Wednesday Afternoon - 20 May 2015 - Well, I think it took almost exactly 1/3 of a year, but I believe I've found "THE BOAT". I must admit, after all this searching I don't know exactly what to do next. Trying to simplify my life is going to get a lot more complicated for a while.
                  By the way, this isn't a done deal. It's a lot like buying a house. Contracts have to be signed, inspections need to be done by a marine surveyor both on the water and out of it. I'll also have a mechanic look over the diesel engine and rigging. Then we'll have to take her out on the water, raise every sails, run the engine, shift the transmission, run the refrigeration, test all the electronics, etc., etc., etc., then sign more papers, etc., the owner will come back to town and we'll take her out again, so this is going to take a while. Not only that, but after that, I need to move everything out of the motorhome and trailer (that will fit on the boat) and sell them and my windsurfing gear (if I can) and get rid of everything else however I can. Not only that, but I need to learn how to use all the radios, electronics, and other devices onboard, etc., etc., etc. There's going to be some serious information overload and stress for a while.
                  On another note, I ran out of milk today and went to a local grocery store here today to get it. I was astounded! A gallon of milk was $6.50!!! Needless to say, I didn't get it there, and when I expressed my astonishment to the cashier, he just said, "Well, that's how much it is." I was paying $1.99 a gallon in Kemah. Is this something the orange growers have finagled, or did I miss something in the news about all the cows in Florida getting hoof and mouth disease and dying.

Thursday, 21 May - Today I went over to the CSY, looked it over to a better degree and tried to fill out the paperwork to initiate the sale, but the broker had problems with the computerized version, so he'll send it to me via email. Wrote a big check! for the down payment.
                  On the way back over to the motorhome, we noticed a lady hammering on a boat trailer, so I said good bye to the broker, dropped of my computer, then went over to see if she could use any help. She had driven all the way from Indiana, or somewhere, with the trailer's axel out of alignment by 2 inches. She said she could feel that something wasn't right. No surprise there, but I'm surprised it didn't wear her tires more. After about 3 hours of loosening bolts and hammering on the trailer, we got it into alignment. It sounds like she's had some tough breaks in her life, but is doing alright on her own now as an insurance broker. A pretty nice lady. She lives here in the marina on a houseboat, apparently has a smaller boat, a big Honda motorcycle, two small terriers and a 9mm pistol to protect it all.

Friday, 22 May - Received the sales agreement and digitally signed and returned it to the broker. The owners have gone to Tucson and can't return for awhile, so the closing date is set for 25 June, but we may get it done sooner.
                  Now I need to start figuring out how to get boat insurance, sell a motorhome, trailer and a whole lot of windsurfing gear. Maybe I'd better go windsurfing while I still have the gear. Before I left Utah, I never thought how restrictive having the motorhome would be to windsurfing. There in Utah, at almost all of the sailing sites, we could drive almost right up to the water's edge with whatever vehicle we owned. Not here, or in Texas, for that matter. Very little waterfront property has direct access.
                  In fact, almost any location I go to now, I first do a Google Earth in detail search to see if I will be able to get into and out without having to back up, which is next to impossible with this rig.

Saturday, 23 May and Sunday, 24 May - I spent most of these days reading a couple of the sailing books that my friends were so gracious to give me before I left on my adventure. I still have many to go. I did go for a short bike ride just to get off my butt and while on the ride, I came across a stand of bamboo in someone's yard. I haven't seen any bamboo in quite awhile, and certainly none this tall. I'm sure these were 60 - 70 feet tall. I'll let you be the judge. See the picture at the link below. Did you know that bamboo is just a tall grass? It feels like I'm wearing my butt out between the seat at the dinner/breakfast table, the sofa, another chair by the door, the driver's seat, and a short collapsible outdoor, webbed chair that I brought.

Monday, 25 May - Memorial Day - I'm sure I won't hear from the broker today because of the holiday, so, more reading. He said he could supply me with the names and numbers of some reasonable and good insurance companies.
                  Since it is Memorial Day Weekend, the parking lot here is full of boat trailers, so, along with that goes trailer problems. I just went over and helped a family whose trailer had all the rusty leaf springs on both sides of one of the axels break, so the axel fell off. Luckily, they had just put the boat in the water to take it to another marina, so they don't need the trailer for awhile. The trailer has twin axels, so we simply took the axel out from under the trailer, put it onto the trailer and lashed it down, but in doing so, I also noticed that one of the u-bolts on the back axel leaf springs was broken, too. I supplied duct tape to retain the dragging spring-ends and they headed home. They say they they don't have far to go. Their license plate fell off as they left the parking area.
                  It's amazing how well some people take care of their equipment...or don't! I hope their boat's in better shape.
                  It's 5:30 pm and the daily, afternoon thundershower just kicked in. That sure cools things down nicely; 92°F to 73°F in 15 minutes. I'm sure glad. It gets pretty warm in this motorhome and to run the air conditioning, I have to run the generator. (That brings my gas mileage WAAAAAY down; from super-efficient at 8.5mpg to 3 or less.) Unfortunately, the temps will be back up as soon as the sun peeks out again, along with the humidity.....6:15pm and I see steam rising off the parking lot across the street where the sun's hitting it.
                  On a different note; I got a call from the best ever neighbors, Jubie and Gaylene Varos, who lived across the street from me in SLC, and they had news that I consider a little saddening. The new owner of my house has already had the huge walnut tree in the back yard by the pool and the equally large pine tree to the west of the house, that shaded the it so well in the summers, cut down. That leaves the whole south and west sides of the house exposed and sure will change his summer cooling bill. We rarely ever turned on the air conditioner unless we were expecting visitors.

Tuesday, 26 May - Again, most of the day reading and studying, mostly reviewing how to read a nautical chart with all of its hundreds of symbols.

Wednesday Morning, 27 May - Much of the morning spent researching boat insurance and insurance companies in order to get quotes on the boat.

Okay, as per request, I've included a couple of photos of "the boat". The owners took all the sails and much of the other rigging off her before they departed, so she looks pretty forlorn at the moment. I'll just have to wait till they've returned and she's all re-rigged for a better shot.