Four legged crew members

Got their shots and updated paperwork, stamped and signed and official looking. They are ready to go back to Mexico! 

Seriously??

So we are going to James' parents this evening, and very much looking forward to this extra visit with them (they're awesome!) but it seemed karma wanted to play tricks on Dominga today:

James had a class and asked me to fill the gas tank so we can leave right free work. No problem.....right? 

PROBLEM!!!

Driving down frontage road, gas pedal ceases to exist! Seriously, it feels like it's gone!! I'm slamming my foot down, wiggling it back and forth, but it's on the floorboard and is not coming back up! Don't panic, I tell myself, because I am approaching a stop sign with little park to the right so I coast in...No Parking spaces open! Ok, park on the red curb and call Good Samaratin Roadside assistance. Very nice kid shows up, after getting ver very bad directions from GSRA...very bright and observant he says " Ma'am there's something leaking. You got a leak." A closer look wasn't really necessary, you could smell the gas. 

Insert four lettered word used to express extreme frustration.

Ok. Get the van to a safe place and review situation. 

So I have it towed back to the Berkeley Marina, leave a message for James at work, and break out the Google. "How to fix a gas pedal" led to "how to replace a throttle cable". Well, karma was on my side this time. It wasn't broken, but the bolt had come off and I got grease up to my elbows trying to follow the cable until I located the missing bolt. 

Now, the gas gage doesn't work in the van, but I was pretty sure we had close to a half tank....and Google listed "Gas tank repair kit" when I searched "patch a gas tank". So all I needed was an auto store. No problem, O'Rielys was just a few miles away. I could make it if I didn't sit there and think about it too long. Could I patch a gas tank? Why not, I found the missing bolt.

Flash forward to O'Rielys parking lot and me hunkered down under the van, towels, tools, and repair kit. The kit came with a small wax looking piece that said to 'use to stop leak temporarily so it can be dried and sanded.' So I rub the wax on and the "insert 7 lettered word' hole gets bigger and the small leak has turned into a steady stream of gas. I grabbed a bowl and put it under the leak while I keep rubbing the wax over it. It took about 5 minutes and two bowls to stop the leak enough to dry, sand and apply the epoxy patch. 20 minutes after that, the 12 Van is back on the road, leAk free with a fill tank.

Chilly day, warm thoughts.

Yesterday we got an email from Lorah, who's crewed with James and also attended the Mexico presentation we did. Apparently we did ok. She said she loved it. That made it all worth while. Thank you Lorah.

It's starting to get cold here, the days are still on the warmer side, but nights are getting a bit chilly and we're ready to head south for the winter. A few more weeks, a little bit more cash for the kitty, definitely more hugs from the families, and then we'll shed our winter coats and run for the border.

OCSC Seminar

OCSC asked James to do a seminar on cruising in Mexico. We had a great turn out and are pretty sure we talked a few people into chasing the dream, as well as meeting people who were already working on their 2 year or 4 year plans. We really hope to see them all someday, waving from the bow of their boat. 

Vamping....camping in a van.

It was uncomfortable for us at first, to tell people where we're staying, because it changes day to day. On our way back from Washington/Oregon we found out the place we had arranged to stay was no longer available....WTF?! Was our initial reaction. Where will we go, what will we do?

Two dogs made it very difficult to find a place we could afford that would also allow our four legged furries. We did luck out, a very nice student of James' offered us a very good deal on a room to rent, and loved the dogs.....but the commute was really long, not something James could do on a bike, and when we added the amount for gas to drive back and forth from Berkeley to Tiburon, it raised our monthly cost by another $300. After a long talk, we decided it wouldn't work. It was just to much money and our reason for staying so long in the states was to build our kitty back up. Solution?

We live in our van. We have a few places we're welcome to park. Friends have lent us keys for showers. When we have a few days off, we spend them with James' family, either in Portola Valley or Sacramento. We found inexpensive places to eat out. $5 little ceasars once a week, $2 tacos at Monte Cristos on Wednesdays. Indian lunches starting at $7 and Chevy's happy hour.

We debated on letting people know where we're staying, we don't want pity or anyone feeling sympathy for us. This was a choice we made. It sucks sometimes. It's not the most comfortable with only 4inch cushions to sleep on, but it's another adventure. And if you know James and I, you know we embrace adventure, weather it's fun and easy or challenging and difficult. This is how you get to know yourself and your partner. Tell me how many of you reading this could not only live in a 36ft boat for 2 years with two people and two dogs, but also in a 1982 Chevy van for two months with the same 2 people and 2 dogs? Our Van could fit inside our 36ft boat, but somehow it's made us as a couple stronger. I could talk to James for hours, and sometimes we do. No T.V. What else is there? We could read and ignore each other, but we actually like each other a lot, so conversation is much more entertaining than any book I could pick out......but I must admit, (this is Dominga confessing) that I miss my NFL games.