On to the Keys

Actually by car.  Mike and Jean arrived last evening.  Cocktails, wine, cheese, shrimp then dinner with more wine followed by more wine on the flybridge while we got caught up on each others lives.  A tough job but somebody has to do it.

This morning it was pancakes for breakfast, a dip in the pool and then packed the car so we could head south.  The bird is excited because she gets to travel with us (again).  Mike drives, Jean navigates and Bobbi and I peck away on our phones.  Travel time is supposed to be 3 hours and 40 minutes.   That is about 4 days by boat and we will be making that trip starting mid next week.

This is being typed on my phone as we travel, no pictures possible.   We will be gone for a few days so there will be no more updates until we return in a few days.

Dave

Slow Weekend

Yesterday and today were rather slow days.  The skipper ran some coax from the second port on the power TV antenna box to the new TV in the saloon.  About 7 feet as the crow flies, but it took all of the 25′ coax cable we bought.  Of course one end had to be cut off to fish it through some existing wiring holes, but lo and behold, we had a twist on connector in our bag of electrical parts so we were operational without another trip to the store.  We also found the “time” to modify a cabinet turn button to fasten the door which turns the saloon into a private stateroom in an open position.  The other day we purchased some curtains to close off the saloon and by using spring loaded curtain rods we can block off the region over the counter and cover the sliding doors aft.  The material was polyester so the use of our fancy quick hot gun enabled us to cut the material without having to hem the material.  That is a good thing as we don’t have a sewing machine on board.

Sunday we started the genset, just because it hasn’t been started since we got here.  It started with no problem.  A shower and a dip in the pool early in the afternoon was followed by a bicycle to Publix to stock up on supplies.  Mike and Jean are supposed to show up tomorrow afternoon and we needed to get some salmon, baking potatoes and salad fixings for dinner in the evening.  I have worked with Mike for years at Behrend and we have spent many an evening with them over the years.  They have hosted us numerous times at the B&B they operate in Mayville, NY.  Our plan is to drive down to the Keys with them for a few days.

Mid 80’s today

There is an RC group that meets at one of the ponds near the golf course on Sundays. This week the attendance was down a bit.

Dave

Well, the last two days have been warm and mostly sunny.  I did laundry yesterday and today, both days I spent time at the pool while waiting for the our clothes to get done (the captain took another dip).  Does life get any better!!!

Today we rode bikes to Publix and got dinner for tomorrow.  Friends from Erie are coming down tomorrow (Jean and Mike Lobaugh).  We are going to spend a few days in the Keys together. (Can’t wait!!!)

Well, we are looking forward to tomorrow.  I know Jean and Mike are going to love the weather!!!

Bobbi

 

Christmas in the Tampa area

On Christmas Eve morning we took about a three hour drive over to the Tampa area, with our first stop being a visit with Mary, Bobbi’s friend from years ago and her husband John.  Mary was in our wedding.  It was nice to visit them in their home and catch up on things.

The bird insists on helping with the driving just like on the boat.

We got to our nieces house in Land O Lakes in mid afternoon and from there Lea, husband Matt and daughter Mandolin took us to visit Matt’s mother, brother, his wife and kids who rented a house for the week in the vicinity.  We all drove to Tarpon Springs for dinner in the Greek area on the waterfront.  Some of the shops were still open so we browsed through these while waiting to go to dinner.

I am not sure why you would want gator heads, but they had them here.

This place had a large variety of sponges, and not for very much money.

I am not sure how these places made much money.  Actually, I should re-phrase that.  I am not sure how the people that provided these places with there wares made any money.  Sea shells were sold for almost nothing so the people who gather, sort and prepare these must be paid half of next to nothing.

The Greek restaurant we ate at was open until late on Christmas Eve and also advertised as being open on Christmas day.  The had an attached bakery that was busy as could be, with people coming and going continually.  The array of deserts was astounding.

Hellas has been around since 1970 and is open 7 days a week.

After dinner and desert it was back to Lea and Matt’s house were we exchanged Christmas gifts before retiring for the evening.

