May 4-7, 2014
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| Sunrise at Cocoa. |
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| Norman's Raw Bar & Grill menu |
I do believe God puts angels in our path! I found an angel this morning by the name
of Kelly, acting
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| Norman's weekend pitcher special. |
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| Intracoastal boat traffic. |
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| Sunrise at Cocoa. |
But
Kelly helped me put things back into perspective with her listening ear, kind words, a sincere hug, and suggestion for a shopping opportunity at nearby
historic S.F. Travis Hardware. After fixing a quick lunch for Clay and me (he's
so willing to eat whatever I prepare, and lunches are mostly simple foods,
often finger foods, especially when under power), we opted to shower and
explore the town. We started at S.F. Travis, a three-story hardware store which
operates in vintage mode of the 40's and 50's. There were no bar codes, no
computers, no cash registers; just friendly, helpful clerks, adding machines,
dust and about any and every item you could hope to find in a hardware store
(current offerings included, of course). Clay, armed with $30 in nuts and bolts,
sponges and scrub pads, a beach anchor for his dinghy, et cetera, headed back
to the boat for an afternoon of projects; and I headed out to shop! I really
don't shop, but rather browse and enjoy being female 'shopping' with other
females. Having now lived 8+ months aboard, I was quick to realize that female
boating attire (shorts and tee shirts, swimsuits, flip flops, no make-up, no
jewelry) takes the fun out of being female. Thus, it's fun to shop, smell the
lotions/soaps/perfumes and pretend normalcy for an afternoon! NOTE: I do dress
'up' occasionally with a bit of make-up and a cute necklace; I brought a lot of
scarves but have yet to wear one.
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| A waterman checking his traps. |
Happy
for Monday dinner plans of Normans leftovers (see something positive did come
out of the experience), I turned toward Cocoa Village Marina as the stores
closed, having purchased three gifts at a darling and affordable shop, Cocoa
Vee's.
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| A waterman checking his traps. |
We
have harbored at Cocoa Village Marina two nights now and have found a liking
for the shore drive (Indian River Drive) for our morning walk. Not only is it a
relatively uninterrupted stretch of paved road/sidewalk, but it is bordered by
the river on one side and by beautiful homes and landscaping on the other.
Dog walkers are friendly as are we; at that time of morning we've had nothing
yet to dampen our spirits! Dogs are leashed, and walkers carry their little
poop bags for quick pick-up. No complaints!
Tuesday
morning we circled through town as we ended our walk, finding Cafe Unique, an
Amish bakery, where we plopped down for a 3-2-1 breakfast special for Clay and
an oat bagel for me. Returning to the boat, Clay assumed Monday's project mode,
still on a roll from yesterday. I was quick to join in, deciding that the
accumulation of frost in the freezer was unacceptable and needed defrosting.
Slam, dunk. Start to finish in 15 minutes; I was done! Amazing what a little
initiative and motivation can do to a gal!
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| Canvas seam sealing! |
But
that was only the start. I climbed the steps to the fly bridge to find Clay had
unzippered and dismantled the front half of the canvas top. His goal was to
seam seal the front third of the canvas top on top to discourage further
leaking (currently, the top doesn't perform its umbrella function very well!)
He sought only advice from me, but I quickly realized that I'd rather DO the
project than watch him and fear his falling (he's done that before, you know,
from a very high height; and this one approximates 20' to the waterline). Plus,
I'm roughly half his weight and far more flexible, both attributes to consider
when you stand on the dash of a Mainship fly bridge! Up I went (it was far
easier to climb up than to climb down). Clay supervised from below. Unable to
see the job I was doing, he kept saying, "Brush more on! Brush more
on!" That's better, though, than my being below, hollering at him,
"Please don't fall! Please don't fall!"
We
allowed time for it to cure which truly didn't take very long considering the
intensity of the sun midday. Now, to reconnect the component parts. We
succeeded after considerable toil and trouble, convinced we would NOT want to
be in the business! Now, in preparation to depart Cocoa Village Marina for
overnight anchoring just beyond the harbor entrance, we trekked over to bid
adieu to our new friends Bill and Barb (Bailiwick); during the course of the
visit, Bill and Clay talked boat talk while I took note of Barb's
well-fitting white leggins, knowing I needed replacements for my ruined
capris. As we dismounted their boat, Clay responded to Bill's inquiry,
"No, I've had absolutely no trouble with my engines." Uh-oh! Murphy's
Law. Ready to depart, our port engine wouldn't start.
That
now put us in harbor another night where we first sought a Yanmar engine fix-it
man.Mark came highly recommended and, on his way home from the business site,
made his service call shortly after 5 p.m., finding a loose wire to the port
engine. Simple fix. We were blessed. Clay knows a lot about engines and boats,
but we were thankful for Mark's knowledge and his
smaller-and-more-agile-than-Clay's body to fit the crawl space where said
guilty engine wire was housed. Clay listened intently to Mark's evaluation of
the engine compartment while Mark pointed out to-do's to add to our list. (See,
the list is never blank!) Clay walked Mark to his car, picking is brain to
maximize time spent this early evening.
