Travel

And So It Begins ~ Raising the Roof, Literally!

January 26, 2016 by Candi Licence 5 Comments

We are going to salvage the heavy rafters to make a outdoor trellis. The new ceiling will be white (and peaked) — A “before” picture – Dark ceiling, slanting from 10 feet to about 8 feet over 30 foot span. We are going to salvage the heavy rafters to make an outdoor trellis. The new ceiling will be white (and peaked)

The New Year is here and so the workers are returning from a long holiday break to take off our roof. Our house is essentially three pavilions with separate but connected roofs. The living room is in the middle. Currently the living room walls are about 10 feet tall and there is a low, slanted roof that traps a lot of heat. The walls are going to be extended to 12 feet high, including a ring beam, which will make the whole structure much more hurricane proof. And then on top of the ring beam we will have a new, peaked ceiling with louvers on each end. This will make the house much cooler and allow many more breezes to flow through this large, 30 by 30 foot space.

Grenada is located 12 degrees north of the Equator and hurricanes typically form at 15 degrees and higher so we have a much lower chance of hurricanes occurring here than most Caribbean islands. In fact, Grenada is the first island where boaters can get insurance for their vessels. Every island north of Grenada is 15 degrees latitude or higher and no hurricane insurance is available for boaters. This is one reason Grenada has such an active marina business. Many boats dock here during hurricane season either for protection or to get repaired during this turbulent time.

As you may know, Grenada got hit by a fierce hurricane in 2004 – Ivan. The worst part was that the storm was tracking quite a bit north of Grenada, as would be expected, and turned suddenly – right as it aligned with Grenada and came south. People had less than 2 hours to prepare and it devastated much of the island with 98% of the buildings being damaged. Miraculously, only 2 people perished. The only buildings to pull through relatively unscathed were all newly constructed and had been built to hurricane standards – with ring beams, for example. Prior to Ivan, the last hurricane was Janet, in 1955.

Here we are trying out different colors so we can decide what to paint the ceiling and the rafters.

We debated a lot of options before deciding to raise the roof because of the cost and disruption to the house. Every other alternative that we explored would only partially address the heat issue – maybe – and we thought ultimately we would not be happy with the result so we just gulped and went for the “right” solution. Originally, we hoped to have the new roof completed before December but by the time we got a solid design, coordinated it with some patio work we wanted done and had an Engineer check everything out, we ran out of time to have it completed before we arrived.

The tricky part was connecting the three roofs so there would be no leaking in the future. The roof on the two side wings will be at a different height than the new ceiling roof. The timing concern was that the break for Christmas holiday would interfere and we’d be stopped mid project (with no roof) for a couple of additional weeks. Plus, the rainy season has been going later and later into December in recent years. I think it ended up being a good decision because it rained – a lot (multiple times, every day almost) in December.

Now it is January and the work has begun. The first couple of days were slow as everyone figured out how to do this major construction without completely removing the roof since we are living here during construction. Fortunately the walls are cement and the floor has heavy tiles so we should not have any floor damage from water. We were wondering how level the floor really is and how much water would stay in the room after each rain. The courtyard, kitchen and bedroom entrances to the living room are all 2 steps up so we knew the rest of the house would be protected and there is a straight out exit to the pool and patio and we were hoping, fingers crossed, that the water would run right out the big sliding glass doorway to the patio.

Another "before" picture - you can see the tiled floor, concrete walls and the step up to a bedroom - all good things for a room that will not have a roof for a couple of weeks.. — Another “before” picture – you can see the tiled floor, concrete walls and the steps up to a bedroom – all good things for a room that will not have a roof for a couple of weeks.

Here you can see the roof cut away so they can extend the walls to 12 feet, capped with a ring beam to make the structure more hurricane proof.

The first major piece of work was removing the asphalt tiles from the roof and removing about 4 feet of roof off either side so the side walls could be made taller. If it rained, we’d get minimal leakage over the bulk of the roof and the room was only totally exposed the length of the room on the 2 sides. Piece of cake, right? We had a small rainstorm on Friday afternoon and there was only a little standing water after it was over – no problem.

Saturday evening was a different story. We were out on the covered patio having dinner with Nadica and Mikiah, my best Grenadian friend and her daughter (my Goddaughter), when a big storm blew in. I jumped up to close our bedroom windows and started laughing as I approached the living room. As predicted, there was only dripping throughout most of the living room as rain came in between the cracks in the planks but the 2 sides where there was no roof, the rain was pouring in. Plus, because the 2 roofs for the other pavilions are already peaked, all the rain was running down those slopes into the living room on either side. This meant that to get into the bedroom wing I had to walk through the waterfall that was so beautifully cascading into the living room. I was soaked and laughing. Caribbean rain is warm so it is an entirely different feeling to get wet here – no problem.

