Dreaming of someplace warm

With today’s overcast sky and drizzle rain we are having the hitch itch. Some friends are already at their destinations either in the southwest or southern places for the winter season, which makes us a little bit jealous.  

The last fire of the season, reducing the scrap pile

What is holding us back, you ask? Well, yesterday I got my second shingles vaccination shot that I though was important to get. Our two dachshunds Reggy and Elsa had their rabies shots on Tuesday. Those are repeated every three years and this was their renewal date and the vaccinations are required to cross into the USA. The crew that is supposed to shrink-wrap our boat for the winter time is pretty well working overtime with all their bookings, but promised us to come this Sunday, fingers crossed.

 

For all the people that head south and are not full-timers, they know that packing the RV for travel is somewhat of a chore. Many things that go into the RV we still use on a daily base so that eliminates pre-packing until the last day or so. And then there is the food planning. Some food items are not allowed to cross the border and our fridge/freezer in the travel trailer is much smaller than the one we have in the house, so we have been cutting down on new food purchases and eating up what we can’t take or what doesn’t fit. Benno is a good sport by helping to reduce the contents of those unopened ice-cream containers from the freezer that I had been hoarding for special occasions ;-)

 

The now empty engine bay

The old engine in its bay

That brings me to the boat activities he has been involved in since my last posting. Since the old engine came out, he had to strip and take out much of the interior and wiring, because things will be a bit different once the new engine goes in. And yes, if you were wondering if we made a decision on the new replacement engine, we have. Last week the rep for southern Ontario, Mr. Craig Morley of Beta Marine Canada, a marine diesel engine supplier, came by and left later with an order and down payment for a "Beta 38" diesel engine, which will go into “Albatross’s“ engine bay when delivered coming spring next year. The “Beta 38“ base diesel is a 38 hp 4 cylinders Kubota diesel, which is marinized at Beta Marine Ltd in the UK. 

 

Until next spring time the boat will just hibernate here on our property before Benno will get to work on her again. In the meantime Benno greased the wheel bearings and suspension on the travel trailer to make sure it is in good travel order. He also turned the travel trailer around for easy hookup (we could leave in a hurry without a sweat ;-) 

 

So I leave you here with a couple of photos of Reggy and Elsa, who have been brave in this miserable weather staying indoors because Mommy didn’t want to go out with them for their walk!

 

 Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and readers from the USA. Thanks for dropping by and hopefully the next update will be from the road!