May 30th; Final tasks before California

The packing continued. As it turned out, I had four more boxes to take to the post office. Some things I'll use and some will go to the kids. I don't see Guppy in Canada happening this summer so I will most likely be in California for seven months. I decided to send a lot more things to California than usual.

The hardest job left was flushing the engine and air conditioning unit cooling systems with fresh water to get the salt water out. It is not a fun job. Its difficult to get to the hoses and difficult to get them off. I'm glad I'm getting smarter. This was always a two person job with Linda turning the engine and air conditioner on and off while I worked in the bilge. I decided I could do it myself, it would just mean crawling in and out and running some extra hoses. Then I thought, "That's what friends are for."

Flushing the engine cooling system

I asked Dennis to come over to the boat yard and help me. He was happy to help. Turns out it was really good to have Dennis. We were having trouble getting the water to get sucked out of a 5 gallon bucket to flush the engine. Dennis came up with a great plan. Hold the hose up, put a funnel in it and pour the water in as the engine was running was running. Took both of us to accomplish it but it worked great.

Flushing the air conditioner
cooling system 

Having completed the worst job left, I finished covering the windows to block the sun, packed the remaining boxes, and my carry-on roller bag.

Technology overload

Then I tackled the technology. Linda always handled all the tech equipment and I found all kinds of stuff in her desk. Some I was certain were no longer worth anything, but others I just didn't know. I wanted to get everything cleaned out so when I came back I would only have what I needed. I ended up packing my computer, my Ipad, several phones with numerous SIMM cards, two Kindles, two FIRES, music playing devices and the accompanying chargers. Definitely need to do a technology assessment with the help of the kids once I get to California.


It was 8:00 PM and I decided I could finish in the morning. I was looking forward to a little relaxation and watching some Cheers episodes on Netflix with Rebecca via Facetime. We've really enjoyed our Facetime together.

Yesterday's Dream getting
hauled at Marathon Boat Yard

The boat was scheduled to be pulled out at 9:00 am so I set an alarm for 7:15am so I had time to finish cleaning out the freezer, the refrigerator and tape up the last couple boxes. I slept well but woke up at 6:30 am thinking about a couple other things to do. The extra time was helpful and I had the boat ready to go just in time. The marina staff was very nice and helpful. They walked the boat over to the hoist because the engine was already flushed, and proceeded to pull it out. They took it from there and I left.




I stopped at Banana Bay to say good bye and drop off some remaining perishables to whomever could use them. Then a stop at the post office and I started the 3 hour drive to the Fort Lauderdale airport. Flight was at 3:50 pm. It was 11:00 am so plenty of time.

The airport was quite empty and I felt very safe as no one was anywhere near me. It was a long day as the overall flying time was 7 hrs and 50 minutes. Inevitably, I thought about how much Linda and I enjoyed our time together in California.

Steve and Linda at Point Loma, California

I was very happy to finally be in California with Matt,Wendy and Rebecca. I changed planes in Denver which gave me a chance to stretch a little. I arrived at San Diego about 8:30 pm (11:30 pm Florida time) and Matt and Wendy were waiting to pick me up. I was very happy to finally be in California with Matt,Wendy and Rebecca.