Most of the water did run out the doorway as we had hoped, but there were a few low spots that collected a good bit of water. Of course one low spot was right in front of the bedroom wing doorway so we had to slog through about 3 inches of water before we reached the steps up. This gave plenty of time for Mick’s webbed feet to soak up a ton of water that could then be dripped everywhere – first order of business for week two was making a platform that would cover any water. This worked perfectly for us but Mick just walked around the platform and through the water to approach from the side. HMMMM. Ultimately, we were worried about having the standing water sit for any length of time because of potential damage to the floor, so we ended up just sweeping out the low spots. Problem solved. Fortunately the rainy season has ended and we have and very little rain since then.

Lots to see in this picture - temporary door so we can lock it at night (since living room is no longer secure), the platform that was built to cover the low spot in the floor (that collects water), clean up every day (so the house is livable during construction). — Lots to see in this picture – temporary door to the bedroom wing (on the left) so we can lock it at night (since living room is temporarily not secure), the platform that was built to cover the low spot in the floor by bedroom wing door (that collects water), and daily clean up so the house is livable during construction.

Construction is such messy work. Lots of breaking up of concrete which means lots of little pieces of rock lying all over and dust everywhere. I hadn’t processed that in order to make the walls higher, they would have to pull off a little of the roofs on either side pavilion so we have had openings into the kitchen and both master bedrooms that lets in rocks, dust and mosquitos. Delightful! The mosquitos this year have been the fiercest I’ve ever seen and I’m hoping as the area dries out, they will die or head elsewhere. In the meantime, we’ve been camping out in our air conditioned office during the day that does not abut the living room so all 4 walls and roof are intact.

The workers have been really diligent in cleaning up the site every day. Everything is carted off, stacked up and swept before they leave each day. I was thanking one man about the clean up one day and he said something interesting … He said of course they were cleaning up so it would be as nice as possible for us but, even if we weren’t on island, they would do it anyway because it was much more motivating to arrive at a clean job site each morning. Makes sense to me AND I really appreciate it.

The workers also worked Saturday to keep the project moving. All the rafters went up in one day. YEAH! — The workers also worked last Saturday to keep the project moving. At 9 AM the first rafter was lifted into place. By 4 PM, all the rafters were completed. (Note the “staircase” erected so workers could get to the top of the peak). YIKES!

Work has steadily progressed and after a few days of lots of activity, but not much visible change, we are now seeing the skeleton of the new roof going up through the peak holes of the roof. YEAH! It’s really exciting to see the progress.

Free at Last ~ Clearing our Container through Customs

December 26, 2015 by Candi Licence 6 Comments

Our container was supposed to arrive last Wednesday, but didn’t. This is not unusual. Freighters have a loose schedule. Ports or times may change as freighters make their way through their planned itinerary and possibly pick up a new load or get a stop added. We called around noon on Thursday and the ship still hadn’t docked. Later, we found out it docked late in the afternoon but our Customs Agent hadn’t been able to make contact with the port. YEAH! Our stuff is in Grenada.

I think this is our freighter, being loaded to go back to Jacksonville — The port is a ‘sea’ of brown containers and I wonder how long it will take us to find ours.

We called our Customs Agent contact bright and early on Friday and they still hadn’t made contact. This is a crazy time of year at the port. Businesses are getting extra materials and ‘stuff’, lots of people are sending down barrels of food and presents for family and more food is coming in for the holiday buying spree. We hung around on Friday, watched the rain, and wished for a phone call to tell us to come to the port to claim our goods, but it never came.

A portion of the line of people waiting to get into the port to retrieve barrels or containers.

The port is closed on Saturdays and Sundays so our next possible date was Monday. Now I’m getting anxious because Christmas is a BIG holiday in Grenada and many people take off at least the whole week before Christmas and often the week after as well. Our construction crew left on Friday (Dec. 18^th) and wished us both a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We won’t see them again until January 4^th!

We got the call around 9:30 Monday morning to come to the port. We are working with a Customs Agent whose job is to work with the port to get the container placed on the ground and in an area where it can be unpacked, provide a port contact to walk us through every part of the process, provide man power to unpack the container and load everything onto trucks, then deliver everything to our house and unload it a second time, into our house. We met the owner and he reviewed all our paperwork before we went into the port to be sure we had everything in order and told us we’d be working with his onsite contact, Kurt.

