a Trip to the US of PAE, part 1

You might remember that Alishan on the Move went to Taiwan, with a reason, last February. 
If not....  Read Here.

Now it was time to go and see some boats in use.

PAE is the company that designs and markets Nordhavns.
A lot of Nordhavns end up in the USA, 

Hence it is a good place to do more research...

(and/or even purchase a Nordi....)

But first some sour words.

Before one gets to the US of PAE...
one has to enter the US of A.

Wow.....to say it gently...what a shock that was.

I'm talking about the people that work at the immigration, customs, airlines etc at LAX....
(Los Angales airport)

Don't know why, but they have zero-point-zero manners.

Okay-okay, i'm being spoiled living here in Japan...

but is their way "normal"??

Now i can truly understand 
why so many people try to sneak illegally into that country.

Just to avoid those arrogant, rude & grggrr.... civil servants.

But beside that LAX horror place, 
we had a good time, pictures will show.

First stop: Dana Point Marina. 

Home to the main office for PAE, 

the heart for all the Nordhavns.

Dana Point Marina,

a magic spot, as seen from a hill-top nearby.

After 2 days Southern California it was time to pack our bags again and head-off to Florida.

(shit...have to go through LAX again...)

Next goal: The Big Boat Show in Fort Lauderdale.

BTW we were not the only ones heading that way...

There was also a Miss WindyBag Sandy!!

The first day at the BS the weather was windy and by times wet indeed, but we enjoyed walking the jetties, looking at boats and dreaming.

There were some serious and big boats, as you can see always hungry for... 

Look at this: like airplanes, these boats need decent emergency exits...

Or...is it just a toy for the spoiled?

Sandy made it too cold for an ice-cream...

Ha remember the Ohhh-No Onan trouble.....??

BTW we still !! have..

Parts aren't on the horizon yet. (4 months)

Here talking to an Onan dealer and they couldn't believe our story that it was taking so long.

Mind you, it's a far-from-their-bed-problem.

Of course a decent crowd showed up at the Nordhavn stand.

Not only for the boats...

Also for the PAE Friday Boat-Show Drinkies.

Time for us to do some "networking".
Even talked to people we had met last February in Taiwan!

These days staying in contact with 

Homeland Nippon using Japanese phones 

became so easy...

(It's not that long ago that Japanese phones couldn't be used

in other countries due to different systems).

But all this phone-work is also soooo time consuming

and always resulting in....being low on battery power....

More to follow.

Salute