When is it fitting to trust someone?

 

Our experience seems to be that the older we get, 

the less we trust people.

If a year ago you told me that we would buy an old truck in Central America, sight unseen, I would have laughed. I mean, how silly would that be?

Call us crazy because we did just that. 

We have a friend on the island named Shorwen.  On our first trip to Roatan, we rented an SUV from him and were on the receiving end of lots of friendly advice. We learned early that he is a wealth of island knowledge and that his suggestions were right on.

 

You may remember Shorwen from our January trip to Roatan when we suddenly found ourselves without a place to stay in an impending rainstorm.

When we were stranded, we discovered new meanings of the words isolated and vulnerable. As we struggled to figure out what to do,  Shorwen was the only person we could think of to call.

Shorwen rescued us and immediately found us help. It continues to be reassuring when we are well-received by people he connects us with. His reputation is solid.

Now we'd like to think we have become special friends with Shorwen, but I'll bet this extraordinary gentleman treats everyone as kindly as he does us.  He calls Mike 'sir' and me, "ma," and that warms my heart. Both are names of great respect. Any time we have questions about Roatan living, whether it be about property, local tradition, or even yes, a vehicle, Shorwen has been our go-to man.

While Shorwen's business is Anderson Car Wash and Car Rental, he is a jack of many trades like most of the islanders. We keep being amazed at his connections and ability to take something we consider a problem and render it solved.

So when we decided to buy a truck, who did we call?

There are lots of vehicles for rent on Roatan, but not many to buy. Purchasing a truck is best done in Honduras. Shorwen was making a trip to San Pedro Sula and agreed to keep an open eye for us. Thank goodness, because that is not a trip I would ever want to make.

Long story short, Shorwen purchased exactly what we had in mind. She's a 2011 F150 SuperCrew FX4 with 

• 4-Door, 5.5' bed 

• 4-wheel drive

• 5.0L V8

• 6-speed automatic

• Shows 92,000 miles; however, the last known US title (Texas) shows 112,000 miles in 2017. 

• She gets 19-21 mpg  

• With a 36-gallon fuel tank, and the last known gas price of $4.50 per gallon = $162 to fill it or 3,910L.

She is completely bought and paid for, and we will meet her for the first time around 11:00 on the morning of April 14. 

Thanks to  Shorwen for helping us out once again and for teaching us some new lessons in trust.

Now she just needs a name. Any ideas?

 I have a concern. I shared it in a Facebook Roatan Group this afternoon. I hope to get some perspective and good advice.

"In less than two weeks we will (finally) be permanently moved to Roatan, along with our two dogs and a cat. The cat will be fine; the eight-year-old Min-Pin will probably have a short learning curve, but my main concern is about our nearly 4-year old Doberman. Citified big dog moves to the Island! Out on the street he is used to being on a leash and all the other dogs being leashed also (here). 

Rocco has been with us since he was 8 weeks old and is fairly well-trained. He is absolutely the protector of our home and his family. He gets along well with people once he is sure of our acceptance. My concern is mostly about how he will adjust and get along with all the other dogs.

I'd love to hear your experiences and advice!"

Island dogs run loose on Roatan. Just like any time you have a population of dogs in one area, there are nice guys . . . and the not-so-nice guys.
People in Roatan use one of three things for protection:

• A weapon

• A security guard (property caretaker)

• Dog(s)

With Mike's law enforcement career, he is very well versed in what needs to happen to keep us all safe. It will be a laborious process to gain Honduras permission to carry a gun. Since we do not yet own property, we will not have a security guard. We do have Rocco, though. 

In January we were at a friend's home. Their protection was two very large dogs. I'll admit to feeling uncomfortable around one of them. I didn't like the look in his eyes and I hated myself for having momentary flashes of fear when I was around him.

One day our friends were lounging in their hammocks. Mike and I were the only ones on their property. Quite suddenly the large pit bull (appropriately named Rhino) turned on the other dog. If you've ever seen a bloody dogfight, you can picture what I saw. I was pretty shaken up and the only thing I can really remember was our friend trying to pull Rhino off the other dog. He repeatedly punched the dog in the face to get him to stop the attack. In the end, both dogs and our friend had lots and lots of bites. Everywhere.

If you know our Rocco, you know he's not made for that stuff. I'm not sure if he would antagonize another dog and I am quite positive he'd never be able to defend himself against an attacker like Rhino.