Standing in line .... — Standing in line while Kurt arranged for expedited access.

Kurt got us expedited access into the port which was great because there was a huge line waiting to get pedestrian access passes. This is similar to paying airline porters to smooth the way through check in. Once we got cleared, we met with the Customs Officer. He reviewed our paperwork and assigned a Customs Inspector to supervise the opening and unloading of the container. Meanwhile, Kurt has gone to find our container and he met us as we were coming out of the customs office.

The port is huge and BUSY. There are trucks coming into the port to drop off goods to be shipped, lots of trucks leaving the port with goods being delivered all over the island, there are huge cranes moving containers around and lots of people walking everywhere – Freight Handlers, Customs Agents, Inspectors, people receiving their goods, truckers, loaders, etc. As an outsider, there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason but everything made perfect sense to Kurt who was able to locate our container quickly in a huge mass of containers that mostly looked exactly alike and confirmed that it was ‘on the ground’. This means it was the bottom container and didn’t need to be moved before we could begin unloading.

Kurt cutting the port lock. Even with the huge bolt cutters it took a few tries to cut through the lock.

The container was secured with our personal lock, a special numbered seal and a port lock which needed to be removed, in our presence. Kurt came back with a huge pair of bolt cutters and after a few tries, got the port lock removed. Michael cut the seal and opened our lock. Michael and Kurt unlatched both doors and swung them open wide. I was holding my breath, and yipped with joy as the interior of the container filled with light.

Michael cutting the seal and unlocking our personal lock.

Everything was exactly as we had packed it. This is amazing to me – the container had been craned onto a ship, traveled over a rolling sea for 8 days, then craned off and moved, probably multiple times, within the yard. Michael’s braces held perfectly, it didn’t look like ANYTHING shifted and there was no visible damage to any of the boxes. YAHOO!

Within 3 minutes, three trucks arrived with about 6 guys and they began unpacking the container and loading their trucks. Michael guided them, pointing out things that were really heavy or fragile etc.

Checking off the inventory as it is being unloaded.

First truck loaded and ready to go! — First truck is loaded and ready to go! Tarps being pulled over the load to protect it from rain.

I worked with the Customs Inspector checking off each box against my master list. It was invaluable having a really organized inventory – it made everyone think we knew what we were doing and added a lot of credibility. I had everything organized in a formal notebook with tabs for the detailed inventory, the appraisal for our owned goods and Michael’s photography equipment, plus all the invoices for all the new goods. These invoices and the appraisal were cross referenced to the master inventory. In addition to numbering the boxes, I had written the main items in each box which, of course, matched the detailed inventory. After really inspecting the first few boxes as they came off the container, reading the contents listed on the box and then marking the box on the master inventory, the Customs Inspector relaxed and actually let me do the checking off box by box and just helped by calling out numbers. After a while, he even left to oversee the unpacking of another container that was nearby.

At one point, it began raining. Tarps were quickly produced and our belongings were covered while we all took a rain break in the container. We are at the very end of the rainy season and it is still raining on and off every day. Showers are fairly short 10-20 minutes but they are fierce. This was our biggest concern – particularly for the art. We had packed most of the art at the front of the container and planned to transfer it last so it would have the shortest amount of time to be exposed to the fickle weather. By noon, all three trucks were loaded and Kurt escorted us back to the Customs Officer.

The Customs Officer relooked at all our paperwork, conferred with the Inspector who oversaw the unloading of our container, made some calculations and completed some official looking paperwork. Duty is comprised of 4 parts, the duty assigned to each new item, the weight of the shipment, the amount of insurance paid and 15% VAT. He said our detailed paperwork made his job easy and dismissed us.

Mr. George, patiently calculating all the duty, while helping other customers on the phone. He never slowed down and rarely looked at the customs book for prices. Amazing!

Kurt now took us back to his office and his boss, Mr. George, grumbled that the Customs Officer hadn’t calced any of the duty on the individual items in our 106 boxes of new items. It took him probably another hour to calc all the duty. He has a book 3 inches thick that details each item. He rarely looked at it but when he did, he opened the book to within 2-3 pages of what he needed and quickly found the information he was looking for. It was very impressive watching him work, but it was tedious. After he was done, he had 45 categories of items that are all taxed differently. IE – candlesticks that are metal are taxed differently than if they were glass. Black tea is taxed differently than green tea. The amount of detail was dizzying. Finally, all the calculations were done and we knew our number and could head back to the port to pay the duty and get our trucks released.

