What We Did During Our “Summer Vacation”

Our last blog entry was quite some time ago. So, this is a summary of our activities over the period July thru November, 2009. We have tons of pictures, and will post some of them to the blog in separate entries as we sort them out...

Travel:

• Walt and Susan flew to Phoenix July 14
• Walt flew back to St. Lucia August 10
• Susan drove to San Luis Obispo, via Los Angeles to visit sisters Yvonne and Dee, and niece Sierra
• Susan drove to San Diego to visit granddaughter Allie, then back to Phoenix

While in Scottsdale we:

• Celebrated Ray Delrich’s 85^th Birthday July 20 (Susan’s Dad)
• Celebrated Walt’s 65^th birthday August 1
• Visited Kara, Miguel, Madison, and grandson Andrew
• Hung out with friends Phyllis and Terry Carron, who graciously allowed us to stay in their guest room for much of our time in Scottsdale - (THANK YOU!!!)
• Visited with friends Marie and John Discerni, Jim and Jordanna Morris, Pate and Ivan Yerger, Phil Browner, Doug and Jan West, Jan and Michael Mehren, Liz Curran, Jenny Leahy, Joyce Crowe, and Barbara Hayes
• Susan’s daughter Jeannine, her husband Greg Dittoe, and daughter Nikki came to Scottsdale from Sacramento for a visit. Susan’s sister Yvonne, and daughter Sierra also came to Scottsdale at the same time as Jeannine and Greg. We all hung out at the Scottsdale Princess Hotel pool

We still missed seeing many others of our friends we had hoped to see – we just ran out of time…

In addition, we:

• Attended annual appointments with our various doctors, and our dentist for medical checkups (all results satisfactory)
• Prepared and filed our 2008 income tax returns (ugh)
• Walt enrolled in Medicare
• Our dog Molly had her next round of shots, and was spayed
• Susan created and filed our LLC papers for our charter business, and opened our business banking accounts
• Susan worked with our website developer to create the website for Kingdom Yacht Charters
• We met with our Financial Advisor, Yolanda Arrington, for our annual financial planning review - without her help and advice, our retirement would not be possible

Boat Projects:

• Rebuilt hydraulic rams for our Naiad Stabilizers
• Repaired watermaker system leak, and repaired compressor drive motor
• Replaced waste system hoses as necessary
• Fixed holding tank pump-out problem
• Repainted non-skid deck surfaces in Aft Deck and Cockpit areas
• Varnished cap rails
• Replaced 32-volt battery bank
• Polished hull from waterline to rub rail
• Re-seated and re-joined stone countertop in galley
• Fabricated a new varnished teak finishing strip around countertop
• Purchased and installed additional emergency boarding step for swim platform
• Welded and re-installed broken swim ladder bracket under swim platform
• Created bracket and seat for stern passarelle (gangway) using Tide Rider for dock access from transom door
• Fixed leak in Flybridge ice maker water supply
• Installed new AM/FM/CD Player in Flybridge console
• Purchased two high-end lounge chairs for Flybridge
• Re-seated wet-bar console on Flybridge
• Fabricated a removable insert for the forward stateroom, making it convertible from two twin-sized beds to a king-sized bed
• Custom-fitted linens for above king-sized bed
• Purchased and installed a new Force-10 BBQ grille
• Replaced the cracked and scuffed Flybridge windscreen with new clear plexiglass windscreen
• Re-wired Salon sound system, so that all components (TV, DVD, CD, and IPOD) all are routed to the BOSE Surround Sound speakers
• Cleaned Main Engine Fuel Filters and Water Separators
• Repaired 32-Volt battery charger
• Re-charged the Salon air conditioning system with Freon gas

Visitors aboard KINGDOM

• Yvonne, Clay and Sierra were aboard from June 14, thru June 24
• Doug and Jan West were aboard from October 3, thru October 12
• ABC-TV crew were aboard November 21 for filming of a segment of “The Batchelor” series
• November 22^nd, we hosted a group aboard for the ARC Flotilla. The event is in honor of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, made up of a fleet of cruising boats which sets sail from Las Palmas, Canary Islands on this date. Their destination is Rodney Bay, St. Lucia. Aboard were our friends, Dockmaster Troy, Master Craftsman Imbert, and his wife Marianne, as well as Dominick (Discovery Hotel General Manager) and his parents, Hans and Bettina, who were visiting from Germany.

Fun Stuff:

• Sundowners at Chateau Mygo – where all house drinks are two-fer’s, and the Piton Beers come with a lime wedge, and in their own bucket of ice - we are usually joined by a mix of fellow cruisers Kenny and Kathy, Lisa and David, Captain Ben Fisher, and local residents Jeff and Jan Bullen, Nick and Bev Dyer, Susie, Maggie, and of course, our gracious and lovely hostess, Doreen (owner of Chateau Mygo)
• Tuesday Sushi nights at Chateau Mygo – when master Sushi Chef Michael feeds Susan, and the band plays until late – and we dance our feet off
• July 4^th BBQ Party – also Jeff and Jan Bullen’s anniversary party
• Playing Bananas at the Discovery Hotel’s swim-up bar
• The “Welcome Back Molly” Party in early October– combined with Susan’s and Jan West’s birthday celebrations
• Halloween Party – held at Doolittle’s Restaurant and Bar – dinner and dancing, costumes, scary décor, and a raffle to benefit children’s charities – we even won a couple of prizes
• Thanksgiving Day Dinner – traditional turkey and dressing, with all the trimmings, organized by Doreen’s family and held at her cousin Beverly’s large, beautiful home overlooking Marigot Bay
• Snorkeling at the Pitons, near Jalousie resort, with Yvonne, Clay, Sierra, and Doug and Jan West (two separate occasions)
• Zip-Lining in the Rain Forest with Yvonne, Clay, Sierra, Kenny Walker, and Ben Fisher
• Dinners with friends at the Rain Forest Restaurant – the only 4-Star restaurant in St. Lucia we have found – in fact, one of the best in the Caribbean
• French Baguettes fresh from the oven every morning