Island dogs run loose. They are everywhere.

With Mike's law enforcement career, he is very well versed in what needs to happen to keep us all safe. It will be a laborious process to gain Honduras permission to carry a gun. Since we do not yet own property, we will not have a security guard, but of course, we do have dogs. Companion dogs.

Leo is almost eight years old. He is probably considered an "ankle biter" though he has never bitten anyone. He has quite the bark but would never scare anyone off.

Rocco will be four on July 1. He is certainly the protector of our home here. He takes his cue from us but there have been times he reacts to a person that neither Mike nor I have a problem with.

Jake, the (buyer's) Realtor. The first time Rocco met Jake there was no problem. But the other day when three people entered our home for the house sale closing, Rocco suddenly did not like Jake. It might have been because of the mask but even after Jake removed his mask, Rocco continued to bark at him. Whatever the cause, I trust my dog.

But we need to be absolutely sure we can control the big guy. He has never flown in a plane or been suddenly placed in the kind of situations he will have to learn to encounter. He might feel strange and off-balance at first. That 100 pounds of his must be under our control at all times. We use a Gentle Leader to walk. We tried a lot of different collars and methods and have had the most success with the Gentle Leader. We just purchased a harness for him, thinking the handle might be real helpful. 

And we got an e-collar. Now before you go off on me, take a look at this one. CLICK HERE 

It does not "shock" him. The most it will do is act like a tap on the shoulder that says, "hey look at me." A tool to redirect his focus. 

Rocco, ready to work.

Leo, ready to walk.

Is it fair to expect Rocco to stand up to an aggressive dog? 

I wonder what he will be like a few weeks in, after encountering street dogs?

These are real fears. So I put those questions out to one of my favorite Roatan groups.

I like the following response and I feel better already.

"Our Doberman and two Jack Russells are always loose but in our fenced yard. There are enough dogs that run loose here already and with all sorts of diseases and the dangerous garbage they can get into, better safe than sorry. When we do walk them, it is on a leash."

On-leash it is!

hmmmmm

A little backstory:

When Does Sold mean SOLD?

I used to think it was the signing of the sales contract that concluded business and turned "For Sale" into "Sold."

I was wrong.

We celebrated selling our home on the 25th of February when we all signed the Contract.

That signing event only opened the door for a rollercoaster ride we were unprepared for!

Of course, we knew there would be a Home Inspection. That appointment was made and dutifully placed on our calendar for 2:30 on March First.

What we weren't prepared for was the Buyer showing up! Our realtors didn't feel they needed to be here, so we were on our own. And I always run ahead of myself when I get excited.

So while Mike walked around with the Inspector, I got to know our buyer, Jon. I can't adequately describe the elation I felt as I realized this guy really REALLY wants this house. I felt the weight literally roll off my shoulders.

Why? To protect us from potential disappointment, our realtors painted a picture that included all the things that could go wrong. One of them was buyer's remorse, and that the early days brought lots of opportunities for the buyer to back out if he got too nervous about his purchase. The Inspection could easily provide such an opportunity. Realizing that Jon had no intention of changing his mind brought us some Big Relief.

Then the Termite Inspector showed up with no appointment, as did the Surveyor.

Finally, on Thursday, March 4, the Appraiser did his thing. Turns out he did a poor job. A very poor job.

Now, all along, our realtors told us, "don't do anything life-changing until the closing. That means, don't sign a lease, don't book air travel, sit back and wait."

All we heard was "blah blah blah blah."

We had to charter the flight to get out of here before the mandated April 15th. So we had to have a place to live once we get there. Purchasing a vehicle had to happen. I mean, we are talking about some Big Dollars being spent here, well over six weeks before closing.

Just imagine the way we walked around on our fallen hearts two weeks ago when we learned the Appraiser had produced a "bad appraisal" (whatever that means, we still don't know).

An Aside: Our solar-powered home is unique in its location, being on navigatable water with complete privacy, sporting a 15,000-gallon heated saltwater custom-designed inground pool, and a brand new Timber-Tech Azek composite deck and dock. There is not another comparable home from Boca Raton to West Palm Beach. 

 

CHECK IT OUT

We did our accounting and produced the magic figure needed to pay off all our debt, move, fly the pets down, buy a boat, a truck, and a home. That became our sales price here. While an honest price for this home and property, it was a ridiculously high price for our neighborhood and would require a cash buyer. We weren't worried. We said we'd let it sit on the market until the "right buyer" came along! 

