April 3, 2016- As many of you are aware, Char and I are blessed with two (not one but two) fur babies. A Tortie named Penny and a Grey Tabby named The Duchess. Now also understand that kitties are normally a staunch landlubber species. So, my need was to forewarn these two that in the coming weeks they would become valued crew members of the Motor Yacht (MY) Misty Lady. I beseeched them to grant me the honor of listening to my reasons for uprooting them from their comfortable condo living, with large windows on the world of bird and other critters, and forcing them to abide with us on a floating home.
They were not amused. Penny stared at me for a long time (four nanoseconds, which is an eternity for kitty time), then flicked her tail and strolled out of the room. The Duchess, as is her wont, sat there staring without blinking for a considerable pause. Then then gave out with a huge yawn and the resulting look was the equivalent of “What Ever”.
I am going to assume that the transition from land based life to living on a large yacht in the waters of the eastern coastline and related waterways of the United States will be one of resignation and eventual adjustment by these two. One must continually bear in mind that the feline world looks upon us lower lifeforms in a condescending, yet affectionate way. At least the two who inhabit our life are that way. It only took them about 18 months to forgive us when we moved them from the large town house in Loudoun County to the smallish condo apartment in Crystal City. NOW? Who knows. Living on a boat will be considerably different, they will have to go up and down steps to transition from one resting place to another, from their litter box to their food and water stations, and from a soft bed cover to the bridge where abundant sunshine will be available for their sunning competition. Alas, the horrors!
Optimist that I am, it is my belief that in short order the rumbling of the diesel engines, the sound of waves slapping against the bow and an ever changing scenic view will win them over. I know the idea of living and playing on a large waterborne craft is the epitome of coolness, but considering that Kitties are already the coolest of the cool, perhaps they will not view this as a contributing factor to their increasing level of cool.
Penny Chill Out
I mean, just look at Penny in her coolness, chilling on the floor.
I hear you, but all it sounds like is jibber jabber
Duchess hasn’t even deigned to arise from her comfort.
Perhaps once they are at sea, their attitudes will change and they will bestow upon the Captain (me) and the 1st Mate (Char), their acceptance of our new home.
Afterall, they still have slightly less than 4 weeks until closing on both the house and on the yacht.
Just a summary, I am 84 years of age, retired in July 2013 and settled down to promoting the dangers of bacterial meningitis, which killed my beloved son, Mike in 2009. My wife, Charlotte, and I embarked on an adventure of live aboard cruising, aboard a large Blue Water motor yacht. While our beginning was rather fraught with hurdles, we continued to look forward to the day we moved aboard the Misty Lady and cruise the eastern seaboard and associated waterways. After more than four years of life aboard this Bluewater Motor Yacht, I developed an advanced problem due to interaction with medications and experienced rather frightening balance problems. Therefore, getting on and off the yacht was fraught with danger of falling between the docks and the boat's hull. Walking the docks was also problematic considering that our yacht club docks were all floating docks and my balance problem was a danger during the walk from our yacht's docking slip to the clubhouse or out to the DC Wharf facilities and our car housed in the yacht club's reserved garage. SO, we had to regretfully put the Misty Lady up for sale and move back on shore. We moved on shore, first into a condo apartment in Alexandria, then after two years there, we relocated to the city of Newport News, in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Our original desired location was in the city of Hampton, Virginia, which is the oldest English-speaking settlement in the United States having been established originally in 1610. My ancestors came to this country through this settlement in the mid 1600s and lived in that area for around 100 years before beginning a migration of one portion of our family toward the west.
I looked forward to moving back to this area and exploring the roots of my family, both maternal and paternal ancestry, but we found a great house in the Newport News area and became ensconced in the terrific neighborhood of Kiln Creek. My wife, being still actively employed, received a substantial offer in a position with a government contractor firm back up in Northern Virginia. So we put the Newport News house up for sale, receiving and accepting an offer withing two days. We then relocated back up to the city of Alexandria and into another high rise condo. My wife reached a point where considerations for retirement were becoming very important. She indicated that she really didn't want to retire in Alexandria, so once again we began a house search in the Tidewater area, this time in the City of Williamsburg and in a community restricted to 55+ age owners. We found the ideal location, initiated the sale and closing for our retirement home. We then put our condo on the market. Alas, the market was not as robust as before so we had to change asking price a couple of time, but finally the Alexandria Condo was sold. Now we are set to enjoy the great locations found here in the Tidewater/Hampton Roads area, considering that we are history buffs and there are literally hundreds of historical sites in this segment of our nation. Of course living in Williamsburg is the epitome of history living life.
So, now we are in our retirement home, in a great retirement type community. A great clubhouse with a fine dining restaurant, a grill/pub, an award winning PGA designed golf course and miles of walking trails. Looking forward to my wife's eventual full retirement and the two of us visiting all up and down the east coast historical spots.
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