Sunday: It was so nice to be able to get into a car 15 minutes before church and drive directly there. No dinghies, no buses, no taxis. Ahhhh.
We went out for dinner at Alice and Hap’s favorite restaurant on a lake about 30 minutes from their home. We have been here with them before. It’s a typical bar/restaurant on a MN lake and brings back memories of fishing with Dave’s family at MN lakes.
They always like to put in $5 each to buy pull tabs. They are $1 each and have 3 tabs you pull back to get a match to win money. Out of the 20 tabs, we won $104.00. So we each got $20 back and we bought 24 more. We won $4 out of that, bought 4 more and were done. So we each came out $15 ahead.
We enjoyed our meal and when the waitress brought our bill, she said the couple by the door wanted to put $20 towards our tab. We thanked them on the way out. They stood up and shook Hap’s hand. They said it was because of him. Hap was wearing his WWII Veteran Hat. They thanked him for his service. Pretty cool.
Monday: Alice had gift cards for Kohl’s since Christmas that she hadn’t used. So we decided to go to Mankato for a girl’s shopping day. (Not like Tracy and I shop and end up at a bar.) We each found a few things at Kohl’s. Then we went to Panera Bread for lunch. She also had a gift card to use there.
When we got home, Alice made us a chicken pot pie with mashed potatoes on the top. Mmm, Mmm. Good home cooked meal.
Tuesday: Another lazy day at Grandma’s. Dave made spaghetti and meat balls for the 4 of us.
Dave and I spent some time updating the phones and computers. Also started looking into renewing our boat insurance or switching to another company recommended by other sailors. Watched Twins win with a home run.
Wednesday: We were able to do some laundry before leaving here. I should take that into consideration when I am packing. Could have gotten by with less clothes.
Updated the “What’s on my boat” app today. I brought my lists of what I have stored where and entered it into my phone. I hope I keep it updated to make it really work for us. It’s been fun watching the Twins on TV, but they lost tonight.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Sunday, May 11, 2014
May 10 2014 Mother's Day gathering
Alice and Hap had planned a Mother’s Day potluck for Saturday before they even knew we were coming. They live in an apartment building, but have a party room they reserved. We surprised Dave’s sister, but Dave’s brother did read the blog early Friday and figured out we were here.
3 of Hap’s daughters were there, with one husband. One of Hap’s grandsons, wife and 2 year old daughter also came. We hadn’t seen them in many years, so it was nice to visit with them, too.
Dean and Debbie stayed until about 10:00 visiting. It was nice for all of them to be together. They had some quality time to share what was happening in their lives.
3 of Hap’s daughters were there, with one husband. One of Hap’s grandsons, wife and 2 year old daughter also came. We hadn’t seen them in many years, so it was nice to visit with them, too.
Dean and Debbie stayed until about 10:00 visiting. It was nice for all of them to be together. They had some quality time to share what was happening in their lives.
May 9, 2014 Relaxing day at Mom's
 |
| Hap and Alice Ziebarth |
Alice and I did a little shopping, everyone took turns taking naps, watched the Twins play baseball. Typical day at mom’s.
Alice had a Kindle and has been able to use it for e-mail using her neighbor’s wifi. She finally got her own wifi and router and Dave helped get that set up for her.
May 8, 2014 Dental Day
I called Kordie. my dental classmate and friend, at 7:00 am to get a recommendation of an endodontist. She again told me that Peter would like to see him. She checked the schedule and asked if we could be there at 9:00 am for the root canal on #6, upper right and routine. And he would evaluate #31, lower right to decide if he would retreat it or refer him to a specialist. We would have just enough time, if traffic wasn’t bad.
I woke up Dave, and we headed out. They were going to see the new “sailing Mary and Dave”. No showers, casual clothes, and no make up for me. We didn’t even have breakfast or coffee. When Alice and Hap got up, Hap thought Alice had only dreamed that we were there last night. We made it to their office right at 9:00.