On Christmas day we all got a late start and after breakfast the guys went fishing and the ladies went to Bush Gardens for the day.  Matt used to run a fishing guide business and still has his 20′ fishing boat.  It was back to Tarpon Springs to launch the boat and then a 8 mile ride south on Saint Joseph Sound to the south side of Causeway Island to try our luck fishing for Sea Trout. Florida makes it real easy to purchase a three day fishing license on line and the cost is not unreasonable at $17.  The day was cold by Florida standards with a 12 knot north wind that produced a bit of chop at the time we launched the boat, hence to long run south to get into some smooth water in the lee of the island.  I managed to catch a barely legal Sea Trout, the only one we kept.  Eventually this guy got released from the live well  as we didn’t want to clean just one fish.  The rest of the day was spent in flat water off Sting Ray Cove near the power plant about a mile north of Fred Howard Park.  Tied to floating barrels that keep boaters a safe distance from the power plant, the area is a haven for Jacks and Ladyfish.  Both are fun to catch, as they are good fighters but are not really worth keeping and eating.  There are no regulations on these fish so that tells you something.    It was easy to hook one on about every third cast, so the boys had a good time catching an releasing these fish.  Ladyfish are about two feet long and the jacks about a foot.

Matt’s fishing boat is for fishing, period. Center console with nothing to snag any fishing lines and full walk around access.

We got a call from the ladies saying they would be late and our planned evening dinner (a seafood boil) was canceled so we were on our own as far as eating went.  We fished until sunset and then headed home.

Matt and I ended up with a 3B dinner.  Brats, beans and bagels.

Christmas dinner for Matt and Dave. The wine helped.

Eventually the ladies did come home, and after some socializing Bobbi and I stayed up for a bit while the rest of the crew went to bed.  They had to be out of the house by 6 AM for a trip to Universal Studios in Orlando while we slept in before heading back across the state to drop off our rental car and return home to Liberty late this afternoon.

Hanging with the animals. The bird wasn’t invited for obvious reasons.

Dave

Well, Christmas in Florida!!!   Dave and I had a great time visiting friends and family down here.   Late Christmas Eve I helped Lea and Matt wrap presents for Maddy (our great niece).  The captain fell asleep on the couch.  When he woke up all the presents were wrapped and under the tree!!!  He didn’t hear a thing!!!

On Christmas day Dave went fishing with the guys and the girls all went to Bush Gardens.  I was able to spend a few hours with Maddy while everyone else rode the roller-coasters.  Maddy and I went to Elmo’s World and had a great time.  What a great little kid!!!

We talked with our kids (Jill, Brian, Aaron) throughout the day and Dad and Dave’s brother Todd and his wife Nancy in the evening.  It was the first time without the kids and Dad at Christmas.  A little hard for both of us, but sounded like they were all fine and having a good Christmas!

Well, we’re back on Liberty tonight and all is well!!

Bobbi

UDT/SEAL Museum

Today’s excitement centered around driving down to Ft. Pierce to the Navy UDT/SEAL Museum.  They had quite a few outdoor exhibits as well as extensive indoor displays that were quite educational and made one appreciate their contributions to our nation.

Ft. Pierce, the home of the UDT-SEAL training facility.

Vietnam era boats

The actual Maersk Alabama lifeboat that Captain Phillips was held captive by Somali pirates until the SEALS dispatched the pirates in 2009.

Inside the Lifeboat

Blackhawk helicopter used to rescue Jessica Buchanan and Paul Hagen from Somali pirates in 2012. Nine pirates were killed during the rescue. This particular helicopter had been shot down three different times.

Modern SEAL vessel, Mark V Special Operations Craft (SOC) , jet drive (as in water jet). 82 feet.

Helm station

I could drive this thing (maybe).

Obstacle course. It is not as easy as it looks.

This is pretty easy. We passed on the most of the obstacles.

The beach is just on the other side of the museum.

Bobbi testing the water temperature (again).

We found a place in Ft. Pierce for a late lunch, by the water of course.

Back at the ranch, this big guy showed up for fuel. Check out the dome on the cabin top.

Either this is a CIA spy vessel or they really like their TV.

We got this box of silicon O rings today. Our plan is to sell them for $5 each to sailors who don’t carry spare parts. The 200 rings should net us $1000. Thanks Bill.

Santa also brought us a Publix gift card with instructions from Todd and Nancy to purchase wine with it. We did.

