07.20.26 Gotta keep this in check...

      While we're no where near settling into our new life, hell at this point we're homeless, I can see where people can get caught up in the daily routine of enjoying a few cocktails each and every day. You go to the pool and there's a bar. You stop for lunch and there's a bar. You stop for Happy Hour and there's a bar. You meet new people and there's an offer for a drink. It's 100 degrees out and a nice cold beer just goes down nice. Over the last 10 days I can say I've drank everyday. One usually, two at best, but boy does the pattern concern me. 

     And if I was asked, "Did you have a drink today, and yesterday, and the day before?", I'd have to admit the truth. Not that I'm concerned, but I'm aware. Teaching mental-health nursing across the lifespan I delve into substance and alcohol use disorder. It starts out socially, and then becomes routine, and then a habit. And if you're an all or none type of person I can see how this, drinking that is, can get away from you and become a habit, and an addiction. And that's even from just a quick stop, like we did yesterday at The Crazy Crab on Hilton Head Island. 

     I guess I feel obligated to order an adult beverage when we sit at the bar. I have to get past that thought process. I imagine it's okay to order a water, or a Diet Coke, while downing some apps or a meal. And we haven't even begun to socialize with anyone around here. Both Theresa and I have some people we know and have met more people but what happens when the invites and belly-ups begin? my Mom moved to a 55 and over in Florida and her peeps have a busy social schedule, which, a lot of the time involve the potential of having a drink with whatever they are doing. 

     When we visited Margaritaville, another 55 and over, and Sun City one of the first questions I asked people was, "How's your liver doing?", and most joked, "Not good", because it's easy to dabble into daily alcohol intake especially if you've gone from working full-time into the world of retirement or just working a few hours each week. 

     Today we'll be writing some big checks, actually they're wire transfers, for the closings for Sun City and The Boat House. Right now we're in limbo, staying in a beautiful Air B&B in Old Town Bluffton. while it's nice, it's not our home, and it's tiny. There's no where to escape to, and escape each other. Yesterday we did our final, well first, walkthrough of our new home. We bought it sight unseen so we were both excited and nervous. 

     We quickly became familiar with the layout and the space as we had seen on Zillow and from pictures from our realtor. The things we would like to do easily jumped out to us. Painting the cabinets, done by professionals of course, switching out the countertops, and pulling up the carpets and installing new floors. I have recommendations for the painter, floor guy, and contractors in line so after the closing I'll start making calls. One of the big things we're going to do 

is replace the rear windows and door with a double door or slider that will open up to a four season lanai. So it'll be do the door/window work this year and then proceed with the addition maybe early next year. 

     We stopped by the house on Northlake which we really liked. It was $100,000 more and we were number two in the bidding. The couple, who we met when we stopped over, were cash buyers with no sale contingencies like we were. They had already done most of the things we had planned and it looks great, so good for them. We can't complain, well especially not me, as buying the house we did allowed "us" to purchase The Boat House and upgrade our home up, funny to say up, in Cape May. 

     Yesterday we started with another meal out, which can also become an expensive habit. But since we're homeless it's hard to eat any other way. As we're in limbo it's paying to stay at someone else's house and eating out... every single meal. They say in online forums that the food isn't good down here, especially the pizza and bagels, but we haven't had a bad meal yet, and the pizza we've had has been great. We hit a place called Dough Boys in Old Town Bluffton last night and had the best calzone we've ever had as we watched Messi get emotional after Spain beat Argentina in the World Cup Final. 

     After breakfast we hit a church Theresa had liked that we had visited when we were here in January. It was one of those churches, a little different than the Catholic masses I prefer. Lots of music, lots of hype, and lots of time. But I realize it's not all about me and what I like. 

     So I sat there drinking my coffee, Who has coffee in church?, and listened and listened until I couldn't;t listen no more so I made a dash to the bathroom. In those churches everyone is smiling and happy and talking to each other, I prefer to get it done and jet to the car, so I just stood there smiling and being social. 

     In the afternoon, after apps and a few drinks, we hit Shelter Cove and some of the stores there. It was time for Theresa to get some new clothes for the Lowcountry. We both pretty much purged our wardrobes from back old-home so it was time to replenish our duds. 

     Theresa prefers new and nice, for the first time in a long time, while I stick to dead mans clothes at the local Goodwill when I get my shopping on. All of my paint and sweat stained clothes that I used working around the house have hit the garbage so I'll need some knock around clothes when I escape to The Boat House. I'll be living a Jekyll & Hyde life, one at Sun City and the other at The Boat House. And I plan on changing my clothes so my two identities don't overlap. It'll kinda be like a Clark Kent and Superman existence. 

