Ok, one final post to wrap up our RVing winter before we shift gears to talking about our new boat!
Everything was coming together post survey right on track, which meant we needed to get our butts closer to Punta Gorda to take delivery. We’d also need to be near civilization to take care of all of the paperwork about to flood our inbox.
This post covers: March 5 – 14
Koreshan State Historic Site – Estero, FL
The Koreshan State Historic Site is located just south of Ft. Myers, and is part of the state park system.
It’s a unique little bubble of beauty amongst suburban sprawl.
Deeded to the state of Florida in 1961 (hey, same year our bus was made!) by the last decedents of the Koreshanity faith (yes, that’s a thing) – it was formerly a colony based around the entire universe existing within a giant hollow sphere.
Remnants of the colony still exist for tours, in which farmer’s markets, festivals, concerts, yoga classes and crystal bowl mediations are still hosted today.
And just steps away is a newly renovated 60 site campground – which just happened to have a 12-day opening that aligned with our projected boat closing date. (Hmm… maybe we DO exist as the center of a giant hollow sphere?)
The location turned out to be perfect. With a gorgeous bamboo lined hiking trail along the river, we had ample retreat time to get in hikes amongst the pre-boat jitters. (For those curious, yes, this is where we filmed our ‘Change‘ video.)
The whole park is really quite lovely and I wish I could tell you more about it.
But our primary reason for being here was because there’s a shopping center with a Publix, UPS Store and several banks right across the intersection. And up the road is an outdoor mall with just about every big box store imaginable.
Not normally our criteria for a campground… but…
Boat Closing
Once our 58-pages of boat-closing papers arrived, we were able to take them over to the UPS Store for printing. And then walk across the parking lot to our bank for free notary service (we keep a small savings account with Chase just for these types of needs), and then overnighted the documents back to our finance office.
And just like that.. the next morning we were boat owners.
Smoother than glassy water.
It was actually kinda surreal just how quickly it all came together. We were expecting some sort of glitch.
No lien hang ups? No repair delays? No documentation problems? They’re really going to finance a yacht to two nomadic self employed individuals who have had no home base for nearly 11 years? And sell us boat-novices insurance without big restrictions??
Huh.
It really hadn’t sunk in at this point – after all we only had digital paperwork, an automatic loan payment setup and a few grand missing from our bank account to show for it.
Boat Delivery & Move In
We won the seller & seller’s broker lottery – both have been completely awesome.
Ron of Pier One Yacht Sales was able to find us marina space nearby (it’s still snowbird season with limited availability), and he and the seller Henry offered to deliver the boat for us so we wouldn’t need to hire a captain.
So Friday morning after all funds arrived where they needed to be, we drove up to meet Ron & Henry for a fun day on the water.
On the approximately 2 hour motor south we both got ample time behind the wheel. Dolphins escorted us along the way, welcoming us to life on the water.
We overnighted on the boat to celebrate (because well, we own a fricken boat apparently). We returned to the bus still parked at the center of the universe with over a week left on our reservation.
We made the hour long trip back up to the boat over the weekend to bring on board more stuff Henry had in storage, and spent the afternoon thoroughly going through the boat with him (we mentioned we won the seller lottery, right?).
And then we looked at each other.. why the HECK are we commuting??
This is going to get old real quick, especially since spring break was now in full effect – meaning the campground was becoming less and less a peaceful retreat. And we were growing anxious to be on our (OUR?!) boat.
We do own a second home after all now and don’t HAVE to stay in the bus just because we have a spot pre-paid. This CHANGE thing takes some time to sink in.. even for us neophiles.
We made arrangements to store the bus nearby the boat, spent an afternoon moving aboard and left a few nights on our campground reservation open so hopefully someone else was able to enjoy it.
Kiki quickly acclimated to boat life, by the way (especially once she discovered the Lido Deck has a buffet.)
And with that, we officially relinquished the descriptive label of ‘Full-Time RVer’ we had held onto for nearly 11-years and became part-time cruisers & part-time RVers (but still full-time Technomads).
You’d think there would be a cool ceremony for such occasions or at least a Hallmark card, but alas – it was a moment we toasted pretty much on our own – as us nomadic types tend to do.
What’s Next?
We’ve been super busy getting acclimated, starting to tackle boat-projects and caught up on life in general.
Give us a few days to get back into production mode – we have footage to put together with a tour of the boat and documenting our decision making & buying process. We’ll also cover our intentions on storing the bus.
We’ll start getting those posts out as soon as we can.
We’re exited to share it all with you!
That is so awesome! Congrats to you two and hopefully the wonderful process continues with no hiccups.
A Boater’s Blessing
May there always be water under your boat,
May she always be seaworthy and ever afloat,
May your bilge pump be certain to work all night and all day,
May your compass and charts always show the safe way,
May you find gentle harbor as every day ends,
May you lower your anchor amidst peace and good friends.
Hello, so Happy Henry and your boat broker turned out to be Stellar, you did hit the Lottery.
Congrats once again on being new boat owners. i hope your cruising days and nights are full
of wonder and peace. Can’t wait to see and read all the new technical upgrades you plan for
your new 2nd home.
