So on October 27th we winterized the boat, pumping pink antifreeze through the engine, generator, HVAC, and fresh water system. Inch-n-Along will sleep until April, staying in the water under a roof in a big barn, protected from the weather.
We stayed in a hotel the 27th and 28th as the boat had no heat or toilet because those systems were now shut down for the winter. The Adi cat had been a little uneasy as she didn't know what was going on. The boat had been in an upheaval for a week with the sorting and packing; Adi cat does not like things on the boat to be out of place. However when we took her to the hotel she calmed down and seemed to be thinking she was on a new adventure and was excited to get going. Adi loves hotel rooms provided she has her food and potty box.
We left Chesapeake, VA on the morning of October 29 for a leisurely trip home to Memphis. First stop was Blacksburg, VA. Our daughter Megan's first friend when we moved to Memphis, Natalie, lives in Blacksburg with her husband and new baby, Eva Cathren. Eva is three months old and so .sweet. We had dinner with them and then off to another hotel, to the excitement of the Adi cat.
Next day we headed to Asheville NC to visit Grace and Jeff. The trees were turning and the color was beautiful. We had started our loop adventure with them, leaving from our home port of Grand Harbor in October 2013. Grace and Jeff at that point were half way around their loop. They have a beautiful log home in the country outside of Asheville. Grace fixed a wonderful dinner and we talked about our loop adventures.
Nashville was our next stop. We had an early dinner and got a good nights sleep, Adi included, and got up early for the final leg of our trip home to Memphis. We arrived home in the afternoon greeted by our daughter Megan. Megan prepared a delicious dinner and we settled back in to our house until April. Amazingly the Adi cat traveled home those several days almost a thousand miles perfectly. She is a great all around traveler and boat cat!
We will return to the boat in early April 2015 to continue our adventure. Our plan is to quickly run up Chesapeake Bay to the C&D Canal to Delaware Bay and up the Delaware River to Philadelphia. From there we will head to Cape Fear, NJ and then on the outside to New York Harbor. We'll spend time in NYC and then go up the Hudson River to the Erie Canal where we will spend the summer leaving the boat in Brewerton, NY for the 2015 winter.
Everyone have a great holiday season and we will and we will see you again in April.
