Just in the Nick of Time!

First off, I apologize for taking so long to post this edition of the blog. After the craziness of finishing the pirate ship, Little Dude's birthday party and then travelling, I am just now getting back to my computer. 

After making small bits of progress in the evenings during the week leading up to the christening of The Becky's Revenge, I decided I needed an extra afternoon and the accompanying daylight to chip away at the remaining items on this project. In the last day and a half, I was able to (with the help of my trusty brother in the evening) finish the dock and gangplank, build and install the steps to the dock and the upper deck of the ship, hang the shade sails, mount the swings, install the rope railings, attach the sign (to make the naming official) and install the various finishing touches.

We did not finish a moment too early either. When my wife came out to check on us at 9:30 on Friday night, we were working by flashlight to install the ship's wheel, the spyglasses and the drums (every pirate needs some musical accompaniment, right?) We finally declared it FINISHED at 10:00 PM, leaving us 12 hours to spare prior to the christening of The Becky's Revenge and Little Dude's pirate ship party!

The party was a blast and the ship was fully broken in by all the kids (and some adults) in attendance. Once all our guests had left and Little Dude was down for a well-deserved nap, we kicked back in the AC, cracked open a beer and toasted to the conclusion (almost**) of a very ambitious and successful project!

**There are a few small things left to do, like the installation of permanent sails, big-kid swings, staining and sealing the wood and finishing the storage area under the ship, but most of those will wait until cooler weather avails!

Finally finished with 12 hrs to spare!

Ready for all the kiddos!

Fully occupied!

Awesome treasure chest birthday cake!

The Captain hanging out with Uncle C.

Trying to stay cool on the patio

Family shot before cake time

Christening the boat!

Cupcake time

Taking a whack at the pirate pinata

Little Dude going to check out his ship after all the guests left

Heading up on to the dock

Safety first, hold the handrails!

Front of the ship

The Captain is steering us to adventure!

Thanks for tuning in to this blog. I will be posting one more concluding post, but this was by and large the epic of The Becky's Revenge. I hope she sees many fair skies and great adventures in the years to come with Little Dude at the helm!

TWB