Peter had no trouble treating #6. It definitely was infected and needed treatment. He was done about 10:00, and they wanted Dave to return at 2:00 to treat the other tooth. We went to a great restaurant in their neighborhood, Zumbros, for breakfast. Then we went to a AAA store for some travel items. I shopped for over an hour while Dave napped in the car. We found some awesome items for travel, like carry on suitcases that can be folded into a small size to store when not in use. There were also some waterproof and water resistant items.
Dave was really impressed with Peter’s treatment. Very gentle and very skilled, and efficient. I had a chance to visit with Kordie and Chas Salman, another class mate or ours that now works with them. The first sailboat I was ever on was on the St Croix River with Chas while I was in dental school. We also had fun remembering some good times in dental school. Dave even got a couple of his staff with his “dog jaw” joke. He explained how the crazy dentist in Florida tried to tell him he had “dog jaw”. Then he gets them to feel his jaw. And when they reach for it, he turns his face toward their hand and barks like a dog. Of course they jump if it goes over good.
The best part was the nice discount Peter gave us. Thank you Peter and Kordie, if you are reading this. We didn't come to MN for a discount. We came for reasonable fees and to see someone we trusted and to see family. So this was a bonus.
We headed back to LeSueur about 3:30 and it was really raining hard. The sky looked green, like tornado weather. We turned on the radio, and there were tornado watches and severe thunderstorms in the area. We even had to pull over at one point because the wipers couldn’t keep up with the rain. But we made it to LeSueur and listened to forecasts for more severe weather heading our way. Everything stayed to the west of us and passed us by, thank goodness.
Dave’s mom had a great dinner of pork ribs waiting for us. We were pretty tired and just fell asleep watching TV (something we don’t get to do on the boat).
Dave and I are both happy to have the treatment done. Now we can just enjoy the time with family and not have to think about several trips to the Cities. We’ll head there the last couple days before flying out on the 17th. My brother and sister in law, Jerry and Barb, assured me that they will be home and will have a bed and beers waiting for us.
I woke up Dave, and we headed out. They were going to see the new “sailing Mary and Dave”. No showers, casual clothes, and no make up for me. We didn’t even have breakfast or coffee. When Alice and Hap got up, Hap thought Alice had only dreamed that we were there last night. We made it to their office right at 9:00.
Peter had no trouble treating #6. It definitely was infected and needed treatment. He was done about 10:00, and they wanted Dave to return at 2:00 to treat the other tooth. We went to a great restaurant in their neighborhood, Zumbros, for breakfast. Then we went to a AAA store for some travel items. I shopped for over an hour while Dave napped in the car. We found some awesome items for travel, like carry on suitcases that can be folded into a small size to store when not in use. There were also some waterproof and water resistant items.
Dave was really impressed with Peter’s treatment. Very gentle and very skilled, and efficient. I had a chance to visit with Kordie and Chas Salman, another class mate or ours that now works with them. The first sailboat I was ever on was on the St Croix River with Chas while I was in dental school. We also had fun remembering some good times in dental school. Dave even got a couple of his staff with his “dog jaw” joke. He explained how the crazy dentist in Florida tried to tell him he had “dog jaw”. Then he gets them to feel his jaw. And when they reach for it, he turns his face toward their hand and barks like a dog. Of course they jump if it goes over good.
The best part was the nice discount Peter gave us. Thank you Peter and Kordie, if you are reading this. We didn't come to MN for a discount. We came for reasonable fees and to see someone we trusted and to see family. So this was a bonus.
We headed back to LeSueur about 3:30 and it was really raining hard. The sky looked green, like tornado weather. We turned on the radio, and there were tornado watches and severe thunderstorms in the area. We even had to pull over at one point because the wipers couldn’t keep up with the rain. But we made it to LeSueur and listened to forecasts for more severe weather heading our way. Everything stayed to the west of us and passed us by, thank goodness.
