Back on Saxon Blue - Hurray
Saxon Blue's Blog
Harvey Jones and Andrea Stokes
Sun 5 Dec 2010 01:57
Yesterday was a bit of a trial. Bill took us both back to the airport which was lovely of him as I was feeling really weak and sorry for myself. We got to meet his dad at the airport, albeit briefly, and then got to enjoy the tranquility (seriously, it was really peaceful in the departure lounge) before the flight back to Washington DC. After landing, there was an entirely predictable fiasco while James, our favourite Annapolis taxi driver waited for us in the wrong place while we froze in the bitter wind and then we were back on Saxon Blue by lunchtime.
All the stanchions were back on so most of the work had been completed although I was too wiped out to even look at it. I managed a bit of dry toast and spent the afternoon snoozing on the sofa with the heating on. The guy from M Yachts who've been doing the work came by to see if everything was tidied up and gave me a de-briefing on what they've done and not done by which time I was starting to feel a bit more enthusiastic. The Racor filters are still bubbling and they spent hours - days even, I think - trying to work out how and why with no result. Everyone is perplexed and there isn't really any way forward on it at the moment so we'll just have to live with it and keep thinking.
The stanchions themselves are now inboard of the toe-rail which will make mooring a lot less stressful. It's not a very good job of tube bending but it's better than busting the bases and looks OK. Once we're used to seeing it, I don't think we'll be bothered about the style and we'll always benefit from the new function. Discovery really ought to make them this way in the first place and I've never seen another boat where they stick out.
Anyway, I managed a bit of brown rice and vegetables for dinner and felt a lot more myself. We watched an episode of Star Trek Voyager (we can't watch Battlestar Galactica without Kali) and then went to bed for a very cold night. In the end, Andrea got up and put another duvet on top of us which warmed our feet up and we were much more comfortable although we may have to get bed hats to keep our heads warm. Despite that, we both loved being back onboard. There's no place like home!
Luckily for me, I was still able to play the "ill" card this morning so Andrea got up, put the heating on and made a cup of tea while I recovered (ie lounged) in bed. Delicious. In fact, I'm fine today and we've had a great time pottering around the marina, doing the laundry, sorting out stuff on the boat, eating healthy home-cooked food and talking through some of our experiences of the USA and how it compares to the other places we've visited. I think Andrea put her finger on it when she pointed out that the very visible wealth in the US is all in private hands while the public facilities are basic, if not positively third world. Massive pillared houses sit with immaculate V8 monster-trucks parked outside on crumbling roads while, overhead, power lines dangle from rickety poles. Honestly, the electricity system is worse than Delhi and the roads are so bad that you do need a 4x4 just to navigate the freeway.
We've done a load of administration things to get us ready for our departure to Bermuda which will hopefully be next week. Tonight, though, it's back to the important stuff. It's the X-Factor semi-finals so we're rocking YouTube to the max and we may even get time for another bit of Star Trek. Now that's living.
Harvey
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