Hi all,,, It's been a very long cold week up north. We left Delray Beach early on Tuesday 17th. The morning was a little brisk,,, yes a cool 65 degrees. Both of us donned our winter sweaters, and coats,, yikes,, were we crazy??? Upon arrival at Newark, we could feel the cold winter air entering the plane. It was a nasty 25 degrees, and the wind didn't help at all. We arrived at Motown, opened up the house, turned on the fridge, turned up the heat and the hot water and didn't stop shivering for a very long time. Shopping had to be done, there was nothing in the fridge and the cupboards were bare. We couldn't find a PUBLIX anywhere !!! LOLOL but A&P did very well.
Our agenda was jam packed with not only appointments. We had a blast going to watch Nicholas and Matthew at their Taekwondo class. Clearly they enjoyed participating with their class, their voices could be heard enthusiastically answering their instructor. We were very impressed with not only how well they listened, but how eager they were to participate and learn.
On Friday we went to darts at the HYC and had a wonderful time. It was the first night of darts and several people attended. There was delicious pizza being served, the bar was open and there was hot coffee available. Both of us played as alternates and had a great evening. There were even comments about having Elle stay to play the rest of the season, have to say she's learning from a Pro,, guess who?
Saturday we were invited to watch Matthew participate in his skating lesson. Isn't it cold in a skating rink?? It was test day on the rink and each student had to demonstrate their skills they had acquired for that level. During the whole class, Matthew showed us how much he loved to skate. At the end of the class it was Matthew's turn to demonstrate his skills for his badge. He worked so hard throughout the class, all of us were commenting, how tough it is to be tested at the very end. We sat back watching him go through his test and silently cheering for him. Well,, we were all impressed, Matthew skipped 2 levels!!! He can now attend Hockey level 1 as he enthusiastically told Judy, that's exactly what he wanted to do!! But what touched us most, was the sensitivity and compassion he showed by hiding his badges so as to not hurt his friends feelings who didn't do so well. He then told his friend good job, you worked hard. Well done Matthew!!
Later that evening we attended Mardi Gras at Harlem. All we can say is,,, wow what a grand event. We were treated to delicious appetizers, a true creole dinner and the music took us down to the sultry sounds of New Orleans.They had a great four piece band that played everything from jazz to Dixie, a great treat! The mask parade was great fun and beads were thrown at participants, true Mardi Gras style
.The following couple of nights we had lovely dinners at Angela and Brian Hendricks home and with Marcia and Mark Leeds at a great restaurant. It's always wonderful to get together with Harlem friends.
On Wednesday we had our meeting with the Immigration office in Newark, NJ and after a tiring morning we passed. Elle is getting a provisional 'green card' which confirms her as a permanent resident. This meeting opened our eyes to the number of people applying for the same status. We watched several families come and go from the interview room, some were very happy and others sad.
Thursday Feb. 26/2009 we were picked up by our 'limo' in snow flurries. When we landed in West Palm Beach that afternoon the temperature was 75 degrees YEAH!! Hello Summer Wind!!
Recently we found another annoying leak underneath starboard side dresser in the back cabin. This leak is something we thought we had repaired. One of the interesting things about a trawler, is that its designed so that , things are accessible. 
The only way we can explain is by showing pictures. Inside the bottom of the dresser are floor boards that lift, where waterlines and wiring channels and hydraulic lines for the power steering run through. Well we found the leak after lifting the floor boards, and realized that the shelving units would also have to come out.
After some grunting and groaning and being a contortionist we managed to find the leak on the back hull. It was the city water intake pressure valve, which we never use because we like to refresh our water tanks. Dick went outside on the swim platform, removed the old valve. We discovered that whoever installed it, cross threaded the valve and all the threads were warped, hence the leak.
We rode our bikes a few miles each way to purchase a new city water intake pressure valve. It was very simple to install the new valve and in a matter of minutes, the shelves were re assembled. Like we started saying at the beginning , boats are built with unique storage areas, and designed so that if needed you can disassemble.
It has been several days and several water tanks refilled and LO and Behold NO LEAK!!! Yeah!!!