It’s now 2:30 and we get a look at the line to pay duty. It’s really long so Kurt tries to see if he can work some back room magic but there are no duty cashiers on break that could help us. Kurt then takes me to another office about a block away and there is only one person at the window. Success !?! Or not …. I get to the window and this agent doesn’t have a credit card machine. We really want to pay via credit card because we get 2% cash back and this is a large charge (although much less than we feared). Since we never carry a balance, this is a no brainer discount each time we use our card. We now go to another office around the corner and get on the line there – only 5 people in front of me. The sky is darkening and I’m hoping the tarps will keep things dry if it starts raining again. Once again, Kurt is sweet talking the agents, trying to get us through, but every system is in use and the network speed is really slow with the heavy load.

Michael had called our credit card company to let them know the charge was coming through so they wouldn’t decline it because it was a large, overseas charge. (They know we are in Grenada but the system has arbitrary blocks that trigger from time to time). So when I finally get to the window at about 3:15, I confidently hand over my card. Declined. UGH! Try again, please? Declined. I ask if I can just step aside while this gets straightened out so I don’t have to go the end of the line (about 12 people deep). They agree. I call Michael who is still inside the port and ask him to call Capital One again. He does and finds out they approved his card, but mine has a different number and that is why it was declined. They do some magic and say try again. This time everything goes as planned and I get a magic piece of paper that will allow is to release the trucks …. after one more hurdle.

The trucks, all lined up to pass through the final check point before we can leave the port, FINALLY!

We go back to the main port just as it starts to pour rain and head to the Yard Office. This is where they match the duty paperwork up with the trucks and provide THE piece of paper that will allow the trucks to pass through the gate. It is 4:30. We headed out before we ate breakfast and haven’t had time for lunch. I’m starving and worried about our belongings getting drenched. Fortunately, the truck workers have placed two more layers of tarps over our goods.

The Blue Monster truck I rode in to get to our house. Check out the door!

I get into one of the trucks to guide them to our house. Michael heads out in advance to open the gates, unlock the house and secure Mick. I’m in a large workingman’s flatbed truck – nothing pretty about it – it’s huge, no upholstery, hole in the floor, dented up, shifts horribly, rumbles down the road and I realize I’m on the “other side” of traffic. What I mean by this is – I’m the big, rumbling truck that is hogging more than half the road, with a blaring horn, running yellow lights and making everyone else scatter. Amazing. Between honking for friends, pretty women and other cars, plus grinding gears every several hundred feet we make quite the racket as we lumber down the road.

All three trucks, in the driveway, getting ready to unload. Not much clearance for the red truck and it is the smallest of the three.

I’m trying to figure out how we are going to get these big trucks up our skinny, winding driveway that I cautiously navigate each day and the driver just tears up the driveway – no problem. He knows the dimensions of the truck, exactly, and the only potential casualty is a branch of Frangipani that is hanging too far into the driveway and gets brushed aside by the huge mirrors. Now the unloading can begin.

This is the garage when it was abut half full, more unloading to follow.

It’s getting really dark again and we know the rain will be coming, fast and furious, shortly. We unload the Art and furniture truck first. All this will be stored in the garage until the living room is complete and it’s unloaded fast. The workers are efficient and moving quickly but are also really careful with anything that is remotely fragile. I’m impressed and pleased. They have been a complete joy to work with.

One view of our Office. The other view is piled just as high. Computers, electronics and photography equipment is being stored here. — One view of our Office. The other view is piled just as high. Photography equipment, computers and electronics are being stored here.

The second truck pulls into position and again unloading begins. I’m at the truck directing where boxes are to go – garage, kitchen, bedroom or office and Michael is everywhere else making sure things are ending up in the right place and are stacked well.

As the third truck pulls into place and we begin to unload, the rain starts. Serious rain is pouring down and the wind is howling. Luckily for us, the wind is whipping from the water and the house is protecting the garage opening from getting wet and we’ve got the truck as close to the door as possible. We are now moving everything into the garage as fast as we can and then organizing the boxes in groups to be moved to the right location. Soon everything is sorted out, moved to the correct location and the workers leave with money in their hands and smiles on their faces. A job very well done.

Michael and I collapse on the patio with sandwiches that Nadica has made for us and big glasses of water. We relax, review the day and start thinking about the huge job of unboxing everything that lies ahead. We are so thankful everything appears to have made the trip brilliantly and they are in our possession once again. Next, unpacking, unpacking, unpacking.

