February 8, 2013

I have been looking through my old posts since I have been back on Mary Lee. It is interesting to see how far I have come since I started this journey.

 My first summer working on Mary Lee sure was a tough one. I had almost forgot how the nerves in my legs would just be on fire at night from crawling up and down the ladder all day. Let's not forget the atrophied muscle. I do not EVER want to rebuild that again.

I was pretty beat by the time I got to Thompson falls, Montana last winter. Between the yoga and then spending every single day in the gym once I started there I really made a lot of headway.

I got back to Mary Lee Last summer and it was such a different story. I could not have managed the engine build that first summer. I also have to admit. I think it was still all beyond my capabilities that first summer. I was still taking pretty strong pain meds and it really was hard fighting the atrophied muscle, the back pain/nerve issues along with working on things similar to things I had done before. But cars are not like boats.

Yet, I ground it out every day. The bright spots were the people I met. Steve and Linda Franko (live aboard retirees, Steve was recovering from a broken shoulder) Lance and Mary from New Zealand (Came to America and bought a trawler to go on their own adventure with) . Lets not forget the people at the marina. I was a mess when I got there and everyone was very helpful.

I spent most of this winter in Maryland and I have to admit. I like the weather in North Carolina better. Of course it is still very much winter in North Idaho where I came from.

It would appear that I would have nothing to do while here on the boat in North Carolina in the winter. This does not qualify as winter to me. This is cooler months. You do not have winter where you have palm trees. Sorry... You are just used to warmer weather the rest of the year. But I digress. I have been slowly going through Mary Lee cleaning and "still " trying to figure out how to have a place for everything and everything in its place. I Have a fresh water leak that I am trying to nail down, Gauges to get working properly for engine. Of course I need to get in there and retorque the head bolds and a few other things one last time.

 The weight is falling off. I won't go into to much detail but I am not meant to be heavy and I won't be. I am naturally lean at 200 pounds and with the lifestyle and diet I have adopted I will be back to 200 pounds by summer. By the end of the month I will have lost most of what I gained this winter in Maryland.

Standing on the dock with Mary Lee. It looks further in the picture but I can easily throw a rock and hit the Marinas office. If I want to use their shower, or pack fresh water from there as the water on the docks is shut off to prevent freezing. It is a 1/2 mile walk to get there :-) I know, how ironic.

I have to go here.

Then here.

Then here.

Then here.

Looking back at the last one.

Then here.

And there it is. That building I could have hit with a rock. Try to make it from the boat to here if you gotta potty. Good thing I have one on boat. So basically, I have a nice quiet place to walk and I do quite a bit of it. 7 complete trips on my best day so far. I will be picking up the pace as this is flat land and takes almost no effort at all.

Not my most exciting post but I am getting to it. The adventure is coming. It is going to be an exciting summer. I may spend it up in the Morehead city area or maybe????? Either way. This summer I get to sail instead of work on the boat and hope to go sailing.