So much has happened in the last 10 days – where to begin??

We spent the first three days of March getting the boat ready to be left for 3 weeks while we went back to Indiana for a couple of days and then on to our annual spring break trip to St. John and the BVI. We were able to have dinner with friends who would be taking off before we got back as well as finish up all the perishable food in the fridge.

We drove to Miami on Monday, March 4, for a nonstop flight back to Indianapolis. The drive wasn’t bad, but getting from the rental car drop off and through the Miami airport required a LOT of walking. Once we got to the gate we thought we could sit and relax until time to board, but the airport/airline had other plans for us. They changed our gate twice in about 45 minutes! Fortunately the plane took off on time and landed on time and our checked bag didn’t get lost.

Unfortunately the next day this is what we woke up to in Lafayette.

Our time in Lafayette was brief – we made it back to our house about 6:30 Monday evening and were headed back to Indianapolis on Thursday! We were able to work in dr. appointments and dinner with good friends, as well as not only put our house back on the market, but had 4 showings in 2 days!

We spent last Thursday night at a Holiday Inn near the airport and had our usual dinner at Zydeco in Mooresville IN that night. We’ve developed a routine over the years that works for us and this year was no different. We were up at 4:30 a.m. Friday morning so we could drop the car off at Fast Park, which is conveniently located directly across from the hotel. The shuttle picks you up at your car, which we parked under covered parking(nice in the winter so you don’t come back to a snow-covered car). We were flying first class so there was only one person ahead of us for checking in with our bags – the lines for everyone else were rather long. This was the first time in a long time that our boarding passes weren’t marked TSA pre ck, and the line looked very long for regular TSA. However, it moved very quickly since no one had to take off shoes, or place quart bags with liquids, etc. in bins, and light jackets/sweaters could be left on. It was basically like pre ck for everyone. I’m not sure if the rules have changed, or if this was being done to expedite the lines because of all the IU and Purdue students on spring break. Whatever, it was nice to have it go so quickly.

The flight from Indy to Miami (yes, I know, we had just come from Miami a few days prior) was the typical plane, but the flight from Miami to St. Thomas was on a new 757 and oolalah! Several years ago we decided to apply the dollar rewards we got back from credit cards to upgrade to first class for our spring break trips – and what a treat it was for this flight! The seats adjusted in a variety of ways and could be extended so you could lay flat and it didn’t interfere with the seat behind you. There were little shelves and cup holders and brackets to hold your iPad – my only complaint was that the flight was too short.😀

The real craziness is that after just 4 showings we had an offer on our house. After counters back and forth, we were able to come to an acceptable offer and a contract was signed this morning. The closing is scheduled for April 19, so now we have to figure out a mover, storage, where to keep the boat while we go back to Lafayette to get moved, and all the other things involved in moving and selling a house. Our plan now is to finish the loop late September/early October and put the boat in winter storage in Holland MI, where we’ve kept it in the past. In the spring 2020 we’ll head clockwise back down to The Florida Keys to spend the winter down there. We’ll use Elizabeth’s address as our “dirt” address until we decide where to settle more permanently.