Best Laid Plans ~ and Murphy’s Law

December 16, 2015 by Candi Licence 2 Comments

So, in the last post (A Moving Adventure ~ “Bon Voyage”, Container) I told you how easy it has been working with Sea Freight to get all our belongings to Grenada. Well, there’s a post script to the story.

The cargo ship was scheduled to leave on Tuesday, and the Friday before – at about 4:45 – PM Michael was copied on a cryptic note that our container would not be allowed on the ship unless some missing paperwork was filed. Of course, there is no answer at either Sea Freight or Sea Pac (a related company that gets the handoff of the container before it is loaded) so now Michael has the whole weekend to worry. At that point, I was remaining optimistic because everything had gone so smoothly so far, we had Monday to sort things out and Michael is known for getting things done, that this was just a blip that would be resolved shortly.

Bright and early on Monday morning, Michael was at his computer, with phone in hand, trying to understand the issue so it could be resolved and our container could be released and then loaded on the cargo ship in time to sail on Tuesday. We didn’t really know how much time we had before the actual loading cut-off before the container would be delayed for another week so Michael was all over it (and them).

Time and time again, he thought the issue was resolved and some new “requirement” would pop up. First, it was the need for an invoice for every single thing in the shipment. Michael patiently explained that some items were years old and in some instances generations old and there was no way we could produce invoices, but everything we hadn’t purchased new for the trip had been appraised last year for insurance purposes and we could produce that paperwork. Then they wanted invoices for everything that was new. We could provide that but it would involve electronically sending over 100 invoices, some for items as low as $25. No, they didn’t want that – just invoices over $4,000. That was easy as there was only one item over $4K.

During these conversations, Michael was also trying to sort out insurance. We had been told that insurance would be a percentage of the total value and we had sent money to cover our goods but hadn’t received the final contract. As Michael got bounced from one person to another, and then to another, he was told we couldn’t insure the shipment because the freight company hadn’t packed the container – no one ever mentioned this requirement in any of the previous conversations (although they were happy to have taken our money) and now the point was mute because it was already packed, sealed and sitting at the port. Michael countered with us taking responsibility if something got broken during “normal” shipping but if they dropped the container, it flooded, fell off the cargo ship, etc. we would be covered. They finally agreed.

I was out doing last minute errands and came back home around 4:30 PM. Michael was still on the phone and we ended the day not knowing if our container was going to be loaded for the next day departure and wondering if it was already too late or if there was a sliver of possibility that it would still make the loading deadline. Needless to say, things were tense – especially because we couldn’t get a straight answer from anyone.

Tuesday came and went, Wednesday came and went and we still couldn’t find out if our container was sitting in the port or had sailed on the ship. CRAZY! Meanwhile, we’re driving to Miami to catch our Thursday flight. Finally, on Thursday afternoon just before our flight, Michael confirms that our container went – we have no final bill of lading, no insurance paperwork. Oh, and surprise, surprise – no more using Sea Freight for shipments for us!

Now we wait. … And hope that weather is good … And there are no issues … And our container arrives with everything intact.

Next week we are shipping a 10 foot by 16 foot hurricane shutter from Miami via Tropical (750 lbs!, one invoice). I wonder how that shipment will go?

A Moving Adventure ~ “Bon Voyage”, Container

December 14, 2015 by Candi Licence 2 Comments

The arrival of the container. Michael is guiding the driver into the parking spot.

Michael secured the seal and the loading was done. Now our container will wind its way through the streets of Jacksonville to the port, be loaded on a freighter and chug its way to Grenada. Bon Voyage, safe travels.

It’s a strange feeling knowing every ‘thing’ I cherish is in one huge box and will be traveling eight days over the ocean, destined for our new home in Grenada. The recent demise of the Jacksonville based cargo ship, El Faro, is on my mind. Such a tragic loss of life and a grim reminder that weather can wreak havoc on the best laid plans.

This is the money shot. The container is fully loaded and we've recorded the container number. — This is the money shot. The container is fully loaded and we’ve recorded the container number.

We were supposed to get a call from the driver before he drove the loaded container away so we’d be there to get the final Bill of Lading paperwork signed but it didn’t happen and the container was gone when we checked the lot where it had been parked. In one sense that may be a good thing. I was wondering how I’d feel watching it pull away with all our family heirlooms tucked inside.

When we first talked about sending a container down to Grenada, I thought it would be a big and complicated deal. We talked with our friends, Dan and Alison, who had shipped a container to Ireland and they were pretty nonchalant about the whole thing so I realized it would be much more doable than I had anticipated.