     And while it's all about our new home my mind does wander into what The Boat House will become. Right now she's in pretty rough shape and doesn't fit in to what the neighborhood is transforming into. Below is one of the new homes across the street from my place. 

     When we pulled up the other day the sprinklers we going off on both properties so these aren't just thrown up affordable housing houses but the start of a neighborhood in transition. I can't believe that no one grabbed The Boat House before I did, which I did virtually and some 750 miles away. If I had the money I'd buy up the entire neighborhood, and half of Ridgeland. 

     I haven't taken the time to photograph The Boat House from every angle but the below picture shows what we're dealing with. T1-11 siding that has seen better days and exposed trim that needs a good priming and paint job. But I love the potential. 

     I'm going to send off a bunch of pictures and measurement to Erin who is a designer in the making. Down here they're all about Hardie plank siding which is a fiber-cement siding. They run it horizontally or in board and batten style. Below is the place we're staying at that uses both sidings. 

     You can go ahead and laugh but trust me this place is going to be the coolest place on the block. What I have to do is think it all through before I start piecemealing the place together which in the end will just look ghetto. 

     One thing I know is the purchase of The Boat House was genius. I think it'll be a good investment, lots of great times and good hangs there, and a place to keep me sane as I escape the bubble of a 55 and over retirement community. I can wake up, walk the dog, hit the gym, have breakfast (at home) with Theresa, and then of to "work" at The Boat House or go fishing. When I'm all done playing for the day I'll jump in the outdoor shower I plan on building and change my clothes and return inside the gates at Sun City. And then the next day I'll do the same, and the next day, until I can't take not working and take that job over at the local college in the nursing department or maybe something a little more physical and outside. 

So far all is good down here. I'm watching the weather forecast for the northeast and what's happening in the area around our old house. I know our season for sideways weather is coming soon but in the meantime I can't be more thankful that we were able to sell when we did. 

07.19.26 Happy 21st to this girl and feeling lost in South Carolina...

     It's been a bit since I put something fishy on this blog so I found a picture of the birthday girl with a Delaware River striped bass. I remember that Tuesday morning when she came into the world. Before her it was the two boys, Ryan and Sean, and then it was a daughter. There's nothing like sons, but there's really nothing like a daughter. I can't wait to belly up to the bar with her next week and have a drink. 

     We made physical contact with our new home for the first time yesterday. She's a beauty. The first thing we noticed is how new and clean everything is. No flaking paint. No scratched 100 year old windows. No mortar in between the bricks that is missing or needs to be repointed. 

     Today we'll do the final walkthrough and then await the arrival of the movers who will show up sometime this week. We also got to spend some time at the new amenities center which is just a short ride from our house. Del Webb spent 55 million dollars on it and it shows.

     Theresa said this place is like Club Med, or Disney World for adults. We spent some time at the poolside bar having lunch and meeting new people. So far everyone is like minded and nice, like they've all drank the Sun City juice or water. We also checked out the closest water to the new house. It's in a section of Sun City called Riverbend and it's a one-mile golf cart ride from our front door. 

     This is a residents only access and if I'm not using the access for fishing it's a great place to just visually hunt for tailing reds, practice swimming some flies, or just hanging under the covered 

gazebo on the end. If I launch for to far away I can pick Theresa up for a quick cruise into the Port Royal Sound.  

     We also took a ride up to The Boat House to check on things there. It would be just like me to have towed the boat down only to have it stolen. Before we head back to New Jersey I'll have to secure the space as good as I can. As I looked around I couldn't help but notice the homes across the street.

     Theresa and I both said that if we had a bunch of money we'd buy up property in the neighbor hood here. This is an opportunity. Below is the next plot of land to one of the finished houses. I took it to see what becomes of it, line in a missed investment opportunity. 

     And the feelings we have are all over the place. We feel like we're on vacation and will be going home in a day or so. We are wondering about the bills, electric, mortgage, garbage, and cable, that are no longer due. And we're lost without our stuff, which, whatever is left, will soon be delivered to the house. This is our new life and it'll take some adjusting to it. 

     While we no longer live at 1214 River Road we couldn't help but think, and get updates, on the weather that was blowing though that neighborhood yesterday. 

     It seems like every part of New Jersey has, or will, get hammered with this new summer storm pattern. It's one that drops 5-8 inches of rain and floods everything out. Coupled with hail, wind, and hurricanes or tornadoes it's more like weather patterns of the mid-west or the tropics. So I hope all is well up in Hopewell, New Jersey. 