This will be the last blog installment until after Christmas as we are leaving the boat for a few days.  I would be more apprehensive about doing that except for the fact that security around here is excellent.  The staff walks the docks quite a few times during the day, checking on the boats and the live-aboards also seem to keep an eye on things.

Dave

Well, Dave and I visited a Navy Seal Museum which was very interesting.

After visiting the museum we stopped for lunch and did a little shopping for wine before we came back home to the boat.

Tomorrow morning (Christmas Eve) we will leave for the west coast of Florida.  First, we are going to visit  a friend of ours (Mary Bohrer).  Mary was in our wedding some 40 years ago!!!  We will then head to our niece’s home for Christmas!!  Can’t wait!

Well, Dave I wish all our family and friends a very Merry Christmas!!!

Bobbi

 

 

 

 

Winter Solstice +1

The days are getting longer.  We celebrated today’s 83 degree temperatures by going for an airboat ride.  Our friend Scott pilots an airboat for Capt. Bob’s Airboats.  Bob was one of the participants at Scott’s party aboard Firefly last week and they decided we needed to go out in an airboat.  All the spots on Scott’s tours were booked over the weekend so we went out with Bob today.  The boats operate on the Blue Cypress Conservation Area.  The history behind the area is that it was once scrub land  that the state sold to farmers.  Canals were dug for drainage and irrigation, the resulting land cleared and turned into farmland.   About 30 years ago, the state bought the land back, and dykes were built to contain the water (fresh) for recreation and irrigation purposes.

The boats are fairly new and have counter rotating props.

These boats actually can go pretty fast. I wasn’t smart enough to use the GPS on my phone to see how fast we went at times but it was fast enough.

What appears to be land or shallow water is actually floating vegetation.

We saw at least a dozen gators sunning themselves

These trees are actually alive as Spanish moss doesn’t like dead trees.

This albatross is named Bonnie and she returns every year.

On the way back to the boat we made a side trip to Walmart for a few electronic items to go with yesterdays TV purchase.  By the way, our Chromecast device is behaving itself again.  Evidently you need to set internet access on the phone before powering up the device on the TV.  A dip in the pool was in order, then a shower before we had some cheese and crackers (and wine) on the flybridge just after sunset.

Dave

Well, today was the best!!!  We went on an airboat ride, which was just terrific!!!  I loved every minute of it!!  I’m pretty sure we must have been going 40 or 50 miles an hour when we were really moving!!  It was just a wonderful thrill!!!

We decided to go for a swim in the pool later in the evening. Yes, the captain did go in the water again!!!

When we got back to the boat we had a little wine and cheese on the top deck.  It was just a beautiful night to sit up there!!!

We plan on spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our niece Lea and her family outside of Tampa.  I’m really looking forward to seeing Lea, Matt and Maddy for Christmas.

Bobbi

100/23 and counting

This is the 100th post in this series, with over 7700 page views (77 views/post).  On one hand it seems like we left Erie just yesterday, and on the other hand it seems like it has been a lifetime ago that we were going to work everyday.   I guess retirement and traveling distorts time like that.

We have also gobbled up 23 GB of data from Verizon this month.  Thankfully we still have unlimited data otherwise we would be into Verizon for about $200 just on data charges alone.  I guess the 13 twenty minute episodes of Dr. Who and the two movies we streamed along with our normal internet usage really suck up the data.

It probably isn’t going to help the data thing considering that today we purchased another small TV with a Roku stick , this time for the saloon.  It will allow us to watch TV series and movies via Amazon Prime.  The TV that receives over-the-air signals is confined to our stateroom although it might be possible for me to get an additional antenna wire run to the saloon.  Right now we are only really getting one channel worth watching as we are surrounded by buildings.  The DVD player in the stateroom is wifi enabled giving us internet access to that device through the phone for streaming Amazon Prime content.   I wasted a few hours this evening trying to get our stateroom TV to work with the Chromecast stick as I wanted to mirror my phones display to the TV. We wanted to watch a football game on the boat but eventually gave up and went to the boaters lounge to watch it on their TV.   I am not sure what is up with that as I know  I was able to “cast” PC data to the TV a few weeks ago but maybe I was just lucky at the time.  Chromecast is not supposed to work with a wifi hotspot but that is the only way I can get our PC internet data.  All the electronic/electrical issues with a “modern” boat can certainly keep you busy.  I still haven’t updated the boats website that details changes we have made.  There are about 100 pictures I need to include but just don’t have the time as of yet to do this.

