Car Overheats

I noticed the temperature gage in the car climb during our trip to Millville on Friday and when we got off the highway the idiot light came on.  We stopped at the convenience store and bought a gallon of coolant that allowed us to limp home.

Our intention on Saturday was to rent a car and leave ours at the garage.  So, we picked up the rental but didn't make it to Foschi.  Pulled over a couple times to let the engine cool off and once I loosened the cap on the overflow and let the coolant geyser out only to refill it with cool water.  We might have done that 10 more times to get to the garage but what a phenomenal waste of time it would have been.  Called JC Towing who showed up in less than 15 minutes and towed it in.

We stayed Monday to give them a chance to work on it and it turned out to be the thermostat.  Complete repair including pressure testing the system $239.23.

The rental car was a Mercury Milan that I fit into comfortably.  Have to remember this should we find ourselves in the market for a car.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Every time I go to the theater I'm hoping for something real that doesn't talk down to me or signal when to laugh.  But what I usually get is mild entertainment.

Admittedly Vicky Cristina Barcelona has some characters that are really out there but the way they bounce off the more ordinary personalities is believable and very natural.  This movie is funny and there is no laff track.

The trailer said it was about two Women who go to Spain and are seduced by a local.  It brought back memories of Summer Lovers, a movie that I thought was too hokey, but this was just an hour and a half of fun.

Contract Signed

After being in attorney review for more than 2 months we finally have a signed contract for the condo in Weehawken. The sticking points were:

• Getting a list of fixtures, appliances, and building materials called a spec
• Getting a legal description of the property
• Changing the condo bylaws to allow pets

I doubt that we still have the property description or that the bylaws were changed. The truth is that the seller just waited us out but now closing has been moved to the end of the month which is not to his benefit.

We'll have the place inspected as soon as the kitchen appliances are installed and the loan should be approved early next week.

Back to Chestnut Neck

We cut the plastic off the boat and put up the canvas on Saturday. It is such a pleasure to have Chris help. He has a positive cooperative attitude that makes these things go fast. He and I dragged the plastic cover to the dumpster and were stuffing it in when one of the staff told us to stop. If we go back next season we'll know to just pile it up and leave it for pick up next to the boat.

We looked around for water spigots to connect the hose and found them only at great distances from the boat so we talked to a man at the marina store who told us, "The water isn't set up yet but they're working on it. There are only two guys in the yard and they'll get to it eventually." Not very helpful.

I took all the old zincs off and we stopped at Boater's World who was having a "Going out of business" sale. We were able to stock up for a couple of seasons on most of the zincs and got a good deal on the large one that goes under the swim platform - $50.

It was so windy and cold on Saturday that we had second thoughts about going back on Sunday but past experience has convinced us to take what we can get. It's easy to look at the calendar and think that there's ample time only to have the schedule close in on you. It was the right choice to go because Sunday was a great day to be outside with calm winds and temps in the high 60's.

Brought 200' hose and had ample length to run water to the boat. We boat soaped the entire hull and I used Teka on the swim platform. Afterward we told the yard that they could paint the bottom any time after after 4/20. She told us that they'd be glad to launch and do a sea trial with a week's notice.