Boat Shopping in Florida

Yep, we are once again hopping on a plane and heading out to view as many boats as possible. This time, our destination is Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. There just aren't many catamarans on the West Coast. None, actually at the moment. So, off to the East Coast it is. Our broker, Clive, is amazing and is compiling a list of boats to view. We are specifically looking at Lagoons and Leopards in the 40-45 foot range.

This timing also happens to fall on our 15th wedding anniversary, so what better way to celebrate? The kids are heading back to their grandparents for the duration of our trip. J and I will have a visit and then head on out. While we know they'd have fun on the plane and for parts of the trip, we just know after the 4th or 5th boat, they would tire of it and be bored. Plus, we are on a mission! To find the exact model of cat that will best fit our family. 

We've rented a car to be prepared to drive around as needed and of course, do a little exploring along the way. Any sightseeing suggestions? Send them our way! =)

The Boat Box

Yikes, time is flying by way too quickly! We are officially on Christmas break and most of our free time is spent working on the house. I'm taking a little break this afternoon to work on the blog.

As I clean up from the holidays, I am setting aside piles to go back into storage, donate, and one for the boat. I have been thinking ahead to future holidays and wondering just what to bring to decorate the boat with. There isn't much out there on this topic, so I am just going with my gut and what I think will work in a much smaller space. Some LED lights, a few decorations, and ornaments, but I figure we will just make do with what we have, as well as create new decorations depending on where we are. That will be all part of the adventure!

Santa brought a huge stack of board games and card games for the boat. These are definitely going into the boat pile. The kids' Christmas Elf, Christopher, will for sure find his way to where we are (I have promised the kids he would find us). One of my favorite finds were these Glow in the Dark Playing Cards

Thus, a few "Boat Boxes", large plastic totes, have joined our household and I am slowly filling them with things to bring on board. Home school curriculum, small surprises, decorations, and whatever else I think we might need are making their way into these totes. Of course, the kids are also "helping" with this endeavor, so I have to be sure and check through the contents before I pack the tote and stick it in storage (we have a "to go on the boat" area in there).

What items did you pack on board for the various holidays?

Pirates and a U-Haul

Black Friday is typically a day for people who love to shop to get their fix. Well, not for us. We usually stay away from the chaos and instead, chose to go visit some sailing friends up north for a pirate adventure. If you are a Pirates of the Caribbean fan, you will understand. The Lady Washington was used in the first film (Curse of the Black Pearl) and starred as the HMS Interceptor.
We met up with the crew from s/v Odyle and toured the ship. Here are a few pics from the tour:

Afterwards, we let the kids play for a bit on the beach before heading off to pick up the U-Haul to bring home our Black Friday purchases. Yep, you read that right. We bought so much that we needed a U-Haul. Now before you start picturing TVs and the like, it was actually for all the insulation for the house. As we purchased over 30 bags, we needed something a bit larger to transport it back home.

Jared and Zach took off for Home Depot way up near San Francisco (this stuff isn't carried locally, unfortunately) while Matt, Cadence, and I headed for home. The plan was for Jared to drop off the insulation at the house and return the U-Haul that evening. Due to traffic, he didn't get back until 9pm, so we ended up making the return early in the AM.

The rest of the weekend was spent installing insulation to prepare for inspection on Monday. Talk about pressure! We passed with flying colors and could finally schedule the drywall installers (we did everything ourselves last time and decided paying a crew to do it this time was well worth it).

We are hoping to wrap up construction on this addition by February. Just in time to enjoy it for a few months before we sell it. We love this house, but unless we win the lottery between now and June, we need the money for the boat purchase and cruising kitty.