We started by meeting with a freight receiver when we were in Grenada in September and asked him how his operation worked – how to meet the container, work with customs and get our belongings to our house. He was very matter of fact – no problem, they do this every day, etc. and gave us pointers on how to ensure the transfer was smooth – excellent records of what is in each box and accurate receipts for all purchases. We also asked him which shipping companies he liked to work with best and chose one of those, Sea Freight, to handle our shipment. Michael then worked with Sea Freight in Jacksonville and all conversations seemed easy and straightforward.

All the way through the process, I was keeping an extensive spreadsheet of what we were bringing. I set aside 200 numbers for items we already owned. For these items I listed the box number, what was in the box and cross referenced it to an appraisal list we had generated for insurance purposes. Boxes 200 and up were reserved for new items we bought. I recorded the price we paid plus had both the original receipts and copies that I placed in a binder so it would be easy to answer any questions the customs officer may have. My understanding is the customs officer will arbitrarily pick a box, we will need to say what is in it (from my spreadsheet) and they may or may not open it to validate what we say. We can bring anything that is over 1 year old into the country without paying duty. Everything else will be charged duty. It is important to keep clear records to pay the correct duty and to be able to distinguish new verses older items. All in all, we have 306 boxes/items.

This is the first load from Middelburg with all our 'precious' items. This 10' by 10' load looks tiny in the big moving truck. The green bubble wrapped item is a gorgeous carved Buddha. — This is the first load from Middelburg with all our ‘precious’ items. This 10′ by 10′ load looks tiny in the big moving truck. The green bubble wrapped item is a gorgeous carved Buddha.

We started out reserving a 20 foot container but as the boxes built up, we changed to a 40 foot container. Michael had rented storage space from a nearby location that could accommodate a 20 foot container on site which would have made it easy for us to fill the container where we were storing a lot of our purchases. Unfortunately, they were unable to fit a 40 foot container on their property so Michael had to scramble for an alternative location. This was harder than it may sound. You can’t just drop this huge box on a street and many commercial parking lots either aren’t big enough or don’t allow trailers to be dropped on their sites. Michael tried working with the Atlantic Beach police department who were uncharacteristically unhelpful. I’m not sure if the officer was just having a bad day but after Michael explained what we were trying to do, stating he wasn’t planning to park on the street and did they have suggestions for us, he got a lecture that we couldn’t park on the street. DUH, that’s why he was there. They offered no alternatives. Oh, well.

Anyway, after a couple of frustrating, nerve wracking days and lots of conversations with lot owners, the local Kmart graciously agreed to let us drop the trailer at their location and leave it for a couple of days so we could load it. Michael scheduled the main loading day for Monday, November 30^th with Tuesday being the day to complete any final packing, building braces for the back of the load so it wouldn’t shift and scheduling the pickup of the container from the lot. From there, it would be taken to the port and loaded on a cargo ship leaving for Grenada on December 8^th.

Our plan is to leave Jacksonville on December 9^th, rent a car and drive to Miami with Mick and then catch a direct flight to Grenada on December 10^th. The container is scheduled on arrive in Grenada on December 16^th and we need to be there to meet it with the freight receiver and get it cleared through customs. We are leaving our car in storage in Jacksonville. It will be filled with a few totes of winter clothes, kitchen essentials and our To Go box (the first day and travel essentials like wine glasses, dog bowls, silverware, etc.). This is the first time we won’t have a storage unit – almost everything will be in Grenada or in the car. I wonder how we will do without our hammocks. Right now that seems like the biggest thing I’ll miss traveling with while in the US – but with the stands, even broken down, they take up a lot of room.

Our extraordinary loading team. MaryBeth, Michael and Asher. I didn't get a photo of DWigth who helped with the first load from Middleburg. — Our extraordinary loading team. Marybeth, Michael and Asher. I didn’t get a photo of Dwight who helped with the first load from Middleburg.

Michael reengaged our crack loading team from when we left Jacksonville, Asher and Marybeth, to do the heavy lifting and one of his photography buddies, Dwight, also lent a hand for part of the day. They started out by emptying our long term storage unit in Middleburg. This is where we had all our art and keepsakes stored for the past year and a half. It’s a bit of a haul from Atlantic Beach but it is above the flood plain which is hard to do in this part of Florida. Usually, we rent U-Haul trucks because they have a low floor making it easier to load, but for this move we rented from Penske because their trucks have a lift gate and a high floor which would line up with the container floor. This way we could back the Penske truck up to the container and essentially walk flat across from the truck to the container. This worked beautifully.

