1. We are back living aboard 'Untide'
2. We aren't paying two lots of rent, so have 'Travel' money! woohoo.....more on that later...perhaps another blog!
It is more challenging to sell a boat that is being lived on, than one that isn't. For that reason we dressed the boat up to her lovely best, as seen in previous post in April, and moved into the Apartment.
With large chunks of time spent away from the apartment, we figure we have only spent a total of 5 1/2 months actually living there, out of the 9 months we have paid rent.
I'll go backwards in the timeline as it's the easiest thing for me to do...memory and all that!
As I said, we are back living aboard our Baby. How did this come about??
Hurricane Irma! Such a simple thing to say, but with HUGE implications. The rest of the story goes something like this:
At the beginning of August Waz and I flew back to New Zealand. We spent the first four days in Auckland getting over our jet lag and the 8 hr time difference between NZ and Florida, visiting family and generally finding our kiwi feet.
We were also Home for the change of lease on one of the properties we own there. Our long time tenant was leaving, and we took that opportunity to do some renewal and cleaning. That we spent the entire 10 days there cleaning, rewiring/lighting/painting et al, is almost beside the point. We did take a day off to drive to Lake Taupo to enjoy being beside that large and lovely body of water with it's extraordinary views down the lake to Mts Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe.
Sitting on a seat at lake's edge we encountered others who also regarded that view as extraordinary; Malaysian Medical students on vacation and particularly a young man from northern Italy, who was happy to converse for a while. We took photos of the Malaysians, and they insisted on taking a photo of us, against the stunning backdrop. Those white things in the background to the right of Waz, are the mountains.
We had spent part of the morning tiki-touring in Rotorua, just an hour north east of Lake Taupo.
A Kiwi nurse friend of ours whom we had met in Brunswick, Georgia (She and her Aussie Husband Ray were sailboaters, but have since returned to NZ) told us about some FANTASTIC Custard Squares that we absolutely HAD to try, at a café at the bottom of Hospital Hill, in Rotorua, so we did...try them, that is.
The Café has a lovely view of Lake Rotorua (if you haven't been, you really should!) and we enjoyed sitting with the other folks enjoying the view AND the custard squares:) Passionfruit icing on top made the vanilla custard and puff pastry delights even more delightful! They sell hundreds of these each day, they said. The staff were chatty and fun and we thoroughly enjoyed this beginning to our first day off in two weeks.
It is common, in this small city and it's surrounding countryside, to encounter steam, boiling water and mud on the roadside. As you drive from Rotorua towards Lake Taupo (A Volcanic Crater) you see more and more evidence of this volcanic activity. The three mountains mentioned are active volcanoes, so this localized steam/mud/water activity is hardly surprising. Wairakei, just north of Taupo has a large Geothermal Power Station.
Individual homes have their own geothermal spa pools in their yards and steam boxes for cooking, and geothermal heating. How economical is that? Making the most of what Mother Nature has provided.
That Rotorua generally smells like Rotten Eggs, is rather beside the point, when you observe the volcanic activity around you. Hydrogen Sulphide is the obvious by-product and DANGER! Occasionally we hear of tourists over-stepping the barriers provided to keep everyone safe, and they end up cooking themselves.
Following our morning Café and custard square, we meandered downhill towards that large structure you see in the photo. A Maori church. Did I mention that Rotorua is the first bi-lingual (Maori/English) city in New Zealand, and therefore The World! Rotorua is also what many consider to be The Heart of Maoridom.
A short walk along the lake-front here revealed some of the aforementioned fumeroles. Just to give you an idea, I took some photos! This Maori Pa sits back from the lake road, but you can see where the steam is coming from the ground, and has been surrounded by rocks to protect and warn folks of the thermal activity.
Onwards to Taupo for lunch, which was sushi, strangely. I say that because we have so enjoyed getting back to eating kiwi comfort foods...Meat Pies, Lattes (it's all in the milk!) Crunchie Bars (Honeycomb covered in chocolate!!), various desserts and cookies (Gingernuts), Ginger crunch and Chocolate Caramel slice!!! Yes, lots of sugar, but we were working it off, remember!:) I took some photos of food we wished we could eat, but didn't...this time around:) Pavlova...a large one is just too much for us, and all sugar and egg whites...well, half of that is healthy, right?
Neenish tarts are lovely when home made (lemony and creamy), but we didn't want to try this trayful.
