"SUNSHINE" Stories: 2018 Cruise

The Final Days and the Drive Home

March 31 - April 4, 2018

Work Stuff - It’s Saturday, March 31, and our task for the day is to wash, remove, clean and stow the canvas for the trip home. It took a couple hours to accomplish but we got ‘er done. I removed the panels but AM helped on a couple of the front ones that I couldn’t reach. She did the yeoman's work of cleaning, rolling and packing the bundles in the truck.

We decided to haul the boat at (or near) high tide on Easter Sunday, April 1st. The task was easy pleasure, especially compared to last year’s fiasco. The one glitch was the V Stop. Recall that it was tweaked by the factory. This marks its first use since. The tweaking made it not fit as well as it had. We even raised it up one hole. That was problematic because the holes don’t line up exactly. Kevin and Tim were able to ratchet it home. All in all it took about fifteen minutes to load her up.

Fun Stuff - In the evening of the 31st, we went to the ‘Cane to see Villanova final four game. I was so tired that we left before five minutes had expired. We live streamed the rest of the game using our Pyle Projector. Nova won the game handily, setting an NCAA record for three point shooting.

The North Dock group invited us to their Easter supper. We had a great time conversing with everyone. There was even an adult Easter Egg hunt.

Following the festivities we bid everyone a fond farewell. There were lots of hugs and kisses.

Friends/Acquaintances - Brian and Coleen hauled the Gansett Ranger on March 30. They stayed aboard on the hard and left on the morning of the 31st.. we are now surrounded by fishing machines! The closest cruiser is Liberty (Ethan and Tammi) four slips up the line.

As it happens, Liberty is departing tomorrow, but on its own bottom. They are heading to the Bahamas for two months. They promised to call us when they get to NJ. We take them out to dinner and/or shopping,

The Drive Home Day 1 Monday (5/2/18) - It’s 0800 and I’m awake and ready to go after a night devoid of sleep, on my part at least. After saying good bye to Barry, we were on the road. While driving, we made arrangements to stop at FloatOn Trailers again. The recently adjusted V Stop is a worse fit for the boat. Tim said to bring it in and he would rework it. After three hours, the V Stop fit perfectly and he put a roller on as well to protect the bow from a pair of bolts that were sticking up.

The time spent at FloatOn paired with my lack of sleep meant we would not make our destiny, St. Mary’s, GA. We got a room at the Howard Johnson’s just a mile from the trailer factory. Hopefully we’ll watch Villanova win the NCAA BBall Championship and I’ll get a great night’s sleep!

Marathon to Vero Beach - 250 miles, 5 hours

The Drive Home Day 2 Tuesday (5/3/18) - It’s make up distance day. Our target destination is South of the Boarder on the SC - NC line. If we make it, getting home on Wednesday is still a possibility.

Despite stop and go traffic on I95 in SC and our insuring 60 Mile bushwhacking expedition to avoid much of the slow down, we made it 49 miles beyond South of the Boarder into NC, stopping at the Days Inn at Exit 49 in Fayetteville, NC.

Aside from the traffic, the rest of the drive was uneventful.

Vero Beach to Fayetteville, NC - 605 miles, 13 hours elapsed

The Drive Home Day 3 Wednesday (5/4/18) - Our day started at 0630 with breakfast at the Fayetteville Days Inn. At 0700, we were on the final leg of the long road home. As usual, we headed east toward the east toward Virginia Beach and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Conditions were good for the crossing. The predicted 25-30 knot winds hadn’t yet materialized. They would however prevent us from taking the Cape May Ferry.

We ordered oysters for lunch at the Great Machipongo Clam Shack and they were as good as ever! Sirius radio kept me entertained and I only got tired for a few minutes during the entire drive. A two minute cat nap and an ice cream cone took care of the tiredness in short order. We arrived home at 1930 hours.

When we got out of the truck, we were greeted by 30+ knots of wind and biting cold. I guesstimate that the temperature was in the high 40’s. It was on with the winter coats to unload just the front of the truck. We’ll off load everything else and unhitch tomorrow.

Fayetteville, NC to West Creek, NJ - 576.4 miles, 12.5 hours elapsed

Return Trip Total - 1431.4 miles, 30.5 hours elapsed