Surprise, surprise. We spent a lot of time over the past month in the car. 1700 miles of time, with a few other side trips tacked on to that. About the only boat projects we tackled involved moving a few boxes up to the OPO and a whole lot of research into lithium batteries and the Vesper AIS unit we’ve got. Jeremy also spent a fair amount of time answering questions and adding functionality to his FastSeas system (passage planning and weather routing for the budget-minded cruiser).

Car trips are great for thinking and also for conversation. We comment on the scenery.

We also talk about boat projects. What to do, what the details are that we need to remember, what we need to bring to the boat the next time we go down.

On the final leg of our holiday marathon road trip, we started going through the boat. “Starting from the stern and going forward, what are we doing?”

The list went on and on. In fact, it went on for so long that we missed our exit off of 95 and had to wind through country roads so narrow and twisty that conversation was unwise from a distraction perspective.

We’ve never done it quite this way, marching methodically through the entire vessel and thinking about what is happening each place. Though the final list is daunting, it’s also in some ways liberating. We know we haven’t left anything out (how hard are you laughing? You KNOW we’ll think of something we forgot), and it is helping us start narrowing down what we might be able to need to outsource.

It’s not likely that all of these projects will be completed before we head off. The first decision (also a part of that car ride conversation) is around where to be to do the vast majority of this stuff. Anywhere we move the boat to, whether in Deltaville or elsewhere, will mean moving the boat - so those projects, the ones involving the electrical system, batteries, the fuel tank, and the associated bulkhead work rise to the top of the list.

But that bunk project is so close . . .

Which brings it all back to the idea that sometimes you work on what you can, even if there are more pressing items. We’re in Charlottesville for the next couple of weeks, so varnish work and hatch rebuilding work is on the agenda. Ordering parts, researching fabric for the cushions, downsizing clothing - this is all work we can do from here.

And the next time we head to Calypso, we don’t drive on 95 so at least we can’t miss an exit!