The boat was delivered to Brunswick Landing Marina and arrived November 22nd. We decided on a lark to drive up, all four of us, and settle the boat in. The kids hadn’t seen it yet, and I had 50 hours off between shifts, plenty of time to fit in a road trip!! We drove up on the 23rd, had a wonderful dinner with the delivery captain, and got to hear some great stories. He and his crewmate hadn’t checked into immigration yet, so we decided first thing the next morning Kim would do the customs paperwork while they processed their passports. We had already filled out all the necessary registration with the coast guard during our closing. The plan was I would stay with the kids on the boat while she quickly ran over the customs when they opened at 8 am and then we could spend the day together going over the boat. How hard could this be? Piece of cake, right?
The next morning Kim dropped me and the kids off at the boat and she drove the guys to customs. The kids and I excitedly explored the boat, opened every nook and cranny. They climbed onto the helm and pretended to drive the boat. We emptied out closets and started sorting things as we found them on the boat. But after a few hours we started running out of things to do. I had an idea…
“Let’s do schoolwork” Umm, books are with Kim in the van
“ok, Let’s surf the internet, check email, get some shopping done on my ipad” …. ipad is dead and charging cable is in the van
Kids started getting hungry and thirsty. We explored the boat. Found some cup of soup mix.
“Let’s have a drink of water or make some soup” …..We don’t know how to turn on the water pump to run water in the boat or turn on the microwave or the stove and my phone is dead and the charging cable is in the van.
ok……
“Let’s walk to a restaurant and get lunch” After all, our legs work and downtown isn’t too far away. Oh, That’s right, my purse and wallet are both in the van.
Yep. Kim was gone for SIX HOURS with the school books, my purse, my wallet, the chargers for the ipad, the iphone, the knowledge of how to turn anything on relating to the boat and we were STRANDED and HUNGRY and THIRSTY and BORED. What a lesson in poor planning!
Fortunately in the exploration of the boat the kids had found a ziplock baggie of nickels and a Coke machine all the way down on dock 1. So the three of us set out on an adventure, exploring the marina with our baggie of nickels and went to the Coke machine where the negotiations began. 
The kids requesting sodas, my answers…too much sugar, too much caffeine, too many chemicals. Finally I realized there are no healthy choices in a Coke Machine and who knows if or when the kids are going to get to have anything to eat, so I relented and told them they could have anything they wanted. Quivering with excitement, holding the baggie of nickels, Aislin turned to me and asked, “which button do I press first?” And that is when I realized neither of my kids had any idea how to work a Coke Machine. So they got a quick lesson, and proudly returned to the boat, each skipping with a Cherry Coke in their hands. I guess we will be learning a lot on this adventure, and a good bit will be unexpected. Today I learned to not underestimate US Customs– Always have a wallet, phone, charging cables, ability to obtain water, food, things to do with a plan for the day (assuming worst case scenario). And the kids now have the important life skill of how to operate a vending machine.
Hanging out on Wonderstruck