We’re now back in Arizona for a bit with David’s father. He was in the hospital again but was released on Monday and we’re enjoying this opportunity to spend more time with him.

When we returned to Mahdee from DC, I excitedly said “great, lets do more of the main saloon!” and David said “well…I want to get Buttercup’s transmission done and over with.” So, rather than work on Mahdee’s main saloon, David did a two day whirlwind of a transmission replacement on Buttercup. He pulled the engine and got the replacement on there faster than I could say “whaa??”. At the same time, he replaced the clutch, clutch plate, release bearing, engine seals and clutch slave cylinder. I’d ordered a clutch master cylinder rebuild kit but it didn’t arrive in time to be part of the party. So no surprise that after bleeding the clutch and all the gunk that gets moving around with that…yep…the clutch master cylinder failed. Still no rebuild kit when we left town. Hopefully when we go back (Tomorrow or Saturday at the latest) there will be a kit waiting for us in San Diego. In the meanwhile, Buttercup sits forlorn in the parking lot at the North Island Auto Hobby Shop whilst Wesley gets all the fun of driving to Mesa, AZ and playing “top car” for a bit.

Hopefully rebuilding the master cylinder will be quick so we can get some work done on Mahdee before we have to leave town again.

Mahdee has sat far too long on the mooring at Fiddlers Cove while we go gallivanting. We’ll resume the San Diego Samba upon our return this weekend but will have to put her back on the mooring for the last week of February while we go back to DC again. I’m now looking to March as the “month of Mahdee” and getting things done aboard. Time flies when we’re everywhere but aboard and doing everything except finishing out our Mahdee projects.