The good things about the boatyard...

1. Electricity. Lots of it.
2. Hot, hot, hot (did I mention hot?) showers.
3. Having a car.
4. Plenty of space for scooter to run and run.
5. Not having to depend on an undependable dinghy.
6. Having a bicycle.
7. Moose. (I admit it. We like him. And he IS nice to us)

The bad things about the boatyard...
1. Fire ants. (Don't ask!)
2. See #1.

Osprey flying above us

Looking for lunch...

Blue Heron on the St Lucie canal

Ouch!

Oh well

As I write this we our on our way back to the boatyard. After two weeks of problems starting the dinghy engine we no longer have problems starting it. The pull cord broke so now we can't start it at all. Even without the dog we don't want to be stuck on the boat without the ability to get to shore, so back we go. We will probably take the motor to have the cord repaired, but until we can reliably start the thing we are not going anywhere else. Hopefully at some point we can find another (2nd hand) engine. In the meantime I will get laundry done, defrost the fridge and go for bike rides. It IS a beautiful morning and I am glad not to be in the snow!

Farmer's Market

It's official.

We are wimps. That's right. WIMPS! A cold front came through this area yesterday. I knew it was coming because I had looked at the forecast earlier in the week. This cold front was going to bring lots of wind (from a nasty direction), which translates to a bouncy boat and wet dinghy rides to shore. Not to mention of course -COLD! So we booked a slip at the dock here where we could plug in the little heater I keep stashed away for such emergencies. No braving the elements for us. Nope. Personally I am way past that time in my life where sleeping huddled in a ball with a blanket covering everything but one nostril is fun. Not that it was ever fun but it certainly was no big deal when I was younger. So here we are, tied up and plugged in for two days. My friend Jose took it a bit more seriously and booked a room at a hotel when her husband suggested it would be " no big deal" to be a little cold. (After re-assessing the forecast he went too). This morning when we woke up it was a chilly 38 outside (ok folks, remember, we ARE in florida) and a balmy 52 inside the boat. Today the sun is shining and it is very windy - I call it a "crocs with socks" kind of day. (Crocs the shoes...) Right now the farmers market is calling us. It is a short walk away, and I will buy some veggies to put into a nice warm home made soup for tonight. Off to find my socks!

Sunset from the marina...

Scenes from the marina #2

Scenes from the marina...

How Much Is That Doggie....

Scooter in his favorite spot watching us eat dinner. (Before it rained!)

Boating

There are many times during the day you are reminded you are on a boat. The lovely gently rocking motion back and forth, the sporadic clanging of a halyard, the hum of the wind generator and the emergency 2 am drill when you realize it is raining and you have to rush around pulling everything in from the cockpit and closing all the hatches. The 2 am drill happened to us last night. Once everything was soundly secured from the elements we settled ourselves back in bed. Ahhhhh! The gentle rocking of the boat helped us drift back to sleep. And then -SPLAT! A big drop of water on my head. I reached up in the dark to the small little porthole right above me and sure enough it was leaking. No worries I thought. I won't wake Darryl. I will just press a piece of paper towel against it and we will deal with it in the morning. Just a little pressure to keep it -OMG!!! There goes the porthole! Pushed my hand right through it! Now it is pouring rain in the v-berth and the window portion is lying outside on the deck. Fortunately Darryl, sensing trouble and clearly not able to sleep through my cursing, got up, grabbed our trusty roll of "TEAR-AID" and went out and taped the thing back in place. (It will be securely caulked when the weather allows.) After the very loud sigh I heard before he got back into bed I decided the best use for the paper towel would be on my head and not in the porthole. (Note to self - paper towel on head goes on the list of things that remind you that you are on a boat.) Fortunately when I woke up the paper towel was still dry, which is an excellent testimonial for "TEAR-AID" by the way. Today it is still raining which (in case you didn't know) actually shrinks your boat by about 25% by virtue of the fact you are less than 2 feet from your spouse all day. Just Kidding!! It is Valentine's Day!! We will make the most of it! Meaning of course that I will find the chocolate almonds I stashed away a few weeks ago and eat them, I mean share them. While the boat gently rocks....Happy Day everyone!

The day after the blizzard named nemo...

This was part of our morning walk. We certainly are lucky not to be at home, with no power in the cold! Rhode island, as with many states in the northeast, has been declared in a state of emergency. Here in Stuart the only emergency we have had ( other than dinghy engine troubles) is running out of ice for our gin and tonic. Today we are bobbing around on our moorings ball in a pleasant breeze of 15 knots, which is keeping the wind generator active enough to maintain the fridge. Most of the boat chores are done, and as we speak Darryl is doing the dishes. I think my book is calling! I hope everyone affected by the storm stays warm and snug!

On the way to Stuart...

Chilly!

The local weatherman just issued a "snuggle alert" for tonight! How cool is that? Forty six deg Fahrenheit. I love it!!

Sunset

Last night it was lovely. There was a slight nip in the air as a cold front had come through earlier in the day, which made my mid afternoon bike ride quite pleasant. Otherwise we have both been busy enough doing random chores and "getting the boat ready to go" projects. I went to a giant wholesale store (Costco) the other day and $300.00 later all I seemed to have were enough zip lock bags to last until the end of the next Mayan calendar. We are not sure what our plans are for leaving right now because Darryl is trying to supervise the reconstruction of the kitchen at the yacht club which was damaged during hurricane/superstorm sandy. We will likely stay in Florida again this season because of that. I can't complain because aside from all the rain yesterday morning the weather has been better than usual for this time of year. Scooter has a great playmate here named Luke; a lively and very energetic standard poodle. We also have some lively and energetic friends here who help keep us in good humor and well entertained. We will all go our separate ways soon, but in the meantime we share drinks, dinner and boating stories regularly. Sunday we will have a Super Bowl get together even though none of us watch football. Last night we had a mock New Year's Eve party because Jose found a couple of bottles of champagne in a locker on her boat which she wanted to use up. Last Saturday the potluck was cancelled because Moose claimed there weren't enough people - we had one anyway! And so it goes until we all move along in our boats, cars or campers. In the meantime Darryl has chosen today to varnish (the wood on the boat) and I am going to town to get some goodies for Super bowl Sunday. Have a great day everyone!