Feb trip plans complete....

We've finalized our Feb trip to the island. We'll be staying on the Atlantic side, a first for us. The house we've decided upon is called "Los Cocos".  The above picture is from the  web site for the house. Staying right on the ocean front is also  going to be a new experience, we've always stayed up in the hills. The beach in front of the house is called La Chata.  I've never been to that beach so can't say much about it. Also the house is in Bravos de Boston, we've never been in that part of the island either. Lorrie and I are curious how we are going to like driving thru Isabel to get back to the house. Lots of new things this trip.

Getting airline tickets was a real challenge. It seems that United decided to charge 3k for two round-trip tickets to Vieques. I just bought tickets to Vieques this past March, for our Nov trip,  and paid $1200 total.  I did finally figure out the problem. It seems that United doesn't  have a return flight on the day we were wanting, that's why the 3k. USAir did have a flight and that's how United was routing us (nice mark up United). What Lorrie and I ended up doing was using miles to buy 2 one way tickets to San Juan  that only cost us $4. Then we booked the return flight on USAir. Total cost for airfare was $1100, sure beats the heck out of 3k. Now granted we are going to have to retrieve luggage, then  check luggage with Cape Air, and then go thru airport security, but to save $1900 I'll jump thru a few hoops.

Still been smok'n hot here in Indiana. The drought is taking it's toll on our trees. We are now seeing some of  trees on the property dying. Red buds, dogwoods and sassafras seem to be getting hit the hardest. There's not much I can do about it other than watch. The drought is not bothering the prairie at all. I noticed the royal catchfly in full bloom today.

Hot weather has also slowed down work on the cabin, hasn't stopped it...just slowed things down a bit. The siding is all done now, thank gawd for that. Deck and foundation are all stained. I've got 3 of the 4 interior walls insulated. 100 degree temps and fiberglass insulation don't go together real well, but I'm getting there. Roof is supposed to be delivered in 10days. Hopefully by the first or second week of August the outside will be 100% finished.

We bought a couple of the zero gravity recliners for the deck. Those are some really comfy chairs. Now I just need to find the time to break them in.

:-)

Stupid HOT!!!!

You know it's hot when you can feel the breeze but you can't find the dragon...

Been smok'n hot around here lately, but progress continues to be made on the cabin.  Last time I posted we hadn't really gotten the windows in yet. I did  manage to take a picture of the place with them all in, this is the bedroom corner:

Lorrie and I were glad all of them were finally in. The two big windows in the above picture are 6 foot by 6 foot. Let me tell you they were heavy and difficult to maneuver into the openings, but we managed. You can also see in the above picture that I've got the corner, window and fascia trim on.  Another benefit of having all the doors and windows in was  that I finally was able to do this:

After the windows it was on to the soffits. Lorrie and I had decided to do the soffits in tongue and groove cedar. I left a gap, which is covered underneath with screening, for venting. Here's a picture of it:

I had been trying to run an experiment while I was building the cabin. I wanted to see just how much beer it would take to get the place finished. Lorrie kept picking up the empty  bottles and ruining my study.

Next order of business was a deck off of the east side. I was wanting a simple deck with no handrail and minimal steps. We settled on a 5' x 19 foot deck. Here's a shot of it in progress:

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog post to inform you that Lorrie has just learned that the Hilltop Apartment in Vieques is rented for the two weeks that we will be there in Feb. I should have just booked in when I made the reservations for our November trip. She also informed me that Casa Dos Chivos is full for the month of Feb.

 She's in a panic!!!! Not only is it hot outside, it's getting hot in here.  I HAVE to find a place now.

About 10 mins later.....

Success...at least I think so. I found this place:

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p974189

It doesn't have a name, or at least I didn't see one anyway. I thought about going back to Casa La Vista, it had great views...still might. Also thought about Banana Wind...but it's $2600 a week, seems a bit rich to me.  Quinta Jabali is really nice but no Internet. The place I linked to above is only $900 a week and has Wi-Fi. Just might end up being our choice.

Ok..back to the cabin. It didn't take long to get the deck on the place. I took a picture of it finished. I've also started putting on the cedar siding in this picture:

Lastly here's a picture of Lorrie sitting on the deck...I've got a bit more siding on in this shot:

Right now the inside of the cabin is full of tools and cedar siding. Hopefully within the next week or so I can move on to getting the metal roof on the place. Then the outside will finally be finished.

Wonder if I should tell Lorrie that I haven't rented a Jeep for November yet?

:-)