A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2020/2022

This is a place to document your trips with your boat. Tell us about your journeys. Share your experiences. Post your pictures.
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kmclemore
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by kmclemore »

OverEasy wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 9:50 pm Anyone who has raised chickens in the olden days will recall that many hen houses in cold climates were heated by 💡 light bulbs! :wink: :wink:
And that's how my dad used to keep his car easy to start in winter... he popped an incandescent trouble light under the oil pan, switched it on, and left it there all night. In the morning the car started like it was summertime.
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Be Free
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Be Free »

Don't forget the "Easy Bake Oven". :D
Bill
2001 26X Simple Interest
Honda BF40D
"If I were in a hurry I would not have bought a sailboat." Me
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2012
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All!

We are still on the water up on Lake Champlain VT to this coming Friday (11/05/21) when we haul out and head back to SC.
It has been a beautiful and wonderful two full months living in our Mac26X on the water (albeit using marinas).

Our much and long anticipated new motor has still not arrived this year so we will just have to wait till the next trip.
Guess we will have time once we are back in SC to get the carbs and fuel pump rebuilt/replaced on the olde Tohatsu…. Just as well given that we’d rather have the option to leave it down in SC once the new engine arrives up North.

It has been a busy and very enjoyable time!
Much more than we had anticipated! 8) 8) 🐩🐈

This trip was originally going to be for a couple of weeks on the waters of Lake Champlain VT and then haul out and go to our home in NH but as sometimes happens in life we found we were having a much more enjoyable time than anticipated :) :) . So we extended our stay first one week, then two, then three and now have been here ten weeks!!! It has been interesting and enjoyable having spent all but nine days living in our Mac26X on the water!

The Admiral has really been enjoying the adventure as have our two critters. Everyone has adapted well to the limited but comfortable space aboard Over Easy. Sunrises and Sunsets, sunny warm (hot) and blustery cold (frosty) rainy days and nights, calm / windy / wavey / stormy / … it has all been great!

We have seen the surrounding hills and mountains transition from full on summer to full on autumn with some of the most fantastic fall colors we can recall. Seeing it gradually change day by day from the water’s surface has been unique for us (even though ou NH home is on a beautiful pond that we have enjoyed very much). It is the dynamic nature of actually being on the water, feeling the environment, the wind, waves, sun, darkness, stars, moon, clouds, rain, heat and yes even the cold so intimately from our little boat has been making this a very rewarding experience.

We started off in mid late August with temperatures in the mid 90s and humidity nearly the same from SC.
The road trip North towing Over Easy was fun as we stayed several nights at several campgrounds (where we really enjoyed having our new A/C to cool off with) :) :) . Got points from the Admiral and our two critters for getting that mod installed! 🥇👍🏆

Getting launched into Malletts Bay of Lake Champlain was perfect ( THANK YOU 🙏 K9kampers for your excellent suggestion!).
The marina we spent the first 7 weeks at was fantastic! Great people, Great facility, Great staff! Couldn’t imagine a better place to be staying at. As our stay on the Lake extended further we found that we needed to change locations as the first marina was closing up and pulling their docks for the winter.

Our second marina is also very nice as are the staff! But virtually all the people have gone inland as have their boats!
They keep telling us winter and ice are coming but we have been fortunate so far to have most of the whole of Lake Champlain to ourselves (other than one or two other hardy souls going out for one more trip before hauling out. The marina is virtually deserted now of people and boats so we have the place very much to ourselves. :) :)


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The weekend storms have passed and the Lake is beautiful this morning. We will be bundling up after breakfast and heading out onto the Lake to continue our adventures today. This continues to be a wonderful trip!

Last night’s supper was the Admirals famous home made hearty Chicken Noodle Soup made on our little galley and induction cooktop!
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Later this week we will take some time and upload some of the dozens of photos we’ve taken and describe in better detail what we have done and learned during our extended stay here on Lake Champlain.

