Hot work

Hot work: When it is close to 100 degrees out and probably more when you measure the heat index, it is really hot work to be provisioning a boat.  A full month on a boat seems like a long time, but I expect the time will pass all too quickly. Since I get to be the cook and valet, I get to decide how much food and clothing to bring.  For food I have to replenish along the way, so I bring the basics and hope for the best; but for clothes, other than a potential souvenir t-shirt, we need to bring what we might need.  Long pants, shorts, long-sleeved shirts, T-shirts, dress pants, dresses, nightwear and underwear, light jackets, rain gear, sweatshirts in case it turns chilly, and don't forget "utility" clothes for when work needs to be done on the boat.

Who knew that clothes weighed so much?!  As I was busy dragging clothes to the boat, I decided that it was an optimization problem - weight of clothes in a single trip versus number of trips to be made.  Unfortunately one of the limiting factors is my strength, so the end result was 4 very heavy loads - 2 for the captain and 2 for me.  I am saving shoes for another day!

The breeze inside the boat was minimal at best so putting the clothes in closets, cupboards, and under-the-bed storage bins was exhausting work.  I did major reorganizing for optimal use of space.  Each trip down took between 30 and 45 minutes on the boat in the humid heat getting the clothes put away, and each trip back for more clothes included a stop for a glass of water to keep me going. 

The water company managed to make even getting a glass of water a challenge.  A water main broke on Friday with advisories sent out stating that the water may be contaminated due to the break, so all water must be boiled before drinking.  Yes, I know there are such things as bottled spring water, but I had boiled a few gallons of water Friday night after hearing about the water problem so figured I should / could use that. Besides I hate using all that plastic if I can avoid it.  I managed to get a little routine going - fill my glass with the Brita-filtered water, refill Brita container with cold water from fridge, and refill reserve in fridge with more boiled water.  By Sunday night I was definitely glad to hear that the boil-the-water restriction had been lifted for our town.

After such a hard, hot day, I went back into my picture archives to view Erie Canal photos from the trip we made in 2003 when we went to Ithaca to visit our son.  Other than last minute items including food, I am now ready to "get this show on the road" both from a boat provisioned as well as an "I'm psyched" point of view.  Don't get me wrong - I have been looking forward to this trip for several years / months / weeks / days, but now, finally, the reality is hitting that we are really doing this. 

The boat leaves the dock 4th of July at 1100 hours to catch favorable tides and avoid potential inclement weather!  Guess I better go get that food ready!