He did! On the first day. He was the second showing. Signing that sales contract put Mike in motion to retire from PBSO and switched our gears into High Move Mode!

Hurry up and slow down as the appraiser corrected his mistakes. And then cue a loan underwriting issue that prompted our half-cash + half-loan buyer to call Mike on the phone just over a week ago, pleading, "come on, help me out here."

Kind of funny (now) the audacity he had to expect us to lower the purchase price because he breached the contract by attempting to borrow more than half from the bank.

We held firm, and the realtors worked up a creative deal that posed no risk to us and still netted us full price. That addendum was signed on March 19.

When this happened, 

we blew out a huge sigh of relief:

I'll admit it can be difficult to just breathe and wait when it starts looking like a derailment. 

But we are constantly amazed 

at the way all things 

continue to align themselves. 

We really are on our way to Roatán!

Rest Easy in All Things

 In ten days we'll wake up in Roatan.

Here is one of the last sunrises from our Florida backyard.  

Closing Day. On April Fools Day. But, of course!

At 10:00 everyone arrived for the final walk-through. Our realtor, Lisa, and the buyer, Jon, with his realtor, Jake. For some reason, Rocco had a hard time with Jake. They met before with no reaction; however, today he was very unsure and barked loud and strong at the guy for most of the visit. Whatever the reason, I'm glad he's my dog!

One-half hour. 

Thirty minutes is the amount of time for which all of the past five weeks have been preparing. 

840 hours of uncertainty mixed with anticipation, some irritation, and then the elation. 

And just a few minutes ago the bank notification pinged, announcing an incoming wire transfer. We are closed!

Photo Credit- Lisa Treu

And for the next two weeks, 

we are renting Jon's new home.

That's enough for today.

Retired and Moving to Roatan

What are the Strines up to these days? With just over two weeks left until we begin the next chapter of our lives, and all of the essentials already shipped to that new place, what's up now?

No longer does an alarm ring in the morning to signal the beginning of a new day. We get up when we are ready. For me, it is usually some time between 4:00 and 5:00 AM. Since Mike is more of a night owl, he gets an hour or two more of his sleep in the morning.

We have promised each other that much less time will be spent in front of screens in our new lives. But for now . . . well, it is 10:00 and here I sit. 

I still work in my business, All Things Administrative, and will continue my work during and after the move, so I do require some screen time.  And then there will be photograph uploads and the blog to write once we live in Roatan. In retrospect, I'll need to renegotiate this point with Mike!

And no matter what is going on, there's always time for the hot tub and pool. Always.

We are still packing. It feels a little complicated because we sold the house "fully furnished" so for each non-furnishing item that we touch there are still choices:

• Throw it away
• Give it away (who? how? when?)
• Pack it
• Leave it for the buyer

Wherever the laptop parks itself is Command Central. Here it is decided what bin to use for each item. Each bin requires three identification pieces of tape to be double-checked with the Google Sheet. Once a bin is full, Mike zip ties it closed. He does include some zip ties on the inside of each lid, hoping that Customs will zip the bins they have to open for inspection. 

There are still a few places inside the house (sadly, my area of the office) that need some work, but the garage is the bulk of what is left to do. Go, Mike!

We've decided on only one more shipment and scheduled ourselves for Thursday, April 8. Anything left out or forgotten will either go in our duffles, backpacks or be left behind. 

So there are nine days left to use it or lose it. This should not be as big of a deal as it looks like in my head right now. I'll work on that.

Already looking forward to this evening's R & R

T-15 Days

Shipment #2

 

Read about Shipment #1 Here 

Shipment #2 taken to Miami on March 26, 2021

Nine (9) 26-Gallon Bins

Three (3) Suitcases

One (1) Extra Large 64-Gallon Bin

One (2 ea) Dog Kennels

One (1) Bidet

(Lettie Jo- are you reading this?)

One (1) Safe

One of sixteen waybills for this shipment

Total Cost = $831.00

T - 16 Days

The Fine Art of Shipping

  . . . Which, of course, we know nothing about. Yet.

But here is the story of our first experience:

1. Spent three weeks packing and unpacking what is supposed to be "essentials that cannot be bought on the island."

Mike zip-tied all of the bins and taped some spares on the inside lids in case Customs needs to inspect the contents, and with the hope they will zip tie what they open.