I know they get weather down here, bad weather that is, for now it's getting used to the heat, which is bad, as long as you have air conditioning in the truck and the house. As I write this at 714 AM the temperature outside is 79 degrees in Bluffton, South Carolina and 74 degrees in Titusville, New Jersey. One thing we noticed is the hottest parts of the day down here are the late afternoons, which is a perfect time for an afternoon nap. Which we can both get used to. 

07.18.26 We made it, with a bump in the road...

     Somehow we did it. The final 72 hours were hell. No sleep. More to do than we ever thought. More last minute packing and cleaning and even finishing up projects. We stuffed more into the boat, the back of the Suburban, the dumpster, and our neighbors garage and basement then we should have. 

       We pulled just about an all nighter and were pulling out just as the dumpster was being picked up. So after all of that, as of right now, we have money in the bank, and we are homeless. 

     I can't thank Bunky enough for his help as we were in panic mode the last 12 hours. On Thursday night we decided to hook the boat up to the Suburban and it didn't look very good. The ass end was dam near hitting the ground and the hitch wasn't rated for the trailer or the weight. So off to Home Depot we went and switched it out. While it looked better it still was a bit sketchy

but we were going with it. Before we left I took a couple of pics of the inside of the hours for old times sake. We wanted to leave it the best we could and would make them happy when they 

came for the final walkthrough. We left Titusville at before the 1 pm closing and hit 95 heading south. 

     We cleared Philly, Wilmington, and Baltimore before the crawl around Washington, D.C. At one point, around 3 o'clock, Theresa checked the account to see if the proceeds from the sale had hit. When they didn't she said, "Something's going on", and it was. I won't go into it but I'll attribute it to fear and cold feet on the buyers part, which I totally understand. When they did the walkthrough they saw the house butt naked, with everything, good and bad, in view. So we did some negotiating and by Friday afternoon we closed once and for all. 

     I guess there were two bumps in the road, the above, and on 95. At one pint Siri announced, "Debris in the roadway ahead", and before I could react the Suburban was swallowing a large shredded tractor trailer tire that made it's way from the front of the Suburban back to the boat. I watched as the tire wrapped around the drivers side wheel of the boat. I thought we were done. 

     Luckily I could put my hands on a crow bar and was able to straighten it out enough to get the metal off the rubber. And soon we were back on the road heading to Fredericksburg where we crashed at a Marriot Residence Inn. 

     After a good night's sleep and a solid breakfast that was included in the $141 rate we were on the road again. It was a long drive, especially with the weight and the boat, which added to the stress. But by 6 pm we were pulling into Ridgeland and parking in front of The Boat House. That's the name. Not The Sugar Shack, not The Shrimp Shack, but The Boat House. My Mom named it as she she asked about it saying, "And what about The Boat House?” Game, Set. Match.

     I don't have time but I can tell you it's the coolest place I could have ever imagined. There's some work to be done but I know some guys, like Neil, who will lend a hand and make it a great place for all of us to enjoy. And then it was off to the Air B&B in Old Town Bluffton where we'll stay at for the weekend before the closings on Monday.

      We ended the day with a beer and a bite at Nectar's which is one of our favorites that we found a few trips back. We are done. We are excited. We are in shock. 

     And I'd be lying to say I wasn't thinking of the impending weather that's going to hit Titusville this weekend. That old house is a hands-on ready to react house meaning shit can go sideways 

when the weather approaches. Flooding, trees down, and power outages come to mind. I just hope the buyers don't have to start off with house drama their first weekend. 

So we are ready to write the next chapter in this book that is our lives. It's really amazing that somehow we pulled it off, and no doubt we had some Divine intervention and people upstairs looking out, guiding, and protecting us. Stay tuned. 

07.16.26 Out with the old and in with the new....

     It's over. Meet the new owners, Josh and Chandler, who came over this morning for a final walkthrough. Wonderful couple who we wish all the best. The closing for them is at 1 o'clock but we'll be on the road by then. Below is a picture of us after pulling just about an all-nighter for our second night in a row. The truth is I don't how we are both standing. 

     Whatever success we've had couldn't have been done without the help from my stepmother Patty and my friend for years Charlie "Bunky" Limpert. Charlie moved to Maine five years ago and 

just happened to be in the area. He came by last night, pulled an all nighter, and worked until we pulled out today. I'll get more into how he was a Godsend more later. But let';s just say without him the boat would have surely separated from the Suburban. So we're off. See you later Titusville and New Jersey. Hello South Carolina....we hope without a hitch, not literally.

