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| Our fabulous back yard – where we learned to SUP |
We’ve been back in the condo for almost 2 weeks now. Don’t get me wrong – we are so thankful that we haven’t sold it yet. Living on the boat in the boat yard (out of the water) with no air conditioning, in Savannah, GA, would not be ideal to say the least. Particularly in August/September. It is hot. And sticky. And the sand gnats are starting to come out again. Don’t laugh. If you’re laughing, you clearly don’t know what a sand gnat is…
So how are we faring in the land of endless baths (there are TWO bathtubs here!) and various kitchen appliances?
Here are 7 random things I’ve notice lately:
- The callous on my finger is wearing off. You know, that callous from flushing the manual toilets on the boat. I had one. It’s almost gone. I wonder how many flushes it will take to re-create said callous.
- Mark likes to take baths. I knew this. But he REALLY likes to take baths. If I walk into the condo and can’t find him – he’s in the bathtub. I’m going to start leaving the dinghy out in the rain/sun so he can take them on the boat.
- We really notice energy and water use. It is not unheard of for one of us (the shower using one of us) to turn the water on and off constantly in order to use less. And we are both more cognizant of turning off lights. The dishwasher and other appliances are “nice” but we certainly do not miss them when we are on the boat. It takes days to use enough dishes to even run the dishwasher. No wonder we had 75 plates.
- I swear it looks like a hurricane hit the inside of the condo. It was cleaned up yesterday in order to show it to a potential buyer, and today – BOOM. All hell has broken loose. I would love to blame it on the dogs, but they just sleep all day while we work. I think we are neater on the boat.
- There is so. much. space. Our 900 sq ft condo feels MASSIVE. Granted, we’ve become used to our 300 sq ft boat, but the 2 bedrooms, two bathrooms and endless pantry space really seem excessive. We could easily live in a studio apartment in Manhattan and be comfortable. (Hmmm, something to ponder)
- I sleep better on the boat. This magical TempurPedic bed that adjusts and vibrates? Nope. Can’t hold a candle to being hunkered down in my cave-like little mini-queen bed on Luna Sea.
- Walking to the cars. Holy cow. We just walk out the door and down the sidewalk, and there we are. No stopping for 30 minutes to chat with other boaters. Sometimes it is really hard to finish a project when you have to stop every 50 ft to talk to someone. But is that really a plus for the condo? Our condo neighbors are great, but I miss our boat neighbors and our chats!
We have no idea how long we will be in the condo. Maybe another week? So we are soaking up all the good things – like plenty of room for yoga. And that giant fridge and double oven? I’m putting those to use as well. And catching up with our condo neighbors is fun, too. But our little boat is coming together. Projects we’ve been planning for the two years that we’ve owned her are finally getting completed. And as soon as they are done and she’s back in the water, we will be in full-on Cash Saving Mode.
Are you a sailor? If so, what are some things you miss about land? Are you living on land and curious about how certain things compare? Just hit me up in the comments! I love it when you guys interact 🙂
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Ha, great list. I do NOT miss showers…I miss blow drying my hair and having some sort of control over what it looks like. And I miss my car, so much harder getting around by foot, but we're getting used to it slowly 😉 ~Jackie
Your Blog is sooooooooooooo entertaining and happy and funny thanks for sharing ! ! ! ! You would really get a tiny apt, in NY ? ? ? ? ? ? 😉
HUGS Mom
So its been 2 years already? And yet..the amount of work you've done…of course it has!
I'm fine without 75 plates, a bathtub and a hairdryer. And I love falling asleep on a boat thats IN the water, especially docked where I can hear the rhythmic lapping of the waves.
What would be my difficulties living aboard…hmmm…what would I miss…my bike now that I'm used to having it. The kids having floor space to play with toys. Books maybe. And fresh fruit and veg daily. Land. Trail runs with the dogs. But I'm starting to think you have it right…if I can't pick a place to be, I'll one day find a way to take my place with me, like you. And be lots of places.
Great to hear from you while you are out exploring, Skelton Crew!
I've been weaning myself off of the blow drying. It's starting to grow on me. And I LOVE walking everywhere. Funny how our lists can all be so different – but that's exactly why I asked the questions. 🙂 Have fun out there!
Thanks!
Well, I think the point is more that we feel like we can live ANYWHERE now. But yes, we LOVE NYC and could see doing a stint there. But likely on our boat.
We keep 6 plates and bowls on the boat. And 6 forks and spoons, etc. That way we can have company 😉
We didn't literally have that many plates in the condo, but it sure felt like it!
Books are mostly via Amazon, and there are a plethora. Just have to be able to charge your reading device – and not drop it in the water!
There is some room to spread out, but really, that's what beaches are for 🙂
Fresh fruit will get to me, when we are away from places that have it. But we will manage.
I'm looking forward to trails on various islands. Lot's of places that need to be hiked!
Annnd, we will take fold-up bikes with us.
There are ways around everything. It's fun to figure it all out 🙂
I dream of taking a bath. That's one thing that I really miss and have been missing for years. Even when we did live on land we had a tiny apartment which only had a shower. Nothing like soaking in a hot tub with bubbles 🙂
Cheers – Ellen
Hey Ellen!
I foresee anniversaries spent in hotels – just so we can enjoy baths and a/c!