Tide Hiker is Sold - The adventure is over. :(

Windmill Harbor, Hilton Head Island
Monday October 23, 2017

Beth and Kurt Petry

This was a tough day for me, but not for the reasons you might have expected!

I drove down to HHI on Monday morning and met our Buyers - Beth and Kurt - at the attorney's office for the closing. (Deidre could not make it because riding in the car for more than an hour is still not comfortable.) All went smoothly and the the three of us went out to lunch to celebrate.

Beth and Kurt had a truck full of gear to load and put away so I left them mid afternoon with the plan to meet them on Tide Hiker in the AM to start the orientation process. I had dinner at a local Thai restaurant and then headed back to my motel. It was turning into a nasty night with heavy thunderstorms and tornado warnings. As I pulled out of the parking lot in the rain and onto the highway the car started to hesitate and in less of a mile it failed totally. Fortunately I was able to coast off the road and "park" the car in a safe spot. I tried to call for a tow without luck so walked back to my hotel in the rain.

The car was towed to the local MB dealer in the AM and they promised to look at it "as soon as they could". Kurt and Beth picked me up and we settled down on Tide Hiker for orientation day. Kurt was and Beth have recently retired - Kurt was an eye doctor and Beth a school teacher. But they have lived on a working farm for years and both had a lot of practical knowledge. (And probably understand the equipment on Tide hiker better than I do.)

Just to make my situation a bit more of a challenge, I managed to lean on my phone when Tide Hiker was maneuvering thru the lock and cracked the screen - it was now basically useless. And of course the car was not ready that night, but Kurt and Beth invited me to sleep on Tide Hiker for one last night and took me to the dealers in the AM.

Thursday November 2, 2017

Its now a week and a bit later. Tide Hiker is now about 300 miles south on her way to a new home in Ft. Myers Beach. Deidre and I are settling into dirt-dweller life and starting to make travel plans for next year.

Oh well, all good things have to come to an end, and cruising for 5 years was a dam good thing!