Below are SPOT links to Google Maps of our location, links to marinas if applicable and links to Kem's blog on the Houston Chronicle. Most recent event on top.

Places we've been along the way (and where we might be going)

November 2, 2010 SPOT Our current plan is to stay here until the end of January New Bern Grand Marina at the Hilton The most recent Blog is on top.

"FOUR STAGES OF INEBRIATION" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Retreat is over and chores are done. We are really getting into the holiday celebratory spirit – Bob practicing for his gig at the Coffee Company and the latest Toby Keith CD blasting on our ne... "

"RETREAT RULES" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " I may have mentioned a few days ago that Bob and I are in “retreat mode” this week – trying to get a grip on next year’s business model and targets. Having a retreat on a boat... "

"LET IT SNOW!" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Yes, I do feel badly for the folks trying to get “to or from” somewhere today in all of the snow and ice - having said that, we have been treated to a beautiful winter wonderland in ... "

SNOW IN NEW BERN - 12-26-10
Shot from Inside - Sweep of Nearby Boats (Rick 'n' Roll, Turtle, AZAR).

"WRING OUT THE OLD" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " It’s that time of year again, when we all wring out the old, and prepare to ring in the new. Bob and I have developed a tradition that we mark the days between Christmas and the New Year with a... "

RUTH and ART DEFEVER 2010

"SEASONS CHEER" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " SEASONS CHEER ALL THROUGH THE YEAR May this holiday season leave you with precious memories - gatherings filled with love and laughter, perfect gifts, yummy foods, love and joy all around. We wish yo... "

"STANDING STILL SUN" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " This year the winter solstice arrives on December 21. Why is that important, you say? Well, all boaters like longer days, and immediately following the solstice, the days start getting longer ag... "

"COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " This community really comes together to celebrate the holidays. Bob and I were off on our evening walkabout and had just finished some to-die-for clam chowder and Butter Shot schnapps at Morgan's... "

"WATER'S BACK ON - YEA!" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Last Monday, Dec 6, the marina notified all boaters that due to freezing temps, they would be turning off the water to the docks the following day, so that the pipes wouldn’t freeze. We then to... "

"TRYON PALACE" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Yes, New Bern has its very own palace two blocks from our dock. Tryon Palace was originally built between 1767 and 1770, as the first permanent capitol of the Colony of North Carolina and a home for ... "

"BFF" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Sometimes strange occurrences in your life lead to life-time friendships. Many moons ago, while living in Arizona, I returned from my first attempt at snow-skiing with a hip-high cast on my righ... "

"UNIQUE ARTISANS" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " New Bern is a magnet for artists of all kinds – photographers, painters, sculptures, potters and writers. But there are a whole lot of other types of artists out there that have been drawn to t... "

"PUTTING TOOTHPASTE BACK IN THE TUBE" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Our project for today is to replace our washing machine. As I shared with you before, somewhere around Halloween, it started making this high-pitched screeching noise on spin cycle. No, it did not tu... "

"BABY ITS COLD OUTSIDE"View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Dean Martin was right (the Farmer’s Almanac was a little off), baby its cold outside! And not just here in NC, but all the way south - believe me, we check on our friends in Florida daily. Whil... "

"COUPLES MASSAGE" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " This time of year, we think about all kinds of special gifts, events and moments to celebrate the holidays. I was thinking couples massage, however, life sometimes deals us cruel surprises and Bob an... "

"DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Yes, we just can’t get enough of this holiday cheer – two parades in one day! Maybe that’s where the REAL saying started - one if by land and two if by sea … The crowds along... " "BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crFQpOCDfEc

"ZERO LOT LINE" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Living aboard a boat gives a whole new meaning to “zero lot line.” With a zero lot line on land, you can do all kinds of creative things to make sure you are not too up-close and personal... "

New Bern Lighting of the Tree (at the Hilton) movie: Tree lighting and celebration. Band, dancers, singers, along with cider and hot chocolate made for a festive evening.

