Road Trip to Westport

Against all advice given to us, Maggie and I made the decision to drive cross-country to our winter work location in Westport, Washington.

Our trip started on a *promising* note. On December 28th I flew down to New Orleans, Louisiana, where I met Maggie (who had been traveling from Florida) at the Louis Armstrong International Airport. We promptly found each other, only to have the battery of her silver Honda CRV die. Thankfully, with a bit of help from a friendly police officer, we were able to revive it.

Our first stop was in Houston, Texas at a one-room Airbnb. That night, we somehow managed to transform the six minute drive from our house to Panera Bread into a twenty minute ordeal.

This was followed by some mouth-watering Texan barbeque and a twelve hour drive to El Paso where we were graciously hosted by a friend's family. Being so close to the border was unbelievable. From a scenic overlook at which we stopped the next morning, one could see the Texan border, Mexico, and New Mexico.

That same morning, we took a detour to La Casa de Azucar, the Sugar House. Intricately sculpted from cement, the surrounding walls of the house appear to be made from colorful confectioner's sugar.

And so the days kept getting longer. Following El Paso, our next stop was thirteen hours away in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. Here, we were kindly hosted by a family friend. As we passed through the Southwest, we received a much needed changed of scenery in some cacti.

The drive on the fourth day was the longest and most brutal. In the morning, we made a quick stop at Randy's donuts.

This is the fluffiest donut known to man.

We had purposefully extended our drive by three hours in hopes of catching a scenic sunset at 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, California. Unfortunately by the time we got there, the park had already closed. Thus, after comforting our saddened souls with some In-and-Out, we continued our lonely drive to Medford, Oregon, where we arrived on New Year's Day at an Airbnb.

The final leg of our trip was ridiculously short in comparison to our previous trip of sixteen hours. In eight hours, with no stops other than food and gas, we arrived at our destination in Westport. Exhausted, Maggie and I skipped dinner and passed out in our respective beds awaiting Lina's arrival.

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Westport Week 8-Goodbye!

During our last week at Westport, Lina joined Ioana in the finish carpentry crew, while Maggie stayed in the plumbing crew. Ioana and Lina worked together on assembling grids for overhead panels. Maggie continued to install piping systems in the 40-meter model. The three of us handed out our homemade cookies on Monday, and were glad to hear that everyone enjoyed them! On Tuesday, the day that Maggie and Ioana were to leave for their long drive back to Webb, Westport experienced an extremely unusual event: snow! Ioana and Maggie trying not to slip on their way into the yard During lunch, Maggie and Ioana said goodbye and began their trip. Lina was left to work the rest of the week alone before her flight back to New York. She continued to work on the carpentry project, and was really proud of how much she was able to accomplish on her own. Here's Lina chilling alone in the break room A couple of days into the week, Lina developed an allergic reaction at work

Westport Week 5- Dauntless Launches!

During our fifth week working at Westport, LLC, we finally witnessed the fruits of our labor- the 77 model yacht which we had been working on launched February 1st. Dauntless, as the boat was named, was not fully complete, with some touch-ups still needed, but it was ready to be transferred from the yard to the water. Lina, working now on the mechanical crew, spent the first half of the week cleaning and prepping the engine room before launch. Between the plumbing, electrical, and mechanical crews, Lina spent the most time of the three of us working on Dauntless. Maggie and Ioana, in fairing and plumbing, respectively, moved on to the other yachts currently in construction. When we arrived Thursday morning, the boat had already been lifted onto a trailer and sat half outside of the yard, waiting to be towed. Workers rushed through the yacht, doing some last-minute cleaning, lifting furniture to be installed, and checking that all systems were working properly. At 9 o'clock,

Westport Week 6 and Seattle (Again)

Our winter work term is almost over! Ioana, Lina, and Maggie worked the sixth week at Westport in plumbing, mechanical, and fairing, respectively. Dauntless, the 112-foot model that launched the week before, was docked at Westport's outfitting pier while crews continued to add finishing touches. Ioana cleaned and prepped the air handlers and the hot tub, before moving on to multiple projects on the 40-meter model. Lina took a break from cutting insulation on the next 112-foot boat to help fix the exhaust pipe and clean the engine room of Dauntless. Afterwards, she worked on installing a fire-extinguishing pipe in the 38-meter model. Maggie worked on sanding storage units and cabinets for the 38-meter boat. On Friday, we got a tour of Dauntless in its final stages. Before we boarded, we walked to the end of the dock to see the lounging sea lions up close. Even though most of the interior was covered by protective tape, the completed boat was still impressive to

Westport 2018!

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