2. Assigned values and prepared the manifest.

Results for this current shipment to Camp Bay Lodge were:

eight (8) 26-gallon bins

one (1) 64-gallon bin

and one (1) large suitcase

3. Rented a U-Haul Van, got gas, and loaded it up!

4. Drove 68 miles to the Miami DipShip. With traffic, it was an hour and a half drive one-way. 

The Guitar Hotel at the Seminole Hard Rock Cafe, Hollywood, FL

5. Arrived. It took a bit to figure out how to get in. 

Hint: Drive around to the back of the warehouse.

The staff here are just as helpful and courteous as the people we've built an online rapport with. We feel assured our belongings will get where they are going in about two weeks. The guys unloaded the van and we did some paperwork. Most of it was already completed by the time we arrived so it was painless. 

Total Cost - $625 USD

6. We did make one important stop. Cookies! Fueled by sugar for the 68-mile trip home.

Traveling in Miami's I-95 Friday afternoon traffic leads to rethinking the time of day for the next trip. Just saying.......

7. Stopped home to pick up the car, return the van to U-Haul, and called it a day!

We credit Dip Shipping Company for what turned out to be an easy, smooth process. Good thing, too - because we've already begun packing more bins for the same trip next Friday!

Twenty-Three (23) days, folks!

Whiner Alert aka Discussion of Two Mindsets

Every time I think about writing an update, my mind trips all over thoughts like, "Not now. Wait until you are in a better mood, when there are more positives to write about, a light & trippy attitude magically appears . . .  but do not post about the Uncontrolled Chaos that is your life right now."

Oh, why the heck not?

What good is this blog if it doesn't tell the truth about the process being written about in the first place?

So, here we go: If you are looking for something peppy and upbeat, move on. That's not happening here today. This is how I feel:

I'd love to hear from some of you who have made big moves by choice:

• Did you wake up in the pre-move mornings FULL of fear?

• Did you have moments (hours.days) of: What the heck are we doing?

Typically, when those kinds of uncomfortable feelings attack me - and especially when they attack both Mike and me, I'd have some serious doubts about the choices we've made. At least I'd begin to question the decisions leading to the present discomfort.

Is it possible to have made the "right decision" and still be engulfed in moments of sheer panic?

Or is that normal?

What does the word normal mean, anyway?

See what I mean? 

I'm all over the place. And so is Mike. 

The only stability here lies with the animals. 

I have to remember that I am bothered by two different issues and they are completely unrelated. 

The first is the emotional upheaval I just described.

The second is this:

 I don't do disorganization well. 

Mike says, look away. 

Smart man.

We are combing through everything. Even old floppies and CDs. This is serious business. Every captured moment matters. I started Google photo albums for each of the boys. What am I going to do once I get to the trunk full of photographed memories? I see some all-nighters in my future.

Lists are my go-to for getting out of overwhelm.

And plans with realistic goals. 

And calendars. 

And more lists. 

Here, take a look.

Haha ▲ - revealing, isn't it? Priorities!

At the moment we have 7 bins for Camp Bay and 7 bins for Storage. Not sure how that worked out, but here you have it. These two photos bring me peace. 

Organized progress!

Slow down.

Breathe.

Enjoy each moment.

Do the work.

It'll be worth it!

Important Week!

 MONDAY

• Aunt Jane comes for a visit
• The Inspector comes to inspect
• Packing

TUESDAY

• Wire transfer to pay for 1/2 Pet Jet
• Rocco goes to the Vet to have a couple lumps looked at

• Packing

WEDNESDAY

• Mike has Home Inspections to do for his business

• Packing

THURSDAY

• The Appraiser comes to appraise
• Packing

FRIDAY

• Our last USA eye appointment

If you notice I haven't mentioned Mike going to work, it is because . . . . . .

Mike Has Retired

For thirty-one years Mike served the public in law enforcement. I've been his life partner for two-thirds of that time and can attest to his everlasting dedication to helping people. He is the bravest man I know and I am beyond proud of him and the years he gave to Protect and Serve. 

I hope this next part of our lives' journey will be meaningful to him in ways he might not yet think of. My wish for Mike is that he can finally relax and be at peace, enjoying the sea and jungle right outside his front door.

I love you, Michael A. Strine 💖