"BOTTOM JOB" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " If you have been paying attention, you will recall that I have been comparing living on a boat with living on land, or CLODs (cruisers living on dirt). Early on, I listed Bob Vila’s list of hom... "

"LIDO DECK UPDATE" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " After almost 10 years, our upper helm cushions have taken a beating. They have held up well considering all of the use and abuse they have taken on our “Lido Deck” – especially thos... "

"FLAT CHRISTMAS TREE" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " I’m sure that most of you have heard of Flat Stanley, Flat Daddy and all of the other “flat” likenesses that have traveled around your town and the globe - cardboard cutouts of the ... "

The New Bern Christmas Carol Sing Along movies: NOEL, Deck the Halls and God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman (Bob makes it to the hot chocolate at the end of the stand - it was very good.

"DECK THE HULLS" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Believe it or not Jingle Bells, one of the most famous American Christmas songs, was originally written for Thanksgiving! The author and composer of Jingle Bells was a minister called James Pierpoint... "

"PUMP OUT TIME" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " When we decided to stay in one place for a couple of months, I promised you the full story of what it’s like to live on a boat full time – the good, the bad and the ugly. Well I’ve ... "

"ART WALKABOUT" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " What a glorious Indian summer day for an Art Walk. We were fortunate to be here for the last Art Walk of the season. Artists from all over the region are exhibiting their talents in about 15 differen... "

"GIVE THANKS" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " As we enjoy this beautiful fall weather on our floating home, we are thankful for friends and family who support our adventure, advise in our challenges, and laugh with us as we muddle through this m... "

"BEAR TOWN BEARS" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Flag Bearer (courthouse bear) Everywhere we have cruised, we have seen that many communities have their own special “painted” sculpture collection. To name just a few, we’ve seen me... "

"THE RULE OF 90 / 10" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Living on a boat makes you appreciate every little space onboard, and therefore we have learned to invoke the 90/10 rule. Plan the space for how you will be utilizing it 90% of the time, and then dur... "

"SLEEP TIGHT" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " When we took possession of this floating loft 4 years ago, we had new mattresses made. We took the sage advice of Linda, at the Needle Loft in League City, TX, and had her make our new sleepers out o... "

"MARE'S TAILS" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " There are many “old salt” sailor sayings and many have to do with changing weather conditions. Here is a quick rule of thumb that we have learned to watch for and has to do with “ma... "

"CULTURED EVENING" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " We had the most “cultured” evening in New Bern – and you will soon understand why. We started out at Moo Bern’s (New Bern’s) only 4 hoof restaurant, the Cow Café.... "

"COFFEE HOUSE FLASHBACK" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " One of our favorite local discoveries is the Trent River Coffee Company (house). Ed, the owner, is from San Francisco, and dare I say “of the era” that popularized coffee houses during th... "

"THANK A VETERAN" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " There is nothing more special than a patriotic celebration in a small town, and we are fortunate to be here in New Bern over Veteran’s Day. They had quite an evening event complete with luminar... "

"NICHOLAS SPARKS" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Now this is truly a small world story. We are here in New Bern, home of the internationally known, bestselling American novelist and screenwriter, Nicholas Sparks. He was born in Nebraska, but moved ... "

"LAUNDRY OPTIONS" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Laundry options – there are many. I suppose first would be to minimize wearing clothing – Bob’s choice. That would require us to be located in a MUCH warmer climate than we are at t... "

"PROVISIONING FOR BOAT MEALS" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Once the boat is cleaned and we have “reached out and touched” our business contacts, provisioning is the next order of business. The way to a boater’s soul is through his boat, but... "

"BANKING ON A BOAT" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " The last blog was about doing business on a boat. When you become a successful (cruising about) entrepreneur, how do you deposit all that money when it starts rolling in? First of all, we try to have... "

"STAYING AFLOAT" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " After making sure the boat is scrubbed once we dock, our next order of business is to haul out those laptops and make sure we are staying afloat – financially. It took us 10 years of planning a..."

"HULL AND DECK" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " Per Bob Vila’s home maintenance list, following are items a home owner should check every 6 months: roof, attic, gutters, fireplace, filters, safety equipment, air conditioner, refrigerator, fa... "

"NEW BERN HIATUS" View and comment on the post. Excerpt: " After covering over 6,000 waterway miles in a year and a half, we are stopping in New Bern, NC, for a while. It’s a perfect community to catch up on work projects and boat maintenance. The loca... "