Best Regards to All,
Over Easy 😎😎🐩🐈
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Jimmyt
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Jimmyt »

Great report and pics! Glad you guys are enjoying your boat!
Jimmyt
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Cruising Waters: Mobile Bay, Western Shore, Fowl River
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Be Free
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Be Free »

I'm glad you are having such a great time on your new boat. I'm sure next season will be full of new adventures.
Bill
2001 26X Simple Interest
Honda BF40D
"If I were in a hurry I would not have bought a sailboat." Me
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2012
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All!

WOW! Our first SLEET SQUALL in Over Easy!
What an interesting sound to wake up to!

Currently we are being pelted with heavy sleet. The sound of which is what it must sound like inside a popcorn popper! It can get loud! But then the squalls pass and the silence returns. The ambient temperature outside is 38F so the accumulation on deck and dock won’t last but is interesting to watch as it bounces and ricochets about. Inside our snug and comfortable Over Easy we are at a comfortable 76F.

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The temperatures are now regularly in the mid-to-high 40s during the days and mid-to-low 30s at night. We finally up-sized our heating to a 900-to-1500 watt Pelonis oscillation ceramic heater this week but have only run it at roughly 50% via the built in thermostat. (The little 350watt wall plugin unit was struggling and being that our wall plus are at mid height was stratofying the cabin {hot heads and cold feet}.)

The weather has been interesting to experience on the waters of Lake Champlain living aboard Over Easy. Bright warm 🌬breezy sunny 🌞 days and cold 🥶 wet blasting 💨 rainy ⛈ days. Most all the remaining waterfowl 🦆 have followed the geese South for the winter as we are soon to somewhat reluctantly do ourselves. We have very much come to like - enjoy - appreciate the wonder and beauty that Lake Champlain has shared with us.

Our Journey started in Beaufort SC in bright sunshine with temperatures in the mid-high 90s and humidity in the same percentages. Traveling north the conditions were virtually the same which made us appreciate having installed our Air Conditioning system to Over Easy as we very much enjoyed sleeping in the campgrounds we stopped at with the cool dry air that it provided.

Our arrival at Lake Champlain the last week of August was fortuitous in that it afforded us to enjoy the end of summer season and boating community in our first marina. What wonderful considerate people and staff! Our little Mac26X was dwarfed by the various cruisers and sailboats. We felt we could have been used an auxiliary to some of them! :o :o We found everyone friendly and curious about our mastless “sailboatcruiser” with a miniature 🐩 poodle and a house 🐈 cat. :D :D

We made several very nice friends upon the large cruisers from all walks
, educations, experiences and stages of life. It was fun sharing our boats in a safe socially responsible manner. Open hatches, decks and masks when appropriate. Everyone we met in the marina had been fully vaccinated. Vermonters have taken the lead in percentage of population vaccinated and the people are very rational and supportive about it. It is refreshing to again mingle safely with cognizant and responsible people. :) :) Everyone was deeply appreciative of the vaccine and those multiple individuals who worked so tirelessly and valiantly to create and distribute it. All those we met shared the deep sorrow for the nearly countless lives lost to this pandemic both here in the United States and worldwide.

We listened to the stories of life, work, children, boats and a shared love of the water and their appreciation of what Lake Champlain offered them. Many have spent decades here enjoying and exploring the Lake and shared their favorite cruising routes, mooring spots and locales. There is also so much history here just about anywhere one goes.

While we only visited a few other marinas, all the marinas we visited were very nice.
All had a no open fire rule on board which made us glad we had chose to plan on an induction cooktop as our primary cook surface (we did bring a nice foldout dual burner propane unit for mooring out but never actually needed it as yet :) :) ).

LESSONS LEARNED

Electrical

We have done nicely with just the one induction cooktop but are thinking that it would be nice to have a small microwave and/or toaster oven to reheat and/or bake with. It something to consider when we add a proper AC electrical system to Over Easy this winter.

Our marina experiences (South & North) have demonstrated to us that it is a LOT easier to pull into a slip than it is to back in (a series of experiences left for another time :D :D ). As the electrical and water hook-ups are on the primary piers rather than on the slip fingers we are seriously considering adding our primary shore connections on the bow and a secondary electrical connection at the stern for when we add a generator. That way we can have as much shore cable available and an easy connect/disconnect location on the bow while having a short cable for the generator connect. So far we have made do with a 50 ft power cord run back from the bow to cabin entry but it isn’t our ideal. We have a plug in 15 Amp breaker strip that allows us to plug in the battery charger, phone/lap top charger, our Coleman Thermonic Cooler, and room heater or induction cooktop. We limit our wattage use to below 1500 watts which equates to about 13 Amps at 115VAC.

