February 16 – April 1, 2010
We have just finished our second month here in Stuart, FL. It has gone by very quickly. Roger has been working at our consulting business quite a bit, which included an international trip a few weeks ago. I went back to Indianapolis on Feb. 17th for a week. I had so much to do that week, trying to get all the info for taxes to our accountant, as well as trying to see as many kids and friends as possible while I was there. I even got to play in a tennis match with my former teammates (not very well, but it was fun).
While I was gone, we got the blue stripe on our boat painted. It turned out great! My varnish teacher had left me solo in early March, since she had to have surgery. I worked on the teak nearly every day. Roger helped me sand one of the doors down to the bare wood, and then he held the working skiff to our boat while I sanded and varnished the side rails.
In mid-February, our friends Rae & Steve Mason spent two nights with us after they hauled out their boat and before they left for home in Canada. Their first night onboard, I was still in Indy, and I felt sorry for Rae because she had snoring in stereo: Steve next to her in the salon (the table folds down into a bed) and Roger in the cabin. She said Roger snored so loud, that even with the cabin door closed she could still hear him! Lucky for her, I got back for their second night on board and I kept him under control, by nudging him every time he turned up the volume! It was hard to say good-by to Rae & Steve because they will be at home until December. It’s a different life away from the boat and so many adjustments need to be made.
It’s been nice having our car here. We were able to catch my niece Jenna who lives in New York City in a performance in Fort Lauderdale. It was called “Broadway Tonight”, a medley of songs and dances from Broadway hits over the years, and it was fantastic. Roger had never seen Jenna perform and he was just in awe! I got goose bumps and teary-eyed when she did 2 selections from “Phantom of the Opera”. We were able to have a late lunch with her before her show. What a night! We were also able to spend time with my Aunt Peg & Uncle Bob who winter at their condo in Boca Raton. They are like my 2nd Mom and Dad, so any time I can spend with them is special.
In early March, we were invited to visit Danny & Susan Godin on Potest Fieri in Islamorada in the Keys. We spent a night with them and got to have dinner with Judi & David Campbell on Jejuda. It was like a reunion of the “Carp Captives”. The only people missing were Rae & Steve from Barefoot Shoes. Susan spoiled us while we were there and Danny showed us Islamorada. The Keys are really interesting -- Roger and I felt like we were “on vacation”. The lifestyle is very similar to the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, laid-back, casual, kind of like being on “island time.” We enjoyed our time with our friends and are hoping to catch up with them again as we cruise our way up the East Coast this spring and spend the summer in the Chesapeake Bay.
Stuart has been a terrific stop for us. There was enough to do to keep things interesting. We saw our first manatee there. She was experiencing shock from the cold and Florida Water Conservancy tried to rescue her, but sadly she died later. Happily though, we could count on plenty of social activities each week: Krogen breakfasts, Yacht Club “Meet and Greets”, Tuesday Night Rib Nights with the Krogen owners, Happy Hour and dinner with the Zonarich’s and friends. The kids were worried about me being bored because they know I can’t sit still for long – no chance of that happening! I was even able to play tennis several times in between my varnish projects. One of my friends, Karen McNeely, came to visit for a night while Roger was away. Then Karen & her husband Hank came back to have dinner with us last weekend. It was wonderful to spend some time with them. (We always made the most of our parents’ weekends while their son and Travis were at Culver Academy!).
Roger has had a few boat projects himself, in between working. He had the generator parts changed out – the ones that gave us problems back in January and that Roger & Danny band-aided until the warranty repairs could be done here. Also, we had a battery charging mystery and Roger found a great guy to get to the bottom of that. I call him “Scotty the Great” because he is making our lives easier! Scotty installed another 30 Amp circuit so that we can manage our draw on the electrical system a little more efficiently. In non-Boating language, that means…….so that I can have the air conditioning running while I make dinner, listening to the nightly news on the television AND then….when I turn on the microwave, maybe I won’t blow the circuit!! I won’t even mention my blow dryer or straightening iron. Scotty also retrofitted the generator breaker to accommodate a bigger electrical load. Roger calls him “Lazarus” because he can bring your equipment back from the dead (like our windlass). You guys don’t even realize what you take for granted every day when you flip your switches!
So this morning we brought our dock lines aboard and left the comfort of the dock. We are heading up the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway for points north. We will probably stop at a different place each night until the end of April when we will need to leave the boat for a few weeks and head back to Indianapolis. It’s a magnificent morning – warm and sunny and a light breeze. After all the rain and cold we had down here in Florida, these days like today truly are the days you dream about!
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