Thursday, August 30, 2012

We're Selling out

Now that the partying is over, it's time to sell off our remaining Seattle assets.  We're pretty much down to the basics of what it takes to live in our one bedroom apartment.  Now those belongings are leaving the nest.

A Virtual Garage Sale !

Here on this page we had advertised our belongings and let our friends know what we had to move out of the apartment.  Well, the sale went very well and we got rid of everything.  Many friends took our items and paid full price.  Some of the more stubborn items were difficult to sell so I used Craig's list and dropped the price down. 


Eventually we moved every single item. At the end we just put stuff on Craig's list for free and people came and picked them up.  So there was very little that we actually had to carry out of the apartment ourselves.  One little trip to the Goodwill and we were done.  Thanks to everyone who helped us shed ourselves of our unnecessary possessions.

Sold Items


The calendar is tight, with Scott working one more day and Connie rushing around taking pictures of things, changing addresses, and checking a bazillion things off the list. We're targeting September 20 as departure day with everything out of the house by September 17.


Friday, August 24, 2012

Was it a going away party or a wedding?

We pulled a fast one.  Well at least we tried.  On August 19 Connie and Scott threw a going away party at the Greenwood Masonic Lodge at 80th and Greenwood Avenue.  We invited about 50 friends and asked them to BYOB.  Ocho Pies arrived at 5:00 and set up and a few friends arrived and helped us get the food and bar ready.  Then at 6:00 PM people started to filter in. Ocho started playing and we started to fill the little hall.  When the band finished the first set just after 7:00 PM they took a break and our friend Lorree took the microphone and called on Michael Olson and Daneen Balcirak to come up to the stage...  as witnesses.

"You people who came up from Olympia know that these are my marrying people clothes .You all think you are here for a going away party, which you are, but this is also my first time doing a surprise wedding.  And now we'll ask for the bride and groom to take the stage."  At this time Michael pretended that he was the one getting married and Daneen laughed and blushed.  Then Connie and Scott came up to the stage.  Connie had changed into a creme colored sari and Scott put on a fancy shirt.

Mr and Mrs Connie Bunyer
There was a surprised gasp from the crowd and then we proceeded with the nuptials.  After the exchange of vows and rings and the long sweet kiss we jumped over a broom, tied ourselves together with a rope, exchanged coins, drank some wine out of a stemmed glass then smashed the glass on the floor.  We were married! Yahoo!

What followed was dancing and music and cheese and good feelings and good times. At one point everyone in the room formed two circles and danced around and around to the Tarentella.  Later Scott whipped a chair out into the room and motioned to Connie to take a seat. She did, then four strapping men lifted her up in the air and we danced around the room to Gogol Bordello's "Start Wearing Purple."

At the close of the evening everyone had that warm loving glow.

Thank you friends for joining us and for those that were not there we wish you well and miss you already.  And thank you friends for your generosity and love.

We're leaving Seattle in about three weeks and are shedding possessions left and right. Next we'll have our on-line virtual garage sale, then an actual garage sale, then a trip to Goodwill. And we'll be free to head south in the little Honda, headed for California and then Ensenada where we'll be on the boat at the marina until we muster up enough courage to head out into the deep blue Pacific Ocean.




Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Deme su dinero, señor o señora

I've added a cute little feature to the Traveler at Sea blog.  Something everyone has been clamoring for. Every time I talk to my friends they express interest in buying me a beer.  Often they try to press a little cash into my hand on our parting.  You know, like you do at the curb when the driver places your bags on the sidewalk and you conveniently have those folded up dollars in your palm ready to transfer to him with a handshake and a wink.

And as I'm walking through town those scruffy gentlemen sitting on the sidewalk offer me their paper cups full of coinage, suggesting I take at least a quarter or a dollar.  It's embarrassing and I'm often reluctant to take people's money but I know it is just my pride that holds me back.  So with the help of my good buddy Pay Pal, I've added a little button to this website.  Without any embarrassment and in complete privacy, you can buy me a beer, buy me two beers, or even finance an entire week of Mexico cruising by pressing the Donate  button.

This takes you to a secure page, where you can use your credit card or PayPal account and in a few
Give me your money, sir or madam.
steps,Voilà, you have bought Connie and I a beer, or two, or twenty.  You will receive a receipt via email noting your donation amount and the fact that it is going towards our cruising kitty.  I'll receive an email notice that you, my good friend, my best friend, has contributed to our cruising kitty. You are happy and feel generous. We are happy knowing we have such good friends.  The cruising kitty is happy.  Actually the cruising kitty can be a voracious feline and if you don't feed her on a regular basis she gets very cranky. So thanks for helping out.

One more note.  If you enter your email address there where it says "Enter your email address and we'll send you a note when we post a new blog entry." then each time Connie or I dream up another interesting and clever blog entry you will receive a little note in your email in-box suggesting you come visit and read it. That way you can remove that little reminder note you have that pops up each day telling you to check our blog just to see if anything new is happening. 

El Capitan with that guy who "fixes" things.
And while I'm at it, there is this adjustment. If you click on the picture of the boat or the picture of me and Connie looking windswept and wacky it will take you to the very first blog entry from March 2010.  That's where our story begins.  From there you can scroll up to see more recent posts and use the "Newer Posts" and "Older Posts" to see other pages. You can also navigate by using the Blog Archive on the left margin to find specific months and years. 

Thanks for staying with me through this.  I think we have an agreement here.  It would be a shame if I had to call in this other guy to make my point more forcefully.  :)