So a few days before the happy date Pam says she would like to go horseback riding for our anniversary. Of course I thought she was joking but no. She was serious. Talk about out of the blue! In all of our 15+ years not once do I remember her even mentioning horses other than to comment on how cute they look running in a field.
OK. We're in Kentucky. Finding a place to ride shouldn't be a problem. After a little research Pam found a place in Nearby Benton, Ky. that would take us on a 2 hour ride. Unfortunately due to the high heat and humidity we couldn't ride on our anniversary so we scheduled for the next morning before it got too hot.
Friday morning we found our way to the farm/stable where we met the proprietor Ginger Frick and were introduced to our mounts, Star and Shiloh. Both Pam and I commented on how much higher the saddle seemed now compared to when we were younger. Still with a little spring in our step we made it up and into the saddles and got underway. Ginger led us on a nice ride through the countryside making it back just before my butt went completely numb!
Pam was happy and I was happy that Pam was happy! I must admit that it was fun but I think I will need a padded saddle the next time!
Our trail ride ended just in time to head back in to Benton and have lunch at the 4 Little Pigs Barbeque. A popular spot with the locals.
After lunch we got the car washed, hit WallyWorld and went back to Tourist.
We were planning on heading back home for friends Frank & Peg's 25th anniversary party which we thought was on the 20th. After a call to Frank to find out the details we found out the party was actually on the 7th! Yikes! Pam went into hyper mode to get her things organized so we could drive home the next day. I laid on the sofa to recover from the horseback ride. Just as I was entering a nice deep sleep I heard this blood curdling scream from Pam. Of course I thought she was hurt in some way but fortunately she was ok. The scream came as a result of her lifting the hatch off of one of the under floor compartments and finding it full of water! I guess that explains the occasional burp of the fresh water pump that we have been hearing. Sure enough, the compartment was full and everything in it was saturated. Further exploration discovered that the compartment behind it had water intrusion also. What a mess!
At this point all I could say was "I'll get the shop vac". I bet we sucked up nearly 30 gallons of water from the two compartments before we removed the contents. While Pam started sorting through the waterlogged items I started looking for the source. I found that if I stood on my head and looked forward in the now drained compartment I could see where the water lines ran to. By opening the floor hatch in the hall and repeating the head stand I could see that there were junctions in the lines under the 3rd stateroom closet. Fortunately I could also see what looked like a hatch in the floor above the junctions.
My next move was to get Pam to empty out the closet so I could find the floor. Once we reached the floor I had to remove the carpet to get to the hatch. I opened the hatch and there before me were the junctions which I suspected to be the culprit. I felt around each one of them and each one was dry. Hmmm! I really thought that that's where I'd find the leak. Next I ran my hand along each of the lines leading into the junctions and ah ha. One was wet. After peeling back the plastic chafe guard that surrounds the line I could see a tiny stream of water coming out of a hole in the line the size of a pin head. Now what? This is the line that leads to the master shower with no visible access on the shower end.
So when Pam asked if we could use the shower, I said No. We'll have to shower at the marina! Something that my Princess isn't fond of doing unless absolutely necessary. Little did she know that I had a plan already formulated if I could find the parts.
I marked the spot of the leak and plugged the connection so that we could have water to the rest of the boat and then walked over to the ships store at GTB. I was hopeful that I would find what I needed there since they use the store to supply the boatyard with parts. And I did! They had the 15mm connector that I needed and the cutting tool that they loaned me to cut the plastic pipe. Once back at the boat it took me all of 5 minutes to make the repairs and become a hero in Pam's eyes once again!
From the time we discovered the water on Friday afternoon it took until Monday evening to get the compartments and contents completely dry. Unfortunately we had to miss the anniversary party as a result of a pin hole.
Monday evening we were sitting on the dock near the stern of the boat having docktails by ourselves (The marina is a ghost town during the week!) when we started hearing what sounded like an electrical breaker popping on and off. Immediately we both thought "Now What!". We listened for awhile longer and it kept on making the same sound from the same area. My thought was that something shorted out so I started shutting off switches but the sound kept on. Finally with all power shut down it came to us what it was. A turtle! After all we are in Green Turtle Bay! Apparently one had swam into our exhaust outlet and was banging around trying to get out. Whew!
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