Headed down the highway

  

Welcome to the New Year! I am trying a new blogging app. With the boat shrink wrapped, Alan has been working to install our new Beta engine. I will let him give you more details in a post of his own. I do know that he comes home sore and bruised from "hugging" the engine. He is now at the stage where he will connect wires and hoses over the next couple of weeks. Over the Christmas holiday we were unable to have access to the boat. We spent time enjoying time with our family and cross country skiing. We have been doing some othe things necessary to leave on an extended cruise, like arranging bank accounts, credit cards, drivers license, insurance and so on. 

Today we are headed down the 401 to Toronto to visit the boat show. We are going to check out the Raymarine electronics package we have on order. There are lots of other things on the list. We would like to find a way to have a much more efficient refrigeration system. Communications tools will be evaluated. We have an SSB radio. Will we add a pactor modem and is the newest edition worth the premium? It is a device that would allow us to send and receive email and weather reports from anywhere. Will we opt for the simplicity of a satellite phone that is pricier to operate? Our plans for this summer are still uncertain. We would like to head to Ireland, but with the refit going on we need to be comfortable that everything is working well. Glitches may suggest that we choose plan B, which is to head through Atlantic Canada and then hop skip and jump to the Caribbean. That would allow us to leave later. Certainly they are both great options. We will check out charts and cruising guides at the show.

Booking our hotel was an interesting process. I tried a website called Hotwire where you choose the location, class of hotel  and price. When they have finished processing the credit card, they reveal the name of the hotel. That is the trade off for really good rates. We ended up with the Hilton Garden Inn downtown. Should be great! Unfortunately they don't discount the downtown parking rates . The temperature is an amazing 10' C. I am looking forward to going for a walk.