Progress on the plane continues

I've been here in the Pacific Northwest since the first of June.  My number one priority has been getting the plane ready to fly.  Today, we rigged the rudder and pulled maintenance on the magneto.  The magneto had a cross threaded screw on the P-lead.  Don't know when that happened, but I'm glad I found it.  So last night with the help of a couple of chapter members, we pulled the mag off.  Then this morning I got some help fixing the problem and putting it all back together again. Because the Mag had been off completely, we had to re-time it.  That was a new experience for me.

We are making good progress and expect to mount the wings later this week.   There are just a few things to finish first.  Once the wings are on the plane it gets much wider and harder to work around.  Bob is in charge of all things electric.  Mostly that means lighting; landing, navigation, and strobes.  In addition there is an electric trim motor and and two servos for the auto-pilot.  Bob is also working on installing an antennae in the left wingtip.  It will provide the signal for the VOR and do it while hidden out of sight in the wingtip.

Here are a couple shots of Mt Rainier I snapped today.  The first one was taken about 0800 and this second was taken around 1800.

If you want to see any of these pictures full size, just click on it and they should go big on you.

Last Thursday we went to the Arlington Air show.  Right away we met these very nice people from Oregon; Ed and Marsha.  Their plane is very similar to ours so we hung around to see how they did various things on the plane.  They were very encouraging and we spent a lot of time visiting with them.Here is a picture of Bob and Linda after a lunch of beef brisket and  pulled pork.  It was poor planning to go on a Thursday as there were not as many planes to look at as there would have been a day later.  But we had a good time.

My buddy Boyd and I did some time on at the BBQ a couple weeks ago and his wife Pam snapped this picture of us.

My sweetheart will be joining me in a couple weeks.  I miss her and am looking forward to driving home together.  This is a picture I took the last time we went to Cayo Costa.  I think we'll take a couple weeks to get there as we are not on any particular schedule.  I hope to visit a few friends along the way.

Mid May update

I was going thru some pictures and came across these that I don't think I've shared.

I keep pretty busy with planting and such.  The weather lately has been wonderful; cool mornings so I can get most of my chores done before my shirt fills with sweat.  We have such refreshing breezes coming in almost constantly.  The forecast is for more dry weather.

This last Saturday we took the boat out to Cayo Costa State Park for the afternoon.  We invited a couple from our local church to come spend the day with us.  He is a commercial fisherman and his wife is a nurse.  He spends so much time on these waters that, his direction came out something like this; steer toward them trees over yonder...Turn left now to avoid the shallows.  

We met up with a neighbor who has been camping on his sailboat for a while.  Then we all took the tram to the West side of the island where we all took a dip in the Gulf of Mexico.  When we returned to the pier, my neighbor fixed us fish tacos.  They were very good.  This is a picture I took of them a they were making their departure from Bokeelia a about ten days ago.

Here is a tortoise that lives near us.  He just comes over to snack on our lawn.

I am fascinated by the way Pelicans look at you.  Their eyes are very intense.

This little guy likes to hang out in a hedge next to the house.  Not to worry; he is a friend and non-venomous.

 I snapped this yesterday as we were installing five Royal Palms across the front of our property.  These are fairly young and reasonable for handling and purchasing.  In a few years they will be tall and stately looking.

We have added four coconut trees beside the pond.  Whacked the line for our phone, TV, and internet doing the last hole.  Had no idea there was a buried line.













These are some red Lychees growing at a local nursery.

I know, it has been months...

I got a call from my friend Ed today.  I was busy feeding the fish in my pond and watching the turtle eat the food.  He's about 8 inches across the shell and maybe a foot long; the turtle, not Ed.  Anyway, he (Ed; not the turtle) pointed out that I have not updated this blog in months.  So, let me bring you up to date.

We moved to Bokeelia Florida in November.  Signed papers on our house the day we got here and moved in that afternoon.  The month that followed was consumed with outfitting the house with furniture, pictures, nick naks and such.  We brought no furniture with us, so we shopped it all thru Craigslist.  We had our back yard cleared of all the invasive species of trees now we are in the process of reforesting with fruit trees.  The clearing job took them about a week to finish.

Here you can see that there were many trees and they hid the neighbor's property from view and gave us lots of privacy, but prevented us from planting the fruit trees that Anh wanted.  

FYI, if you want to see any of these pictures enlarged all you have to do is click on them.

Before we began, you couldn't see the building or the airstream trailer on the neighbor's property.

We have not been sitting idle, although there are times I'd like to.  We bought some bikes and started riding them each morning.  In the process we met a lot of people and have made some good friends.  Miss 'Never met a stranger' has been meeting and networking with the asian community.  Our friends Mike and Susan have been kind enough to include us in a host of activities.  

Our neighbors across the street invited us to their church the second week we were here and we have been going there ever since.  I think it's the friendliest church I've ever been in.  

Here are a few pictures I snapped today around the place.  This is the boat we bought about a month ago.  It's just right for the inter coastal waters.   As it turns out, my neighbor Joey is also an experienced boat mechanic and has taken me under his wing.

You can see that all but a few trees are gone.  In the foreground are the banana trees I have planted.  All the trees we removed were chipped up and piled for mulch in the back corner of the property.  None of these buildings were visible when we started.

This view of the house from the West end of the property shows a Jack fruit tree in the foreground.   If you look close, you can see one of our ducks in the pond.

The pond was made before the house was built.  All the material that was removed to make the pond was piled up to build the house on.

This picture was taken from the South West corner and shows the fruit tree I just planted today and the palm tree that was saved during the clearing.

 This is a collection of herbs that Anh is growing.   There are a few tomato plants that surrond the pool.  You can also see a persimmon tree to the left.

If you look closely,  you can see that these two containers are full of fish parts and salt.  Anh is making fish sauce.  It is sitting on the deck of my boat so as to keep it in the sun and out of reach from critters.

We went on a three day cruise last Friday with Norwegian.  It stopped in two places; Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas and Nassau.  Anymore I'd just as soon stay onboard all the time, but went ashore to be a 'team player'

This is a shot of my first visitor from the old country.  Taken in January... :D










Here are a few odd ball shots from a visit to the Fort Myers Beach.

So forgive me friends if I have been remis in keeping you up to date.  Until next time.