Month: November 2018

Imagine moving out of your house for a few weeks. What would you do? We rented a furnished apartment here in Ft Lauderdale while work is being performed on the boat. Bottom paint, equipment enhancements and a few new goodies to make life in the islands easier.

The trouble is that dealing with boat yards is a lot like dealing with home contractors. If they say two weeks it will take four. If they say $10,000 it will be $20,000. You get the idea. It was supposed to be two weeks, I allowed three and it will probably take four. Needless to say none of us are happy.

At least the apartment is okay, has a pool and even a small back yard that is fenced in for Isabella. It does have fake grass tho which really freaked her out the first time she went out. She kept tip toeing across it to get from the tiles to the mulch border.

We played golf yesterday for the first time in awhile. Golf in Florida is very different from golf in Virginia. Flat course, fair amount of water and strange creatures to make it interesting.

So we’ll probably be here a couple more weeks before heading south where it truly is warm and the water is beautiful.

Leaving Daytona this morning and travelling south on the ICW we have seen probably 50 dolphins, pelicans flying in formation and even manatees.

Tonight’s anchorage will be at Canaveral followed by Ft Pierce, Lake Worth and then a little offshore to Ft Lauderdale.

We’ve rented an airb&b for three weeks while the boat is hauled out and prettied up. Looks like we’ll get some golfing in while there and maybe even a trip to the  beach.

The weather is sunny and warm and we are enjoying the trip.

Tonight’s stop will be at Canaveral.

We left the DC area mid September in shorts and tee shirts. It wasn’t until we reached Wilmington that we broke out the long pants and jackets. By the time we got to Jekyll Island, GA we were back to shorts and tees. When we left there this morning it was 51 degrees and as of noon today we are in Florida wearing jeans and jackets.

It seems we are not moving south fast enough. But there is a bigger issue. We’ve discovered that our favorite place when underway is on the flybridge, especially as we now have two really comfortable helm chairs up there. When the weather is brisk it can get down right chilly up there. As I write this I am wearing boots, jeans and two fleece jackets. As much fun as we make of sailboaters who are always bundled up against the elements we are starting to resemble them!

One thing we’ve discovered on the boat is that holidays seem to come and go without a lot of fanfare. Maybe it’s because we’re officially retired. Or maybe it’s because it’s hard to remember what day of the week it is much less what day of the month.

We happened to be in the marina at Jekyll Island for Halloween and discovered that other boaters are not as nonchalant about the holiday as we now are. We saw skeletons, pumpkins and even a costume or two. A fellow boater was even passing out candy ( thank you Trudy!).

I AM on the hunt for an inflatable Rudolph for the bow of the boat for Christmas. That is one holiday we won’t miss.