Today we got another coat of varnish on the pilot house doors and did some epoxy repairs.  Our cocktail table on the flybridge had opened up at one of the joints so I filled that with epoxy and repaired the upper slat on the seat back on the foredeck.  How that upper slat got completely ripped out (4 screws pulled out) is beyond me but some epoxy and light line to serve as clamps has fixed things.

You have to fix the split before water works it’s way under the varnish and starts to lift the finish.

 

“Clamping” the upper slat until the epoxy cures.

Ms. Bird (Finny) insisted on another bath today so we got out her spray bottle and she got a much needed shower.

She has a lot of new/longer feathers since the last time she got her wings clipped in September.

Bobbi hung out at the pool for a while as the temperatures are now close to 80 during the day and the humidity is on the rise as some rain is forecast for the near future.  Her “report” will be included in post #101.  I am not sure how we spent the rest of the day, but I do know that I was busy enough that I didn’t get in a nap.  Wait, now I remember.  A few hours were spent scouring internet reviews/specifications to decide on which TV to purchase based on what was available at the local Sears store.  We had some Lands End gift certificates so in the end the TV cost $17.  This cruising is hard work.

Dave

 

 

 

 

Expedition to the Indian River Mall

Today’s excitement centered on a quasi-shopping trip to the local mall.  The first mate set out on her own once there.  The skipper managed to walk through the entire mall without going into any stores.  There was a Lowe’s within walking distance outside of the mall and that had some appeal.  They got me for $12 for a couple of LED flashlights as it is impossible to have too many flashlights on a boat.

We had some four foot snooks visit us this afternoon.  These guys seemed pretty docile and were just hanging around off our transom.

Dolphins frequent this marina and one was busy chasing it’s dinner in the fairway across from us.  It is always fun to watch these guys.

There is powerboat a half dozen boats down from us and it turns out these people had lived in Fairview a number of years ago so they knew the Erie area.  The world keeps getting smaller, even in this rather small marina.

Dave

Well, what more could you ask for; wheels, a trip to the mall, and a swim on December 20th.  The pool felt like a bath tub.  It was great, I took a little swim and then read by the pool for about an hour.  Life is certainly good.

We made a couple phone calls tonight.  We talked with Dave’s dad, our niece Lea, a good friend Mary Bohrer, and my brother-in-law Dale.  It felt great to talk with each one of these special people!!!

Well, we can only guess what tomorrow will hold!!!

Bobbi

Have wheels, will travel

Enterprise came and picked us up.  The driver was a feisty 80 year old lady who was quite interesting.  She is single and claims that men her age aren’t even worth a lunch date.  All they want to talk about is their ailments.   With our new wheels we tooled down to Fort Pierce and visited Marine Consignment Liquidators.

Marine Consignment Liquidators. Gauges? We have them.

How about some sea water strainers?

Anybody need any tanks?

They claim 11 acres of new and used boat equipment.  It would be pretty easy to outfit a boat with all the stuff they had in this place.

On our way back we stopped at Publix for salmon, potatoes and salad fixings as we had Scott and his wife Deb over for dinner this evening.  Scott went though our chart book with us pointing out places we might be interested in stopping at as we work our way south.

Dave

Well, we got some wheels!!!  Where did we go???  Walmart!!!!  Dave bought some curtains and got my hair cut.  I never thought I would pick Walmart to get my hair cut, but along the way one of the cruisers mentioned they stopped there and were really pleased.  Well, I gave it a shot!!!  I have to say I am very pleased.  You go Walmart!!!!!

We had dinner tonight with our fellow  “pilgrimers”, Deb and Scott.  We cooked salmon and baked potatoes on the the boat.  It was just a nice time!!!

Well, I’m going to try to visit the outlet stores here in Vero Beach tomorrow!!!  It is a whole new world having wheels!!!!

Bobbi

 

 

Work Detail

After a slow start this morning, all hands were mustered for work detail.  The first officer cleaned the bird’s cage then headed off to the laundry while the skipper started prepping the boat for some varnish work.  The saloon sole was getting a bit scratched up under the leg of one of the chairs and the pilot house doors were starting to show signs of the weather on some of the edges.  There was also the  indent of a Philips screwdriver that managed to slip out of somebodies hand and did a perfect face plant in the galley sole that was also crying for some varnish.  Seeing how the temperatures were in the lower 70’s today, this was an ideal time to get some varnish on these areas.