Also, will love to see all the new pictures of sunsets, waves, aquatic life and other things you
will experience.
More pictures of Kiki, Please.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
Respectfully,
Steve kaeseman, SK1(SW) USN(Ret)
G and I are so happy for you guys. We’re counting on a lot of pictures of sunsets and Kiki enjoying the boat. You both have worked really hard to help everyone and you deserve this!
Please toast your success with the bottle of wine I sent. You both are an inspiration and maybe a new life-form…hybrid landlubber/mariner? You also demonstrated the cat acclimatization ritual to perfection!
Regards, Mike
Awww.. thank you so much for the sweet gift! Very much appreciated and we’re humbled!
Looks fun! Happy boating!
Just left you a “bottle of wine” tip. Enjoy it on the boat; sunset would be nice, but whatever works for you!
Aww.. thank you! We shall toast to you with a sundowner!
Congratulations! Enjoy your new adventures!
I’m so very very happy for you two. A dream come true is so exciting!
Looks like so much fun! I am so jealous, your own personal portable island! Congrats! I know how you feel about paying for a campsite and then figuring out you don’t want it anymore…there is a certain urge to stay there but then you realize it’s not worth the time
We’re just so in the habit of you stay until the tag on your post says check out! 🙂
So excited for you guys. Feeling kinda bad for Zephyr tho.
Yes, it was indeed sad to leave her on a storage lot… we look forward to excitedly returning to bus-life part year.
Lets plan a “see if the bus will start” party. Very close to there is Lover’s Key State Park… would be a nice spot, depending snow bird season or holiday weekend LOL
Congratulations! Looking forward to your adventures
How exciting!!! I can only imagine how surreal it truly is for both of you – you OWN a boat!?!? Looking forward to sharing all your upcoming adventures as you get you sea legs under you.
So happy for you guys! We’ll be leaving the Keys in a few days & maybe the stars will align for us to swing by & give congratulatory hugs in person. Calm seas & fair winds!
That would be awesome guys… let us know if it works out. Would be fabulous to catch up!
So, what is the S&S lottery? I agree that humidity has to be considered… I’ve seen small table top dehumidifiers in RVs, don’t know where they come from. Make sure any water collected is routed outside. You can get a product that comes in a plastic bucket (small) that contains some kind of “dessicant” (??). Living in that area, things stored in closets will mold… not to mention your awning outside. If you can keep air moving (either the little dehumidifier or a small fan) helps as does keeping cabinet doors open and take things like leather jackets to a humidity controlled location. Enough of the moldy talk… going to be following you and simply can’t wait to see you two cruising in your new motor yacht… CJ
Safe travel, always.
Looking forward to reading about your boating adventures. We hope to do the Great Loop when we retire. (about six years) Hubby has had a boat for close to twenty five years; but I am a newbie at about ten. We do 98% of our own boat work; including servicing the engines and waxing and polishing. If you have any questions and want yet another opinion or idea; please don’t hesitate to ask.
My best piece of advice is to always. ALWAYS be purposeful when moving about the boat. And when boarding and departing; keep one hand on the boat or a railing or dock. My second best piece of advice is that sunscreen is your friend! You will sunburn waaay faster on the water.
So happy to see the choice you made. I have owned my Bayliner for over 13 years now.
Beautiful park, dolphins and new boat how exciting. Congrats guys can’t wait to hear all the new adventures.
A huge congrats! So darn exciting!
Nina
My orange boys are jealous about the lido deck buffet! And I am SO excited to hear about your sea-bourne adventures! Cheers!
Oh, and dolphins!!!
Congratulations! Enjoy.
Beautiful boat, congratulations! While you are doing the loop, will the bus be living in FL? The reason I ask is that we have spent the last few years snowbirding in FL. then driving our rig north for the summers. When talking to those that leave rigs their rigs behind for the summer, and I have to say that the reports are confusing. Some claim that they just close the door and walk away. Others claim that without shore power, a functional AC set fairly high (80+ degrees) and even a dehumidifier running, you can look forward to a mold mess when you get back in fall. So since you’re natives, experienced, and (IMHO) pretty smart, what is the real truth on that subject? Can you safely store big blue in the tropics and not have to worry about it turning into a big Petri dish while you are swashbuckling about?
All stuff to be figured out! This first year we’ll be sticking to Florida by both boat and RV, so we’ll likely be switching back and forth some (doing mobile internet gear testing by RV for short breaks) and able to keep an eye on things. If it’s looking to be a problem, we’ll find power provided storage.
Long term, we intend to get the bus to the desert southwest for summers so we can enjoy the area in the winters easier. Hot, yes.. but dry. This particular bus spent it’s first 50 years of life there year round.
I’m so excited for your choice to boat “The Great Loop” I may need diapers!! LOL! As a FT RV’r for our 18 mo journey this is exactly what I want to do next (other half still not convinced!) We can’t wait to read your blogs about it all and hopefully you wouldn’t scare him! Kudos, Hugs from Ron and Mike
We’ll do our best to help you convince him 🙂