Even work is fun!

Just in case you think we have been shirking our boat duties, I can assure you that work is going on apace.
Fill holes, sand them down, then repeat. When it is done to your satisfaction, do again with finer sandpaper! Chris also ground down some of our above water blisters, re-glassed them and they look pretty darned good. Frank, from the yard, glassed the larger holes where our no-longer-needed instruments were, and you would never know they had been there.

See? It's fun!

After lots (and lots) of sanding we got our first base coat sprayed on the topsides on November 20th. Woo Hoo!

We spent a couple of nights in the local motel as the fumes were too strong to stay on the boat and returned to find the boatyard had already started filling (with pink) some more spots made visible by the new coat of paint. If you do this soon enough after the spraying you can miss out the sanding to prep for that session. We're all for that! Then you sand again to get ready for the next coat of paint!

Just starting the first spraying. Frank and Frankie worked for over 3 1/2 hours to do the topsides, excluding the anti-skid areas. It looks great!

Sanding has it's side effects. We have taken our wedding rings off after we noticed them getting smaller by being sanded away. And our fingertips are getting the same treatment as the boat. The rough outer skin is sanded off to reveal tender, pink, perhaps bleeding skin beneath. We have it on good authority that by the time you get down to really fine grit paper your fingers are so smooth that, to quote, "the girls really like it". Hmmmm

Some people think we must be getting a little disgruntled with all the boat work, but not at all. We don't want to take any longer than we have to, but we realize this is not a quick job. It will take as long as it will take. In the meantime we are learning so much about our boat that we really feel this is a great opportunity.

White with pink spots - it could catch on...

Russ and Lilly treated ourselves and another family of cruisers to a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner at their house. Russ works at the yard and very kindly thought that we might enjoy a home cooked holiday meal. I always thought I could cook a pretty mean turkey but this one beat me. The secret, I'm told, is to inject it with marinade and basting sauce as it cooks. Along with ham, yams, beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing and a host of other traditional fare we ate the best meal we have enjoyed in a long time.

Two days later and Chris and I were out to Urbanna, at yet another meal, hosted on a self-built wooden boat by some very nice people we met at the yard. It's amazing to be in a boat that someone has built completely themselves. This was a lovely and very roomy boat, complete with a small wood stove to heat the inside. They are getting ready for a trip to Bermuda.

We have met so very many kind, generous and really nice people while we have been on the boat. I can't imagine a more pleasant life.

Urbanna Oyster Festival

This is certainly a part of the country that likes to celebrate!
Early in November the town of Urbanna, about half an hour west of here, holds an oyster festival, which is now in it's 51st year.

The first day of this two-day event was chilly and rainy and we decided to give it a miss. The last day didn't start out any better but We voted to go. The rain stopped and the skies cleared as soon as we arrived in town. It was the first time we had been to Urbanna. It is a lovely little place with a sheltered harbour. It was established in the early years of the new colonies as one of the centers for shipping goods and tobacco back to Europe. The roads were closed off for the Festival and were thronged with people out to enjoy the day.

One of several live bands

The highlight of the day was the parade. There were marching high school bands, drum and pipe bands, old and ancient cars, majorettes, gymnasts, the irrepressable Shriners, the Oyster Shucking Queen (!!) and much more. The stalls had all sorts of foodstuffs and there were tons of them. I finally got to taste a roast oyster and I think I could get used to them! There was a cute dog act, that had all the kids openmouthed, and some great bands. It was a fun day.
We didn't have our camera with us, so all these great photos are courtesy of our friends on New Life.

Yours truly x 2

Boys in Blue

A high school band

Two of lots of great cars

Looking fine!

Those cartwheels take it out of you - just one more..

Shriners having fun

Playing with fire

Bringing up the rear

What it's all about

Smart dogs!

Hallowe'en

The end of October brings Halloween, and we spent it at the Holly Point Museum and Park. This is property that was donated by the previous owner and now hosts a nature park with several gardens to walk through, as well as a museum featuring Deltaville's boatbuilding heritage and restoration projects in progress. In early October they hold an art and seafood festival. We attended last year and had the best shrimp salad either of us ever tasted. This year we had to give it a miss in order to attend the Annapolis boat show (we bought a life-raft!), but we certainly thought Halloween would be fun. Especially as our Swiss friends have a 6 year old son who had never experienced Halloween.

Marvin at the entrance

It seemed as though most of the town got in on the act. Businesses sponsored stations which you visited after you entered, some with larger than life inflatable Halloween decorations, some with scary cobwebs and bats and creepy sounds. Each station had a costumed helper or two, giving out treats or goodies, even a T-shirt! After we had wandered through all the stations, with 6 year old Marvin getting into the act quite easily and uttering a few shrieks himself, we started on a Haunted Trail that led through the forest walk. It was nearly dark by this time, and we entered the trees by passing under a large archway with an evil looking devil. Eek!

It's Casper!

A groaning, smoking, creepy car

The Devil's Gate

Now it was the turn of other town volunteers to show what they could do. There were lots of ghoulish costumes hiding in the trees, ready to jump out and frighten us. Floaty cobwebs and flying bats, skeletons crawling out of coffins, headless ladies searching for their killer. Adults and teens alike had bent over backwards to put on one of the the best Hallowe'ens I can remember, the only entrance fee being a donation if you wished.

Do we know you?

Bubble, Bubble, toil and trouble....

After a hay-ride we did some traditional trick-or-treating at a couple of neighbourhood homes (which should have been on the cover of a magazine with their decorations) before returning home to check out the loot.

Great decorations