Dave’s mom had a great dinner of pork ribs waiting for us. We were pretty tired and just fell asleep watching TV (something we don’t get to do on the boat).
Dave and I are both happy to have the treatment done. Now we can just enjoy the time with family and not have to think about several trips to the Cities. We’ll head there the last couple days before flying out on the 17th. My brother and sister in law, Jerry and Barb, assured me that they will be home and will have a bed and beers waiting for us.
May 7, 2014 Traavel Day
Our flight wasn’t until 4:30 pm out of Key West. But we had to get there by bus for $4 each. We had Shelly, our friend watching the boat, take us to shore about 10:30 am with our suitcases and our garbage. It all goes in the same trip by dinghy. That way we could leave our dinghy at the boat. We had to finalize things with the marina before leaving. Then we walked to the bus stop a couple blocks away and waited for the bus. We were there about 30 early, but we didn’t want to miss it. I figured the bus would arrive in Key West at 1:00 or 4:00, so we had to take the earlier bus. But once we reached Key West, the airport stop isn’t until the bus circles the island and is heading north again. So we didn’t get to the airport until about 2:00. Glad we had time to spare.
We decided to eat lunch at the airport. The restaurant was pretty slow. We started visiting with our waitress. She was from the Czech Republic but had lived here 10 years. She ended up sitting down at our table to visit with us while we ate. That was a first.
Dave’s teeth started bothering him this morning after improving over the last few days. So he started taking pain meds, which he doesn’t care to do. Before leaving Marathon, I called the dental office in MN again to see if they needed to see Dave Thursday or Friday for an evaluation. Today, they told me that the dentist was going to be out of town and they would have to reschedule his appointment on the 13th. Would 2 weeks later be OK? I tied to be patient while I explained that, NO, that would not be OK. I had to remind them that we are flying to MN today and will only be there until the 17th. They were going to talk to the dentist and get back to me. OK, this may change our trip to MN.
I have heard all kinds of stories about the nasty patient on the phone being demanding about being seen NOW, or the WIFE of that patient. And I didn’t want to be that patient. So I called the dental office back. I told them that if it didn’t work out to see Dr. Stec, could Dave see his associate, or would they have a recommendation of another office. Again, they said they would get back to us today, but we were about to get on an airplane.
We changed flights in Ft Lauderdale, so I called again. Well, the office was closed for the night. We had a stop in Charlotte, NC, but didn’t have to leave the plane, it continued on to MN. That’s what you get when you book last minute. From Ft Lauderdale to Charlotte, I had a 5 year old boy siting behind me that kicked my seat the entire flight. He was also pushing some buttons of his mother’s. Dave was ready to defend the mother if she decided to use corporal punishment. But he redeemed himself when we landed. I got such a giggle out of his comment. He asked his mom where we were. She said Charlotte. He said “is that still on earth?” Maybe his kids will be asking him someday “are we on earth yet”?
In Charlotte, I decided to text my friend, Stephanie, married to the endodontist. I wanted her to let Ed know that we totally understand if Dave can’t see him, and would they have a recommendation. I think maybe they were just afraid to turn us away and were trying to figure would where to schedule Dave. She replied that Ed was really swamped and that may have to happen. She gave us the name and number of another dentist in the northern part of the Twin Cities.
We are staying with Dave’s mom in LeSueur, which is about an hour south of the Cities. So I decided to use what my dad used to call “Good old American know WHO.” I called another classmate, Kordie Reinhold. I left her a message with the basic details and asked for a reference to an edodontist in the southern part of the Cities.
When we arrived in Minneapolis, I listened to our return message. She said her husband, Peter Hinke, also a classmate of mine, is great at root canals, and he would like to see him to evaluate the situation. And to call in the morning.
We arrived at midnight, picked up our rental car, and drove to LeSueur. We arrived about 1:30 am and visited for 30 minutes and hit the bed (our queen air mattress that we gave Dave’s mom). I set the alarm to call Kordie at 7:00 am.