Look at the height of the floor of the container. It's about 5 feet off the ground! — Look at the height of the floor of the container. It’s almost 5 feet off the ground!

The Penske truck with a lift was the same height as the container floor, allowing us to easily walk items from the truck to the container. — The Penske truck floor was the same height as the container floor, allowing us to easily walk items from the truck to the container.

After off-loading the Middleburg items and stopping for a quick lunch, we started loading items from one of our local 10 by 10 foot units. We got most items packed and transferred in one load and then went back to finish that storage unit and emptied the second unit at the same time. When we were done, the container was filled about ½ way to the roof and 95% to the back door. All in all, it took 9 hours including driving between locations and lunch. A good day’s work.

That evening, we went through our house and added any last minute items to our final boxes. Our goal was to ship everything possible via the container so our suitcases would be able to accommodate any last minute items and Michael’s essential photography equipment. On Tuesday, we loaded the last couple of boxes, Michael’s tool chest and Michael constructed a braced barrier so items wouldn’t shift during the voyage. The container was locked and sealed with a special, numbered zip tie and off it went.

We have a few days to finalize everything in Jacksonville – final doctor’s appointments, a short meeting at the bank, the Beaches Photography club’s holiday party, one last shoot for Michael, one more haircut, facial and mani/pedi for me and then we are off to our new home and to collect our belongings.

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Coming Home ~ Our First Visit to Our New House

December 2, 2015 by Candi Licence 3 Comments

Michael and I had only seen our new house once, for about 45 minutes, before we made an offer and left the island in April ~ I now know why police are concerned about eye-witness statements. We THOUGHT we remembered what the house looked like but our memories sometimes clashed, had major discrepancies and lots of blank spots. We had a few pictures to rely upon, but they were few and not that great, so it was with wonder and trepidation that we entered the property for the second time as homeowners.

Eureka! Our instincts were right on, even if our memories were somewhat flawed. The house is lovelier than we remembered. That being said, some of the details were quite different from what we remembered. The living room is square – not rectangular, the eating area of the kitchen is smaller (but still quite adequate), the bathrooms in better shape, etc. What was (and is) wonderful is the feel of the place is right on. The pool and patio area – while needing some upgrades to make it more attractive – are both wonderful and the view is even better than I remembered. There are lots of mature plantings and tons of flowers, all in bloom when we arrived. And those beautiful arched windows and doors (the house is called “The Arches”). Yes, we made a good decision and we both felt right at home the first day.

Our beautiful arched windows, hence our house's name "The Arches" — Our beautiful arched windows, hence our houses’ name “The Arches”

Our beautiful pool, now saline - soft and wonderful (and warm) — Our beautiful pool, now saline – soft and wonderful (and warm)

When we arrived, the house was in great shape. Lots of upgrade work had been completed, Nadica had spent a week cleaning everything and the house was shining. Absolutely the best change was the pool. We had the pool converted from a chlorine to a saline system. This is heavenly. Chlorine smells, makes your skin feels dry and a little itchy, but saline feels soft and luxurious both while you are in the pool and after you have gotten out. We jumped in the first night, watched the night sky unfold and were completely charmed. Another wonderful thing about the pool is that it has a solar heater. This might sound crazy to our “northern” friends but it is delightful because the pool never feels cold so I know we will use the pool at least once every day. It is always inviting.

The owner left a few key things in the house – a couch and a couple of chairs, 3 beds, a few lights, 2 dining tables with chairs – all which were greatly appreciated. It was just enough to give us places to eat, sleep and relax. We picked up our 5 boxes of “essentials” that we store in Grenada ~ things like sharp knives, a large fry pan, glasses, ice-cube trays, beach towels, and our hammocks, etc. ~ all the little things that make a rental house feel more like home. We also brought some items from the US with us that we knew we would need right away – place settings for 4, silverware, sheets (!), towels, etc. Between what the previous owners left, our stored items, and the extras we brought in our suitcases, we were fairly set for luxurious house camping.

We had 2 weeks to acclimate ourselves to the house, make plans for what we wanted to change and figure out what we would need to bring back with us on our December trip. As you might guess, this involved a myriad of details as well as some strategic and tactical planning. Michael started out by working through the original punch down list with the contractor and then started a new phase 2 list. The house has mostly UK electricity and we knew we wanted both more outlets and US electric added. My job was to identify where outlets should be added and which voltage each outlet should have. Michael immediately started working on getting our internet up and functional and then worked with a network specialist to figure out how to make the whole property have wireless access. Michael had researched and purchased all the necessary components and now we needed someone to get them all working properly. In the meantime, we had working wireless in the kitchen which became our electronic headquarters for the 2 weeks.

