Just over six months ago we put Escapade in a boat shed at Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake Virginia, packed up a U-Haul trailer and moved back on Road House. We had a great 4 week, 2,800 mile road trip back across country to Palm Springs California, stopping to see friends and to check out some new places. We loved Tennessee – visiting friends in Dandridge, touring Knoxville, The Great Smokey Mountains and Nashville. From there we went on to see more friends in Festus Missouri, Oklahoma City OK, Ruidoso NM and Mesa AZ.

Rolling back into the Outdoor Resort Palm Springs was just like going home and it was so fun to see all our friends there, catch up and reconnect.

After settling in, we flew to Portland Oregon in November and spent ten days catching up with friends. One of the highlights was fresh Dungeness crab for Thanksgiving dinner. Our long time boating friends Leslie and Jeff hosted us at their beach house in Rockaway. We have had some stellar adventures with these two over the years. It was as great to spend quality time with them and their dog Rocky. The crabbing in Tillamook Bay on Thanksgiving morning was cold but very productive. The ramp to the boat was icy so us girls just sat down and slid right on down. What an awesome day!!!

We also house hopped around Portland for a few days and despite it being cold and rainy, we loved being back and spending time with friends.

Pickleball, walking, hiking, numerous happy hours and dinners with friends filled our days in Palms Springs. We also had loads of visitors coming through town so our 5 months in the sun went really fast. It was a great reset for our spirits… we fell really defeated after our difficult summer… losing our boy Bentley was so hard on all of us including kitty Sucia.

I know she mourned him too. She slept on the floor in the spot his bed was on the boat, she looked for him and cried when she smelled his places on the coach. Honestly, she looked for him when we got on the boat again too.

Sucia had a bit of a rough winter. We found out in December that she was hyper-thyroid and long story short she was received I-131 Radioactive Iodine Treatment in February and so far, fingers crossed her thyroid levels are normal again. Hyper-thyroidism is not uncommon in older cats and at 13 years old, Sucia fell into the exact age group of kitties who have this issue. Poor girl, all the weight loss combined with trying oral medication left her literally, a bag of bones. She is slowly putting on weight again and seems to have some spunk again. The little brat hissed at me when I was brushing her yesterday – the nerve!!! She has been loving sitting in the sun on the cockpit of the boat.

Our trip back to Chesapeake Virginia was a bit less leisurely and a bit more stressful. Windy weather plagued us on a lot of the trip east and a mechanical issue on Road House delayed us in Tucumcari NM. Tucumcari is not exactly a place I’d normally want to spend five nights but in this case it was a blessing. Good karma perhaps but when the “stop engine now” warning light and alarm when off, we were not on remote Hwy 54 which we took across from Las Cruces to Santa Rosa NM. Instead we, were about 120 miles from Albuquerque Nm and 175 from Amarillo Texas on Interstate 40. Even at that, I was sure there was not going to be help so close.

Ironically, we were originally going to spend one night in Tucumcari but when the wind looked gale force for days, we rerouted to cut some miles off and get to Oklahoma City. Well, all good plans aside… Tucumcari was where we ended up. John’s Truck Service to be exact. This 40 year old family owned repair facility off I40 was not only certified to work on our Cummins engine but more than that, they seemed to take so much pride it getting us back on the road as quickly as possible. The owner Steve even took us to dinner with his wife Kim and brother Stanley one night. There are good people in Tucumcari!

The wind howled, but luckily we were tucked in on the east side of the shop, which blocked a lot of the wind. We had enough power to keep the refrigerator running and we used our generator for heat and hot water. Its wasn’t luxurious for sure, but we were glad to be able to stay in our home on wheels while we waited for the new turbo to be shipped.

Needless to say, we were so happy to be rolling again and so very thankful for Johns Truck Service. We left there smiling and with hugs all around to this wonderful family and their staff.

The biggest PIA was rescheduling all of our planned stops but we did make it to Guthrie Oklahoma and Festus Missouri to see friends.

So, it is a bit like groundhogs day and here we are back in Chesapeake Virginia, getting the boat ready to cruise. A few months ago, I was really not even sure I wanted to come back. Wally and I both felt a bit depressed still about Bentley, but also agreed that this was not the time to get another dog. We have never NOT had a dog since we’ve been married. WHAT?? … almost 32 years of always having a dog!!! Some times two dogs but always one over lapping the other. I know, I know, everyone says just get another dog already…

Well, everyone except Sucia – LOL. She has let it be know though my friend and animal communicator, Lauren that she has parameters. No high energy puppies!! Aw, come on Sucia!!! While I know she misses Bentie, she seems perfectly happy to have us all to herself. So, for now it’s just us three musketeers doing the Loop!!!

The boat wintered well but as always there seems to be a long list of projects, cleaning, moving aboard and provisioning to do before we leave the dock here in Chesapeake. Our first cruise will be a short one as we are going to Norfolk on May 5 to attend the America’s Great Loop Cruiser Association Spring Rendezvous.

The AGLCA is an amazing organization who sole mission is to help dreamers become loopers. We have attended one of the events in Florida before we bought Escapade and really enjoyed all the educational seminars, the opportunity to get onboard other looper boats and the camaraderie of other dreamers. This year, I am really focused on attending all the route planning sessions. There is so much information on the AGLCA website but it nice to be at the seminars, be able to ask questions and talk with other people who have competed the loop… and lived to tell about it.

So until then, we are doing projects, checking tasks off our lists and double checking all of our calendar reminders. We won’t have a car once we start the loop so I have been getting stocked up on some of the heavy items that aren’t easy to carry around on our e-bikes. Sucia has plenty of food on board and we have enough wine to host a lot of happy hours! Priorities seem right, don’t ya think??