Going to a proper 210 VAC 30 Amp service with standard shore power connections would provide us with two separate 115 VAC 15 Amp circuits. We will be using 10 gauge or larger diameter stranded marine grade wires and components where ever possible and applying mitigation’s where not. We’ve had the opportunity to see first hand on other boats the false economy of not doing it right the first time (corrosion, overheating outlets, and related damage etc…).

One GFIC protected circuit will be dedicated for the A/C, heating and house/start battery charger aspects.
One GFIC protected circuit will be for onboard appliances, cooktop, phone and laptop chargers.

There will be an isolating selector lockout switch to ensure that the independent supply lines for Shore Power and Generator remain separated and isolated from each other.

Water

As mentioned previously, we deliberately held off on incorporation of fresh and waste water systems to see what we would really need. We have been using bottled (Smart) water for cooking and drinking. The 24 oz. size units have worked out nicely and we can easily store 10 of these units in one of our Galley bins. An additional 20 units fit nicely in one of our Hefty tote boxes we keep in the aft berth. This has provided us with easily accessed drinking water without having to content with the various flavor taste aspects of shore based water supplies.

Cooking Clean-up has generally been at the on shore marina facilities or with boiled shore water on the boat (collected and drained at shore facilities) in the cockpit in wash bins.

Personal Clean up has been at the on shore marina facilities.
They have all been nice and with plenty of hot water.

We have liked the aspect of our interior galley space/surface being uncluttered with a sink and drain tank but think we may have come up with a means to add it without taking up too much additional space. We still have to do some homework and sketches on it but the idea is to make a fiberglass grey water tank amidship accessed via the aft dinette bench which would level out that spaces to the top of the ballast water transfer tube. It would incorporate a separate deck mounted pump out fitting as well as a fresh water flush line (with check valve) and an air pressure flush out (with a low 5 psi pressure limit relief valve) so that it could be emptied and dried out at home.

The fresh water storage is something that we could accomplish in a similar manner except with a removable formed tank inside the port bench along side the galley. Water fill would be from a deck fitting with a float valve overboard dump to preclude overfilling. Water transfer would be via an “on-demand” tap switch to the sink.

The sink would be a relatively shallow 3” deep SST or Anodized Turkey Roaster Pan that would fold-up against the wall. The water tap would be hidden by the pan in the stowed position. The drain would be via gravity and flexible off to a lower wall side corner of the pan. This should provide an acceptable useable accessible but generally out of the way solution.

Sanitary

The Portalet seems to last about 5 days with two adults before it has to be emptied. Currently this has required careful removal and transfer to shore facilities for emptying. Not really a problem but still a chore. We like the flexibility the canister system provides to empty at the marina or at home. There does not seem to be a readily available compromise system that allows for both hand carry or in-situ pump-out so we are considering making an adaptation to accomplish that using the existing Portalet. We have to do some checking of the regulations and checking of geometry for available space but it would make life a bit easier if this could be accomplished…. TBD….

Interior Lighting

While the existing interior lighting (two original factory 12VDC units) works it leaves something to be desired. We added several AAA battery surface variable LED lights early on. These help but after our time on the water we would like to improve on this. A set of interior perimeter variable 12VDC LED rope lights is looking promising especially for the Vee and Aft Berth areas.

Exterior Lighting

We added a pole type stern running light in addition to the factory external lighting. Night motoring without a mast up feels a lot safer with this addition. It also makes for a nice cockpit light when moored or in our slip. Some low level variable LED cockpit floor lighting would be helpful though. We have added two solar charged LED path lights to the cabin roof lifeline standards (as was thoughtfully suggested by our POs). These are good but currently only last about 3 hours after sunset. I’ll have to modify them to increase the battery capacity and light longevity. Additionally we would like to add additional external courtesy lighting and underwater lighting. There are several commercial systems available that we are looking into.