This patio glass is all stationary which blocks the trade winds. We want to trade out for bigger windows that open to the luscious air but can be closed if there is a storm — This patio glass is all stationary which blocks the trade winds. We want to replace them with bigger windows that open to the luscious air but can be closed if there is a storm

I also hired COCOA (Caribbean Office of Co-Operative Architecture) to help us make some design changes. COCOA had designed all the buildings for our resort project and I was pleased to work with them again. Bryan Bullen, one of the firm’s principals, came over and we discussed ideas. The key things we wanted to change included creating more airflow in the living room and kitchen, making the pool/patio area more inviting and changing the back wall to enhance the view. I was also hoping for some ideas on how to stage furniture in the 30 by 30 foot living room and how to integrate the two courtyards leading to the house to make the front entrance more welcoming for guests.

Michael’s phase 2 punch down list for the contractor included changing the windows in the arched living room doors to increase air flow, opening up a door in the hallway, blasting a new entrance door near the garage, installing the new electrical system (cutting through concrete block walls), moving cistern tanks, changing the water feature in the living room so it could be viewed both in the house and from the patio, plus removing a lot of external, non-working wiring and pipes and others details to make the house look nicer.

Our new car. It's a monster but is in great shape and can go just abut anywhere in style. — Our new car. It’s a monster but is in great shape and can go just about anywhere in style.

We also bought a car, Nadica learned how to clean and maintain the pool, Michael did some photo shoots and met with the engineering company to discuss how to expand and transform the guest cottage into a photography studio. All in all, it was a pretty jam-packed 2 weeks. We generally ate out since we didn’t have much in terms of cooking supplies (one large fry pan and one medium saucepan). This gave us the chance to see our restaurant friends as well as have some good meals. We didn’t do any of our normal visiting with friends, there just wasn’t time, so we have a lot of catching up to do in December.

One thing that kept bugging us is the height of the living room ceiling. It is 10 feet high slanting to about 9.5 feet, stained dark brown with large joists and makes the living room feel very low and claustrophobic. The low ceiling also captures and retains a lot of heat. We’ve discussed a number of ways to try and get more airflow into the room so it will be cooler, but nothing has felt like the right answer. Michael recently decided that no matter what we did, we probably wouldn’t be really happy with the result so we are now exploring raising the walls a few feet and putting in a peaked roof. The engineering firm is working out what would need to be done, creating the detailed drawings, and estimating costs. Ultimately, we know this is the right answer and are waiting to see if it is feasible to tie these new higher walls into the other roofs and if the price will be somewhat reasonable. Fingers crossed, stay tuned.

i'm not sure you can get a feel for the hight of the ceiling from this picture but it feels low and oppressive. Plus it captures and retains a lot of heat ~ there is a reason the Caribbean has high ceilings in most buildings! — I’m not sure you can get a feel for the height of the ceiling from this picture but it feels low and oppressive. Plus it captures and retains a lot of heat ~ there is a reason the Caribbean has high ceilings in most buildings!

We are now back in the US in the Jacksonville area for a short stay. We’ll get our annual medical checkups while we are here and start the process of buying and then shipping our things to Grenada. We’ve started a huge list of what we need to bring – everything from kitchen supplies, to couches and a gas grill. We’ll need to go through our storage unit to decide what we’ll ship down, add items that we have been taking with us during our US travels and then buy everything else. All this will be loaded into a container and shipped from the port in Jacksonville in early December to meet up with us shortly after our arrival in Grenada in December. (So happy we previously lived in a port city)

For the past couple of years, when someone has asked us “Where do you live?”, Michael and I have looked at each other, laughed, said we didn’t live anywhere and then told our nomadic story. The last time he was asked, Michael said, “We live in Grenada, West Indies and travel 6 months each year”. I LOVE the sound of that! We’ve got lots of planning to do, lots of things to do, lots of excitement to have and then back to our new home country and residence for a glorious 6 month stay. YAHOO!

Sunset taken from our driveway. We'll need to be vigilant to see the sunsets since our house focuses east ~ but this eliminates the searing afternoon heat form our living spaces. Ah, the trade offs! — Sunset taken from our driveway. We’ll need to be vigilant to see the sunsets since our house focuses east ~ but this eliminates the searing afternoon heat from our living spaces. Ah, the trade offs!