THE FRONT OF OUR BOAT

OUR DINING AREA ON THE BOAT

OUR NEW HOUSEBOAT ON THE SACRAMENTO DELTA

Was it meant to be? We looked at a lot of boats and moorages but ended up buying the boat that inspired me to think of houseboats. Go figure! It was in the movie, “Murder By the Numbers” starring Sandra Bullock. It is a Masterfab pontoon houseboat, 14 feet by 47 feet and all on one level. It was built in 1983 but has been completely rebuilt: new redwood deck around the entire boat; new vinyl roofing; new exterior and interior paint; new counters, sinks and faucets; new appliances and window coverings; new ceiling, new big barbecue. It has a Volvo I/O motor and a generator. Instead of the usual ladder to the top deck, it has a great spiral staircase.

We have moved the huge table that was inside out on the front deck and will buy a smaller table for inside. There are four built-in bunks that we will tear out. One area will be made into a big closet and the other will probably be turned into an office. There is a walk-in pantry to which we’ll add more shelves. Fortunately, Zoe’s son is excited about helping us with the remodeling and our next door neighbor at the marina is the cousin of the former owner and helped do the current remodeling on the boat. He is a general contractor and has been very helpful.

We can get Direct TV installed as we are in an open slip. We hadn’t been happy with any of the moorages we looked at until we saw this one. We didn’t want to be undercover in a shed and this one has a nice view. The connected marina has all kinds of marine stuff , a Laundromat and there is a huge storage area where we can store our RV when not in use.

As if things couldn’t get any better, we are a little over two miles from I-5 and there is a shopping center there with a Loew’s for our building supplies, a Panerra Bakery for my bagels, a Starbuck’s for my Sunday mocha, our banks, a Target for odds and ends and lots of other handy stores. Who could ask for more? We are very happy.

THE KITCHEN IN OUR BOAT

ZOE ON BACK OF BOAT WITH SPIRAL STAIRCASE

OUR SPACE ON THE SACRAMENTO RIVER

HOUSEBOAT HUNTING

This was to be the summer where we spent long stays in Colorado parks at cooler temperatures. Instead, after only a few weeks in Colorado, we found ourselves crossing the arid, barren wastes of Utah and Nevada in over 100 degrees. Our quest was to go to the Sacramento Delta and buy a houseboat to live-aboard during the hot summer months.

Heading west from Salt Lake City, we encountered about a hundred miles of nothing but salt flats. As soon as we crossed the Nevada border, there was a town that was all casinos. We spent a night at a park there and went to a casino for a wonderful dinner of lobster tail and prime rib. There wasn’t another town for two hundred miles and then two hundred miles to the next one, Sparks, Nevada. Boy has that town changed since we last saw it some fifty years ago.

The search has begun. We are here in the Sacramento Delta looking for a houseboat to live-aboard during the summers. One thousand miles of channel waterways writhing across the land make two Pisces very happy. I'm quite a sight (and sound) as I rumble along the docks in my walker. Most of the moorage at marinas is covered in long sheds so the sound echoes and re-echoes. We are looking for an outside moorage for the view as we will mostly be at the dock. We have looked at several houseboats but haven't decided yet. We learned very quickly that we needed something over 40-feet long. Ironically, the houseboat in the film, Murder By The Numbers with Sandra Bullock that inspired me to think about houseboating is for sale near here. We will go see it tomorrow.For now we are parked in our motorhome at our favorite RV park next to the Sacramento River. I am still gradually getting stronger but need the walker for longer walks. We are right on the Sacramento River. I make a circuit of this park each morning while it is cool. The Delta is actually pretty nice, temperature-wise.It is usually around 85 high and in the high 50s at night. There is always a breeze.

SACRAMENTO DELTA MAP (1000 MI. OF WATER)

SOME SCENERY IN THE HIGH ROCKIES

LOVERN'S SURGERY IN THE ROCKIES

It was hard to find a good park in or near Denver. We finally found one south of Denver in Englewood. The spinal clinic and hospital were north of Denver, fourteen miles. The doctor discovered that the openings in my lower vertebrae were too small and pressing on nerves. Reluctantly, I agreed to surgery for ‘decompression’. This involved an incision in my back and cleaning out the openings that turned out to have a lot of arthritis. I was only in the hospital overnight but cannot bend, lift (over ten pounds) or twist for five weeks. I have been slowly regaining strength and have gone from a shuffle to a stride. It is already better than before the operation.

We had a three-day reservation at a condo in Aspen and tickets to the music festival there only three days after the operation. I was determined to keep them. Less than a third of the way there, though, I had to admit I couldn’t make it and we had to turn around and return to Breckenridge.

We stayed a week at a beautiful park in Breckenridge, CO but got itchy tires and decided to head for the Sacramento Delta to look at used live-aboard houseboats. We have looked at all kinds of places hoping to find a place by water and realized that if we were in a houseboat would be right on the water. The plan is to a few months in the houseboat on the Delta and winters back in Arizona in our rig. We can still take our usual spring, summer and fall trips in the rig as well.

Our rig got a good test in mountains in CO, climbing to over 11,000 feet. The trip across Utah and Colorado was beautiful with rosy cliffs and awesome canyons. A rare road sign stated, “Eagles on Road”. You don’t see that every day.

We are headed back to Charlie’s Service near Ogden for a couple more additions to the rig. Then it’s off toward Reno and the Sacramento Delta.

DRIVING THROUGH THE ROCKIES AT 11,000 FT.

OUR SPACE ALMOST 10000 FT UP WHILE LOVERN RECUPERATES