Shear Madness

March 16, 2017

Shear Madness is still resting comfortably in Morehead City, NC. Before departing for some land adventures, we completed a few boat projects. First, the motor that lifts the TV in the salon had failed and needed to be replaced. Of course, that motor is no longer made, but the same company had an alternative which we finally procured. The problem was getting the old one out and the new one installed. With the help of the local carpenter, Robbie, Bradley was able to get the new motor installed and the TV now goes up and down as it is supposed to. The next project was to get some of the headliners in the pilot house and salon re-covered. These are the removable ceiling panels, covered with a material that over time deteriorates, resulting in sagging patches. Fortunately, we were able to order the same material in the same color. Removing the panels is not an easy task, as they are large and bulky and have light fixtures that need to be removed (and kept track of so they can be re-installed. Cathy and Cory from Crystal Coast Interiors assisted with the removal and soon had the newly covered panels ready to install. Finally, we replaced a failed bilge pump in the engine room.

Removing headliners

If you read this blog purely for boat adventures, you may want to stop reading at this point as the rest concerns adventures on land and travel with friends and family. Before leaving NC to head to Colorado for some winter skiing, we attended a birthday party for our friend and electrician Steve and also attended a Christmas Eve celebration with his extended family. Since Hanukkah coincided with Christmas Eve, we also lit a menorah.

Celebrating Steve’s birthday

My friend Pam volunteers to keep an eye on the wild horses at nearby Rachel Carson Reserve and invited me to join her in servicing the cameras used to track the horses. This involves a bit of hiking, retrieving cards from the cameras, replacing batteries, and ensuring the cameras are placed in spots that will produce good info and secured so that they remain operational for several weeks. The cameras are motion activated and capture not only horses, but a variety of other wildlife including raccoons, foxes, rabbits, and more.

Mounting the camera

Finally, our friend Tony from St. Augustine stopped by on his drive back to Florida from DC and brought Otis, his gorgeous black lab. Otis was just a little puppy when we last saw him but he’s all grown up now, though still very much a puppy!

Tony and Otis visit

We headed off to Florida for a visit with family and friends. My two awesome “amigas” Nancy and Cynthia joined me in Florida for a long girls weekend. We also had nice visits with Bradley’s mother and sister and caught up with our friend Richard and other friends Wolfgang, Christeen, and daughter Sophie.

Kathy with Cynthia and Nancy in Florida

For New Years we traveled to the DC area where we visited Bradley’s daughter and grandkids, my stepmom, and various other friends. The new MGM casino at National Harbor has opened, so I paid it a visit. My old elementary school, Thomas Addison, is now the MGM Employment and Training Center.

Next it was off to Colorado. We rented a condo at Copper Mountain from mid-January through the end of March and are spending weekdays there skiing and snowshoeing. On weekends we travel back to Denver where we visit various friends and family. I’ve spent most Saturdays with my niece Vicky and her daughter Sophie, who is the same age (4 ½) as our friends Wolfgang and Christeen’s daughter Sophie T. Wolfgang and Christeen came out to visit us for a week of skiing so the two Sophies were able to meet.

Two Sophies get to know each other – Sophie C. on left and Sophie T on right

Sophie T. came to Copper with her parents and spent some time in ski school where learned enough to ride a lift and ski down a green hill with her Papa. I introduced Christeen to snowshoeing and we had a wonderful time.

Sophie T. skis with Papa

Our friend Ken and his son Elliott also came for a visit. All was going well until the morning we had about 4” of fresh powder. Bradley, Ken, and Elliott planned to head off to the back bowls while I was going to stick to the Blue trails. He boys were taking their sweet time getting ready, so I go dressed, grabbed my skis and set off for the short walk across the parking lot to the nearby ski lift. Unbeknownst to me, there was black ice under the fresh powder. Suddenly my feet flew out from under me and I fell – Hard! Unfortunately I fell on my left wrist. I returned to the condo and Bradley drove me over to the local Urgent Care Center where I received excellent care. The X-rays showed a Colles fracture of my left wrist and the doctor referred me  for an emergency appointment with an orthopedic surgeon, who saw me the same day. The following day I had surgery to repair the break with a tiny titanium plate. Two days later I was back to snowshoeing, but skiing is on hold for a bit.

Kathy’s broken left wrist

Cathy and Cory from NC also came for a visit. Cathy, a NC native, has seen snow, but never skied before. After a couple lessons, she was navigating green hills like a pro. Bradley and Cory explored the mountain and we introduced them to snowshoeing with a beautiful trek at Mayflower Gulch.

Cory and Cathy snowshoe while Bradley cross county skis

With my injury garnering a bit of sympathy, Bradley – being the competitor that he is – decided he needed to do something. So, while skiing with the “Over the Hill Gang” in Hallelujah Bowl, he took a spectacular fall, flipping and landing on his left shoulder. He got to ride down the mountain in a ski patrol sled and was then transported to the same clinic I had visited. He too received excellent care and X-Rays showed that he had a grade 2.5 separated left shoulder. Although his injury was far more painful than mine, he fortunately did not require surgery. Time alone will heal his injury.

Bradley’s separated left shoulder

We both hope to make a return to the slopes next week. The weather at the mountain has warmed up and it’s definitely Spring skiing now. Hopefully we will get a little more snow before we leave.

We head back to NC on April 3 where we will work on a few boat projects and get ready for a trip north to Maine at the end of the month.