We have a very nice “Q-Beam” hand held search light that our POs provided us. This has come in beneficial many times over! Thank-You K9Kampers!!!

We would like to expand upon this with a remote movable LED bow rail spot light controllable from the helm station. We would also like to add fixed close-in bow/side/stern spot lights to aid in night operations and navigation. We are going to have to look at several boat salvage yards in the coming months to see what we can find and adapt as our budget is rather limited and new units are a bit pricey!

Note: Any suggestions or pointing in the right directions would be gratefully appreciated!!!

I need to wrap this up for today as daily chores still need to be done as well as those in preparation for our haul out and departure this coming Friday.

We are the very last boat afloat (except for the Emergency Services Vessels who stay in until ice forms on the Lake) in the two marinas adjacent to us.

We have REALLY enjoyed our extended stay here these past 10 weeks on Lake Champlain.
Sort of glad (practical side) and at the same time sort of sad (emotional side) we are hauling out this Friday.

8) 8)🐩🐈
WE HAVE REALLY REALLY REALLY ENJOYED THIS JOURNEY TO LAKE CHAMPLAIN VT!!
8) 8)🐩🐈

The Journey Continues…….

Best Regards,
Over Easy 😎😎🐩🐈

PS: We will be posting pictures tomorrow…
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2012
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All!

Here are some of the photos of our Journey to Lake Champlain, VT
We don’t want to bore you to tears with our photo scrap book 📖 🙄🤔🤣 :wink:
We would like to share how incredibly pretty this Lake is but pictures can’t really do it justice.
You’ll have to come here yourself to experience it first hand. :D :D
Our experiences have primarily been limited to the Vermont side of the lake with only one trip over to the New York side to have a great visit with the KMclemores in Monty’s Bay and a trip around Valcour Island. We ranged roughly 30 miles North and South of Malletts Bay exploring numerous inlets, channels, islands, coves and bays. For a rough approximation of scale Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire could easily fit within Lake Champlain’s Malletts Bay! :o :) :D

The trees are still spectacularly vibrant with color!
We are so glad we have stayed here. :) :) ….

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Best Regards,
Over Easy 😎😎🐩🐈

The Journey Continues……
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kmclemore
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by kmclemore »

Yes, you're right, Lake Champlain is truly a big piece of Heaven on Earth. We love our Champlain lake house - we can literally feel our blood pressure and cares melt away when we're there. The lake is so huge you can never truly explore all of it - as you soon discovered! And it was good to visit with you - I'm glad you had such a wonderful time. The photos are great - and I see you included one with my cute bride. Super!
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Russ
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Russ »

Great photos. Thanks for sharing.
--Russ
OverEasy
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Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All!

We had a beautiful break in the weather this afternoon (Thursday 11/04/21) and we were able to get one more cruise around Malletts Bay of Lake Champlain, Vt.!!! :) :)

It is still SO BEAUTIFUL here it is a shame that we have to leave tomorrow :cry: :cry:

The past TEN WEEKS have flown by 🚀.
We have spent a full two months living in our Mac26X but is seems we only arrived yesterday.

Below are a few pictures of today’s adventure.
Temperatures were in the low mid 40s F with a light cold wind coming from the Northwest.
Light riffles on the waters with intermittently brilliant sunlight.

In the distance there is ⛄️ SNOW ⛄️ On the surrounding mountains:

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The Fall Colors are still gorgeous:

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A very Happy Admiral and MacGregor (our Puppy) in his new Vermont Insulated Jacket!

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The “fur kiddos” are getting ready for bed:

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Tomorrow is an early start day for our haul out.
We are the last vessel still in any of the marinas in Malletts Bay of Lake Champlain.
All the finger docks have been disassembled and moved in for the winter.
Our pier is the last one still with power and WiFi.

Last night ice fog floated across the waters freezing on the exposed dock boards:

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Winter will be here any day now and we need to migrate South as well before the Lake freezes…

The marina staff here at Lake Champlain & The Moorings have been absolutely fantastic with their help, service and accommodations they have provided us during our extended stay. We are truly appreciative!