Instead we opted for the Cream Sponge, which took us a few nights to finish, but was exactly what we remembered....light as air, and delicious! Fresh cream with raspberry jam in the middle. Remember...we were working all these calories off!!!
Taupo was busy as usual, with plenty of tourists, even in the middle of Winter.
We loved the laser cut stainless on the trash bins and the drains, in Taupo. This kind of thing is fairly common in NZ, we have found.
This View of the Mountains is my favorite, and one of the reasons we went to Taupo. I spent many years, from the age of 2 1/2, skiing on Mt Ruapehu, and I consider this area to be my Spiritual Home. I have lived within her sight and worked on her slopes as well. She is the large flatter topped mountain to the left. The cone in the middle is Mt Ngauruhoe and the flat Mt on the right is Mt Tongariro
We had booked our Airbnb just out of Rotorua city some 5 miles, a short walk to the northern end of Lake Rotorua. We enjoyed the different view of the lake from there and watching the birds.
These lakes are famous for their Trout Fishing, and as you can see, there are a couple of anglers trying their luck. We were surprised to see locals riding their bikes to and from the lake with fishing rods, and later with Trout strung on a pole across the handlebars, even first thing in the morning. I well remember trout for breakfast when we holidayed at Lake Taupo, as kids.
Three nights in Whangarei also gave us the opportunity to meet the owners of the Rotorua Airbnb who work in Whangarei, and we enjoyed their company for a few hours, over coffee, at a waterfront café (of course).
This photo is looking down the row of docked yachts and boats at the Whangarei Yacht Harbor, near to where we enjoy our coffee, while there.
We left Whangarei on the morning of the 22nd, meeting our friends Caro and Lisa in Silverdale, for lunch, and then down to the mother unit and finally the SkyCity Grand Hotel, where our last night would be spent.
Waz and Poppa, who turned 95 this past April. Small family likeness!
Dinner with friends Pete and Matt, and a last meet-up with youngest child unit, Sam, over noodles in downtown Auckland, before heading back to the Hotel and a good night's sleep.
Matt on the left, the Child Unit in the middle and Pete on the right. Sam rather looks like the poor relation here...and what's with this child of mine in 'Jandals' in the middle of winter??
Sam enjoyed an Ice-cream donut after our post dinner walk along the City waterfront.
The Sky tower rises above all of Auckland's central business district (CBD)
A morning walk in mid-town Auckland on the day we left , breakfast at a Hollywood Café, another visit with the Mother Unit, before taking ourselves south to Auckland Airport. Handing back the rental car, and arriving with enough time to get a meal before the 7.45pm flight to SFO. San Francisco is always out port of choice, when re-entering the USA.
Arriving Mid-day, we had time to catch our breath before boarding the flight to Houston where we spent the night, having arrived late evening. Eastbound to Jax (Jacksonville) the next day (Thursday, 24th August), two days before Hurricane Harvey shut that and everything else down. Were WE lucky!.
Arriving home at the apartment, we were tracking Harvey closely, and feeling very concerned for friends living aboard their boats in Bayside Houston, and family further west in San Antonio, which received heavy rain and high winds. No damage to speak of, but of course Houston was a disaster of the worst kind. Friends let us know they were high and dry, staying in an Hotel, and our family were in touch throughout, from San Antonio. Schools were closed there for a couple of days.
Thursday of the following week I awoke to the hurried e-mail from family, that my Aunt had died. This was my mother's youngest and only remaining sister. Mum is the eldest in the family at 89, and her sister was 85.
Being the only person currently retired and able to travel, I offered to accompany my 1st cousin Jane, who lives in San Diego, back to NZ to deal with her mother's affairs. Jane and I met up in LAX on Sunday 3rd Sept, after I made my way from Jax (after sitting on the tarmac for two extra hours due to electrical issues prior to take-off) to Atlanta (where we sat on the tarmac yet again while someone went to find their cell phone...yes, really!!!...for an hour and a half), and onwards to LAX.
My scheduled three and a half hours in LAX to meet my cousin and enjoy a leisurely dinner together, was now a rushed 20 minutes over a sandwich before boarding our Air NZ plane to Auckland.
This was all rather surreal, to be honest.
This was the first time I had travelled without Waz by my side, in the ten years we have been together. I felt as if my right arm wasn't attached, to be honest, and slightly panicky at having to negotiate LAX (which I hate with a passion!!) and being short of time before my international flight.
