This is not a test.
We've arrived back on the boat just over a week ago and have been organizing things ever since, as well as getting used to our new life. So far, we're enjoying it so much that it feels completely normal and natural. We're home.
The best part is realizing that our multiple walks with Princess, living on the boat, and enjoying each other's company isn't a test of how things could be, a short and soon over vacation, but our new life. And we have silly grins on our faces.
We found the boat as I had left her over a month ago, nice and dry, and I ran through the "long term departure" checklist in reverse to re-open the necessary valves, re-energize the various systems, restart the heater and so on. Within a short time the boat was humming with all her familiar sounds, the hydronic heat gently warming the cabin and blowing warm air as needed.
Next we unloaded the car of the last "stuff" we'd bought with us, filling up the boat in the process. Leaving shore life to retire on a boat entails many things, but one thing they don't warn you about is the endless amount of "stuff" we've ended up sorting out, giving away to Goodwills, as well as friends and families who needed it more than us. We feel like we're getting close to the end of the "stuff" sorting now, and hope that this clean-up iteration will be the last one for a while. Famous last words!
Small logistical things seem to be falling in place, the result of careful research and planning as well as some sheer luck.
We had planned on going cruising as soon as we'd arrived on the boat, but we're enjoying our current life in Blaine marina so much that we decided to enjoy what it has to offer a little while longer. That will make sorting out the last details and last logistical bits simpler as we will keep the car longer as well.
Still, we'll go for a local cruise in the San Juan Islands and down to Anacortes next week, and we're both hoping the beautiful weather we're having now will hold.
It will be a return to base for Enfin, as we bought her there almost a year ago.