Today marks 3 weeks we have been living aboard SV Checked Out.   It still feels like we just moved aboard and like all moves, we’re still trying to put stuff away.

We spent the last 3 days in Boone, NC visiting Tyler.  The weather was gorgeous unlike Oriental which will have 2 days with heat warnings above 100 degrees and the next 2 days will have up to 1-3 inches of rain.  On these days we rest and stay inside.    I realized last night as I was getting into bed that it was nice to be home again.

 This is me after not shaving for about 60-70 days.    Its like a right of passage men have to go through when they retire.   The dock master saw me and said I looked like every other man in Oriental, she’s right!  I thought I was smiling in this picture.

 New/same old me.  I guess I am not a beard kind of guy. I did get a new shirt while in Boone.   I need another work shirt that I can get real dirty several times before I throw it away.

Jan and I did have a conversation about wedding rings while in Boone.  She developed an irritation under her ring and took off her ring.  I have lost a lot of weight and stopped wearing my ring because I did not want to take a chance on losing it.  At any moment I can be working in the bilge or hanging off the boat work on dock lines.   We’ve been married 36 years, I think we can get past not wearing our rings.

Our work list keeps  getting longer.  With this heat we work in the am and then shower/lunch/nap until the late afternoon.   Then we eat dinner and go into Oriental to walk the dog by the river.      This is a picture during one of our walks.

Jan spent a full day painting the inside of several storage lockers.This is the empty tool locker.

This is the tool locker almost full.  So far it has 16 containers of tools and spare parts along with 2 gallons of anti freeze, 1 quart of oil and assorted wrenches, hammer, saw, winch handles, and an oil change pump.

 This is a before/ after shot of how nice the lazarett storage lockers look after they have been painted.  The locker on the left holds life jackets and bumpers.  The other locker is the entrance to the man cave/engine room.  When I stand up in the lazeret my shoulders and head poke up above the seats.  The green thing in the middle is the steering pedestal with a cover on it.

The feature picture on the home page for this post is Scout and I fishing off of the A dock.   Each dock is labeled so you know where your slip is.  We are on D dock.  After you’ve fished for a while your rod and reel smell like fish which drove Scout nuts.  I also found some frozen shrimp at the Walmart in New Bern.  That smelled great also, she thought I brought snacks!  We are slowly relaxing into this new life.

More to come,

Jan, Matt & Scout