Seeing Jane, after all this, was a huge relief and we were able to catch up with some plans and find her a different seat on the flight, before the long haul.
Mentioning to the flight desk attendant that her mother had died just three months after her father (just days prior to our flight), and the purpose of this flight home, they generously found Jane one of the new SkyCouch beds (without further compensation), where she was able to rest, after an exhausting 48 hrs of preparation to leave not just her home and husband, but also her business, in San Diego. The fact that they are also selling their home there, didn't help!
I managed about 6 hours of sleep in Cattle Class, and felt better for it. We met up again on the ground and cleared customs et al before finding our rental car and making our way to what had been Jane's family home.
I made this bouquet from flowers in the garden. My aunt loved her garden and it was a real pleasure to walk through it and find all these lovelies that had given her so much pleasure.
We left on the Sunday, and arrived on the Tuesday, as is normal when crossing International Date Lines and hemispheres. We had only 8 working days to accomplish our mission.
She had been back home for her Dad's funeral in May, and she and her mum had sorted out many papers etc then, so Jane knew where to find things on our return.
This is a home that has been in the family for three generations. Our grandfather bought it as a single man, and rented it out before his marriage to our Grandmother, in the early 1920's. My own mother and her next sister (also Monica) were born into this home, so it has a special meaning to most of our 12 first cousins.
Jane's mother was born into another home, but her parents purchased the home from Granddad, and she and her brother were taken there as newborns.
The journey down memory lane in this house, as we packed, sorted, sold and donated the household- full of the worldly possessions of a generation of loved ones, was particularly poignant, as Jane's father had been a well known NZ artist.
He had collected other artist's works, over his adult lifetime, and it was these that she had to decide whether to ship back to her US home, or sell through a reputable Auction House.
She made some inspired choices to remember her parents by, gave a large number of works to her brother, who was unable to help at this juncture, invited family members to make their own choices of favored works, and the rest are being sold.
The fact that we only had 10 days to accomplish everything, brought out the best in both of us. We had wonderful moral and emotional support from other family members, but for the most part it was just the two of us working in tandem to deal with the situation as best we could.
The rather tragic circumstances and dealing with the aftermath together, created a bond between the two of us that will last a lifetime, I imagine.
We both learned a lot about death and grief and about carrying on regardless, while giving ourselves and each other the time and space and comfort that we needed, when we needed it most. What a great gift!
Family and neighbors gathered on the Saturday following our arrival, for a celebration of life, fellowship and food, of course. What a wonderful family we have! We couldn't have wished for a better coming together of cousins, aunts and uncles; sometimes 3 generations. It certainly made our jobs easier knowing we could call upon any one of them for support.
We hired realtors to sell the house. Auctioneers came at short notice and accommodated our needs, as did many others who might not normally have had the time to do so. We are grateful to all of them for putting themselves out. We are grateful for the kindness shown us under these trying circumstances.
As exhausting a process as it is, clearing out the lives of the newly departed, it is also a time to learn more about them. It is a time to revisit the hard times and let them go if possible, and to laugh about the good times, the quirks, the happy memories and the special occasions enjoyed in the family home. We did all of that.
We were packed and ready to leave on Friday the 15th, with the last of the vacuuming done, and just a few items of furniture left in the home for someone else to deal with. We had done everything we could to 'finish' the job, and make our way to the airport after the evening traffic rush.
Our flight back to LAX didn't leave until 10.55pm. This meant we arrived in LA around 3pm, the same day. Jane and I parted as she made her way to the gate to return to San Diego, and I made my way out into the humid afternoon, to find my way to the Hotel I was to stay at overnight.
Breaking the journey for a night was inspired, and I am eternally grateful that I got to spend the night in a giant King bed in air conditioned splendor, having been upgraded by the front desk. They also shouted me breakfast the next morning, which was gratefully received.
The view from my Hotel window, overlooking LAX airport. Lovely warm day, after freezing cold in NZ.
I returned to Jax via Atlanta, again, arriving just before midnight. We were back on the boat just after 1am, Sunday morning.
What had Waz been doing while I was away??
With no internet access at her parent's house, and just my cell phone for contact (though there is an 8 hr time difference between NZ and Florida), I had sketchy information and only a few ideas of what was transpiring in Florida in my absence.