Dinner
was next on the agenda and so was Normans. Repeat performance at the nearby raw
bar was an easy choice; we were both too pooped to care what or if we ate.
Being familiar with the restaurant, the layout, and the menu, ordering was easy
as was the decision to eat inside where the crowd was much smaller and service
much better. But the frivolity was missing...not a problem for us this eve!
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| Over head cover while at anchor in Cocoa. |
Wednesday's
destination was Titusville where we chose anchoring rather than the marina and
the mooring balls so as to dollar cost average the lodging costs over the past
few days. Stiff winds escorted us to the site as Clay dodged the crab pots
which have re-emerged as obstacles. Once anchored, we went thru the usual early
evening thru later evening routine, then retired for the night with heat,
humidity and bugs.
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| NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building at Cape Canaveral. |
My
you-guessed-it reaction to another night of less-than-comfortable camping had
Clay searching the storage hidey-holes (abundant on a boat) for the magnetic
velcro-configuration of screening (Magic Door) he'd purchased early on. Only a temporary
fix, it was enough to quiet me until he could compose Plan B which was
obviously going to be permanent screening on doors he planned to leave open for
ventilation. Our plans to dinghy to shore for lunch and groceries never
materialized, yet we kept busy this entire day without leaving 'home.' Thursday
is mail day, so I anticipated and dealt with the arrival of Tonya's weekly
email with attachment of USPS mail scans. Too, Clay put me in seamstress mode;
the screen had two components with only interspersed magnets along the length
of the closing to keep flying critters and creepy crawlies out...we both wanted
a more secure closing.
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| Tracking at anchor before the manatees appeared. |
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| Other boats at anchor at Cocoa. |
Friday
morning's attempt to Nordic Track was successful, but I was in diagnostic mode
realizing that the right ski was slipping as the left one had. Thank goodness
Walter shipped a pair of rollers! Clay instructed me on roller replacement as
we worked together to replace the right clutch roller; I wanted to know how and
not be dependent on Clay, knowing that it's gonna happen again...it's only a
function of wear and tear. As we worked side by side (or as side by side as we
could get in the small compartment housing the skier), I gasped as I stood upright
and noticed an ugly creature nosing up against the swim platform. Oh, a
manatee...up close and personal. REALLY up close and personal. Finding no food,
he didn't stick around long. But his appearance was awesome...and startling!
Following
our repair job, we launched the dinghy and headed to shore for our
late-but-not-forgotten lunch and shopping opportunity only 24 hours late. I now
know these little traveling boats are called 'dinks' and are to be docked at a
'dink dock,' tied securely and followed by a visit to the marina office to pay
the required $5 to dock there. Nothing is free, especially at the municipal
marinas!
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| Sunset at Cocoa. |
We
made our way down the main street of town (walking, of course) thru the
historic district to the recommended lunch spot. With an atmosphere imitating
LAMO's Eagles Nest or Fulton's Beks, Kloibers Cobblers offered a variety of
entrees, drinks and desserts. Clay and I seldom eat lunch out, so this was a
treat as was people-watching at this location. We were treated to a delightful
young waitress who expressed interest in doing what we were doing someday, much
to Clay's delight. He loves nothing more (well almost nothing) than talking
about the Great Loop and his experiences aboard; I'm getting almost as bad.
Well heck, after eight months on this journey/lifestyle, I don't have a whole
lot more to discuss. And, we do have had some 'entertaining' moments!
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| Designated burn day in Cocoa. |
Our
choice in grocery shopping on foot was Save-A-Lot. We were pleased with
offerings and choices and walked away well-satisfied. We boarded our dink and
motored back to the SaSea Sally, having completed our first trip to the grocery
store by boat.
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| Not spinich, sea grass caught in the anchor chain when it was retrieved. |
Saturday
morning's anchor retrieval came with a complexity we'd not faced in prior days.
Three days anchoring without location change had allowed masses of seaweed to
accumulate along the considerable length of anchor chain. As I untangled and
flung chunk after chunk of seaweed, a little voice encouraged me to put on my
gardening gloves (and I've learned to listen to those little voices). I quickly
realized that not all seaweed is the same; some came avec unidentified sea
creatures which I really didn't care to identify. And, I would assume some
stuff is or could be poisonous! Too, my flinging came with considerable gusto
which could fling my rings along with the seaweed. (Yes, I still wear my rings
unlike other Loopers). Task completed. Anchor aboard. Off we cruised toward New
Smyrna Beach City Marina where our adventures will continue.
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