07.15.26 We're outta here tomorrow...

 

     After a few days of pictures of me unconscious on the floor it was time to post one up of Theresa. First, I post this with her permission because it really completes the story. We're down to the last bit of stuff, well there's always more then you know. we had a steady stream of people come by yesterday, including family and friends to take things or help us out. The dumpster arrived and that is on its way to be filled up with a pick-up time around 2 pm today. An I have to still put in the countertops and a few more things I told the buyers I would do. I'm trying, but the clock is ticking.

And then there's some running around to do regarding the town and well water work and results.

     Big shout out to my stepmother Patty who came and played Devil's advocate, referee, and laborer who brought a sense of reason, and reality, to actually how far away we were from being done. She busted her ass with us for about three straight hours. Of course I did have to feed the 

help and the three of us had a great lunch, and drinks, over at Al's Airport Inn, our local hang. It was the kind of lunch that could have turned into dinner, ended of course with an Uber ride home. 

     Today is going to be a bitch. Around 100+ degrees. Lots to do, places to go, and people to see. It's T-minus 24 hours and right now it's 330 AM. Time to get to work.

07.14.26 Piece of Cake for the win...

     Utter exhaustion. That's what we're feeling, and we didn't even do the hard lifting. One thing I can say, well there's a bunch, is if you ever need to be moved, across the city, across town, or across the country, I strongly recommend Piece of Cake Moving & Storage. Not only was the company solid in every way, but the three guys they sent to handle our move were top notch. So a big shout and thanks to Nikola, Bato, and Dimitrige. They all have a great story coming to the United States from Montenegro, which I now know is country in Southeast Europe.  

     I started the day at 0130 am and headed to the attic. Some advice I might give if you downsize and move, start from the top of the house and work down. Like they say, "Out of sight, out of mind", and we underestimated how much we had up there, so it was a four hour grind picking through, packing, and lugging it down to the outside of the house. 

     Another tidbit I might add when it comes to moving and moving companies. While it's easy to come up with an estimated number of items you'll move, and with that comes an estimated cost, it's not until the boys are standing in your house where the actual numbers, in boxes and cash, becomes reality.

     The above was my guesstimate that I kept updating with the sales office from Piece of Mind. But when the guys showed up it dint take long for the count, and the cost, to go up. And this wasn't a bait and switch move on their part, they are a well oiled machine.

     Each piece is stickered and skewed for tracking purposes. So while my estimate was 100 items, the final count was just shy of 200. That's was an extra lot of bins, boxes, and stuff. They took it in stride as they are used to people going though what we went through. Our initial estimate was about $2,300, then it rose to $3,700, and the final add on today was an additional $1,300, so in the end it ran about $5,000, plus a well deserved tip for each of the boys.

     With each box we filled we were asked, "Do you need any more boxes?", and of course the answer was yes. And of course the last boxes were filled, or stuff just poured in, from drawers, closets, and of course the attic. Was it stressful? Even though we weren't loading, well Theresa 

needed to hit the bottle at 1130 am. She was helping with the move, dealing with me and the movers, on the phone with the well water people, and sweating to death. So I get it. 

      The boys did an amazing job triple wrapping everything and taking care that nothing got damaged. When the truck was loaded up at the house it was time to hit the U-Haul storage unit. "How many things do you have over there?", "Oh, not much". 

     Since we so underestimated the amount of stuff we had the question wasn't the additional price but the room in the truck. It was trip after trip down the halls with more bins than I remembered. 

     And five hours later we were, well they, were trying out how to get our stuff last stuff in the truck and close the rear doors, but somehow they did it. Every single last bit.

     Just after the doors were closed and we finished up the paperwork I grabbed a picture of the guys. If you're lucky enough to get this crew count your blessings. 

Now the truck and our stuff will go to a temporary storage area before it heads down to South Carolina next week where we'll unload, well three new guys will, all that into the two car garage while we get some work done before we move stuff inside. So it'll be a dump and run back to Cape May for the closing up there. 

     After it was all over I gently lowered myself to the ground in the living room because we have no furniture to sit on anymore. I guess the day caught up with me because I woke up to Theresa saying, "Annie, Annie are you okay", like she was checking for a pulse during a CPR recert.

     It's Monday night and the final walkthrough is 0800 AM on Thursday morning. The final dumpster arrives tomorrow morning and it'll be a long day doing last trips around the house where it'll be brought somewhere to donate or tossed into the dumpster. Oh yeah, I still have to install the butcher block countertops in the kitchen...nothing like the last minute.