hour she thinks I am still sleeping, but, I whisper, "I can't find Buddy Bear either."

Agan in her Admiral voice she replies, "Go to sleep".  Oh well, worth a try.

7 AM:  We are awakened by the shout, "NINJA BEAR!!!"  

SHE'S OURS!!!

They say the two happiest days in a boater's life is the day he buys a boat...and the day he sells his boat.  Well, we just closed on our new boat in Sarasota, Florida.  So this is one of our happiest days.  Anybody want to go for making us really happy and buying Testa Dura???  Oh well...

Here she is:

Notice the striping?  For those who know me well, you will recognize that for 30 years we have put those exact strips (with the angle cut at the end and all) on all of our company trucks.  What are the odds the boat we would fall in love with had them?  Kind of a wierd coincidence, ya think???

 Looking forward from the cockpit door into the main salon

 The galley

The main salon looking aft

The master stateroom

The guest stateroom.  OK Leo, Dad, John and Rob, I admit, I enlarged this one so you guys wouldn't worry!

So, next we get some minor repairs done, just to remind me she's a BOAT.  And then off to the boatyard so we can BOATT and add a hydraulic dinghy lift/swim platform.  Always remember, "Boating is Fun!" 



Good-Bye Ventura

Today was a little bitter-sweet.  After twenty months of having our boat in Ventura, we emptied out the Testa Dura of all of our personal belongings and readied her for the cruise back to a yacht brokerage in Alameda, California.  This picture is of us leaving Ventura. 

Well, not really, it is actually John and I taking her to the fuel dock so that when the hired captain arrives to take her north, she'll be ready to go.  But, you get the picture.  It was most likely the last time I will drive Testa Dura after owning her for six years.  We are excited to start our loop adventure aboard Once Around, but we will miss the old gal.

More than Testa Dura we will miss "my particular friend" John and his wife Linda aboard the Poseidon.  John has been part mentor part Godfather and one of my best friends for many years.  Linda's gourmet cooking and hospitality is something we will surely miss as we travel the loop.  One of the loopers we met said always invite great cooks to join you on your trip.  Linda is on top of that list!  If you think I am kidding, just visit her blog and website.  It is linked on our home page under "Poseidon Galley".

Since John and Linda have lived aboard Poseidon in Ventura for many years they have a great circle of friends, who adopted Carrie and me the minute we arrived nearly two years ago!  Bonnie and Curtis, Bobby and Cynthia and all the others are serious boaters and wonderful folks.  We will miss you all.

And Bobby, take care of our buddy while I'm gone.