We decided to eat lunch at the airport. The restaurant was pretty slow. We started visiting with our waitress. She was from the Czech Republic but had lived here 10 years. She ended up sitting down at our table to visit with us while we ate. That was a first.
Dave’s teeth started bothering him this morning after improving over the last few days. So he started taking pain meds, which he doesn’t care to do. Before leaving Marathon, I called the dental office in MN again to see if they needed to see Dave Thursday or Friday for an evaluation. Today, they told me that the dentist was going to be out of town and they would have to reschedule his appointment on the 13th. Would 2 weeks later be OK? I tied to be patient while I explained that, NO, that would not be OK. I had to remind them that we are flying to MN today and will only be there until the 17th. They were going to talk to the dentist and get back to me. OK, this may change our trip to MN.
I have heard all kinds of stories about the nasty patient on the phone being demanding about being seen NOW, or the WIFE of that patient. And I didn’t want to be that patient. So I called the dental office back. I told them that if it didn’t work out to see Dr. Stec, could Dave see his associate, or would they have a recommendation of another office. Again, they said they would get back to us today, but we were about to get on an airplane.
We changed flights in Ft Lauderdale, so I called again. Well, the office was closed for the night. We had a stop in Charlotte, NC, but didn’t have to leave the plane, it continued on to MN. That’s what you get when you book last minute. From Ft Lauderdale to Charlotte, I had a 5 year old boy siting behind me that kicked my seat the entire flight. He was also pushing some buttons of his mother’s. Dave was ready to defend the mother if she decided to use corporal punishment. But he redeemed himself when we landed. I got such a giggle out of his comment. He asked his mom where we were. She said Charlotte. He said “is that still on earth?” Maybe his kids will be asking him someday “are we on earth yet”?
In Charlotte, I decided to text my friend, Stephanie, married to the endodontist. I wanted her to let Ed know that we totally understand if Dave can’t see him, and would they have a recommendation. I think maybe they were just afraid to turn us away and were trying to figure would where to schedule Dave. She replied that Ed was really swamped and that may have to happen. She gave us the name and number of another dentist in the northern part of the Twin Cities.
We are staying with Dave’s mom in LeSueur, which is about an hour south of the Cities. So I decided to use what my dad used to call “Good old American know WHO.” I called another classmate, Kordie Reinhold. I left her a message with the basic details and asked for a reference to an edodontist in the southern part of the Cities.
When we arrived in Minneapolis, I listened to our return message. She said her husband, Peter Hinke, also a classmate of mine, is great at root canals, and he would like to see him to evaluate the situation. And to call in the morning.
We arrived at midnight, picked up our rental car, and drove to LeSueur. We arrived about 1:30 am and visited for 30 minutes and hit the bed (our queen air mattress that we gave Dave’s mom). I set the alarm to call Kordie at 7:00 am.
May 6, 2014 Preparing the boat
I have made plenty of lists. Now it’s time to get into action. I sent a couple e-mails this morning with information about leaving our boat (from my phone, which I hate to type anything lengthy, but that is our wifi connection when we’re on the boat in this marina).
We ran the water maker to fill our tanks. Then we “pickled” the system. You have to run sterile water through the lines if you aren’t going to use them for awhile. Dave says the mixture is the same thing he used to use to wash beer bottles when he was making his own beer.
Dave was in the bilge looking for parts he needed to replace in the forward head. He figured he could store them in the bilge because it wouldn’t matter if they got wet. While we were in there, we decided to store more items in the bilge. We ziploc bagged things first. Then we stored boxed wine (sorry, but they are easy to have on a boat), and different cooking oils under our floor boards. If they broke open, at least the liquids would be contained. I have made of list of what I store where on the boat. It’s not like I can open a cupboard door to see what I have. We have an app on our phone called “what’s on my boat”. Now I just need to load it :) It’s not like you can run to the store to pick up an ingredient. It’s interesting to try to figure out what you want to stock the boat with and how many you think you should have on board.