Best Regards,
Over Easy 😎😎🐩🐈

The Journey Continues………
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kmclemore
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by kmclemore »

We just arrived up here at the lake house to begin shutting things down for the season. The trees and the weather are, as you say, beautiful. Have a safe trip home!
OverEasy
Admiral
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Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by OverEasy »

Thank You Kmclemore!

Enjoy your beautiful lake and home. :) :)

Best Regards,
Over Easy 😎😎🐩🐈
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2012
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All
Our haul-out on Friday 11/05/21 at the Vermont Malletts Bay DNR Boat Ramp went really surprisingly well! 8) 8)

The trip from our slip to the ramp was spectacular and bitter sweet at the same time.
We waited till 1 pm to ensure that everything was thawed and dry.

We worked out the puzzle of getting all the tire pressures pumped up (because of the cold) including the spares. (What good is an under inflated spare, eh?) The marina staff were GREAT about pulling out their pot belly compressor and hose and extension cable for me at 8 AM with everything blanketed in frost.

After getting that taken care of I hauled the trailer over to the DNR ramp parking to drop it off for later. Then a quick trip to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast sandwiches and two boxes (bakers dozen) to drop off with each of the marinas we stayed at for the staff! They were very appreciative that someone recognized them and their efforts at making our stay the enjoyable experience it was!

After getting back to the boat the Admiral and I had breakfast aboard for the last time this trip on Lake Champlain. Then it was time to get going. The Admiral took the van to the ramp while I soloed Over Easy over (plus a few loops and turns and wake crossings…nothing too radical…it’s a Mac26X with a persnickety 20 year old Tohatsu remember :wink: ).

Took a couple final pictures:

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As said the haul-out went great after reconnecting the trailer. We pulled it on by hand and with the winch. Tired the Mac-bump a couple of times after draining the ballast but the ablative was too much friction on the bunks to move much. Just an inch gap to the fwd roller.
We called it a success!

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We waited until our daughter finished up her classes and meetings for a last goodbye. I’m getting dotting in my old age and will miss her terribly :cry: but she is a great kid and doing great with her school and work.

We headed South to friends in NJ after 6:30 pm and the GPS sent us off on a night time cross country through the boondocks of Vermont! Once going we just enjoyed the roller coaster ride down and around the skinny backroads. Finally reached the NY Thruway! Solid pavement after 3 hours of adventure! The 289 miles had us arriving at 2:00 AM. Our wonderful friends were waiting up for us with delicious grilled chicken sandwiches! They were wonderful!

A late morning breakfast and conversations had us departing at 5:00 PM :D :D to Prince William Forest Campground Virgina which is about 268 miles but there were exciting single lane per side tunnels in Baltimore and a 1-1/2 hour construction traffic jam. Who knew so many peoples were traveling this weekend?🙄
Arrival was a late check in at the State Park at 1:20 AM! Long Day!

A bowl of Cheerios and time for Nite-Nite!

Best Regards,
Over Easy 😎😎🐩🐈

The Journey Continues…..
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Jimmyt
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Jimmyt »

Very nice! I will say, you keep later hours than I do... :)
Jimmyt
P-Cub-Boo
2013 26M, Etec 60, roller Genoa, roller main
Cruising Waters: Mobile Bay, Western Shore, Fowl River
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2012
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All & JimmyT!

Yeah, the hours get late!
Did better today though! :) :)
Hit the road from Prince William Park VA at noon and traveled down to Florence SC arriving at 9:30 PM. About 385 miles at our leisurely 50-55 mph.

We saw another Mac26X today also on the road South!!!!
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Best I could make out the name of the vessel is “East Wind”. Somewhere north of Richmond on I-95 southbound.

We honked horns and waved at each other.
What a nice surprise!! Maybe they are on our forum?🤔 Wonder how to search by boat name?

So this should be our last night camping on or trip South for 2021. Hope to arrive home to Beaufort SC tomorrow with just a short 1/2 day drive. Sandwich supper tonight of Bagels and cold cuts. Nice change from the road fast food 🙄😉.

So far all has been good for this journey.
It will be nice to get home though to enjoy comfy beds and our own showers! :D :D

Best Regards to All!
Over Easy 😎😎🐩🐈

The Journey Continues…..
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