Prologue

Just so you all know, I've never done this before.  Please feel free to share your advice, corrections, and suggestions with me along the way.

 Backstory:  My husband grew up on Long Island, with a canal and boat(s) in his back yard. He worked in boat yards and went clamming for summer jobs. He earned a Mechanical Engineering degree, and has worked for Ford & multiple suppliers. 
So, I my opinion, he makes for a great boating partner.   Except for the facts, and you'll hear more about this along the way, that he's a bit impatient, can't sit still for long, and can loose 10 lbs. by giving up drinking beer for a week, I love him dearly!

 I grew up living very close to Lake Michigan, (could walk to the beach through the woods in our back yard) and enjoyed sailing a small "Butterfly" sailboat on Muskegon Lake. I received a mishmash-ed degree from MSU, but really only went to college for my "MRS" degree.  I always wanted to just be a mom!  

 Fortunately, we met, married, have two fabulous almost-graduating-from-college sons, and have enjoyed chartering sailboats for almost 20 years.
So, when we talked of retirement, it seemed natural to entertain living on a boat.

 Still, we both LOVE our lives in Michigan!  
My parents are still healthy and living on their own  - my Dad is turning 90 this summer!; 
3 out of my 5 siblings and their families are within a 2-1/2 hour drive, and the other two are just phone-calls away; 
my husband has built strong relationships at an inland Sailboat Racing Club; 
and, there is a group of my girlfriends (the Hot Dog Committee) in Michigan that I can't live without!

 So, with that being said -- we decided to look for a boat that we could live on during those cold-winter-Michigan months of January, February, March, and (maybe) April.  We would live on the boat, and travel down the Intracoastal Waterway along the east coast of the United States.  We would travel slowly, stopping along the way whenever we wished, and considered that the trip down to the Florida Keys might take 5 3-month-trips to complete.
I only had two stipulations:  Storage, and a walk-around bed --- and yeah, and big windows!

 Viola --- Zingara!
She is a 46 foot Grand Banks Classic with twin 3208 TA Caterpillar Engines. So, now the adventures begin!
Zingara

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