Empty nest

Well, is certainly wasn't pretty, but we got it done.  Sorting and packing took on a whole new meaning when we considered the following:

• Items to keep and store for 5 years
• Items that our kids wanted
• Items to donate to charity
• Items for the yard sale
• Items to trash
• Items that are coming with us

It's been a crazy two weeks since we got the offer, but on Friday morning at 11:00, we closed on our house......and closed a chapter of our lives.  We spent the rest of the day packing, loading the car and U-Haul, and cleaning the house.  We pulled out of the driveway at 8:30 pm and can officially say the nest is empty.

We had stuff EVERYWHERE!

Elsie stopped by to help us load the trailer :)

Our worldly possessions are getting stored at the Cooper barn for five years

The beer fridge rolled down the street and right into Todd and Julie's garage :)

Empty nest

We knew we could count on our neighbors to empty the keg from our farewell party!  Saying that we had fantastic neighbors on Leeward Court would be an understatement.  We're going to miss them all!

And the sweetest present of all from our darling little neighbor.....I'm going to miss her smiling face and wonderful hugs. 

Thankfully, David had the brainwave for us to visit his mom in Northport and get a little R&R under our eyelids before heading south to Maryland.  It's been a lovely fall weekend with a nice balance of chores, rest, home-cooked meals, and good company.

Everything that's coming on this five-year adventure is packed in here!

Now we're feeling rested and ready to start our trek to the Chesapeake Bay!

Whirlwind trip to Annapolis!

We spent Wednesday afternoon to Saturday morning in Maryland.  Since Virginia Dare is on the hard for a few repairs, staying aboard was like sleeping in a top notch tree house :)

Our "tree house" for three nights

The stilts!

We spent most of Thursday at the Annapolis Boat Show -- excellent advice from Bob and Christine to spend a couple extra bucks on VIP day where admittance is limited.  You get a lot more time with vendors than the following days.  David had a list of vendors and their locations when we arrived.  It made our "recon" very efficient.

We bought an Australian grill and are quite eager to install it and give it a whirl.  Considering that David grills our dinner several times a week (on land), we can't wait to try this!  It even bakes cakes :)

Marine Barbeques Australia -- our new grill :)

We also bought Gill foul weather gear and a SPOT Gen3 which will broadcast our exact latitude and longitude on a daily basis (I will link it to the blog when we're back on board).  We also got a ton of information about AIS systems and radar upgrades, but that's far too technical for me to explain.

Back at the boatyard, we found out that the propeller was fine (yay!), but the rudder bearings were not.  So Eric at Chesapeake Marine Engineering is making sure everything gets fixed properly.  All the new parts came in this past week; she's expected to be back in the water this week.

Rudder bearings

Rusty rudder bearings, detail

Rudder shaft housing

We managed to have dinner all three nights at Skipper's Pier -- two of the three nights we sat outside.  Friday night brought rain and indoor dining.

Sunset from Skipper's Pier

Virginia Dare at night -- and the full moon rising on Wednesday evening.

Nighttime in the boatyard

Full moon rising

Time to get down to business!

Just like the squirrels gathering acorns in our yard and running them up to their nests, we, too, are gathering and storing..........items we're going to keep and save while we sail.  The packing started in earnest this weekend.  It was the perfect weather.....rainy and cool with football providing entertainment on television.

Until now, we've been gathering things in the garage and mentally remembering in which pile they belong: 1) save for post-sailing adventure, 2) take to the boat, 3) yard sale items, and 4) donate to the Father Fred Foundation.  There used to be a fifth pile: donate to our kids, but they've all been through the house and claimed this and that.  And little by little, we're purging and organizing.

I bought all the 27-gallon HDX totes that Home Depot had on display (14).  I'm sure we'll fill each one and need another 14!  I opted not to get the 37-gallon Rubbermaid containers because I feared they'd be insanely heavy when full.  As it is, these are pretty hefty when loaded and I'm glad they aren't 10 gallons larger!

And so the packing begins!

Everything we're saving is going in the black totes in this trailer: 8.5' wide x 16' long x 6.5' tall. Not many square feet, but enough to store our "treasures."

Purge all the non-essentials and store the rest in here!

So, we've been chipping away at packing over the last several days, but we're also packing for a trip to the Chesapeake to see how Virginia Dare is doing at the marina.  She should have a new coat of bottom paint -- and we hope that the few repairs suggested in the survey are finished, too (fingers crossed)!

For now, it's back to packing and organizing.....