Will Trade!

That's right. For sale, or will trade for a 14 ft. ladder. There hasn't been any interest from anyone to buy this poor old dinghy, and although it literally came free with the engine we bought Darryl still feels it is worth something. That something being a ladder. We actually already have a ladder, which we need to climb aboard the boat when it is in the work yard or storage area. The problem is it is only a 10 foot ladder, which falls a few feet short of what would make for a comfortable "landing" . The last step up is a giant leap -not for mankind, and definitely somewhat awkward for those of us with short legs. The boat goes back into storage on Friday so hopefully we will make a trade before then.
In the meantime we are still at the boatyard. The little clanging noise in the engine that Darryl is intent on solving has turned into a two week project. And lots of money. They have replaced a bunch of things, ordered more parts, taken out the transmission, ordered more parts, sighed and shaken their heads, put parts in, taken parts out and then ordered more parts. The UPS man has taken to waving to us when he drives by. Today another part has arrived. The boat has once again become a giant floating toolbox, so Scooter and I moved back into the camper which is in a storage area along with a bunch of parked cars, trucks and heavy equipment. In situations like this cruisers are frequently known to use the expression "We are Living the Dream!" - mostly used to refer to what the outside world THINKS we are doing. All in all however, we do agree that for the most part sunny, warm weather trumps the aggravation of boat repairs. The definition of "Cruising" for most of us is simply repairing your boat in a tropical setting. Soon enough we will be home remembering this winter with humor, telling friends our stories while they tell us how they envy what do. And for today? I am just keeping my fingers crossed for that 14 ft ladder!