Getting ready to cruise! ...3 days to go...?

Lots to do! Someone asked me, What do you do to prepare to cruise and live on a boat for such a long time? Well, I will try to answer as best I can. Living on the boat for the summer has given us an idea of what to expect in some ways. First, storage space is good for the summer, but then, we have a car to hop into whenever we need to run to the store or to run home for something. That is about to change! So stocking and storing things for living is the name of my game. The galley (kitchen) is stocked with most of the things we would have at home just in a smaller scale ie. pots and pans (just cooking for 2 now) gone are all the BIG over sized cooking items. I have a feeling that the crock pot is about to be my best friend! Yes, there is a stove top (3 small burners) and an oven (sort off)convection still figuring that out. I must say I am loving my toaster oven. And anyone one who knows me knows, the real workhorse on the boat is the coffee maker. The fridge well .....we have one, smallish re fridge, boat fridges are not known to keep things REALLY cold but the freezer does, so we deal with it. Anyway the galley is usable and once you get use to it, its very doable. Though 3 months ago I felt differently. It works! We have 2 berths (bedrooms) the master has a walk around Queen size bed, a real luxury! The 2nd berth, well we have one, small, but great storage. Another luxury on a boat is 2 heads, (bathrooms) both en suite. A very large salon (livingroom) with lots of storage and a dinette table and seating for 4. This boat is considered very livable.

The sundeck has proven to be most enjoyable, there we have room for a table and chairs it has a grill where I will do most cooking, and a very large cooler in which holds all our beverages.

When underway the bridge is where we are, there we have a great view comfortable seating alot of electronics (which Jim has upgraded and been installing things for the last 2 weeks.) He has upgraded the stereo system along with new speakers. He changed out the Sirius for XM that is compatible with the new electronics which also receives XM marine weather via an updated chart plotter with built-in electronic maps for all the US and the Bahamas. This will make cruising safer.

At home (one of the few things we haven't sold) Ashley and I have been downsizing alot of our STUFF selling what we can and donating the rest. We have Sold Jims beloved truck the camper and the basstracker so the driveways has less in it now as does the house. And Ashley can feel safer with the new security system. Thankfully, we have someone to take care of the house and dog which could of been a real problem. And luckily we have some great neighbors and friends to keep and eye on things as well. So yes we have been real busy!