Getting Ready for the Move North

We moved our car from our marina in Georgia to the marina where Drift Away will spend the next six months.  I've arranged for a 6' x 12' UHaul to cart our stuff up to Bleecker.  I've also purchased a generator from some folks here at the marina.  Things are coming together.

We hope to be up in Bleecker in mid-May so we can start cleaning up the stumps left from clearing the land.  I need to replace a hydraulic hose on the backhoe first, though.

There is a mobile home on the property that I posted on a local Facebook swap shop page.  I had a lot of people who wanted it then, and gave it to the first respondent.  He was supposed to have removed it.  According to my mom-in-law, it's still there.  I posted it again, but have gotten no response.  Great.

Pam and I are both sad to be leaving Drift Away, our home for over three years now.  But our mini-cruise should be fun before we're hauled out.  If you're interested in following it, our cruising blog is www.trawlerdriftaway.blogspot.com.

Berries!

We're getting down to the wire.  Pam's last day at work was Saturday.  We've been moving things from the boat to our storage unit.  We purchased a diesel generator from a fellow boater who bought it and decided he didn't need it after all.  And today, we were at Tractor Supply and bought some berry plants.

Those are Fall Gold berries on the left, and two packages of Logan berries on the right.   Buying these made Pam smile.  It was a "it's finally happening" smile.

We should be in Bleecker in early May.

Getting Ready

We're living aboard our trawler, Drift Away, down here  in Brunswick Georgia.  It's on the market, but if it doesn't sell by the end of April, it's going on the hard for the summer in Florida.   We'll rent a U-haul and drag many of our belongings up to Bleecker to begin the process of building our little farmstead over the next few months.

Notice that I said "begin".   We've decided to take our time here and do it right.  The change came about when we found a nice place to rent just down the road from our land in Bleecker.  Some nice folks in Long Island own it and don't use it much and agreed to rent it to us for a very reasonable price, for which we're grateful.  With the pressure off, and if the boat is unsold, we'll take our time, get as much done as we can, and return to our boat next winter and cruise south.

The first thing we're going to build is a mouse proof shed to store our stuff.  Right now, we have two storage units, one in Georgia and one in New York.  We'll consolidate both into our own shed, saving us $200 a month in storage fees.

We'd like to get the house plan finalized, the foundation, well, and septic installed, and the house framed and enclosed.  That would be a good first year's goal.   In 2014, we'd finish the house and then start the small barn and gardens.  If the boat sells, we stay in Bleecker full time, including the w-w-w-w-winter.  If not, it's back to Florida and the boat.

The Good Lord willin' an' the creek don't rise.

We Bought a New Mountain Car

Pam and I had three cars. My 2008 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner pickup, my 1956 Thunderbird, and Pam's 2003 Dodge Stratus. When we decided to cruise down the coast, we put the Toyota and Thunderbird in storage and gave Pam's car to her son Sean, who had joined the Air Force and needed wheels.

We decided to give my Thunderbird to my daughter Becky and son-in-law Rick. We're going to be busy building a shack in the woods for the next couple of years and won't have much time to use it. I had planned on willing it to Becky anyway, and so why wait until I croak?

I loved my Toyota truck, but it was two wheel drive. Where we're moving, we need four wheel drive. Since 4WD vehicles sell for a premium up north and aren't worth much here in Georgia, we decided to shop for a car here.

Now, let me set the stage. I used to sell cars, and I was very good at it. I know cars, and how to wrangle a deal.

I bought my Toyota in Stamford, Connecticut. No one drives trucks there except people who do lawn maintenance. It was a 2008, and I bought it in 2010. Book on it was $22k. I paid $16k, and they were glad to get it. I drove it for three years, and here in Georgia pickup trucks are considered country Cadillacs. To make a long story short, I negotiated a wholesale trade of $15,500 for the Toyota. That means it only cost me $500 to drive it three years.

I don't shop around for much of anything, especially cars. I did all my homework on the internet and narrowed my choices down to Kia and Toyota. I contacted two Toyota dealers and one Kia. The Toyota salespeople's responses were slow and pathetic. The Kia dealership responded immediately and wanted to sell me a car.

We bought a new 2013 Kia Sorento, six cylinder and all-wheel drive. The dealer's first offer was $20k and my trade. I beat them up and got them down to $10k. The key here is knowing what the dealer's markup is on the new vehicle, being aware of any rebates or incentives, and knowing the value of your trade-in. The dealer's job is to get you to pay as much as they can, and your job is to be educated enough not to let them.