Before I left on the Sunday for NZ, Waz and I had been tracking Hurricane Irma across the Altantic from the African Continent. We knew she was headed this way, but not sure if she would make landfall. She looked bad enough that we made contingency plans, should it be necessary to evacuate the Apartment.
As a 3rd floor apartment we had wonderful views out over (3 miles wide) the St John's River. However, there was only about 15 feet between the building and the seawall that keeps the river off the land. Just below our apartment there was a dip in the seawall, for some strange reason.
On the Wednesday, with landfall of Irma looking likely, and an evacuation order for the entire state also likely, Waz packed up the apartment, placing as much as he could at the back of the space, away from the front rooms and windows, overlooking the river.
On Thursday he decided to make his way north through Georgia via back roads, to the Piedmont, or foothills. High ground!
With our lives (important stuff) in the back of our Honda Odyssey V6 Van, he spent the next 8 hrs on the road, having booked into an hotel in the city of Columbus, Ga. For the next five days he had to move 3 times because of the hotels being booked out. He was lucky to even find accommodation there. He made his way home on the Wednesday following Irma's landfall. Our neighbors on the dock stayed throughout the Hurricane (Jax did not take a direct hit, fortunately) and reported no damage to the boat, though the water was higher than the fence above the seawall at the Marina at high tide. It is the tidal surge that poses the most threat to land, in these low-lying parts.
The apartment directly below us on the ground floor.
Waz arrived back at the Apartment to be told that the building had been condemned, and there was an Orange notice of Condemnation stuck to our front door to prove it.
Neighbors were moving precious things out, but those who have permanent homes there were waiting to see what might be done to fix the issues, the exact nature of which were yet to be determined.
It appeared that the building had been undermined by the tidal surge which had jumped the seawall where it dipped, just below our place. The photos show a distinct lack of pilings and reinforcing steel! We felt a bit mad that the county would give the approval for such construction.
The latest news is that it may take almost a year for remedial work to be finished, but I am guessing this is a conservative estimate. We feel very sad for those seniors, which is most of the occupants, who have nowhere else to go and must vacate and store their belongings. Insurance will not necessarily be forthcoming if there is remedial work to be done.
Even though I arrived home on at 1am on the Sunday morning but we were up by 7am, feeling a bit like a piece of dry leather, and at the apartment to look over the situation and make our plans.
Our landlord had decided to invoke the clause on our agreement that lets us out of the lease due to Hurricane and Flood. This turned out to be a double edged sword for us./
Having basically evicted us, our insurance wouldn't pay. If we still had a lease, they would have paid our moving costs. We and they were a little hasty, in retrospect.
Instead, we lodged a claim with FEMA, the Federal Emergency fund, for compensation for moving expensed. We have yet to hear from them in this regard.
We obviously had to get out. Calls were made and packing begun, a storage unit was inspected and approved and we started the laborious task of taking all our worldly possessions to either the boat, for day to day living, or the new unit for storage.
The big furniture was to be removed by a moving company on the Friday morning. 2 hrs later, all was done and dusted, and by lunch time the last load was removed from the apartment, and the door locked on our apartment experience, for good.
On the Saturday following, we both took 3 hr naps, followed by 11 hrs of sleep. We hadn't been able to come down off the high of 2 weeks of crazy work in NZ and airline travel or the anxious wait in evacuated circumstances after the Hurricane. Neither of us knew whether we would have a home to go home to, or a boat in it's stead. We feel fortunate to have the boat to make our home in, again, where so many others have nothing left after Irma unleashed her fury on this close-to-water state of Florida.
The swimming pool and spa deck during Hurricane Irma. This was below the peak of the tidal surge, with the peak going almost ofer the top of the surrounding fence.
We have been catching up on sleep ever since. It is nice to know we are afloat, there is no damage to the vessel, our lives are intact and we have our possessions in high and dry storage. Evidence of the Hurricane is everywhere around us. The Marina club house and offices are currently undergoing construction work to cut out the wet framing and Gib board, re-tile the bathrooms and laundry, and put a new heater in the spa pool, not to mention all the gardening that has been taking place, trees and debris along the roadside from here to kingdom come, and a city drying out after the deluge.
The office is being reconstructed from the ground up..literally!
The sights we see every day now, with the debris from the hurricane along the side of all roads.
I know this is a looong story, but it is THE story of how we come to be living back aboard the boat.
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