January 19, 2014
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| Sunset at Marker1 Marina in Dunedin FL |
Hi all! We'll, as said in subject line, we're baackkkkkkkk!
Booked to fly back to Tampa on Wednesday, January 15th, Clay and I were
delivered to Lambert Field by brother Walter for our late-morning flight to
Tampa. It seems that Clay's fishing pole did not want to come along, being left
behind, first at the security checkpoint in St. Louis, then again on the Super
Shuttle, our transport from Tampa airport to Dunedin. We won't be forced into
noodling, but had to pay $20 for Super Shuttle to deliver the fishing pole to
Marker 1 Marina a day later. Darn! Not the way I care to spend money!
The Marker 1 Marina staff, upon our arrival, was most anxious to
return to us our recovered bikes. They were as excited as we to have found the
'stolen' bikes ('stolen' by the weekend security guard at the marina who
mistakenly almost dismissed them as trash--does that help to define the quality
of said bikes?). Clay was on wavelength of oiling the bikes, so became focused
on such to the exclusion of most all else. The day got later, and the grocery
run didn't happen, but God was on our side when I discovered a frozen
(unmarked) tub of shrimp creole in the freezer for dinner. We ate well then
slept well despite the galeforce winds and torrential rainfall overnight. So
much for meticulously oiling the bikes!
We spent time Wednesday and Thursday reacquainting ourselves with
the boat--the galley and layout of dishes/pot/pans/etc, storage, whereabouts of
clothing, etc. Amazing that, in a month's time, you quickly forget details of
where things are kept! Back into the swing of things pretty quickly though, we
walked to the local Publix (grocery store) mid-morning Thursday, wheeling along
with us the marina dock cart (I guess that has been done before, but we felt
kinda silly dragging behind us a big, black, boxy cart on 2 wheels for the 10
minute walk to the store and 'home' again). $150 later (we'd left the boat
pretty well depleted when we left mid-December), we were well supplied with
grocery items for the days ahead.
We thought we'd left cold weather behind for the sunny skies of
Florida. Well, yep on the sunny skies, but nope on the cold left behind. We've
been low-50's since our arrival, with winds upwards of 15-20 mph, and gusts
stronger than that. Has not been conducive to walking nor boating. I reinforced
to Clay just today that boating is a warm-weather sport to which he
agreed! I know it's not as cold as most of you are experiencing and certainly
no snow.
Thursday was a day of grocery shopping and organizing, with a bit
of cleaning and dusting thrown in. By supper time, my plans to fix a nice
dinner were replaced by a quick bacon-and-egg supper for Clay and a salad and
some sushi for me (Publix makes sushi fresh daily, so we thought we'd give it a
try. Yum!)
Clay has orchestrated communication with many friends from days
gone by, both his and mine. So, on Friday, I connected with friend Janis
Schlueter Freeman who was receptive to a 'reunion' short cruise and dinner.
Fun! She got a taste of living aboard in 43' of space total. She also got a
taste of Clay's driving skills after a month layoff. Hmmm, both 'awkward'
moments (is that kind?) came in conjunction with the autopilot. Of course, I
had to call sister Sus and tell her she was misbehaving (I will remind you that
Clay named the autopilot 'Susan' so that she'd be accompanying us on this
journey/adventure.)
Upon our arrival back at Marker 1 Marina following our short
cruise, we three met friends of Janis' at Kelly's (restaurant) in Dunedin for
an evening of friends and fellowship. Was fun expanding our repertoire of
acquaintances. Thanks, Janis, for sharing your friends with us! And,
Kelly's was a fun spot!
I should report that workmen showed up Friday on short notice to
work on the heater/ac system and on the boat's bottom (checking for growth of
both plant and animal variety). The diver did little to disrupt our day, but I
still need to work on my patience and flexibility when I found my soon-to-take
shower interrupted by the heater fella and his compadre dismantling my closet and
dressing area. Bummer. (NOTE: I have now taken up knitting again as I find it
not only a time-filler, but a way to alleviate stress. I will probably make
LOTS MORE dish cloths in the days ahead!)
Today I've made numerous trips between the boat and the
marina laundromat (1 washer and 1 dryer can make laundry an all-day affair!)
And, Clay is busy vacuuming and dusting the interior (it's his boat I will
remind you), opting for inside work as opposed to his original plan of washing
the boat's exterior today! That tells you it's pretty chilly and pretty
windy today--but SUN! Our plans to take the open-air Jolley Trolley to
Tarpon Springs for dinner and a bit of soap/sponge shopping have been delayed
until tomorrow; that should give you a hint as to the outside temperature
and enjoyability of being outside today!
We reconnected today in the laundryroom with Looper
friends Cathy and Gary (After Taxes) who were departing today for a
20-mile trip down the coast to St. Petersburg. It was a fun reunion, emphasizing
the fact that yes, we will reconnect with some of our Looper friends made along
the way thus far!
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| Clearwater Marina and bridge to the beach |
That's all for now. I am soon to start dinner, which was the menu
planned for Thursday which hasn't happened yet, but will. I told Clay
earlier today that doing laundry is fun, cooking is work. He asked
when cooking became work; I told him when it stopped being fun! Made sense to
me. Maybe it's the tiny galley? Or the frig items that freeze unexpectedly? Or
having to juggle fewer available pots and pans and minimal utensils? Or maybe
it's just getting older and having done it for years?
Love to you all! We miss you already, but are glad to have a way
to stay connected! Don't forget we have email and cell phones (for calling and
texting).