After Dave replaced the parts needed in the forward head, he replaced the gasket on one of our port hatches. It took 2 hours to remove the old gasket and place the new one. During this time, Thomas brought over the videos and photos he took of Peter singing at the jam session a couple weeks ago. We gave him a tour of our boat. He said he could never let his wife see our boat, because she would want a bigger boat.
Our friend, Miami, came over to check out how to access our bilge and where our through hulls are located. If the boat starts taking on water while we are gone, he will check out where it could be coming in. Otherwise, he is just going to watch that nothing goes missing. Really, this is a pretty safe place to leave a boat. He doesn’t think we have anything to worry about. But this is the first time we are leaving our home and everything we now own. Strange feeling, especially for Dave. He hasn’t left the boat for more than 2 nights since we moved aboard in October 2013.
We ran the water maker to fill our tanks. Then we “pickled” the system. You have to run sterile water through the lines if you aren’t going to use them for awhile. Dave says the mixture is the same thing he used to use to wash beer bottles when he was making his own beer.
Dave was in the bilge looking for parts he needed to replace in the forward head. He figured he could store them in the bilge because it wouldn’t matter if they got wet. While we were in there, we decided to store more items in the bilge. We ziploc bagged things first. Then we stored boxed wine (sorry, but they are easy to have on a boat), and different cooking oils under our floor boards. If they broke open, at least the liquids would be contained. I have made of list of what I store where on the boat. It’s not like I can open a cupboard door to see what I have. We have an app on our phone called “what’s on my boat”. Now I just need to load it :) It’s not like you can run to the store to pick up an ingredient. It’s interesting to try to figure out what you want to stock the boat with and how many you think you should have on board.
After Dave replaced the parts needed in the forward head, he replaced the gasket on one of our port hatches. It took 2 hours to remove the old gasket and place the new one. During this time, Thomas brought over the videos and photos he took of Peter singing at the jam session a couple weeks ago. We gave him a tour of our boat. He said he could never let his wife see our boat, because she would want a bigger boat.
Our friend, Miami, came over to check out how to access our bilge and where our through hulls are located. If the boat starts taking on water while we are gone, he will check out where it could be coming in. Otherwise, he is just going to watch that nothing goes missing. Really, this is a pretty safe place to leave a boat. He doesn’t think we have anything to worry about. But this is the first time we are leaving our home and everything we now own. Strange feeling, especially for Dave. He hasn’t left the boat for more than 2 nights since we moved aboard in October 2013.
May 3, 4, 5, 2014 Boat tasks
Hot lazy day!
Saturday: We were working on the boat most of the day. Dave also took a nap, since he’s not sleeping great with his toothaches. Seems like there is always something that can be tinkered with. About 5:00, I decided I wasn’t going to cook anything for the potluck tonight. It was 88 degrees. I threw together a great salad. We needed to get rid of our fresh vegetables if we were leaving on Wednesday. We always enjoy the potluck. We get to visit with other sailors and always learn something new. There was only one guy singing at the open jam, but he sang a lot of songs from the 70’s and we loved it.
Sunday: I was able to ride to church with my other catholic friends this morning. Then we sat and made a list of what we needed to do before we leave the boat. We haven’t left it for more than a night since we started living on it. To be able to leave your boat in this marina, we have to give them the name of someone that will watch our boat for us. We asked a neighboring boat. Then Dave asked a second boat to watch the first boat, because he knows the guy on the first boat wants our anchor :) We still have to pay the same thing as if we were here using the facilities. Bummer.
Dave spent most of the day working on our forward head. We have started a maintenance routine to break up salt crystals and lubricate the fittings. Well, something must have distorted a fitting as the salt crystals worked loose. Dave had the unpleasant job of removing the fittings and repairing things. If this doesn’t take care of the problem, he will have to replace some parts.
