How many of you are living your dreams? Have you obtained your goal of living out your dreams? Or, you might say what is a dream?
Here you go:
Dream – a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.
We are firm believers to live our life today because we never know what might come our way tomorrow. For the past few years we have dreamt of living aboard a boat. Our thoughts it could offer traveling to new places, new adventures along the way, cooking up some new recipes with local flair, and meeting new friends the journey.
Over the years we continued to chat about the “W’s” of our dream. It was always me that got the cold feet to move forward. What if something went wrong while we were out and about? Would we be comfortable boating on the waters we had never really been on? Which direction would we go?
Searching for the perfect boat ~
Our search for the perfect boat went on and on for a few years. We thought we needed just the right boat to fit our needs, fill our dreams and at the same time not break the bank. We looked at old boats, new boats and boats that needed a little tender loving care. Whew, it became a job and if I looked at one more website with “boats for sale” I thought I was going to loose track of the dream.
Recently were dealing on a boat located in Charleston, SC. I loved the boat and I had the Brian on board with the beauty as well. Our dreams were getting closer to coming true, or so I thought. As we got close to the putting our signature on the dotted line, there was just something fishy about this boat. The titles and maintenance didn’t add up with the final search. Questions weren’t being answered and after much despair we walked away from what we thought was our dream boat with disappointment.
And then it happened! Visiting with a businessman friend we shared our story of our boat search. After a few comments and questions our friend suggested why don’t you transport your own 34 foot SeaRay to Florida? Once upon a time we explored the of moving our boat from Okoboji, but for whatever reason we didn’t pursue the move.
Wheels in motion ~
Listening to the suggested words, we got our wheels in motion and contacted a local transporter. We both thought time is wasting away, lets get this party started. Jon Payne and his partner at T8JAE, Arnolds Park, Iowa was more that willing to help with the task of transporting our 34 Foot SeaRay which we call Bz’ Nest 🐝 to Fort Myers Beach, Florida.
Transporting the Bz’ Nest ~
It’s not as easy job one might think to haul an eight ton boat down the highway. It took days to get the blessing and approval from the DOT, Department of Transportation. Specific routes, hours of driving time and signage all had to be in place before the tires hit the highway.
Thanks to Jon Payne and his partner Mike with T8JAE Transportation, it was a go to headed south! The checks were all in place – Permits for bridges ✔️, Routes approved ✔️, Signage ✔️ and off to Florida the journey began!
Four days later, three flat tires (the trailer has 6) and a lot determination the Bz’ Nest 🐝 made it to Fort Myers Beach! We were never happier to see the guys pull around the corner with the boat in tow.
This blown out tire looked like an embellished art project. The bare threads and steel showed their true colors. Traveling with trailers in our past, we knew it might best to throw in a couple spare tires for this purpose and have a little insurance. Guess we should have sent three for good luck.
Every emotion was confirmed for both of us. Excitement, happy with joy and relief T8JAE made the journey safe and sound!
Putting the Bz’ Nest back together ~
Once the crew arrived and safely parked, it was time now to put the Bz’ Nest 🐝 back together and get her ready for salty waters.
Ted Cebulski, owner of Ski’s Mobile Boat Repair, Fort Myers Beach was Bz’ Nest first stop. Ski’s Mobile Boat Repair and happened to be right out our back door. Ted and his crew welcomed us with open arms and went right to work!
We also couldn’t have done it without the help of our good friend Rich Harper sharing his lifting abilities. Attaching the arch was a cumbersome task with added pounds and bulk. It was an awesome team we had on our side and hard to believe none of the guys complained lifting this arch on board the Bz’ Nest 🐝.
The reconstruction took a couple weeks to complete. After completing the boat with anti fouling paint, fresh water flush kits for the engines, new GPS, radar, depth finder, polishing, cleaning and more cleaning it was finally time to splash it!
Again, taking caution with electrical lines and traffic we were headed down the road to launch. Here we go!
The proficient dock crew took care of us at Salty Sam’s making it look easy moving this eight ton boat. The Bz’s Nest was slipped into the salty waters with her glowing shine and sailed away to her new home. Everyone was filled with joy!
Now remember those “W’s” discussed earlier, it was now time to decide “where” we would go on the first trip. Boca Grande, a small island north of Fort Myers Beach seemed like a good choice to explore and get the lay of the waters.
The anticipation with filled with anxious feelings at we entered the Intra Coastal waters. We quickly realized we were no longer on the quiet waters in Okoboji but it felt more like the autobahn in Europe.
Safely arriving Boca Grande dock-master lead us into the marina, assisted with tie ups and we were set for the next few days!
First stop, we set off for the beach to celebrate our victory and enjoy a sunset before dinner. As we approached the beach we noticed weren’t the only ones celebrating a special occasion. A young, beautiful couple stood there sharing their wedding vows. Several bystanders including ourselves were taking it all in. Watching the romantic ceremony we made the comment and question, we wondered what their future dreams might look like?
Back at the boat we giggled with joy as we gazed at the Bz’ Nest tucked in amongst the neighboring boats. The size of boats didn’t matter, it seemed everyone was happy to be on the waters enjoying life.
Life was good living our dream. It took several years to accomplish this task. We over analyzed it many times, often got cold feet but we stayed the course and finally felt we made it!
So when you think your dreams might be out of reach, remember dreams do come true. They might be scary to take the risk during the process but the reward in the end is the best!
In closing, I leave you with one of our favorite songs we enjoy on the Bz’s Nest. Turn up your speakers, you too might have fun dreaming!
