No Sails!

Location: Near Deltaville, VA

Subject:  No sails?

Hold onto your hats! Those whacky Rachels are at it again!!

Let's set the scene. They've just returned from Florida after selling Rachel the catamaran, and are sitting in a two bedroom flat at their friends' house near Deltaville, VA. It's cold outside and they seem slightly bored. Perhaps it's because they have no sails to adjust, and no boat jobs to do. Let's listen in....

“Now that we've sold the boat what are we going to do next?” she asks.

He replies “I dunno. Move back into the house?”

“Okay.”

(Two days pass during which initial plans are made to move back into the house at the end of April)

“You know, I hit my head in Houdini, too.” he says, looking bored again.

“Yes.” she says, “I remember.”

(Two more days pass – he's been looking around on the Internet for potential replacements for Houdini the Toyota)

“Feel like taking a road trip down to Myrtle Beach to check out a 2007 Winnebago View 23J and see if we like it? That vintage is smaller than the newer ones we've seen.”

“Okay” she says “but we're just going to look, right?”

“Of course, darling.”

(Two more days pass - you may be able to sense where this is going – they drive a Wanda-load of boat stuff down to Blacksburg and drop it off, then head down to Myrtle Beach)

 “Wow. This is in really good condition – it looks almost new.”

“Wow. I like this layout.”

“Yeah. And the 5-cylinder diesel has more power than the Toyota.”

 "Right. And I love the bed in the back and the slide out dinette that creates so much more living space.”

(The excitement builds. They are starting to sound like an advertisement)

“YES! And the big fuel tank would give us a lot more range!”

“YES! And the 6' 5” headroom means I wouldn't have to listen to you whining about hitting your head any more!”

“YES! And it has cruise control! And comfy seats!”

“YES! And a guest bed for the grandkids!”

“YES! And a shower stall I can stand up in!”

“YES! And a 3-burner stove and a big fridge!”

“YES! And it only has 47,000 miles on it!”

“YES!!” 

 “OH, YES!!!”

(Uh oh...what's that smell? Could it be the acrid scent of boat money burning holes in pockets?)

“Let's buy it!”

“Okay!”

And they do. As they're driving back to Deltaville they stop for an overnight visit with their newest granddaughter, Celia Rose, born last December, and her family.

“Wow! She's even more beautiful than her pictures!”

“And absolutely precious!”

“Can I hold her?”

“Ooh! Me, too! Can I hold her, too?”

(Two more days pass – we rejoin our spendthrift friends back in the flat near Deltaville – they don't seem to be as bored now)

“You know, I was awake in the night thinking..”

“Always a dangerous proposition.” he interjects

“.. about moving back into the house. We just spent all that money on the RV, and we're going to be doing a lot of traveling this year. Maybe we should rent the house again instead of moving back in. We could really use the income.”

“Okay.”

(See how congenial they are? :-)

(Closing scene: it's a warm, sunny spring day. The camera pans to a distant View bouncing jauntily down a back country road.)

“Beep beep!”

<scattered applause>

So here we are near Deltaville, staying a bit longer with our friends, helping them with painting and wiring and cooking and doing dishes and pouring wine and whatever else they need us to do as they remodel their kitchen.

Then it's off to Blacksburg around Easter weekend to haul back the final load of stuff from the boat, drop off Wanda the Honda, and take care of a few other things at our house. After that we're saddlin' up and headin' south in the View until May. It's become apparent that it's much too cold for us up here in Virginia. And, anyway, we could use a good shakedown cruise.

Keep an eye out for us – we shouldn't be too hard to spot since, for the first time ever, we've decided to spring for personalized license plates: “NO SAILS”.