We also took the opportunity to remove and wash the screens as well as the sliding windows behind them.  It is almost like owning a house although I really can’t remember when the last time I washed the screens on the house.  Actually we need to wash the screens to rid them of the salt build up from the spray and you can’t do a proper varnish job with the pilot house screens in place.   Late in the afternoon the skipper watched the 13th and last episode of Doctor Who (Series 1) while the mate went for her walk.

The Bimini above the fly bridge was deployed for the first time this year (six months has gone by with out it being used) which allowed us to sit up there at sunset with a glass of wine and not be covered in dew.  As soon as the sun goes down the condensation that quickly forms is rather remarkable.

Another sailboat showed up a few “doors” down in the last few days and they rigged their Christmas lights for us to enjoy.

Dave

Well, another nice day!!  We did a little laundry, a little cleaning of windows, and poor Finny got his cage cleaned.  While I was out doing the laundry this poor fellow came up that had fallen in the water he was a tad bloody and wanted to dry his shirt.  I gave him the money to dry his shirt and offered him my phone because his went into the drink as well.  He stopped me later in the day to thank me and let me know he was a sailor and he was tough!!  Nice fellow!!!!

Tomorrow Dave and I get some wheels!!!  We rented a car for a week.    It’s going to feel nice to feel free to come and go as we please!!!  We will need the car for Christmas.  Our plans are to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with our niece Lea and her family.

Well, I’m looking forward to tomorrow!!!  Wheels and freedom!!!  Here I come Vero Beach Mall!!!

Bobbi

 

Surfer-Dude no more

Besides making our Christmas Cards and arranging a car rental where eight days rental is considerably cheaper than a seven day rental, today’s highlight was borrowing the marina bicycles to ride to the shopping center.  The have full size bicycles, with big padded seats, fat tires and nice baskets.

White wall tires, no less.

Our shopping at Phar-mor was interesting.  They had most of what we needed (Christmas lights and hot chocolate were at the top of the list).  We really wanted a Christmas card for Dad.  On the entire rack of cards there was not one for Father or Dad.  It must be that people down here don’t know who their father is or something.  Weird, just plain weird.

If you are a Dad, forget about getting a Christmas card around here.

We came across some (real) cheap wine although we resisted the temptation to purchase any.  There aren’t any homeless people around here who we could give the stuff to if we didn’t like it.

Even two-buck-Chuck isn’t two bucks anymore

After a late lunch at the Brooklyn Water Bagel place, where bagels are made with Catskill water (like that makes a difference) the skipper took the opportunity to get his ears lowered at The Hair Shop for Men.  They take walk in’s and I didn’t have to wait, being mid-afternoon.  I needed to shed the hippy-surfer-dude look as it had been three months since I had last seen a barber and the longish hair was starting to bug me.  When they are done, they put this vibrating thing on their hand and massage your shoulders and neck which I found a bit odd.  Fortunately the person cutting my hair was a woman and not a guy as that would have made me real uncomfortable.

Back on the boat the Skipper did the refrigerator defrost thing.  The last time we did this was in Annapolis so it has been a while.  From start to finish the entire job only took an hour.  We never seem to do this when the refrigerator almost empty for some reason.  This warm Florida weather speeds up the process.  A few coolers are kept on the boat for expressly this purpose so we can keep things frozen or cold while waiting for nature to take it’s course.

We hung our string of LED Christmas lights so now we are ready for Santa.

Amazon also delivered some motion activated lights that go off after 15 seconds.  These are getting mounted over our stairs to make it easier to navigate our stairs in the dark.

These might need some fine tuning as they seem a little bright.

Dave

Well, another warm day.  In the upper 70’s today!!!!  Dave and I took a bike ride for Christmas lights and hot chocolate.  Later in the day I decided to take a walk, while I was gone Dave put up the Christmas lights!!!  What a great surprise!!!!  (What happened to Mr. Scrooge I married???)

Well, tomorrow is laundry day.  I just love laundry day because I can sit by the pool or take a dip while waiting for our clothes to get done.  Can life get any better????

Bobbi