It was only in the low 80’s today, but still a little warm to cook on the boat. We had wanted to make meatloaf, so we decided to try it on the grill. We wrapped it in two different foil packets. And we put potatoes in foil, too. We have a new grill, so we are cooking things by trial and error. There is a shelf in the grill. So the top shelf wa3, 4, 5s fine and the lower level was a little overcooked, but edible. Live and learn.
Monday: Today, we realized his repair on the head was not sufficient. You don’t want to know how we knew. We have replacement parts, but Dave is going to pick up new parts while we have access to them at a West Marine store. Then he will still have the replacement parts for a future repair. Sounds like that is the life of marine heads, especially in salt water.
Today, Dave worked on the dinghy. Our bench seat has started to wear on the inflatable sides, so Dave beefed up those areas. He added some “fins” to the outboard motor to help it plane better. He mounted navigational lights. So far we have been holding our white light after dark. But it actually seems more dangerous because you can’t see behind you because of the blinding light. And he is always trying to clean off the outboard motor. The barnacles are endless.
We spent part of the afternoon in the marina using the wifi. We also had to line up some things with the marina before we could leave the boat. And we took advantage of using the showers on land.
We ran into our friends Thomas and Renata from Lithuania. We gave him a flash drive to download the videos he had of Pete singing at the jam session while he was here. Maybe I will learn how to attach a video to the blog.
Saturday: We were working on the boat most of the day. Dave also took a nap, since he’s not sleeping great with his toothaches. Seems like there is always something that can be tinkered with. About 5:00, I decided I wasn’t going to cook anything for the potluck tonight. It was 88 degrees. I threw together a great salad. We needed to get rid of our fresh vegetables if we were leaving on Wednesday. We always enjoy the potluck. We get to visit with other sailors and always learn something new. There was only one guy singing at the open jam, but he sang a lot of songs from the 70’s and we loved it.
Sunday: I was able to ride to church with my other catholic friends this morning. Then we sat and made a list of what we needed to do before we leave the boat. We haven’t left it for more than a night since we started living on it. To be able to leave your boat in this marina, we have to give them the name of someone that will watch our boat for us. We asked a neighboring boat. Then Dave asked a second boat to watch the first boat, because he knows the guy on the first boat wants our anchor :) We still have to pay the same thing as if we were here using the facilities. Bummer.
Dave spent most of the day working on our forward head. We have started a maintenance routine to break up salt crystals and lubricate the fittings. Well, something must have distorted a fitting as the salt crystals worked loose. Dave had the unpleasant job of removing the fittings and repairing things. If this doesn’t take care of the problem, he will have to replace some parts.
It was only in the low 80’s today, but still a little warm to cook on the boat. We had wanted to make meatloaf, so we decided to try it on the grill. We wrapped it in two different foil packets. And we put potatoes in foil, too. We have a new grill, so we are cooking things by trial and error. There is a shelf in the grill. So the top shelf wa3, 4, 5s fine and the lower level was a little overcooked, but edible. Live and learn.
Monday: Today, we realized his repair on the head was not sufficient. You don’t want to know how we knew. We have replacement parts, but Dave is going to pick up new parts while we have access to them at a West Marine store. Then he will still have the replacement parts for a future repair. Sounds like that is the life of marine heads, especially in salt water.
Today, Dave worked on the dinghy. Our bench seat has started to wear on the inflatable sides, so Dave beefed up those areas. He added some “fins” to the outboard motor to help it plane better. He mounted navigational lights. So far we have been holding our white light after dark. But it actually seems more dangerous because you can’t see behind you because of the blinding light. And he is always trying to clean off the outboard motor. The barnacles are endless.
We spent part of the afternoon in the marina using the wifi. We also had to line up some things with the marina before we could leave the boat. And we took advantage of using the showers on land.
We ran into our friends Thomas and Renata from Lithuania. We gave him a flash drive to download the videos he had of Pete singing at the jam session while he was here. Maybe I will learn how to attach a video to the blog.
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