As per usual, time has flown by. But, in my defense, life has been busy. Also, some of the developments we needed to keep quiet until finalized.
The boat was launched on Nov 30th and we moved to Reynolds Park Yacht Center immediately. There, we worked to empty the boat even more to prepare it for potential buyers. I kept the advertisements current as we sold off items that were not to go with the boat.
But, we had worked long enough and it was time for some fun. So, we met sailing friends at a campground, Silver Springs State Park, near Ocala. Silver Springs was one of the first tourist attractions in Florida and a lovely campground. There, we did some touring, some walking and shopping for a smart car. No, not for us, but for our friends. They wanted to tow a smart car behind their RV. And 
we love to spend other people’s money! We stayed in that campground for 3 nights.
From there, we drove to Tampa and visited LazyDaze RV. Holy crow! That is a HUGE dealership. A salesman was assigned to us and she took us in a golf cart onto the lot and showed us several units. But, they were all out of our price range. Besides, the boat wasn’t even sold yet.
After a night in the closest WalMart, we headed to Fort Desoto, a campground out on a peninsula near St Petersburg. More sailing friends met us there. Our site was right on the water! 
The weather turned cool and it made it perfect for exploring the site of the old fort. But, it wasn’t too cold for an ice cream cone! Delicious! A week of escape was all we allowed ourselves and it was time to get back to work.
The potential buyers were arriving Christmas Day and somehow I needed to prepare a turkey dinner. After speaking to a few others, we decided to work together and share a dinner for 8 people. In a very short time, that number expanded to 18! As all my pots and pans from the boat had been packed, I was delighted to supply pies and cookies purchased from the local Winn Dixie. It was a great party and everyone had more than enough to eat.
The potential buyers visited the boat every day from Christmas Day through to the 29th. After giving us an offer and deposit, sea trials were held on Wednesday the 28th and W4 passed with glowing colours. The deal was finalized January 7th, when the balance of the funds were transferred into our account. As the new owners flew back to home and work on Jan 1st, we had agreed to arrange for the boat to be hauled and prepare her for storage at Reynolds. She was hauled on January 10th and the final things were finished on the 11th. That evening, we toasted W4 with champagne and bid our beloved vessel good bye.
Waving to our many friends on the pier, we drove off down the road and on to a new type of adventure.
But, perhaps that is a story for another day.
Hugs
Heather & Murray
Now CROWs – Cruisers Riding On Wheels
So congrats on moving onto your next career on land. It has been a good one on water. We are expanding our horizons to Portugal but as we all know nothing “sails to windward like a 747”