Anyway, I know this isn't cruising or living aboard related, but it's my excuse for not updating the blog. Tomorrow I'll be reading the owner's manual, trying to figure out how all this fancy new fangled blue tooth Sirius USB stuff works. Oh, and the dogs love the car. It has three rows of seats, and the back two fold down flat so the dogs have lots of room.

So I think we're all set to drive up and down Bleecker Mountain next winter, if we spend the winter there.

And yes, the brand new car already has doggie nose art all over the windows.

Guns On The Farm and the NRA

My Mom's side of the family, the farm family, always owned guns. I got my first gun, a bolt action .22 (which I still have) when I was 16 and used it for hunting small game and target shooting.  That gun taught me a lot.  Since I was only 16, I had to take a hunter/gun safety course before I could get my first hunting license.  I learned about safety and responsibility when handling firearms.

We will have a few animals on our little place, and so we will attract wild animals.  Common in the Adirondacks are bears, foxes, coyotes, skunks, porcupines, and to a lesser extent, lynx, bobcats, and wolves.  Yes, wolves.  They're supposed to be extinct in the Adirondacks, but one was mistakenly shot as a wild dog a few years ago in nearby Edinburgh.  I'll need to supplement my .22 rifle and 12 gauge shotgun with something with a bit more punch, like a .223 Ruger Mini-14 or a 30-30.

I really never gave the ownership of guns much thought until recently, with mass murders seemingly in vogue, gun violence at record highs in inner cities, cries for gun control from some, and similar cries about gun confiscation, the 2nd amendment, and government tyranny from others.  Guns are headline news.

Being an inquisitive sort, and the kind of person who tries to understand all sides of an issue, I've done a bit of research over the past few years. One conclusion that I've come to is that, in my opinion, the NRA is a sham. It is no longer the worthy gun education group it once was. Nor does it lobby lawmakers on behalf of gun owners, but rather gun manufacturers. The NRA is all about corporate greed.

In advance of our move back to upstate New York to build our little farmstead, I recently looked into joining a rifle club. One requirement of membership is joining the NRA. I will not be joining the rife club.

This is a good video. Please get by the remarks about things like hollow point bullets (these folks obviously aren't hunters), and focus on the organization of the NRA and it's funding, and how it operates by instilling fear, uncertainty, and doubt in both its members and the general public.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7cWv0qmIhjk

Company Is Like Fish

Company is like fish.  After three days, it stinks.  Old saying.

We need to figure out where we're going to live until our little house is built in Bleecker.  We could stay with Pam's folks, but see old saying above.

We could rent an apartment, but with three large dogs, that would be difficult, even for Fulton County NY.

We could buy a travel trailer and live in that.  We'd have it to use for vacations once the house is done.

We could buy a used mobile home, deliver it up to the land, and live in that until the house was done, and then sell it.  But the cost to deliver and set up a mobile home can run in the thousands.  Still, it would be more comfortable than a travel trailer.

The way I used to plan the programming of large computer systems was to itemize every program, every menu, and every minute step needed for completion.   Carefully estimate the time to complete each.  Then double it.  What if it takes me two years or longer to build the house and get the certificate of occupancy?

Any other ideas?  Get the basement done quick and become "cellar dwellers"?

Dreaming of Bleecker

Thorp, one of our followers, asked if I'd get off the dime and write something about our plans for our Bleecker homestead.  Being here in Georgia, many hundreds of miles away from upstate New York, there's not much we can actually do but read about things we need to learn, like how to build a house, and dream.

Pam and I enjoy sitting on the aft deck of our boat (which is for sale!) to enjoy the sunset and a glass or two from a fine box of wine.  We often talk about our plans for our little homestead and what we envision for it.

First, we have to build the house.   We want it to look rustic, with natural rough cut wood siding, plank floors, pine paneling, and so on.  Our main source of heat will be wood.

Next to be built will be a barn.  Pam would like to have a couple of horses.  She's also been reading about raising bees and chickens.  There may be a few other critters as well, perhaps a goat or two, maybe a few sheep.  I think having a few llamas would be fun.

My daughter, Becky, goes to Gore Mountain with friends every year, and one of the stops she makes is someplace that has llamas.  I wonder how they see?