Monday, August 24, 2015

Almost 2 years have gone by but were still working forward to 2016! Here's what we have been up too.




2 years since the last post. Where has all the time gone...

In October of 2013 I opened a used car dealership with a long time friend as a co investor. Most of my time for the last 2 years has been spent in building up that business from scratch to a successful business that it is today.

Dealership and Inventory 1 of 3

Dealership and Inventory 2 of 3

Dealership and Inventory 3 of 3
We have also been cleaning out our home from a decade of purchases we will no longer need and wont want to store during our voyage. Making repairs and updates to the home so we can get a better price when we go to put it up for sale. Going from 3000 Sq. Ft to a cruising sailboat will be quite a challenge.

Our home on land 



   We have given lots of thought to the transition and wanted to get more used to a cruising lifestyle while stuck here in the desert and came up with a great idea. We bought and restored a 27' travel trailer this last year. We have spent our vacation time traveling thousands of miles with multiple stops in California and Arizona simulating pulling in and out of various harbours over short couple weeks span. This setting up, putting away, travel & repeat gave us an idea what it will be like going from port to port.

 We also feel like a transition to the trailer while we are outfitting the boat for it's long cruise will give us the sanity of not living in a construction zone or in a boat yard. We can tow the trailer to whatever city we find the boat in and sell it when we ultimately move on board. Moving up to the boat from the smaller trailer will also be welcome at some point we are sure.

Camping at Lake Pleasant, AZ
Almost home from 2 states, 5 campsites and 1,800 miles.
 


Camped Riverfront on the Colorado River in Parker, AZ


 


Our trailer is very roomy with the slide out open but  the décor was dated when we bought it and.needed some remodelling.
Completely remodelled inside. Complete new paint, window coverings and décor. It's so much more liveable now.
The 27' Prowler was also completely serviced on all of it's mechanicals and works like new.
 
We have continued to educate our self about sailing and cruising by reading many blog posts most of which we share with our fans on our Facebook page. We also take time to do some boating and have not been without our own power boat to continue to recreate on the water and manage our navigation skills with. One of the perks of being a dealer is always having a boat for sale that we can use.
 
 Although we have not chartered in the last few years, we have maintained our membership so that we can charter and take classes in the future when we get closer to buying the sailboat.
 
Amanda cruising our Sleekcraft "Big Red" @ Lake Havasu 2013
Docked is our 23' Glastron for a quick lunch @ Lake Havasu 2015
 
 
We will be continuing to countdown the months until we can untie our dock lines, never forgetting to be cognoscente of  learning and doing what is necessary to attain our goal. But as we don't want to miss the opportunity to live for now we will continue to enjoy the ride along the way. As we get closer we will certainly find more sailing activity to report on in this blog......stay tuned!
 
Dining at the Thirsty Pirate Beach Bar at the Pirates Den RV Resort on the Caribbean of the Colorado River in Parker, AZ.